Complaint Review: Shaw Industries Inc. - Dalton Georgia

I owned a carpet store for many years, and in general my customers were happy.  That is because I was totally honest with them.  There are a lot of variables in carpet, and a buyer who wants something that will last must talk to the carpet seller to make sure they understand what they're buying.  I know it's too late for this consumer, but Never allow your home builder to furnish carpet without your direct involvement.  That  is because of a few issues:

1./ Some carpet fibers are better for endurance than others.  Nylon is the strongest fiber....it will be less likely to mat and underperform.  Second best is polyester. It often looks very much like nylon, so you have to ask what the fiber is.  It's cheaper, cleans a little easier, but is weaker.  The weakest fiber is olefin...it's often used in berbers but there are also cut pile olefins out there.  It's the cheapest fiber, but isn't the strongest.  If you want carpet that lasts, start by looking at nylons.  Another issue is density....carpet that has more face weight is better than carpet that is thin and has less pile.  You should always ask about face weight....there are lots of good guides on the internet to get a better understanding of this factor. The carpet padding also makes a difference in how the carpet looks and lasts.  Cheap, weak pad is going to flatten quickly, and this problem will show as worn areas.

2/ As a store owner, I dealt with builders and I'm sure it doesn't surprise you that their main concern was price.  They wanted something cheap that looked good.  If they were the buyers, I would have to sell them what they wanted. Now let me tell you a fact that few carpet store owners will share with the public.  Some runs of carpet don't turn out exactly right for various reasons and are called "seconds" in the industry.  They are much cheaper because they have an inherent flaw that could show up in different ways (excessive shedding, flattening, off-color problems, etc).  Many builders want Only seconds because of the price point.  Seconds have No Warranty, so people who purchase it are taking a big chance. If it's your builder, he will often pass the buck to the store when the carpet fails. Since there is no warranty, who is supposed to pay for new carpet?  The builder is perfectly happy to blame the store, the store owner has no recourse to call Shaw or anyone else...

3/ The installer isn't at fault for putting in cheap carpeting:  He is paid to install whatever is loaded on his truck, and he won't have a job long if he tells the customer the carpet may be problematical. The owner shouldn't be held responsible for selling a customer what he wants...and if the customer is a builder, you are probably going to get inferior carpet.  Remember that carpet is one of the last items to go into a new home, and often the builder has had budget overruns on other issues in the home.  By the time he gets to the carpet, there is no money in the budget to buy the good stuff.

4/ Bottom line:  get involved if the carpet is going in your house.  Do your homework, go online and get an education about it, go to the carpet store With your builder and get the lowdown.  If you want the good stuff, it will probably cost you more, but it will last.

Steve,

I thank you for your comments on this matter - I will certainly agree that the product chosen may indeed be such junk, that it was doomed for failure.  We certainly feel this way, as we did nothing improper to it, yet it was troubled from our first few months of occupancy.  Unfortunately, the blame does lie in multiple places (and everyone disclaims their own fault).  The builder certainly has the choice not to sell garbage - though so does the distributor, and the manufacturer.  I can't in good conscience find a reason why something so inferior should be sold, as it simply will end up in a landfill in record time.  The carpet manufacturer(s) certainly can't believe they can keep their good name by selling such a low end product.  Ultimately, they bear some to much of the responsibility.

Additionally, the installer is making an active choice as well to install something they know will fail in an unreasonable time frame.  I personally wouldn't want to deal with someone who would take my hard earned money and have no shame about installing which lacks quality and then disclaim all responsibility.  I couldn't in good conscience gamble my money on a second install with them.... the whole fool me once idea.  All I received was a bunch of excuses and how they choose not to install an (even cheaper) grade of carpet for some builders.  I was told they would offer a discount, but at the end of the day, there really wasn't any discount when I shopped around for other quotes to see if there was any way to remove all this junk from our house.  What I really can't fathom is how anything could be much worse than what we have!

All I can say is that the carpet looked pretty much like all the other new carpet of its type, so it was impossible to know just what waited ahead.  This is honestly a complex matter, but I would have hoped  that someone would take at least some responsibility and try to make it even partially right.  So far, we have been blown off completely.  I would heartily welcome even a partial gesture to help make things right.

As a flooring professional for over 40 years, I have seen this happen too many times.  The home builder keeps his costs way down and in a lot of cases, the flooring dealer makes little or no money when a standard product is installed.  I feel bad that your product is not performing and without seeing it, I wonder if the carpet and perhaps the pad are such low end quality that you were doomed from the beginning.  My company refuses to deal with some of the national home building accounts because they use such low grade carpet and pad.  If the home buyer knows their 'standard' carpet comes from us we don't get the chance to ever sell them because of what they've had. 

There is so many things that can contribute to a poor appearance in carpet...perhaps the pad was as cheap as it gets or the install was inferior.  It all starts with what you got with your home as standard.  I sell Shaw products and honestly have much fewer claims with them as compared to any other mill.  Far less!