Corporate citizens
Along with being green citizens, Carpet Plus takes an active role in the community. “They are excellent corporate citizens,” Davis said, “and are active through their local homebuilders association, Habitat for Humanity, the local SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) and SARA (Sexual Assault Resource Agency). Carpet Plus is the main sponsor of the local home show, and it also regularly hosts events for the chamber of commerce and the local design and architecture community.”
Being good corporate citizens is part of the reason why Carpet Plus has been able to not only build a loyal clientele but continually expand its customer base.
For example, at this year’s home show, which took place last month, Carpet Plus was able to secure an appearance by popular TV designer, Chip Wade through its relationship with Mohawk, as Wade is the mill’s official “handyman.”
Along with hosting the home decorating celebrity, “We worked hard to make sure every person walking through the door remembers Carpet Plus,” he added, such as having its name and logo displayed on the digital ribbon banner encircling the arena.
Taking its green message to the show, Carpet Plus handed out eco-friendly, re-usable bags and when visitors first walked in they saw a Carpet Plus Mini Cooper filled with cork wine stoppers—in an effort to pro- mote eco-friendly cork flooring. “Last year we filled it with empty plastic bottles to promote Mohawk’s EverStrand carpet,” Cassis said. Whoever guessed closest to the number of cork stoppers in the car won a new iPad.
In terms of opening up its store to the community, Carpet Plus recently hosted an event introducing local architecture and building professionals to Torlys’ new leather flooring— “we are the only dealer in the state,” he noted. And, in December it hosted the Blue Ridge Homebuilders Association holiday party, which welcomed close to 100 members of the area’s building community to the store. “It’s always of benefit to get new people into the store. They may not need flooring right now but one day they will and they will remember Carpet Plus.”
Building long-term relationships—with customers and employees—is one of the keys Cassis attributes to the company’s overall success. “Having long-term employees allows us to build long-lasting trust with our customers. They continue to come to the people they know for their flooring needs.” That is why Cassis is quick to emphasis he and his wife were not the ones who won WFCA’s Gold Standard award. “Carpet Plus the store—the team—won this award. There are many parts to the whole, and our employees have each contributed in their specialized way. I contribute our success and our independence to our ability to grow and change. Sometimes it’s scary to try new products or new methods but to keep yourself fresh and current, you just have to do it. And, if something isn’t working, you had better fix it before the choice is no longer yours.”
In winning, Carpet Plus received a $5,000 check, a Gold Standard trophy, acknowledgement on the WFCA website and a customized WFCA Gold Standard seal for its store entrance.
“We are truly honored to have received this award,” he concluded. We have always strived to offer the best possible service to our customers and it feels great to be recognized for it. Of course, we will still continue to try to outdo ourselves in the future.”
-Matthew Spieler