Seedy Business

Chris and I scheduled a well-known flooring company to come to our house for a free estimate tonight. We are well past our carpet's lifetime (awful builder-grade stuff), especially after the damage the cat has done, and we are interested in getting some type of hard floors like laminate or vinyl planks. My aunt did the vinyl stuff herself, and it really looks awesome in her house. We are really considering it, but we wanted to hear what this company could offer on the laminate side. I had Diana come over to weigh in with her expertise, so we were all here when the representative came to give us some options and a quote. The guy came in and I invited him to have a seat. Chris was changing Noah's diaper, so we couldn't start yet, but you'd think the guy would say a few things about the business or ask us standard questions or something. Instead, he noticed The Bachelorette was on TV and said, "She's not even hot. She seems annoying." Nice professionalism. Anyway, Chris came in and we got started; he gave his spiel about how he used to work for another flooring company (a "Mom and Pop") but it was terrible business because there was no consistency in quality installation, etc. Then we talked about the options of hardwood or laminate (he hates vinyl... hmm, doesn't sell it, no conflict of interest there...) and he said that he could get flooring super-cheap for himself, but still went with laminate over hardwood. He breaks out the samples and we pick one we are mildly interested in, then he crunches the numbers and gives us a price. Wow! Way too high and out of budget for us right now. We thought the material was quality for what it was and all, but it was just too much with installation and such. He doesn't try too hard to change our minds; he asks us what price we were expecting/hoping for, then tells us in a lowered voice... here's the kicker... "Look, I'm here on behalf of (insert famous flooring company), but I can tell you that the price you want is actually not too, too impossible. It's just not for this company. I have a friend from that other company I worked for who does great work, and he could come a lot closer to this price with high-quality material. He did my house, my parents', my cousin's... he could work with you and I could even bring over the samples and everything. Here's my number if you're interested." Then he thanked us and left! Can you believe it?! I was so taken aback by his blunt lack of ethics that I didn't even call him on it or question him whether (company) knew he was sending their business to his "friend." Needless to say, we will not be calling him for his great deal on the side.

We may wait a bit, but we are definitely interested in going with the vinyl planks we found at Home Depot. Like I said, my aunt is really happy with them and they are simple to install, plus come with 25-year to lifetime warranties and are 100% waterproof. My sister sent me a great picture of a bathroom with vinyl plank flooring:

Nice, huh? Another nice thing is it doesn't make that clicky sound when you walk on it, like laminate...

Anyway, it was an interesting evening and now we know what we're looking at for someone to install laminate. Unless we call the "friend" who does it for a great deal, that is...

When Noah was ready for bed tonight, he picked a baby book for me to "read," but he was practicing his letters so I grabbed the camera and got a little of my baby boy "reading"! :)