Not all flooring retailers are dying on the vine, nor are all businesses for that matter. In the last few weeks business seems to be trending up a bit according to dealers we've spoken to. In a couple of instances the dealer has said business is up over last year and others say they have actually had to turn away a couple of jobs because they could not get to them.

Most of these dealers are outside major metropolitan areas. The smaller towns and cities seem to be where business is holding and picking up. Certainly all builder business is off, but, again, if a marketing area was not sideways to start with in the building binge/mortgage mess, it is not as adversely affected.

What seems to have been lost are the smaller jobs from consumers doing one room or a small remodel. The larger jobs being done by those who have more expendable income are still coming in for the most part. Most of the dealers are selling carpet and wood. The longer the economy lingers at an even level, the more confident buyers become.

First, they find they still have the money to do the remodeling they've wanted to do and are tired of all the doom-and-gloom, which they realize does not mean the world is ending. Number two, they have pulled in their spending, have stayed inside too long and realize they want to make a change. You could use these two facts to market and sell your products: "Tired of looking at the inside of your house? Come in for some fresh flooring to brighten your home. We can help make you feel better."

Now for the wood help. Have you ever seen the booklets that the National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA) publishes on hardwood? Most of you have not, which is why so many of you have wood flooring problems. It's amazing that you sell a product and don't know anything about it. More amazing is the information is readily and easily available to keep you out of trouble.

To avoid wood flooring problems you have to know the characteristics of the wood you're selling, how it will perform, the environmental conditions that effect and influence it, how to control them, how the wood has to be acclimated, how it has to be installed and all other pertinent information. If you leave out one of these important steps it will come back to bite you. You also have to know and understand the quality of wood you are buying and installing, the source, how it is processed and where it comes from such as country of origin and much more.

Wood is not that difficult to figure out, and there is a lot of information available from NWFA, so do your homework. Most often we find the reasons for a complaint on wood are fairly easy to determine, and there are a multitude of tools to help you analyze the conditions of the wood and the environment in which it is installed.

As the saying goes, "Ignorance of the law is no excuse." This also applies to flooring materials. Why would you not avail yourself of information you can easily obtain to prevent losses you are needlessly incurring? Now is the time to take the initiative and enlighten yourselves, to limit your losses and prevent complaints. It's easy to do, will save you money, and it's an excellent way to increase your profits without spending a lot.