Kerns Carpet One

Review: On 8/13/2012, I purchased laminate flooring at a cost of 4136.00 with a 25 year warranty from both [redacted] and CARPET ONE. The area in question is my kitchen and dinette. The laminate covering is chipping and fraying on the edges. [redacted] the store manager came out on 4/29/15, he looked at the flooring and started taking pictures while saying that it looks like a defect in the flooring He said this by his self. My front door opens into the dinette, but it is seldom used. [redacted] sold us this flooring with the door because he took the measurements. II have had several email exchanges with [redacted]. I gave a sample board out of the box to test, and the last email of 10/29/15 Mr. [redacted] says the warranty was denied due site conditions and maintenance. He!s never been here to see it.Desired Settlement: THERE ARE NO CONCERNS WHEN YOU BUY FROM [redacted]!! Live up to your advertising, replace at no cost. It was under warranty and cleaning and care were done as disclosed in brochure.

Business

Response:

Dear Revdex.com:We are familiar with Mr. [redacted] complaint. What Mr. [redacted] failed to mention is the manufacture turned down his claim not once but twice. The manufacture declined the claim based on poor maintenance and site conditions. The decision was based on information provided by Mr. [redacted] along with pictures and a sample of the product. We appealed to our local statewide distributor network to see if they could help in any way. We wanted to exhaust all possibilities to see if we could help Mr. [redacted] in any fashion. After a number of conversations, the distributor agreed to provide the material at no charge, but made it clear labor was not included. In fact, the original claim made no mention of labor being an issue in their denial. We shared this information with Mr. [redacted] and he believes under the 25 year warranty we should be responsible for the new floor and the labor. Just because something has a 25 year warranty it doesn't mean a customer like Mr. [redacted] has no responsibility on maintaining the condition of their floor. The floor is NOT bullet proof and periodic maintenance is required. Failure to comply with this understanding can and will result in claims or warranties being null and void.We have shared information on two different labor options with Mr. [redacted]. These figures are at our cost and our goal is to help him out as much as possible. We appreciate his business and feel we have done what we can to help make the situation right. Actions and success stories like these are reasons why we have been in business for 80 years, because we do value our customer's loyalty. Thanks, [redacted] - President

Consumer

Response:

I signed a purchase contract with [redacted] who at the time offered a 25 year warranty. I did not sign with Mannington. We cared for the flooring as instructed. No one has come out to my residence. How can they say that it is not maintained. And finally, my wife and I both are in our mid 70!s and walk over the flooring barefooted. I only decided to seek replacement when I caught some slivers of laminate in my big toe. My word is gold not like others!!

Business

Response:

I firmly believe we have done everything possible to help Mr. [redacted] with his floor. Despite the fact the claim had been turned down twice, [redacted] Carpet One persevered and successfully secured a "free" floor for Mr. [redacted]. The only condition set forth by the distributor is the customer must cover the labor to replace and re-install.Attached is a letter from the manufacture (this has been shared with the customer) and warranty information. The manufacture points out the issue with the floor is site condition and maintenance and does not imply or state that installation had anything to do with the performance of the floor.The warranty information was provided to Mr. [redacted] as well. The first portion touches on care and maintenance and makes sound suggestions on how a laminate floor should be maintained. The limited wear warranty makes it clear the following items are excluded. 1). Indentations2). Scratches3). Damage caused by improper care and maintenanceWe have also shared with Mr. [redacted] estimates on labor charges. We made it very clear to him the charges are at our cost. This is not a money making proposition, but more importantly and opportunity to provide a dissatisfied customer with a new floor. We succeeded despite the challenges we faced (two denials) and Mr. [redacted] needs to understand this is the best we can do. We do appreciate Mr. [redacted]'s business and hope he will accept our offer.

Consumer

Response:

I stopped at Kerns in Fox Point two weeks ago and prices were marked on the Karastan selections. I got a call from [redacted] who said their sale started, and he saved me a %30 off coupon. I went into the store today 1/13/15 and all listed prices were taken down. When I asked about prices on a few selections, they were all 30% more than the prices marked two weeks ago. [redacted] didn't deny that they had marked up the prices 30%.

Review: We have a newly installed Lees carpet from 10/8/2013 at 0830. This was purchased at Kerns 9/30/2013 and we spent extra money, $1193.00, assuming better quality. Since the time it was installed there were two lines in the carpet near the north wall (see attached). This was pointed out immediately to the installer [redacted]. He stated that this occasionally happened on the end of a roll, and if it didn't come out in two weeks notify Kerns. This attached is from today, 10/28/2013. The lines are in direct view as a person comes in the room.

We followed the installer's directions and called the sales person Rob. He attempted to fluff up the area 10/24/2013 at 1630. After it dried it appeared to only fray the fibers. We followed his directions and sent a photograph via email.

His response was that he would make a claim with the manufacturer. Following up with reading the warranty, I see that Kerns will now get in an argument with the manufacturer and the distributer over who is responsible. These three entities fight over responsibility and we are the losers. In the literature we received with our carpet there is a "100% Beautiful Guaranty" but this is false advertising. What is true is that from the moment the carpet is in the room, all companies we just got involved with do not back up their products and will attempt to run us out of will with litigation.

Further, I fear that if left unfixed these lines show an underlying weakness where the carpet will tend to rip open.Desired Settlement: Replacement.

Business

Response:

Dear Revdex.com:

Thank you for sharing with us Mr. [redacted]'s complaint. We are aware of Mr. [redacted]'s concerns and have responded to an email he sent to us about the same time he notified you of his unhappiness with the floor.

We believe Mr. [redacted] has a legitimate defect in his carpet and are working with the manufacture on getting it inspected. It is our hope due to the size of the area the manufacture will approve replacement in a timely manner. We have every intention on keeping Mr. [redacted] informed on our efforts to expedite the claim.

Once we have heard back from the manufacture, we will follow up. Thanks, [redacted]

Business

Response:

On Tue, Nov 12, 2013 at 10:09 AM, [redacted] wrote:

Dear Revdex.com:

I do not have access to Mr. [redacted]'s email address. I wanted to let him know before our warehouse contacts him that his replacement carpet has been received and inspected. The warehouse will be contacting him to make arrangements for installation.

Thank you for your help.

Sincerely, [redacted]

Review: I contracted with Kerns to install hardwood flooring on the first floor of my new home. I also paid them to install carpet on the second floor. I have no issues with the carpet installation. However, the hardwood floor install was plagued with issues from day 1. First, the tear-out of the old carpet and tile was supposed to take only 2 days, but took 8. I deliberately scheduled the tear-out to occur when there would be no furniture, people, or pets in the home - which didn't work out due to the delay. Kerns subcontracted with another company, [redacted] (**), which clearly was not up to the job. ** sent three men with insufficient tools and skill to complete the tear out, which is why it took so long to complete. They did a very sloppy job, resulting in damage to the walls around the baseboard (I have photos). Further, I've had multiple carpenters in my home to get bids on installing baseboard; all have commented on the poor workmanship. The carpenters said the hardwood installers should have added another layer of sub-floor, because I currently have up to an inch gap between the floor and the wood frame at the bottom of all doorways. They also said the installers left the walls around the baseboard in terrible condition. Kerns responded by saying "the baseboard will cover all that up." The installers also broke a closet door (which the manager at Kerns tried to blame me for, before he fixed it), and left dirt, dust, and chunks of demo material in my floor vents - which I had to urge them to clean. The installers used 2 of my brand new brooms to clean up part of their mess (the owner of ** replaced one of them). They did not hang up plastic (to prevent dust from contaminating the rest of my home - including the new carpet upstairs) until I asked them to near the end of the job. I paid Kerns over $20,000 for professional workmanship and customer service, which they failed to provide. There are about 3 other issues that arose during the project, which I do not have space here to describe.Desired Settlement: I have absolutely no desire to ever do business with Kerns again; nor do I want them in my home to try to fix any of these issues. Instead, since their favorite response every time I raised an issue with the condition of the walls and baseboard, was "the baseboard will cover all that up", I don't think it's unreasonable to have them refund me the money (of the approximately $26,000 I paid them for the entire project) to pay for the install of new baseboards -- approximately $1,000.

Business

Response:

Dear Revdex.com: Thank you for sharing Ms. [redacted]’s [redacted]’s complaint with us. We are familiar with the [redacted] job and the information contained in her complaint is misleading. We were hired by Ms. [redacted] to provide carpet and wood flooring for her home. We completed the carpet work with no issues. We did encounter a problem with the wood floor install. During the removal of the existing floor we discovered concrete in certain areas. The finding set back our timeline and required us to bring in more personnel and charge the customer more money to complete the task. The customer was aware when she signed o** our on checklist that removing the existing floor may require additional prep work and money. Once the problem was discovered we included Ms. [redacted] in the conversation and explained the process and solution. We did the additional work at a reduced rate and Ms. [redacted] agreed to pay the extra charge. The damage done to the walls was not the result of carelessness. Instead, the damage occurred when the installer removed the wall base from the drywall. Baseboards are purely cosmetic and cover gaps around the perimeter that are required when wood floors are installed. We told Ms. [redacted] the incidental holes would be covered once the new base boards were installed. She appeared happy with our response and didn’t complain further. Keep in mind this was a construction site and dust, debris and accidents can happen. We did address all of Ms. [redacted]’s complaints regarding the vents, door improperly installed, broom missing (we replaced it), and dust containment to her liking. I am confused by her request. We contacted Ms. [redacted] following the installation and she told my sales person, “Everything looked good”. She never questioned the bill and came to the store to pay us in full and never asked for a discount or an adjustment. If Ms. [redacted] has other issues that have not been resolved to her liking, please have her contact her sales person or Mr. [redacted] immediately.

Consumer

Response:

I have used Kerns Carpet for 2 of my homes in less than one year. They we one of many carpet companies I called to do the carpet in my rec room at my old house and were the most impressive and competitive on price. With the quality of carpet and the professionalism I knew I only had one call to make when we moved shortly after. They immediately responded to my needs and came out and did one bedroom & my new rec room (much bigger than the old house) that matched the time frame needed. They are very quick & good at what they do & clean up after themselves so you don't even know they are there when they are gone. I have highly recommended them to many clients of mine since my experience with them.

Review: Kern Carpets company installed our wooden (bamboo) floor about 2 years ago. I have been noticing gaping in between some planks practically since beginning and when they came over to measure our floor for different purpose (hallway tiles) I mentioned the gaping. [redacted], came over looked at the floor and determined that gap was there and we had "a valid claim" and we "needed replacement" of the whole or the part of the floor, BUT he said we were "not maintaining proper humidity and temperature" in our kitchen all the time, therefore he asked me to pay an "inspection fee" of 350$. I never understood what was that inspection fee for and my understanding was that it was part a state regulation. I thought it was too high and I negotiated it down to 200$ with him verbally on the phone. I thought 200 for replacing half of the kitchen was a reasonable deal. He actually said: "I pay the labor, i.e. floor replacement, you help me w/ inspection fee, so the whole floor replacement will cost you 200$." Then a worker came over and looked at the floor. He was prepared to replace it, but stated that the gap was minimal, so replacement was not needed. Then he patched the little gap w/ some kind of filler, replaced one dashboard that did not match the color; about 15 min work. Now [redacted] is stating that he is "very dissapointed w/ me" and personally brought me a formal letter asking to pay 200$ "inspection fee." Before when I tried to explain to him that I thought I will be responsible for the fee only when the floor/part of the floor will be replaced, he told me (or yelled at me) that he was "dissapointed w/ me" and hanged up the phone. (Discussed w/ [redacted] from Revdex.com over the phone on 11/4/14)Desired Settlement: Waiving of replacement fee, informing general [redacted] of Kern Carpets One.

Business

Response:

We appreciate the Revdex.com bringing this complaint to our attention.cThe customer who filed the complaint, Mr. [redacted], had little or no contact with our store. In fact, our records show we spoke with his wife 99% of the time. I would like to set the record straight and believe we have acted in good faith. On 4/26/14, Mrs. [redacted], contacted our office regarding a gap in her hard wood floor. Our records show the floor had been installed on 5/10/11 and no complaints or problems had previously been registered. We visited the jobsite in early June after trying for weeks to get a commitment on a date from Mrs. [redacted]. During our inspection we took pictures and told Mrs. [redacted] we planned on filing a complaint with the manufacture. At no time did we make any promises or discuss replacing the entire floor (we are not in a position to do this until we have a definitive idea on what the cause of the problem is). We submitted the paperwork along with the pictures to the manufacture and they requested an inspection be done. This is common protocol in our industry and the inspector has no affiliation with Kerns Carpet One, the manufacture, or the State of Wisconsin. We shared this information with Mrs. [redacted] and the inspection was done on 7/15/14.The findings (shared with the [redacted]'s) stated the gaps were noticeable and the home had no humidity controls. We approached Mrs. [redacted] following the findings to see if we could bring an installer to their home to see what could be done to repair the gaps. We also explained part of the report showed the home had insufficient humidity controls and could be contributing to the gapping. Prior to doing the repair, we requested the [redacted]'s pay a portion of the inspection cost. We explained the findings clearly show the gapping is not manufacturing, but installation and no humidity controls. We showed the [redacted]'s a document they had signed at the time of the order on the importance of maintaining specific humidity levels. The cost of the inspection was $315.00. We requested the [redacted]'s pay $200.00 and any and all material/labor cost would be absorbed by Kerns. Mrs. [redacted] told us she needed to run this by her husband and would get back to us. She called and let us know they would agree to pay $200.00 and we completed the repair on 10/24/14. We called Mrs. [redacted] following the completion of the work and she was happy with the results. We asked her how she would like to pay and she told the [redacted] to contact her husband for a credit card. We called him right away and he told my [redacted] he didn't feel he got the service he deserved and would not part with the $200.00. We believe we acted in good faith and provided excellent service by taking care of the repair. If the customer was dissatisfied with the repair, we were never told. Furthermore, if the customer does NOT deal with the humidity issue there is a STRONG possibility the gapping will re-appear.We believe Kerns Carpets is entitled to full reimbursement of $200.

Consumer

Response: