Recently I had a customer email and agree to our price for a project. However, she wanted us to use specific stains and finishes because they were well-marketed by a couple of particular product manufacturers as being very low-VOC and the best thing since sliced bread. In fact, the stains were not made by the water-based finish manufacturer, but by a different manufacturer. I explained to her that this month is exceptionally busy and that given her timeline, we were unwilling to experiment with a new line of products and mix systems. It is risky and voids the chance of a manufacturer warrantying their product. We were going to use our preferred brand of water-based finish with the manufacturer's approved stain. We consistently know there will not be a problem with this system, and the finish is a very good-quality product. I did not hear back from her, even though she had texted me the night before that she was excited to work with us following the estimate. I've written about this before when I wrote a post titled "Chemicals Don't Care."
Recently I had a customer email and agree to our price for a project. However, she wanted us to use specific stains and finishes because they were well-marketed by a couple of particular product manufacturers as being very low-VOC and the best thing since sliced bread. In fact, the stains were not made by the water-based finish manufacturer, but by a different manufacturer. I explained to her that this month is exceptionally busy and that given her timeline, we were unwilling to experiment with a new line of products and mix systems. It is risky and voids the chance of a manufacturer warrantying their product. We were going to use our preferred brand of water-based finish with the manufacturer's approved stain. We consistently know there will not be a problem with this system, and the finish is a very good-quality product. I did not hear back from her, even though she had texted me the night before that she was excited to work with us following the estimate. I've written about this before when I wrote a post titled "Chemicals Don't Care."
This is the NWFA, so I have to be name-free when discussing products, and I will leave out the company names, but I have a message for the product manufacturers that is a very strong message, so if you have thin skin, click to the next link on E-News or the blog. I believe that manufacturers of wood flooring products who market to the homeowner in an attempt to get the homeowner to mandate that the contractor use their product on the homeowner's floors are sellouts to the industry and the trades. Contractors with real experience should sell and deliver the finish system that they prefer and that they know is of good quality. Consistency of quality should trump a 50g/L VOC difference between your preferred product and the homeowner-preferred product. Who's the professional? I hope that the flooring contractors reading this will walk away from jobs in which the homeowner mandates product choices that are not in your comfort range for whatever reason. This is especially important on high-risk jobs with important deadlines. Experiment on small jobs if you want to learn a new finish, but stand your ground if something doesn't feel right.
I have a better message for product manufacturers that want to drive the market by appealing to homeowners: Look up "Pareto's principle."
Using the "spray and pray" principle by marketing to everyone is only good when you do not care about your long-term reputation and the top 20 percent you should care about-the contractor. Understand that we all talk amongst ourselves and look to the manufacturers of products who care about our interests first. We sing the praises of those products and literally sell your product for you when we're at the next distributor barbecue. This is called influence, and it spreads so deep in the wood floor community that my next recommendation is reading "The Tipping Point." Learn about the different personality types and why you should care about "influencers," "mavens," and "connectors" instead of the homeowner, even though they outnumber us.
I hope the audience reading this will understand something: I'm certainly not bitter about losing a job. We have so much work on the books that I'm referring work right now, and I'll let a few go by before I will take a risk that severely impacts my employees or time with my family. I really want all of the contractor readers to stop and take a stand by being the professional in the driver's seat when it comes to product choices. Stay with what works for you, and learn new products slowly and carefully-not at the demands of an Internet-obsessed, pseudo-professional homeowner. Stay cool until next time, and remember, we're all on the same team.
