Hi. sssSo....this is blogging.....yep....ahem-
Okay, I don't have a clue, alright? I'm just a guy from Florida who has been selling flooring down here for a really long time. As part of a revamp of my company's marketing I became aware that we had better get hopping on the whole social media thing. Five months later we have a new(er) website,and I have a twitter account with like ten followers, and a somewhat disturbing personal addiction to Facebook. So now I'm going through with my promise to get a blog up and running. How does this usually go anyway? A couple of milk toast blogs that do a sorry job telling about how awesome your company is, then maybe another four months later another blog gets posted and then pfft. nothing.
Not me, no sir, not-gonna-happen. Why am I so confident that I won't quickly drop my blogging efforts as well? Two words - Narcissism, Cash. You see it has been clear to me for quite some time that I am the funniest person in the room. Now I finally have the opportunity to finally prove that; prove it to my wife, to my friends, my co-workers, my loose acquaintances, that dude from that time at the Christmas party. Plus there is money on it, so this is a done deal.
Okay brass tacks time. What am I going to talk about that will hopefully be so engaging and entertaining? Flooring. Specifically, Flooring in Florida. Yes, if my job was being a driver for Lady Gaga this would likely be a lot easier. You work with what you got.
What's my angle? Like I said, I work for a retail flooring company in the Tampa Bay area, so ultimately I would like someone near one of our stores to read it, like it, and come in and buy something from us. I hereby promise that this blog will not be a pitchathon for our company. NO SELLING, for real. There is nothing more irritating, we get that. Sure, I feel we do a lot of things right and that is going to color what I put down here, but it is my primary goal to be your new friend in the flooring business. Someone for you to turn to for information, advice, resources, etc. on buying floors. I am the first person to admit, the flooring industry has it's share of shady dealers, hard closers, bait and switchers, and all the rest of that; but were not like that. -No really. You see, our company was founded 21 years ago by J.D. Manning. J.D. was a simple man and he had a simple philosophy, "Make 'em a fair deal and move on". He never allowed any "shenanigans" in his operation and he prided himself on his low overhead, high volume approach. I can remember going in early to find him auditing salepeople's transactions. He found a couple where he felt we charged too much - he called each customer that morning and apologized to them and mailed each a refund check. He then suspended the salesperson who had the audacity to make him too much money. I can remember thinking to myself, this is retail Heaven, I'm never leaving.
Here's what I'm going do. First, I'm going to show you all of the tricks of the trade, ALL OF THEM. We shoot straight (I sometimes wonder if we are the only ones left) so it doesn't hurt us to give you a heads up on what to watch out for. I'm gonna break them down for you and tell you how to work it to your advantage. Second, I'm going to help you find the right floors for where you live, and how you live your life. Florida has a very hot, humid climate, and our slabs are the laughing stock of the country. Unfortunately, the state is also filled with national chain carpet baggers that are totally unfamiliar with Florida's flooring "issues"; they are going to sell you the same flooring they are selling in Wisconsin. Don't believe me? Go down to your nearest wood dealer that is good at liquidating inventory- any will do. Take their advice and buy the 5/16" solid floor that they will tell you you can glue down to your slab. Go ahead and glue it down. Touch base in a couple of months, tell me how the floors are doing - maybe you could send some pictures, they are always too funny. I will always try to recommend the right floor, from the right manufacturer, for your specific needs. If I don't, call me out on it, that's what blogging is all about right? Lastly, I want to be a resource you can turn to for anything flooring related. You need advice on dirty grout, or a yellow mustard stain that won't come out of your carpet. Shoot me a note and I will give you an answer, or if I can't I know the right people who can.
I'm actually looking forward to this, how weird is that? Look for my first real post in the coming couple of weeks, drop me a note if you have a subject to suggest - I'll likely do what ever I want, but you never know.
P-
Not me, no sir, not-gonna-happen. Why am I so confident that I won't quickly drop my blogging efforts as well? Two words - Narcissism, Cash. You see it has been clear to me for quite some time that I am the funniest person in the room. Now I finally have the opportunity to finally prove that; prove it to my wife, to my friends, my co-workers, my loose acquaintances, that dude from that time at the Christmas party. Plus there is money on it, so this is a done deal.
Okay brass tacks time. What am I going to talk about that will hopefully be so engaging and entertaining? Flooring. Specifically, Flooring in Florida. Yes, if my job was being a driver for Lady Gaga this would likely be a lot easier. You work with what you got.
What's my angle? Like I said, I work for a retail flooring company in the Tampa Bay area, so ultimately I would like someone near one of our stores to read it, like it, and come in and buy something from us. I hereby promise that this blog will not be a pitchathon for our company. NO SELLING, for real. There is nothing more irritating, we get that. Sure, I feel we do a lot of things right and that is going to color what I put down here, but it is my primary goal to be your new friend in the flooring business. Someone for you to turn to for information, advice, resources, etc. on buying floors. I am the first person to admit, the flooring industry has it's share of shady dealers, hard closers, bait and switchers, and all the rest of that; but were not like that. -No really. You see, our company was founded 21 years ago by J.D. Manning. J.D. was a simple man and he had a simple philosophy, "Make 'em a fair deal and move on". He never allowed any "shenanigans" in his operation and he prided himself on his low overhead, high volume approach. I can remember going in early to find him auditing salepeople's transactions. He found a couple where he felt we charged too much - he called each customer that morning and apologized to them and mailed each a refund check. He then suspended the salesperson who had the audacity to make him too much money. I can remember thinking to myself, this is retail Heaven, I'm never leaving.
Here's what I'm going do. First, I'm going to show you all of the tricks of the trade, ALL OF THEM. We shoot straight (I sometimes wonder if we are the only ones left) so it doesn't hurt us to give you a heads up on what to watch out for. I'm gonna break them down for you and tell you how to work it to your advantage. Second, I'm going to help you find the right floors for where you live, and how you live your life. Florida has a very hot, humid climate, and our slabs are the laughing stock of the country. Unfortunately, the state is also filled with national chain carpet baggers that are totally unfamiliar with Florida's flooring "issues"; they are going to sell you the same flooring they are selling in Wisconsin. Don't believe me? Go down to your nearest wood dealer that is good at liquidating inventory- any will do. Take their advice and buy the 5/16" solid floor that they will tell you you can glue down to your slab. Go ahead and glue it down. Touch base in a couple of months, tell me how the floors are doing - maybe you could send some pictures, they are always too funny. I will always try to recommend the right floor, from the right manufacturer, for your specific needs. If I don't, call me out on it, that's what blogging is all about right? Lastly, I want to be a resource you can turn to for anything flooring related. You need advice on dirty grout, or a yellow mustard stain that won't come out of your carpet. Shoot me a note and I will give you an answer, or if I can't I know the right people who can.
I'm actually looking forward to this, how weird is that? Look for my first real post in the coming couple of weeks, drop me a note if you have a subject to suggest - I'll likely do what ever I want, but you never know.
P-
