(Second in a series)
Dothan, Ala.—When Debbie and Bob Rainey, owners of Stokes Flooring America in Dothan, Ala., decided to join the retail group, the immediate concern was the conversion of their showroom—while the store was open. But their fears proved to be unwarranted.

According to Debbie Rainey, taking out all the old racks and finding many old things that had been tucked away here and there was a spring cleaning she admits she was years behind in doing. “It was a chore on our part.” Plus, in anticipation of the new Flooring America displays, they put down new carpet from Shaw instead of installing many types of flooring in its 8,000-square-foot showroom.

“When it came time for the Flooring America people to come in, they were right on time, no delays, no problems; their displays and samples had been delivered to us ahead of time,” Debbie Rainey said. She added that Flooring America’s staff was extremely professional and very considerate to not only them but their salespeople as well while the store was in full operation. “Their staff was very quiet and cooperative while we were wall-to-wall with customers.

“It took only a day or two to have our new racks and samples in place. Flooring America did not leave without having everything priced, everything perfectly in place, all price lists printed. We were ready for operation. Even our salespeople were trained as a group and individually.”

Debbie Rainey noted that both she and her husband were expecting the changeover to be more complicated, but Flooring America made it “very simple and quick.”

The Raineys say they could not be more proud of their new showroom. “Flooring America’s displays not only offer a tremendous selection, but they are very consumer friendly—exactly what we wanted,” Debbie Rainey said. “Every vendor we have, as well as every customer, has commented on how beautiful our showroom is today. In fact, everything Flooring America has done for our showroom and our conversion has been beyond first class.”

Bob Rainey may have summed it up best. “If we had realized how simple this conversion would have been, we would have done this years ago. Any dealer in the United States who might be considering joining Flooring America but has concerns about converting while in full operation, I would tell him not to be concerned.”

For more information on Flooring America, call Bill Hosner at 866.315.8705.