Best Practices - August/September 2009

By Sonya Jennings

At Carpet Mill Outlet stores, service is the key to success. The company’s mantra is, “Large enough to compete, small enough to care.” At the main location in Southlake, Texas, big box stores have popped up just down the street. Owner Kathy Niles welcomes the competition because it gives her the opportunity to distinguish her expert staff from employees who simply take orders. According to Niles, “When a customer comes into our store, we educate her on products, styles, and options, and that immediately sets us apart from a big box retailer.”

Carpet Mill Outlet offers carpet, hardwood, ceramic tile, vinyl, stone, bamboo, laminate, area rugs, window blinds, and granite countertops. The company’s business is 75% retail and 25% commercial. Carpet Mill Outlet began with economy customers, but now serves mid and upper areas of the market as well. “Our products go in trailers as well as $3 million homes,” Niles says. The business supports local schools and charities, but does no traditional advertising. Most customers come from word of mouth referrals.

In 1995, when Niles began working at Carpet Mill Outlet in sales, the store had revenues of $500,000 per year. She bought the store in 1997, and last year her company registered $8 million in sales. She believes that product knowledge and service are the keys to that growth. Every week, her staff engages in product knowledge meetings. They learn about new products, and they also get regular updates on existing products. When a customer enters one of her stores, a salesperson is trained to drill down on exactly what type of product will meet the customer’s needs.

Another main service specialty is installation. Most of the store’s installation crews have been with the company since Niles bought the store and they are treated like family. Many of her current crews are made up of children of crew members who have been with her since the beginning. There are regular family-style cookouts at the company’s warehouse and family milestones are observed. “When one of our installers has a baby, the store has a baby,” Niles says. The store has never had a theft or any other problem in a customer’s home since Niles has owned the company. “When one of our crews is out on a job, I know for certain that trustworthy and professional people are handling the job. I know that because our crews are like family to us.”

Before installers leave a job site, they give the customer a satisfaction survey. The survey asks questions such as “Did we perform to your expectation? Is there anything that we didn’t do?” Niles says that vacuuming after completing a job, putting down plastic where necessary, and having a professional appearance are little things that are expected from every crew. In addition, a two-year labor warranty is standard on every installation. These things set the company’s installation crews apart from other stores and make it more likely the customer will recommend Carpet Mill Outlet to her family and friends.

Niles also feels strongly about fair pricing. “If you give the customer a fair price, she will return again next time she needs another product,” Niles says. “And she will recommend the business to her friends. Sometimes our quotes beat others by so much that I wonder how anyone can feel good about marking up the product that much.” Making a fair profit not only makes Niles feel good about her service, but it wins customer loyalty and future business.

Taking advantage of the training tools and support offered by the mills has also helped the business grow. Relevant information on current fashion trends and styles is available, and this knowledge is critical for helping customers. She also uses financial benchmarking and other tools to compare Carpet Mill Outlet to other stores around the country.

Niles says she has a passion for transforming people’s homes, a passion she discovered after the tragic death of her husband in the 1990s. She moved to Southlake, Texas with her two daughters and basically had to find a way to support her children. She was hired at Carpet Mill Outlet and the owner took her under his wing and taught her everything he knew about the flooring industry, from measuring to managing. Two years later, in 1997, he offered to sell her the store and he financed it. She turned one store into three, and believes that her passion for her business and the need to survive fueled her success. She adds, “I didn’t have a choice. I had to make it.”

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