Are you on the fence about using a big box store over a local flooring company – like Creative Floors? We understand. Their low and “bargain” prices are compelling. But, when it comes to flooring that can last a lifetime, you absolutely get what you pay for.
4 Reasons To Choose Creative Floors Over Big Box Brands
There are several reasons why you’ll never regret choosing Creative Floors instead of a big box brand for your flooring needs, but we’ll focus on four of the most significant:
1. They Don’t Always Know What They’re Doing
One of the top characteristics of the best flooring companies in Florida is the ability to work with specialists with decades of experience.
The employees who work at big box home improvement stores rarely have anywhere near the experience level you’ll find when you work with the flooring design specialists at Creative Floors. They’ve never worked with flooring materials before getting hired by the store and, therefore, have zero field experience.
They’re trained in flooring basics and how to input black-and-white data into pre-programmed flooring software. Once they enter the flooring measurements into their computer system, the rest of the order is processed far away in a warehouse—without any personal attention to the order or material condition.
This results in a myriad of mistakes that lead to some of the most common complaints associated with big box flooring jobs. That leads to the next point about the downside of using big box stores for your flooring needs.
2. Increased Risk of Flooring Fails
There is a reason why the flooring professionals at Creative Floors spend so much time with our clients before the final selections and layout schematics are made – including scheduling in-home appointments: we avoid flooring fails.
When you go into a big box store and browse flooring selections, you become part of the “median” rather than an extra-special customer. Other than a few general questions, the flooring department representatives don’t take the time to get to know more about:
- Your lifestyle
- Whether you have pets and/or small children in the house
- Whether you or your guests wear shoes in the house
- The colors and daylight exposure in the living area where the flooring is located.
- And so on
As a result, you can wind up “saving money,” only to find it’s not the right flooring for the application or the space’s interior design.
Other common complaints from customers who’ve purchased flooring from big box stores include:
- Lack of access to higher-quality flooring options – the best flooring lines don’t put their products in big box stores because they don’t trust that their buyers will be satisfied with the service – and that reflects back on them.
- Looking at bad/different samples so what you get in the shipment doesn’t match what you saw or brought home from the store.
- Receiving damaged flooring materials.
- Getting materials that are from different dye or pattern lots, so the flooring layout and overall effect suffers.
- Flooring that doesn’t perform or hold up as advertised, so they have to start all over or replace it far sooner than expected.
- Lack of selection. At creative Floors, instead of two isles of flooring productions, we have two 10 thousand square foot showrooms with options in every style and budget to suit your needs and style!
We could go on and on about the nightmare stories we’ve heard when clients come to us after making the mistake of trying the big box route first.
3. Big Box = Horrible Customer Service: No Responses, No Callbacks, No Resolution
The customer service and warranties available from big-box flooring vendors pale in comparison to what you get when you partner with Creative Floors. Corporate entities own those stores, and they are not personally connected to or attached to customer satisfaction at the individual level.
As a result, buyers often find themselves left in the lurch without any responses, callbacks, or resolutions when they try to address any of the flooring fails listed above.
Here at Creative Floors, customer service and satisfaction are the cornerstones of our business. We’ve served Orlando-area homeowners for more than 25 years and are proud of what that longevity symbolizes.
Our high-quality customer service, products, and installation have all been synthesized to create a satisfied clientele.
4. Third-Party Installers Can’t Fix Defective Products
Purchasing flooring from a big box store means you’re on your own for the installation. Yes, third-party “preferred” installers are available, but they’re independent contractors. This means they have no connection with the distributor or manufacturer.
Even the best installers in the world can’t facilitate a perfect flooring installation if there are damaged or irregular products in the delivery. Now, you’re on the hook, having to deal with your big box rep, the flooring manufacturers, and the installer—creating a logistical nightmare.
Visit a Creative Floors Showroom Before Committing To Big Box Regrets
Do yourself a favor and visit one of our Creative Flooring showrooms – or schedule a no-obligatoin in-home consultation – before finalizing any orders at a Big Box store.
You’ll have the opportunity to view higher-quality flooring options and realistic, large samples that your able to borrow and take home and work with highly experienced flooring and design experts who are dedicated to your customer experience. You’ll see why going with Creative Flooring is the only way to go.
