Bob's Carpet Mart - deal or no deal? (Bradenton, Cortez: hardwood floors, appointed)

[Californianz]

We're about to drop $16K on new flooring for the house we're buying. I was just wondering if anyone has successfully been able to haggle with these guys? So far, I'm just getting stonewalled. Best I can get is 3% discount for cash vs credit card....which is still no discount at all - just cutting out the card merchant fees for them.

The hardwood flooring we want "is already on sale". Well, that's true. And no one is advertising it for less online - but I have found it for 25% less by calling eFloors.com - no tax, cheap delivery. It's a MAJOR savings - but represents a logistical nightmare of coordinating delivery with our move in & remodel timeline - and (hardest of all) booking a high quality installer who is reliable, will show up, and doesn't overcharge. But not just that - we also are removing wall to wall ceramic tile - so whoever does that also needs to fit into the timeline, AND do it right - AND show up, AND not overcharge.

There's just too many moving parts in the above DIY subcontracting alternative. Bob's can do it all, so we've pretty much decided to bite the bullet and let them do the coordinating - on our schedule. Even though it is thou$and$ more.

So - has anyone here been able to haggle with them - or have other experiences (good or bad) to share?

[bbronston]

So, Bob's has the lowest price of all the local, full service, stores? I've used them before and found them to be OK but never haggled on the price so I can't help there but it sounds like you already have the answer to your quandary.

[Obrero]

Have you priced it out with Lumber Liquidators? I used them for our house in NJ and couldn't beat the price but I've not used them here in FL.

Lumber Liquidators: Hardwood Floors For Less!

[La-La land]

If it's a proper retailer, they usually wont sell below their advertised sale prices. Decent retailers should have a discount system in place, and shouldn't be willing to corrupt it by negotiating on a sale by sale basis. They run the risk of losing contractors and long term customers by negotiating pricing on a random basis and undermining their pricing structure.

[Californianz]

Yes, we shopped around and other than the big box home improvement stores - the sale items at Bob's were most competitive locally. LOTS of the small speciality stores are absolutely outrageously priced. There would likely be room to negotiate on non-sale items at Bob's but not sure how much...

As far as chains go - my husband was the CFO of a major chain of mattress stores once, and their sales people were supposed to hold the line on price but would frequently sell way below. It happens.

We looked at Lumber Liquidators too - the prices are competitive but they sell all Chinese flooring made with formaldehyde and other chemicals - some of which has been proven to be hazardous and has caused many people to get sick. They are currently in court on this. Granted, it could all be a smear campaign by old school sellers to harm them - but just the cloud of this out there is enough to make us hesitate gong to them. And the installed prices combined with (higher priced) tile removal really weren't much different on the bottom line.

I was really also mainly checking to make sure Bob's have happy customers out there...no hidden troubles. Things like - they don't show up for days - or - sloppy unprofessional hardwood work, etc...

[bbronston]

I can't say whether they are consistent from store to store but I've dealt with two of their locations and both were very good. In one instance, they did need to come back twice to get the kitchen flooring right (for a customer) but they did take care of it and were very apologetic about it. I'd use them again.

[RetiredBuckeye]

Last October I purchased Armstrong premium vinyl flooring for my kitchen, entryway and dinning room from Bob's on Manatee Ave. I had Bob's do the whole project, the sales person came out measured and gave me a price for everything vinyl, installation, molding etc. The first thing that happened was the sub contractor started complaining this was a much bigger job than he was told. I told him the sales person came out and measured the area and it wasn't my fault he didn't know the size of the job.The job was supposed to be done in one day but at 8:30 that night it was about half finish and all messed up. The vinyl was cut crooked miss matched and damaged in several places. The next morning I called the store and told them what was going on and the sales person came out and agreed it was messed up. They replaced about half of the vinyl that was down and called in extra people to finish the job that day.
When I went back to the store to finish paying for the job I had a disagreement with the store manager, he wasn't happy about my complaining about the job because he had to pay the sub contractor extra to bring in more people and use more vinyl than I bought to finish the job, I told him it wasn't my fault his sub had messed up the job.
So in the future I don't think I will be going back to Bob's. Several of my neighbors have used Wades Flooring on Cortez Rd in Bradenton and they were very happy with the work they had done. Wades have their own installers and don't use subs. So if you decide to go with Bob's just keep a very close eye on the installers and make sure everything done to your satisfaction.

[FLSnowbirds]

Take your info to Chappies on Clark Rd ask them to have Ken price it. Their sales & service are excellent. You won't be disappointed.

[Avalon08]

It's ashame more folks in FL don't use Angie's List. I only found two reviews of Bob's (both were positive). I know it is tempting to consider that DIY alternative, but you do not want to go down that road when you're dealing with contractors in FL. Ask Bob's who they use for installation -- sounds like their sub-contractors could be a nightmare. Also, I found they are BBB-accredited but there are 40 complaints in three years (various locations). I don't know how that stacks up to other places, but I would read the complaints and compare to other carpet places before I would drop $16K on any store. For what it's worth, I used Manasota Flooring and had no complaints but I don't know how their prices compare. It's a pain shopping around for flooring because they can't give you the actual price 'til they come out and measure, their products may not be apples-to-apples, etc.

[macyny]

Chappies is excellent and will negotiate. Go with your price and see what they do.