Stainmaster and Shaw Carpet Cushion (Padding)

Much has been written about the importance of quality carpet cushion. Good or better carpet padding provides both acoustical and insulative properties as well as adding longevity to your carpet investment. Some carpet cushions will go a step or 2 farther by increasing your carpet manufacturer's warranty.

Stainmaster carpet cushion (when used under stainmaster carpet) will add years to the Stainmaster carpet wear warranty. It will add 3 years wear protection to carpets made of Stainmaster nylon and 5 years to the wear warranty of carpets made of Stainmaster Ultralife nylon.

Shaw Industries produces 2 exceptional carpet cushions. Premium Touch 6lb carpet cushion and Ultimate Touch 8lb carpet cushion. If you use either of these carpet pads under a Shaw residential carpet, Shaw Industries will double (that's double) the wear warranty of that particular carpet. Shaw apparrently has great condidence in both their carpet and carpet cushion.

Carpet cushion by both manufacturers are available at American Carpet Wholesalers. When purchasing carpet, be sure to ask about these carpet life saving paddings.

INC Magazine Recognition

For the second year in a row, INC magazine has recognized American Carpet Wholesalers of Georgia as one of the fastest growing companies in America. Last year we were number 4060 on a list of 5000 and this year we improved our market position by coming in at 3489 on the list.

With so many bankruptcies and company failures, how did we manage to not only stay on the list, but also improve our ranking. It is the attitude of our team members. They believe without question that our company is the best. It is our customers who have given us such great customer reviews and recommended our company to family and friends. It is offering a great value on name brand floors at a time when getting the most for your dollar is important. It is our suppliers who have continued to support us. It is all of these things and more that helps this company continue to thrive and outpace the competition.

Last year we were honored to be named to list. This year we are honored, humbled, and very thankful for the recognition. It would not be possible without great team members. Congratulations belong to them.

Questions about Carpet Brands and Styles

Some customers get confused when shopping locally at local home centers and at different retails stores on mill labels:

Karen S. of Sioux City, IA wrote:

I'm looking to carpet 3 bedrooms in my home. I found a great color at a local home center (name omitted) and at another(name omitted), It had the same manufacturer's name but the pattern names were different. I know it was the same because the color was so unique. Why were the names different and why can't I find either on your site?

Karen S------

Hello Karen,

The manufacturers do this so as to give each dealer a unique product to prevent price wars and protect the profit margin of not just the home centers but also of the retail flooring stores that do battle daily with the big box stores in your area. It is understandable from a cost of inventory standpoint of the manufacturers. They use a master inventory number for the product and when an order is placed, simply label it for the ordering stores sample name. It is a common practice and all mills do it. From a consumers standpoint, it hinders comparison shopping. This is referred to as a "Private Label".

Why can't you find it on our site? It's probably there or on one of our price lists, but as the name assigned to our account. Usually, but not always, there is nothing unique about the carpet. Manufacturing specifications of a carpet are limited. With enough specifications and our experience in dealing with carpet, we can usually identify it as one of our products and provide you with a competitive price quote.

I hope I have cleared up some of the confusion and I our staff is available to try indentify the carpet and give you the best deal for your money.

Regards,

Jerry Bryson
ACWG, Inc.

It was July - So what happened?

For as long as I can remember, July has been the worst month of the year for floor covering sales. "It's July, you may as well take a vacation," was the phrase most oft used in our industry. In years before the whole town of Dalton, GA shut down. Restaurants, dry cleaners, tire dealers, it did not matter. The whole town was on vacation. There are over 100 carpet outlets here, and the majority closed for the week of July 4th. Sales were miserable and the state of the economy was not a factor.

Dalton Georgia Carpet Outlets have long been famous for floor covering discounts and wholesale carpet prices. So famous in fact that "The Today Show" broadcast live from the area as the place to buy floor coverings. People would drive from 100's of miles away to buy floor covering. But not in July.

Normally when the calender shows July 1, I go into a state of depression. There are only meager sales but the overhead keeps on rolling. This year was no different July came and I made adjustments to expenses to try and minimize the pain. But wait, the first week was good and then the second week was OK. The third week was great and so was the fourth. This was something I had never witnessed, a great month of July! In fact I had to go back 2 years to find any month that American Carpet Wholesalers had more sales. So what happened to make July 2008 such a great month?

Nothing really stands out. No single product really stood out as the reason. No extra large sales. I spent less on advertising. The only thing I see at present is we had a tremendous amount of customer referrals, which relates directly to my previous post about customer reviews and doing the right thing.

Accolades must be given to our whole team. Sales, customer relations and order fulfillment. I have previously stated our team was the best and this just reaffirms my belief. Needless to say, I am a happy camper and so are my creditors!

Don't Be Afraid of Customer Reviews

........... unless you have something to be afraid of.

A customer review system is the single most important way to improve any business. We love to know when we have fulfilled an order in such a way that the customer wants to tell the world. Be it good or bad. We have two separate independent review portals that give us a good barometer of what kind of shopping experience our customers had. On one, our satisfaction rating is 4.6 out of 5 ,and the other it is 4.8 out of 5. I will not be happy until they are both 5 out of 5.

I do not have time to respond to each and every one of them, but I do respond to negative feedback. Not to make excuses, but to make the customer believe we appreciate the feedback and to promise we will do better. We have kept those promises. Since our last negative feedback we have raised those scores from 4.3 out 5 and 4.5 out of 5 respectively. I am proud of my crew that is in charge of maintaining our customer relations. They are Monica Cunningham, LeAnda Seay, Shirin Rana, and Tammy Anderson.

Improving those scores was not just a simple matter of delivering the order on time. It involves staying in touch with the customer all thru the order process. Let them know if there will be any delays, what day to expect the delivery, and make them aware of what to expect and what to do in case there is a problem. One customer gave us a 4 out of 5 for one simple correctable reason. She got the order a day early than she anticipated, she saved a lot of money, the product was beautiful in her home, so what was the reason? We failed to notify her that the order was shipped and it caught her not prepared to receive the order. We acknowledged our shortcomings and promised to do better. She has since placed another order and this time we received a 5 out of 5 from her.

We are not a perfect company. Our team is made up of human beings, computers, and third party vendors and transportation companies. We do our best to keep orders from falling thru the cracks. But when one does, we try to identify the crack and seal it.

Sometimes it hurts the bottom line to do what is right. but as a service company, if we or any other company are not prepared or willing to service a customer's needs, there will soon not be any customers to service.

Quick-Step Laminate Rebates

I almost forgot to post info on the Quick Step Laminate Flooring promotion going on July 1st thru September 30. Consumers get from $100 - $150 via mail in rebate directly from Quick Step depending on the floor you choose. A purchase of Quick Step Elegance, Quick Step Eligna, Quick Step Classic Elite, or Quick Step Classic will get you $100 from Quick-Step. A purchase of Quick Step Arte, Quick Step Perspective, Quick Step Linesse or Quick Step Quadra will get you $150. Certain restrictions apply and a minimum purchase 0f 300 sq ft is required.

A great promotion for a great laminate floor.

Laminate Flooring. Is one brand better?

At ACWG, we offer laminate flooring from all the most recognizable names. Quick Step Laminate Floors, Pergo Laminate Floors, Mohawk Laminate Floors, Shaw Laminate Floors, and Mannington Laminate Floors are our best sellers and most widely known. But recently we have seen strong sales of Berry Floor Laminate, Alloc Laminate Floors, and Tarkett Laminate Floors with their new product line.

For me to make a determination as to which brand is better or identify a single product that is better will take quite a bit of thought. The obvious answer I would want to give as a retailer would be the brand that I sell the most of, which is Quick Step Laminate. But our sales are strong for Berry Floor, Mohawk Laminate Floors, and Alloc Laminates in that order. I am sure that our sales for Shaw Laminates would be as strong as the others, but we are not allowed to show our best price on our site.

Depending on what you're looking for in a new floor also determines which is better. For the realistic look of a real wood floor, I think that Quick Step, Berry Floor, and Tarkett have that market cornered. For commercial use, most brands have an answer but I would choose Alloc. After all, commercial laminate has been in their offerings from day one and some of their residential lines have commercial warranties. For cost conscious residential applications all brands have one in their line. We align ourselves in this area to Quick Step's "Steps 700" and "Classic 800" because the variety of colors and species look in those lines.

Scratch resistance, cleanabilty, and wear resistance are characteristics of just about all brands of laminate floors because of the nature of construction. We have sold millions of square feet of laminate flooring and the rate of product failure for those reasons have been miniscule. Failure from moisture is a different situation. Most laminates are susceptible, while some brands tout moisture resistant on some products but limit warranty on moisture. Laminate flooring in bathrooms is not a good idea.

These are strictly my opinions based on our sales and claims experience. I am sure there will wide and varied opinons depending on who you ask. Laminate floors in general is one of the best floors on the market and will give you years of service.