Hicksville, N.Y.—Time and time again, tourists who visit Middle Eastern countries and take time to shop for area rugs describe their experience as “adventurous” and “very educational.” As a result, more and more rug dealers in the United States are taking a cue to merchandise and sell not just by cutting prices, but by educating and glamorizing the customer’s overall shopping experience. Sandy McMurtry, of Virginia Beach, Va., recently visited a store called Bradrans in Manama, Bahrain. She explained her rug-shopping excursion: “I was expecting to walk into the store and be overwhelmed by rugs everywhere. I thought I would have to weed through all of them myself and make the choice. I wasn’t really looking forward to the whole process. But, when I walked in, around 9:30 a.m., everyone there greeted me warmly. A man named Yousef made himself totally available to me.

“A leather chair was brought out for me,” McMurtry continued. “Then, four Bahrainy men materialized from the back room. Over-head, directional lights were turned on to illuminate the rugs. Yousef stood near me and the four men stood at each corner of the rugs. They would pick up a rug, lay it down, and wait for me to say ‘yes,’ ‘no’ or ‘maybe.’ With each rug, Yousef would explain the details of it: what materials it was made from, where it was made and whether the rug was new or a tribal rug. He also explained the difference in materials, the number and types of knots used and the meaning of new versus tribal. The four men would show the rugs at every angle so the light would pick up the pattern and colors.

“Meanwhile,” she added, “someone in the back room had been preparing tea for us. A fifth man presented a cart with beautiful china glasses of hot tea, sugar cubes and cream. After choosing two rugs, I left the store and went to lunch. When I returned, the rugs were folded and bound, complete with carrying handles to take on the airplane. When I paid for them, I was present ed with certificates of authenticity that detailed the features of my rugs. I was so thrilled with the whole experience and have fond memories of buying those rugs.”

There is no doubt, said Allen Robertson, national sales manager for Capel Rugs, that domestic rug dealers sell more “especially at the high-end level,” when they take time to educate consumers about what they are buying and provide first-rate customer service. For this very reason, Capel recently updated an educational booklet, “Rug Report: Everything You Need To Know About Area Rugs.” Published to provide dealers with extensive knowledge about different kinds of rugs they can pass onto their customers, the booklet covers everything from flat wovens to hand tufted to hand knotted rugs. One section asks, “How much do you know?” It then points out, “Be as knowledgeable as possible. Be willing to answer questions about rugs. With so many styles, qualities and fabrications from which to choose, a consumer cannot be expected to know as much as you.”

“There’s a nice section on Persian rugs versus Indian rugs, etc.,” said Robertson, “And some history is provided on some of the rug making countries.” A section on imported rugs is important in that 60% of Capel’s sales are imports. “We encourage retailers to stack rugs by different densities and knot counts—to break them down by quality. We educate them on one-of-a-kind rugs from Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and China.” Rob Leahy, owner of Oriental Rugs in Charleston, S.C., has been in the rug business for 35 years. Though he sells a great many higher priced rugs, and even has some hard-to-find antiques, he recently decided to merchandise more of a variety of rugs.

Leahy shows his antiques on the floor, but his extensive line of about 500 rugs are carefully hung from racks. He believes that educating the customer is part of the “experience of purchasing a quality area rug. “You can’t teach them everything,” said Leahy. “But educating is part of the sale. It’s part of your credibility. They’re going to come back to the place where they feel like they are getting the most value.” Last year, Ruth MacNair of Fletcher, N.C., visited Mahdi & Sons in New Delhi, India, and shopped for an area rug for her large kitchen. “Going to the rug store was like taking a historical tour. I learned so much as they unfolded each rug. I looked through about two-and-a-half feet of rugs, and they would unroll each one so dramatically.” MacNair is returning to India next month and is looking forward to shopping for more rugs.

“Just hearing about the work that goes into them, where the rug originated, the dyes, the tribal significance, the symbols—it’s all so fascinating. Every rug has a story to tell.” Leahy added that although most customers are primarily interested in the rug’s colors and patterns—and will consider much higher price points than they originally intended if they find just the “right” colors—some customers want to know the rug’s origin. “Some are even knowledgeable enough about rugs to want to know the region and the meaning of the symbols, especially if they are collectors of fine rugs.” Leahy said he learned about rugs by traveling the world. “Because of what I know—because of so many years in this business—I have a lot of return customers because I’ve built a trust with them.”