January 12, 2011
Free Tack Strip
If your a carpet installer, have you ever wondered why it is that you get the same price per yard for carpet whether or not you have to provide and install the tack strips or not? Years ago there was this thing called loyalty and a lot less competition. We installed the tack strips for free because we knew that when the flooring needed to be replaced or there was another room that needed carpet you could bet that you would be the one to do it, again and again in the future. Now days once you've completed a job you typically will never see that customer again. So why are we still giving away the tack strips for free? You might say They are included in the price, so why not offer a discount if they were left in. I would like to offer to some of my accounts, "How about you supply the tack strips for free and I'll install them for free," that might have been fair 10 years ago. Now tho on even on a wood job i'd be getting the raw end of the stick, considering the cost of time to install them over piss poor concrete, or with cinder blocks hanging out 4 inches into the room . And lets thank all the re-modelers that rip off the perfectly good tack strips because it pokes there fingers and makes their job easier if there removed, meanwhile busting up the cement when there removed and adding even more time to there re-installation. And after all the Carpet Guys love giving away free materials and installations, Right? Now on the other hand I don't mind giving away some free work to good builders/contractors whom I've worked with and can count on more jobs from them in the future, thats the give and take especially if it gets you the whole sweet new construct job. But as far as the rest of them why are we giving them such a break? I mean it costs us time and material at more than $27.00 a box of tack, and additional 2 to 3 hours to put it in, FOR FREE. WTF? Nothing is free, so either I have to pay for it or I have to charge for it. Right? I'm thinking on average an additional $1.00 per yard. is fair. Or how about a $1.00 raise for new tackstrips and a 50 cent discount if there left down for me to reuse. And hey, I'm not trying to make a profit, I'm just trying to cover my expenses. And Thats Fair.
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interesting how if you get a chance to talk to a flooring rep, they will try to fill you with the how devastated the flooring industry is now but you need to remember they were the ones raking it in over the last 2 decades(since Carter). So I'm not inclined to feel sorry for them. I saw pad prices get slashed right at the beginning of this recession, so that just goes to prove that parts of the industry was gouging the public with over priced products, Now I see the industry pushing yet another price increase after February. When is the last time we raised our prices? 10 years im thinking on most even longer on other installations like vinyl.
ReplyDeleteNow these price increases have a direct influence on the amount of sticker shock our customers experience before even choosing an installer.
Has anyone noticed how the quality of carpet has bottomed out. Some of the rugs I've installed in the last year have given me sticker shock. $29.99 that you could swear you would have paid $5.99 a few years ago. I think the industry is ripe for an Asian take over. and can anyone tell me why we don't make carpet out of cotton and jute? or other natural materials. people would pay more for a natural carpet Vs chemically extracted polymers that leach BPA into our homes and eventually into our families. we are all going organic when it comes to the food we ingest what about the homes in which we live.
ReplyDeleteWe continue to persevere in this recession only to hear we may be slipping into a recession again? Hello we never left! At least I can say work has been better and I hope this trend continues but id have to say the return of new construction and commercial jobs would sure help. What dosent help is when prices and materials continue to go up and installation pricing has flat lined. hard to believe that most of the customers now have no problem spending more on the pad then installation?. And thats just where the gouging begins so by the time they talk installation the sticker shock has set in. A good installation is more important then the pad.
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