Give Your Message Time To Be Heard

At the recently held Surfaces show in Las Vegas, neither Shaw nor Mohawk had a significant presence on the showroom floor. No big news there, as they have not participated for several years. While their collective market share is significant, I came away with the impression of both how large and varied our industry is…

When opening my mail this morning, I received a reminder that is worth sharing. I received a hand written note of appreciation from an acquaintance. It was 41 words on a 4 x6 inch card. It likely took one minute to write and cost 44 cents to mail. Not much time and not much money…

A frequent sore spot between sales staff and sales management is caused by management’s desire for higher gross profits, and the sales rep’s wish for the ability to reduce prices to meet the competition. Basically, many employees think that owners are making a fortune, and that they have many perks that others in the company…

With the stroke of a pen in July 2015, former Secretary of Labor Tom Perez issued an “Interpretation” of the test to determine if an individual is an employee or an independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The new interpretation determined that “most workers are employees.” Under this interpretation, independent flooring installers…

Over a year ago, in an issue of the Professional Flooring Dealer, we advised that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA does not just impact a dealer’s physical facilities, such as the need for wheelchair ramps, and enough room between aisles to allow customers to pass, but may also impact your company’s website.  “Does My…

The news from the auto industry in Detroit is better lately. While there are a myriad of factors accounting for this reversal of fortune, I think that there is one resounding lesson that flooring dealers can learn from: duplicity and product sameness are both costly and confusing. Look at the brand reduction that has taken…