Specialty flooring retailers are the drivers of this industry. Their success fuels every channel, from residential retail to commercial. To honor these businesses, FCNews is publishing its inaugural Retailers of the Year 2022 issue. It’s an effort to call attention to those retailers who are excelling or differentiating themselves in some aspect of their business. In this issue, suppliers and vendors nominated retailers who they believe deserved to be featured and why they stand out from the pack.
FCNews’ Retailers of the Year 2022 issue features some of the industry’s most accomplished dealers from influential buying groups as well as smaller retailers with no group affiliation. In other words, it reflects the retail industry as a whole.
In choosing their top retailer partners, suppliers looked beyond sales volume to other key attributes such as communication skills, trust, company culture and even benevolence as differentiating factors. Suppliers/vendors nominated up to four retailers (or distributors, in some cases) for consideration and explained why they stand out. FCNews then narrowed down the winners based on the scope of merit attributed to each.
Throughout this week and next, please visit FCNews.net each day as new winners will be showcased. Today’s highlights for Retailers of the Year 2022 is Mobile Marketing’s nominations and winners: Great Lakes Carpet & Tile and Hadinger Flooring.
Great Lakes Carpet & Tile
Wildwood, Fla.
What Mobile Marketing had to say
Great Lakes began utilizing Mobile Marketing’s Virtual Home Service that provides retailers with an easy-to-use digital platform to see customer issues, save information and share the information to process claims quicker. As a result, Great Lakes saw a significant improvement in its claims rating. Great Lakes used new technology in a creative way to improve customer satisfaction.
About Great Lakes Carpet & Tile
This family-owned flooring retailer has been operating in Central Florida for over two decades, with locations in Lady Lake, Wildwood, Mount Dora and The Villages.
While providing quality customer service is a long-standing business practice, Great Lakes Carpet & Tile is dedicated to exceeding customer expectations. It understands the importance of taking care of customers and continually works to improve processes and reduce response time. “I believe our best attribute is simply taking care of our customers the same way we would want to be taken care of,” said Tom Urban, general manager. “Our company’s slogan is: ‘Service is not just a word, but a way of life.’ Everyone on our team understands this phrase and works hard to make every customer a raving fan. Pricing and products mean a lot to the consumer, but nothing beats first-class service.”
Customer service isn’t the only area where Great Lakes shines. The flooring retailer has also been impressive on the operations side. A case in point: the company realized there were too many people involved in its claims process, resulting in delays and increased costs. Seeing this as an opportunity for improvement, the company streamlined its claims process and implemented a 24-hour response time on service calls.
Hadinger Flooring
Naples, Fla.
What Mobile Marketing had to say
Hadinger Flooring has been a staple in the community for more than 40 years and gives tirelessly to others in need through its benevolence, support and charitable giving. Hadinger utilizes Mobile Marketing’s digital marketing services to help promote these community events and Mobile Marketing’s leadership participates in the annual golf tournament.
About Hadinger Flooring
Hadinger Flooring takes service seriously—and it shows. Over the years, the flooring retailer has earned multiple service awards, including Retailer of the Year from America’s Magnificent Carpets Award (AMCA) and Southwest Florida Choice Champion from the Naples Daily News. Year after year, Hadinger Flooring strives to deliver exceptional service to every customer, for every project, every time. It’s no wonder Naples Daily News‘ readers selected Hadinger as the Best Flooring Company in Naples for 15 consecutive years. Service is just one measure of Hadinger’s standing in the community, however. When it comes to charitable giving, there are few so dedicated to helping their local community.
After Hurricane Ian devastated Florida in September, Hadinger opened its doors to help others rebuild their homes. As well, Hadinger also hosts a golf tournament each spring, with proceeds going to support a local charity. This year, the funds raised benefited Golden PAWS Assistance Dogs, a non-profit organization that promotes independence for combat-wounded veterans and children with life-changing disabilities through partnerships with skilled assistance dogs.
What’s more, Hadinger supports local public-school teachers. Each year the company hosts the Teacher Rug Giveaway, where local teachers receive rugs to help make their classrooms cozier and more comfortable for students.
For employees, Hadinger Flooring provides a free weekly yoga class which are held every Monday at 5:45 PM and are instructed by the yoga teachers of Shiva Yoga Shala.
