I just wanted to tell you the story of why I decided to sell flooring for a living. The answer is a complex one as I never thought I would end up owning a flooring store. Quality Carpet One has been in our family for over 43 years now, started in 1969 by my grandfather, Bill Berlin (I'll from now on refer to him as "Pop-Pop" in my story because my father is also Bill, but has a different middle name). I don't remember much of my grandfather because he died when I was very young, and what I remember of him I've heard doesn't touch the surface of the kind of man he was. My father told me that Pop-Pop always amazed him because he really didn't know that much about flooring, but would sit down and start having a conversation and before the conversation was over, he'd be writing an order. Funny thing is, they never talked about the carpet at all.
Now, I've always tried to keep myself up on the newest latest and greatest the floor covering industry has to offer, but there is something to be said about how my grandfather used to sell. The truth is, he was never selling so much a product as he was himself. He would give the customers a personalized one-on-one experience. I personally think that's what lacking in society. You can't hardly go anywhere now where you're not treated as just another customer. Where do you go to get that one-on-one experience today. This leads me back to the question at hand, "Why do I sell flooring...."
An interesting fact about myself is that I actually never intended to go into the family business. It was never pushed onto me by my father. He never stressed upon it because he wanted me to do what I wanted with my life and not feel like I had to follow in his footsteps. I started going to college seeking an engineering degree. I wanted to design cars for the best and greatest in Detroit. During that time to make money, my father hired me to do measurements and sales and computer stuff. Now, I had always made a few extra dollars over the summers coming up every once in a while to straighten the store up, roll remnants in the back, even help out the installers on jobs when needed. It never clicked with me how much I enjoyed it until I started working for real part-time. Working side-by-side with my father and seeing him treat every customer like they were his family was amazing to me. It blew my mind because my father had an amazing ability to remember EVERYONE'S name. And I mean everyone. If they were a return customer, he would call them by their name and tell them "Hi" usually followed up with a hug or firm handshake. He could even tell you almost every time what that customer had ordered last, even if it was years ago. That was not something I could ever do being an engineer.
Because of this legacy in the store, I decided right then and there that I wanted to continue this legacy. What could be better than taking over the family business? Seeing how so many other stores have gone out of business over the years, it must mean that there is something very special about owning Quality Carpet Shop (Which has joined the largest flooring co-op in the world and now goes by Quality Carpet One.) I wanted to be a part in that magic and hopefully, if I'm lucky, keep this legacy going for another 43 years.
Now, I've always tried to keep myself up on the newest latest and greatest the floor covering industry has to offer, but there is something to be said about how my grandfather used to sell. The truth is, he was never selling so much a product as he was himself. He would give the customers a personalized one-on-one experience. I personally think that's what lacking in society. You can't hardly go anywhere now where you're not treated as just another customer. Where do you go to get that one-on-one experience today. This leads me back to the question at hand, "Why do I sell flooring...."
