Flooring Expo

completed 3 rooms in 6 hrs. not satisfied with seams.

Installer arrived. Job could not be completed in the manner that was quoted on my invoice. Discussions with the owner did not focus on creatively exploring the options for altering the original plan. The owner raised voice with me on phone and said rude things. I told him I was sick and could not be treated that way. He continued to raise his voice on phone. I told him to please calm down and he could not. I want him to refund my deposit and take away the flooring materials. He refused. He also lied and told me that I threatened to call the police when I asked his installers to leave.

Quality of Installation and Follow-Up Ruined Everything.

Our salesperson, Rob, was friendly and helpful the day we bought the carpet for an empty rental unit with a tenant moving in the following week. The carpet we selected was a Stainmaster, and did not appear to be of 'cheap' quality. Likewise it was not presented to us as cheap or low-end, and we could have spent FAR less if we had chosen a big box route or other discount house. Rob did encourage us to purchase a different style, that he said was higher quality, and could offer for a slightly lower price, but the only color it was available in did not appeal to us. The carpet was ordered and scheduled for installation in a timely manner.

I was not happy with the installation. There was a rough cut around a door, a bubble by the fireplace, an obvious seam (not all
the way across the room, but obvious in a portion of it), and worst of all, dozens of rock-hard lumps underneath the carpet (I had personally removed the old carpet and invited a couple of friends to spend a few hours pulling every last staple out of the entire area). It was a clean floor for installation by my own personal sweat equity (and a couple of friends).

When we discussed the installation by phone, he seemed to want to explain away each item, and saying that the lumps under the carpet would work themselves away over time. If I stopped into the shop, he would show me an example of pad like this. I told him I have been walking on carpet for 50 years and have never experienced lumps like this, on any old or new carpet. It was unacceptable.

On Saturday I went out to his shop so he could show me how the pad with lumps was normal. The pad he showed me was clearly not the rock-hard lumps I was walking on after the install. This is where it went off the rails. Without having visited to look at the installation issues personally, he escalated to a shouting match, called me a liar, shouted at me that my wife and I picked out the cheapest piece of carpet in the store, and said all he was hearing was buyer's remorse because we chose a cheap carpet. An example of a few exact quotes he SHOUTED AT ME from this conversation (which I'll never forget):
"MY INSTALLER SAID YOU SIGNED OFF ON THE INSTALLATION AND THAT EVERYTHING LOOKED GOOD. IS HE LYING TO ME OR ARE YOU?"
(the installer wasn't finished when I wrote the check in good faith, and I told both the installer that day, AND Rob on the phone that I would get back to him once we had inspected the finished job).
"YOU AND YOUR WIFE PICKED OUT THE CHEAPEST #%$@&* CARPET IN THE PLACE."
(again, I expressed no issue with the quality of the carpet itself, only the installation problems).
"ALL I'M HEARING IS BUYER'S REMORSE FOR PICKING THE CHEAPEST CARPET YOU COULD FIND."
(see above - we didn't express any problem whatsoever with the carpet, but now I sure felt like I was sold a dud).

This was the worst experience in my entire life of consumer transactions. I walked out of the store and on the way home I texted him a request to kindly send me the name of the store owner, to which he replied with his own name.

He came out with the installer on Monday morning with an apology saying there was a personal issue he was dealing with that caused his outburst, and that he had filed a claim with the pad manufacturer who agreed to pay for some rework. He offered $250 to let it go, and I told him all I wanted was a solid carpet installation for my tenant, and if they could resolve the issues I didn't care about the money. They replaced the pad under the carpet in the hallway, which seemed to resolve the lumps there, but would not do the larger bedrooms which also had lumps, because the tenant had already moved their bedroom sets into the rooms. They did pay some attention to the bubble, rough-cut, and seam issues and they all appeared to be better than before. I left for my job while the installer got busy on the rework, and there was no follow-up from Rob or the shop after that.

It was a bad, bad experience to go through. I don't feel I received good value, especially after being shouted at how cheap the carpet I picked was, and having my wife drawn into the shouting match. Can't recommend this shop to anyone.

unknown

They were willing to work within my tight schedule.

.

Very happy with our experience with Flooring Expo. Feel we got a good price compared to comparable carpet at other shops. Rob was good about working with us when we needed the job divided up before and after Christmas. His installer was prompt and installed the carpet quickly and cleaned up. We moved furniture and removed carpet ourselves to save some money. We would use Flooring Expo again.

.

.

They pulled a bait and switch. They gave me a quote for the work, but I found out only afterwards that they did not include the hauling away of trash as part of their estimate. They also initially refused to remove a railing to install carpet under it, and insisted on cutting the carpet around the thin spokes of the railing, something no one else has done before. The spokes on the railings rattle now because they did not put them back in properly. They also offered a warranty only for carpeting that was installed with padding under it, but didn't put padding under an area of that carpet that might easily get damaged. When they were scraping the floor, they gathered the staples on the scraper and gouged the maple flooring. When I talked to the owner about it, he called me a drama queen. He also threatened to stop the work until I agreed to let them use gray filler for the damaged wooden floor. They also would not repair the damages properly until I signed an agreement saying that I was happy with the work. They also initally refused to use a stretcher and told me that it was because it would damage the carpet. They also cut through the wires set up under the carpet for my surround sound system as well a computer network cable when they were tacking the edges of the carpet.

After getting several quotes from other businesses that I have worked with previously, I called Flooring Expo on the recommendation of a friend.  They were extremely prompt and helpful, providing me with a measure and quote, right away.  I was so surprised, their quote was the cheapest!!  I really didn't think that anyone could beat the prices of my favorite contractors. When it came time for the installation, I thought, now I will find out where they cut corners.  However, it was just the opposite.  They were able to get me into their schedule, sooner than they originally indicated, which I greatly appreciated.  They were thorough and professional.  Instead of trying to "cheat" me on the closets, they gladly installed carpet in the closets, unlike other contractors that I have worked with previously.  The quality of the product was better than I expected, and this was my favorite part:  They actually vacuumed after the install!!  I have a lot of rental units and go through a lot of carpeting, but I never had an install, where the installers cared enough to "clean up" when they were done.  What a terrific job, I was so impressed.  I would HIGHLY recommend giving Flooring Expo in North Olmsted, a try!

They were good. Their prices are excellent. I rate them high overall.

I was very satisfied with the selection, prices, and service at Flooring Expo. The sales staff and installation crew were very competent and responsive. I would recommend Flooring Expo.

They were very professional, worked quickly and overall I am very happy.

unknown

The installers were nice and accommodating. The salesman was informative but not pushy. They let us take samples home for as long as we wanted. They brought the wrong size carpet for the steps the first time, but they had the problem fixed within a week.

They were very helpful and very good and honest. My brother has used them for 20 years and he is hard to please and using them exclusive.

THE SALESMAN (LOU) WAS VERY HELPFUL, PROFESSIONAL, AND GOOD TO WORK WITH. THE SCHEDULER (FRAN) WAS VERY FRIENDLY AND HELPFUL. UNFORTUNATELY, THE INSTALLATION DID NOT GO WELL. I HAD TO HAVE THE BASEBOARDS AND SECTIONS OF THE WALLS IN THAT ROOM COMPLETELY REPAINTED DUE TO SIGNIFICANT SCRATCH MARKS AND SCUFFS. ALSO HAD TO HAVE THE RISERS NEXT TO THE STEPS COMPLETELY REPAINTED. HAD LARGE PORTIONS OF THE STAIRWELL WALLS REPAINTED DUE TO SCUFF MARKS AND HAND PRINTS.

CHECK THE BBB. THERE HAVE BEEN 3 REPORTS IN THE LAST 12 MONTHS. I WISH I WOULD'VE DONE A BETTER SEARCH! I LITERALLY GOT INTO A SCREAMING MATCH WITH THE OWNER. I COULDN'T EVEN TALK TO THE GUY, HE KEPT TALKING OVER ME. HE WOULD NOT COME TO OUR HOME TO VIEW THE ISSUES. I OFFERED TO MEET HIM AT HIS STORE, HE STILL REFUSED. MY BIGGEST BEEF IS THAT THE SALES PERSON MISREPRESENTED THE PRODUCT. MY HUSBAND AND I WERE VERY CLEAR ABOUT OUR NEEDS. NO SWEEPER MARKS, NO FOOT PRINTS, AND WE HAVE MANY ANIMALS. THE SALES REP LAID THE CARPET SAMPLE IN FRONT OF US, RAN THEIR SWEEPER OVER IT, STEPPED ON IT AND NO MARKS! BUT THE CARPET DOES SHOW ALL THE FOOT PRINTS, ALL THE SWEEPER MARKS, AND ALL THE PAW PRINTS OF OUR DOG AND CATS. OUR OTHER CONCERN WAS THAT THERE WOULD BE A SEAM INFRONT OF OUR OFFICE DOOR, HE TOLD US IT WOULD BE VIRTUALLY INVISIBLE. NOT TRUE! ARG! I HAVE NEVER SUBMITTED A REPORT LIKE THIS. PLEASE BEWARE!

WE DIDN'T ENJOY DEALING WITH THE OWNER OF THIS COMPANY - ROB. HE WAS NOT AT ALL EASY TO WORK WITH, AND WE WOULDN'T USE THEM AGAIN.

unknown

THE INSTALLER, JOSEPH, SEEMED TO HAVE MANY SIDE JOBS SO HE DIDN`T STICK TO A SET TIME. BUT THE FLOOR LOOKS GREAT! SO IF YOU DON`T MIND STAYING AROUND THE HOUSE FOR HIM TO SHOW UP; YOU`LL BE VERY PLEASED.

VINYL INSTALLATION WAS EXCELLENT, BUT THEY CUT THROUGH OUR SECURITY SYSTEM WIRES. NO SEAMS, NO EXCESS ADHESIVE. A FAIR AMOUNT OF SAWDUST LEFT BEHIND. GOOD OVERALL.

unknown