Keeping your expectations in check....what did you pay for and what should you expect

Imperfections in Hardwood and Natural Stone flooring

 

Because of the downturn in the economy over the past few years and the slow recovery, consumers have become much more focused on quality and are holding contractors more responsible.  This is understandable given the landscape of competition but there are times when expectations become unrealistic.  At B & R Hardwood and Tile, we work with many products of nature.  Perfection is not a realistic expectation, when working with nature made materials like wood and natural stone.  Customers need to expect imperfections and character marks in natural products and need to understand what the characteristics of the products are before they purchase them.   Often customers call with concerns about worm holes, mineral deposits, growth rings, checks, and character marks that are inherit in the wood or tile.  Customers want boards or tiles removed and replaced after the flooring is installed and don’t understand that the product they purchased has these characteristics as part of their natural beauty.   Removing boards and tiles for things that are part of the product characteristic is not reasonable and customers should understand that it disrupts the integrity of the floor and that it comes at an additional cost to them.  If customers want perfection, they should consider buying a man- made product.  If they opt to continue on with natural products expecting perfection, customers need to purchase extra product and plan on additional labor costs so that materials can be hand selected.  Contractors cannot be expected to achieve perfection with imperfect products of nature nor should they be expected to bear additional costs for hand selecting and installing “perfect” natural materials.

If you tend to like things to be perfect, make sure you understand your product and have detailed conversations with your contractor.  Don’t be surprised if some contractors walk away because they feel that they cannot meet your criteria.  At B & R Hardwood and Tile, we strive to provide wonderful products and services for our customers.     We educate customers on our products and services and we work to meet customers’ expectations within reason.  We want to keep our customers happy and we want them to have realistic expectations of what to expect from beautiful products of nature.

Contact Kurt at 612-644-8779 or check us out on the web at www.brflooring.biz