Business Profile: Carpet One

Carpet One owner looks to adapt to customers’ changing needs

Carpet One owner, Mike Trittler, stands in front of tile samples at his store.

Mike Trittler is interested in two things: selling environmentally-friendly products and being up-front with his customers.

Many nylon carpets are being recycled, just as other flooring is being made from renewable resources. It’s all part of keeping up with trends, the owner of Carpet One Floor and Home in Columbia said.

Trittler, who started working part time at Carpet One in the 1960s and became owner in 1988, said the company’s survival and success over the past 40 years is due to a state of continuous learning on the part of his employees, a diversity of products and a willingness to change focus.

One example is the “green room,” which opened in June. The area features samples of environmentally-friendly and natural products, such as bamboo for flooring. There is also a display of exotic hardwoods. Like bamboo, the woods are harder than red oak because of the slower growth. Scott Bradley, vice president and general manager, said the wood is not stained and the natural grain and color shows.

Scott Bradley, vice president of Carpet One, goes over a price sheet with Jack and Debbie Morgan.

As a member of the Carpet One Floor and Home Cooperative, Trittler said they decide collectively which vendors to use.

“We order from enviro-sensitive companies. It’s not like they’re cutting down the rainforest,” Trittler said.

They expect to see a rise in popularity of wool, because unlike other carpeting, it’s not petroleum-based.  The increase in oil prices also is most likely behind the large increase in requests for hardwood within the last year, Trittler said.

“Wool is the truest environmentally friendly carpet on the market now,” Bradley said.

Wool carpet “improves air quality by absorbing common contaminants in indoor air,” and “wool carpet fibers are not a food source for dustmites,” according to a brochure from a wool carpet distributor Carpet One uses. The whitest, cleanest wool comes from New Zealand, Bradley said. It’s biodegradable and naturally stain-resistant, he added.

Two other flashes from the past have also resurfaced.  Linoleum is back with improvements, Bradley said. Made from flax, it’s a natural product. The floor material is anti-bacterial, anti-static and wears well, making it popular for dance floors, and for commercial and medical use.

Over the years, the facility has expanded and now stretches from Business Loop 70 East to Colorado Avenue. In June, which marked the company’s 40th anniversary, Trittler unveiled Carpet One’s expanded showroom, which is used to display flooring made of ceramic, porcelain, glass and tile and environmentally-friendly products.

Scott Bradley shows customers samples of marmoleum, an ecofriendly flooring made from flax seeds.

“We discovered that having more inventory is essential to many consumers because they want it now. Plus, much of the cost in tile is in freight, so if we stock it, consumers get a better price,” Bradley said.

The site includes space for a commercial office to handle customers such as hospitals and schools.

Trittler started working part-time while in college and stayed on after graduation. His son-in-law, Bradley, joined the business in October 1994.

“Scott actually runs the business. I work part-time, but I still have my customers, “ Trittler said.

In a competitive venture, Bradley said they decided to be brave in their approach to pricing. The price a customer sees includes everything: installation, tax, moving the furniture and removing the old carpeting. They didn’t want the customer to feel surprised when the total was tallied.

“We wanted to be honest with the customer up front,” Bradley said.

Another new step is offering “no questions asked” with some replacement warranties, allowing the customer four months to change his mind about the flooring and have it replaced at no charge.

“We’ve taken the risk out of buying,” Bradley said.

As for the longevity of the company, Trittler said, they’re in a good location, with “good staff, good installers.”  He said he spends a lot of time and money training employees. There are 15 full-time and part-time employees, many with a background in design and interior decorating. Continued education keeps them current on design theories, such as Feng Shui. Education is also part of the cooperative. Trittler said they share ideas with other dealers.

Keeping on top of trends and having a diversity of products has helped Trittler stay in business. He sells a variety of products to a variety of customers.

“If one part slows in business, we open another part, change our focus,” he said.

Bradley said their customer service goal is three-part: “to make sure that they love us when we’re done; they’ll come back; and they’ll tell their friends.”

“We’ll go out of our way to make a customer happy. If it costs us a little bit of money, it’s still less expensive than losing a customer. Because if you lose a customer, you lose their family and friends,” Bradley said

Timeline:
1968—Mike Trittler and a partner open House of Carpet with a 5,000-square-foot warehouse and showroom
1975—House of Carpet adds warehouse
1988—Trittler buys out partner
1992—Trittler joins Carpet One co-op, changes name
1998—Carpet One builds another warehouse
June 2008—Carpet One expands showroom to include the Tile Gallery and the Green Room

Carpet One Floor and Home
105 Business Loop 70 E.
573-449-0081