Stanton Carpet Corp

My wife selected a fairly expensive "cut velvet" carpet by the manufacturer "Stanton" at a local retailer with whom we had done business several times in the past with positive experiences. My complaint in NOT with the retailer, but with the manufacturer, Stanton Carpets, whose corporate headquarters are located in Syosset, Long Island. Immediately following installation of the product (which was quite expensive and purported to be of very high quality) the product exhibited a number of extremely obvious flaws -- a phenomenon known in the industry as "pooling." The carpet was a dark green floral print, and the "pooling" made it appear as if it had been dusted in large areas over the surface with talcum powder. The retailer inspected the carpet and asked the manufacturer to replace it. They flatly refused, claiming that the problem was not a defect, but a characteristic of the carpet style. Refusing to accept their position, I pursued the matter further -- and they eventually replaced the carpet. In spite of the fact that by their own admission, Stanton Carpets claimed that pooling of a carpet sample was "entirely random" and occurred only once in a hundred installations -- the replacement carpet exhibited the same problem -- to an even greater degree, in fact. My wife decided that she would just "live with it" -- even though nothing would make it look any better. The retailer suggested that the "defect" might improve over time. Friends viewing the carpeting asked what was wrong with it. A close friend who sells high-end homes for a prestigious real estate agency told us that she has seen "cut-velvet" carpeting in many homes, but never with the appearance described. After a little more than two years, I decided to write Stanton Carpets with a complaint stating that this product should not be sold in the first place and that they should offer me a partial refund of the original purchase price of $2050.00 (about $65.00 per yard). I sent the letter via certified mail and have verified with the postal service that it was received. As of today, six weeks later, they have not even had the courtesy to reply in any way. It is not my habit to waste my time composing comments of this length -- but when a company has decided that "customer service" is a phrase that does not apply to them, I believe that my fellow consumers have the right to be forewarned of these realities. And yes, I know that readers might feel that Stanton accommodated us in replacing the carpet once already -- but, trust me, that was only after the submission of incontrovertible evidence of the problem. To replace one defect with another defect only demonstrates that the product is fundamentally flawed, and should not be marketed by this manufacturer in the first place.