Cliff’s Carpets
Carson City, Nev.

(Third in a series)
Cliff Marshall was a carpet installer by trade. He was making a decent living until he fractured his neck and was out of work for two years. Needless to say, times became tough. “I wondered what I would do. We almost lost our home. It got to the point where I decided to pull out all the equity in my home and start a floor covering business.”

Marshall’s intentions were good. He knew about carpet, since, by his own account, he probably installed for about 80% of the stores in the Carson City/Reno, Nev. area. “I always saw a need for a store like mine, where customers can get decent service and good value. There is really no such thing as customer service in Carson City – not just in the flooring industry, but anything.”

So Marshall opened Cliff’s Carpets in July 2006. His location was good. The 2,500-square-foot store is situated in a new strip mall on a main road right in the middle of town. He was told about 50,000 cars pass a day.

But Marshall quickly realized retailing is much different than installing. “Going from installer to retail owner is a rough transition. I knew about products but didn’t know how to sell them. I might as well have started a new career. I made lots of mistakes.”

He knew he needed help, and when S&G Carpets & More came along with their alignment program, jumping on board was a no brainer. “It took 10 minutes of Steve Bicknell (national vice president) talking to me to know I wanted to be a part of that. Everything S&G tells me makes a lot of sense. I’m impatient. I don’t want to spend 25 years making mistakes until I get it right. So S&G comes along and I can minimize mistakes. I have good people guiding me.”

Marshall particularly likes the private labeling of the carpets and wood. “That maximizes my profits as far as people can’t shop me. People used to take my deck boards home, then come back and tell me they could get better pricing somewhere else.”

S&G is also helping Marshall lay out his store and make it more pleasing for customers. “My store is more user friendly. It is taking a lot of pressure off me. They also do all the pricing. I just clip it on where it’s supposed to go and I walk away.”

He was also impressed with S&G’s dedication to his business. “They took the time to come to my shop. I’d been approached by a couple of other buying groups. They say, ‘Give me $25,000 or $50,000 and we’ll let you use our name.’ S&G comes along and says we won’t charge you anything for the first year. If it doesn’t work you owe us nothing. If it works, you will give us the fee we agreed upon.”

Service is also critical. “They are just a phone call away. If I gave a question they give me an answer, or they will call me right back if they don’t know the answer. I have all their years of experience at my fingertips. And I feel like they really want me to succeed.”

For more information on the S&G alignment program, call Bicknell at 408.202.5177.