Installers: What retailers need to know - March 07
Interview by Kevin Hale
The number one problem in every retail or contract dealer survey we’ve ever done has always been installation. It’s a problem that’s plagued the floorcovering industry since its inception. So why has it gone unresolved for so long? And why have attempts to solve the problem fallen short every time? Copyright 2007 Floor Focus Inc
Well, we wanted to get answers to those questions, so we thought a good place to start might be with the one installer who’s dedicated his life to solving the problem, and the only installer to be inducted into the World Floor Covering Association’s Hall of Fame, Jim Walker. Walker started an installation business in Kansas City 40 years ago and quickly saw the need for better educated installers.
He started CFI, the International Certified Floorcovering Installers Association, in 1993, and that organization quickly became the voice of retail flooring installers. Since then, CFI has trained and certified more than 22,000 installers. We caught up with Walker right before he was to hit the road for one of the 50-plus educational events CFI will hold this year.
Q. What’s the best way for a flooring retailer to start a working relationship with an installer?
A. He should be looking for a qualified partner, not just an employee or subcontractor. If you ask most retailers what the number one problem with their business is, they’ll tell you it’s installation. But the retailer should really be focused on cash flow. Hiring the right carpet installer will take care of your cash flow because the job will be done right.
I would advise any retailer looking for an installer to look for someone who wants to enhance and work with his business and make it part of himself.
Q. What specific questions should the retailer ask a potential installer?
A. How much experience do you have? Who have you worked for? What types of flooring do you install? Have you had any formal installation training? Have you attended any manufacturer-sponsored or local associations? Have you attended any updates on the industry and the type of products installers work with? I’d also tell him to come with references.
The following questions relate directly to carpet installers. First, ask him if he seals all his seams and what type seam sealer he uses. If he doesn’t come back with acrylic, latex or thermoplastic, then that’s telling you he’s not sealing his seams.
Second, ask him if he owns a power stretcher and does he power stretch every room. Some dealers will say any room larger than 20 X 20 must be power stretched. That implies that anything smaller can be knee kicked. The retailer should say that all rooms, regardless of size, must be power stretched.
The third qualifying question: How much do you stretch tufted carpet? The standard answer is one to one and a half percent in length and width.
The fourth question: Are you familiar with the term gully? If he doesn’t know, he’s not an installer. The gully is the distance between the front of the tack strip and the wall. It’s never to exceed 3/8 of an inch. Never. If the installer says, ‘I put it out about a half inch,’ then show him your store policy, which should say ‘We never have a gully of more than 3/8 of an inch.’
I’d also tell the installer that there’s no fill less than three feet long and no more than three seams in any one room. I’d also ask if he uses staples. All stairs should be installed through a spindle, then the side upholstered. Never, never use a nail or electric staple gun.
These are key questions that any retailer can memorize in five minutes to qualify an installer. The installer isn’t going to be expecting these types of questions from the retailer.
Q. Once you’ve determined that you want to work with an installer, how do you work out pricing?
A. I would ask that installer to be prepared with a price list of his charges. The first thing the installer should do, and this is critical, is ask the retailer, ‘Who does the estimating?’ Without good estimators, retailers can lose installers. If they don’t estimate the right amount of money to do the job, the installer is going to lose money.
So the installer should ask the retailer, ‘Is your estimator qualified?’ Chances are he’s going to get this answer: ‘Well, our salespeople do our estimating.’ Now the problem with that is that most salespeople try to save the customer yardage. They cut it so short that there’s not enough carpet to do the job. Salespeople will also sometimes misinterpret the numbers on a tape measure and read them incorrectly. When we get on the job we’re suppose to make all this come out right. We can’t do it. This is why at our company we do all the estimating.
When it comes to carpet, don’t expect your installer to install it all at the same price. I’ve had retailers who’ve been in the business for 20 years and don’t realize that it takes more time to install patterned goods than it does nondescript goods or a tight plush. People don’t understand it takes a lot more time installing a cut and loop carpet or a variegated carpet than a plush cut carpet.
Q. Would you suggest drafting a contract that both parties can agree on?
A. It’s going to be up to the retailer to set the criteria for his store. There’s no standard operation for installation. Every job that goes in is custom. The retailer has to ask himself: Is showing up on time important to me? Do you want customers to be interrupted during their evening meal to get the job completed? Or do you want your installers to be out of there say by 4:30 or 5 o’clock?
The retailer has to set the standard, but most won’t do that. He won’t take the time because he’s hired a so-called subcontractor. He’ll let them dictate and run his business.
Q. What incentives should an installer be offered?
A. If my estimators figure a job, and it takes less hours than they’ve estimated, then the installers share in the windfall. We charge for those hours, but they get a lot of the windfall that comes back.
Now the other incentive we have is profit sharing. We don’t have maintenance people. Why? Because our installers pick up the trash, dump it, clean the trucks—whatever is required. The other thing our company does not have is job descriptions. Job descriptions are probably one of the biggest downfalls of businesses that I’ve ever seen. And it’s one of the most costly things for unions that I’ve ever seen, everybody saying no, that’s not my job.
Another incentive for installers is to give them what we call cherry jobs. That would be the casinos. You go to work at 3 am and you get off at 8 am, but we charge for eight hours. You work five and get paid for eight.
In the end, attitude is everything. The only difference between a good day and a bad day is attitude. If you’ve got a good attitude, if you like people, it will go a long way in any business.
Q. Should there be a store policy for installation warranties?
A. Offer any guarantee you want. But If the customer has a problem with the job, it should belong to whoever installed it. Retailers and installers should not only want to be there this time, but also when it’s time for replacement.
Retailers today think I’ll hire somebody else to fix it if this installer puts it down wrong. They don’t measure how much damage a bad installation does to the reputation of the store. So it doesn’t make sense to recruit somebody who can’t do the job right.
If I was the retailer I’d be looking the installer over, asking if this is the type of person I want to represent my company. Because that’s exactly what installers do; not only do we install for you, but we physically represent your company. We are your image. And this is what most retailers don’t take into account.
Q. What policies would you have for dealing with a customer on site?
A. It’s important you role play with installers when it comes to interaction with the customer. Ask him how he would answer this question: ‘Is this good carpet?’ Customer always ask the installer that. The retailer has to give the installer direction. Don’t let him take this upon himself, because some will say, ‘You can get a much better deal down the street for a much better price.’
You should also tell the subcontractor that it’s against company policy to solicit other work.
Another thing you might want to set as company policy is that installers are not to use customer bathrooms. You can use them with permission, but I’ve had instances where the customers didn’t appreciate it. We also don’t allow radios in the house. And we don’t allow our installers to use radios with headphones. These are just company policies that would enhance your business and project that your business is more professional than the guy down the street. Retailers also need to request that installers drive an unmarked vehicle.
I think uniforms are important. The uniform says that he’s professional and not temporary. Non-uniformed people project a temporary image to me. So all of these things are very important to look for.
Q. So you not only suggest taking a skills approach to installation, you also suggest a service approach?
A. Absolutely. And this is what retailers should build their businesses on. It’s a perceived value. It’s a one time investment if it’s done right.
I ask myself as an installer, ‘What’s the best way I can win over the retailer?’ If I really wanted to show the retailer that his store was of concern to me, how can I do that? You can’t buy confidence. You have to win it. So by going back and taking care of a vent that wasn’t cut out properly or a seam that might have pulled apart, what better way can you demonstrate to the customer and the retailer that you’re sincerely concerned about that installation? Nobody should look at these installations as just a job. They should be looking for repeat business.
Q. What are the key things that hurt the relationship between the retailer and the installer?
A. Most retailers don’t understand that the installer only has two things to sell. Time and talent. If you waste my time you’re into my pocket. You’re into my money.
Retailers should not expect installers to drive across town to a distributor to pick up products unless they pay them. Or sometimes the retailer schedules a job and the installer gets there and the customer’s not home. Let the installer do the scheduling and estimating. Those two things have to work. Now if the installer is to pick the carpet up at the store, have it ready. Don’t make him sit and wait.