We've spoken lately about the contract market and the number of people who are interested in getting into this segment. It's been the one bright spot of the industry relative to growth and profit for the last couple of years. The most alluring aspect of contract for the residential dealer who wants to make the leap would be the main street market. That is the smaller commercial users such as your local market area doctors, lawyers, insurance agencies, churches and others. The issue is not how much material they'll buy from you. Maybe you think it's nice to sell a large job of this kind (just under 100 yards to several hundred yards) as opposed to the average residential sale of 50 to 60 yards. The most important point, however, is to know what product to use where, why and how.

For example, I recently looked at a complaint in a small office occupied by eight employees. The entry to the offices came in directly off a parking lot. The carpet was a very light blue with a white coloration in a continuous dyed printed pattern. It was a blend of nylon and polyester. The complaint was the broadloom was fading and failing to perform after only five months of use.

The expectation level for this product was fortified by the fact the end user had the same product in a darker color which had been down for almost two years in peripheral offices. It looked better next to the new, lighter colored carpet.

PREVENTING THE PROBLEM

Now, before we dissect what went wrong here, I want you to think about what information I've given you and have you determine what you would have done to prevent this problem. The first problem is the carpet's color; it's way too light for use in this environment. It will show soil rapidly, collect soil from the outside near the entry and the soil will be tracked further into the facility. This causes the traffic lanes to look dingy and dull.

The second problem is also relative to the color of the carpet. The fading is not fading at all but actually a change in the light reflectance value of the yarn. As it compresses from the concentrated traffic it is subjected to, the yarn lies flat and the blue color is washed out. When this happens, the broadloom looks like it has faded. When looking at the darker color, the same performance characteristic can be seen. But because the colors are darker, there is much less of a washing out of the color.

The third problem is the yarn make up. The carpet is 90% polyester and 10% nylon. This is not the best blend to use for a contract carpet. The polyester is less than the most resilient of yarns. Maybe in a residence this carpet would work fine and, in fact, it was constructed in such a way it would perform very well in moderate use residential environments. But in a contract application such as this, it is definitely not the product to use. It has uglied out beyond resurrection.

The last issue is the carpet is not being properly maintained. If you are going to use this type of broadloom in this color, it will need to be put on a very regular maintenance plan. Monthly extraction cleanings with a truck mounted unit, pile lifting and soil retardant application. Walk off mats are also a must and some type of inset at the front door/entry area using a hard surface flooring material to catch the first several steps. It is also important to have some type of boot tray for clients to place wet shoes in.

The best product for this installation would have been one that first complimented in color the existing carpet, which this didn't. Second, it is necessary to have a product which would hold up to the immediate traffic from outside. One which would perform well and look good doing so and would not lie down like a wet dog and die on the floor. The product used in this installation was not cheap, it was just the wrong product.

All of this could have been prevented and if you review this article and form a plan to sell the right product into the right place, offer the additional components to make it work and then offer the service to maintain the products, you will be successful in the main street market.