carpet shopping

We've been shopping for carpet this past week. For one room, for utility more than luxury.

The first place was a showroom. Great customer service, great atmosphere, prices more than I would be willing to spend.

The second place was more like a warehouse; it had cramped offices and a large unconditioned warehouse area. Prices more to my liking. But the product presentation and the attitude of the salesperson sucked. Gumby was infuriated by the attitude. No go there.

Third place was a very nice show room, the salesperson was fantastic, but they didn't sell retail. They deal with contractors. However, he did send us to their retail store.

So fourth place was a continuation of the third place. It was both a show room and a warehouse. It was great. Bigger showroom than the first store and the warehouse is huge AND air-conditioned. Very pleasant. The price quoted on the first go here was lower than even the hot warehouse! I upgraded on the carpet padding and that brought the price up a bit but it was still a figure I can live with. Not much choice on color, but again, the room is more for utility than luxury. It's not a bad color; it's one of those neutral hues and much lighter the the much-hated carpet we currently have. The carpet is slightly less luxurious than offered at the first store, but is a little plush (not the thin, hard office carpet type) and fits my purposes.

Whereas I am only looking short-term: just this room, Gumby was looking long-term. Gumby wanted a place that we could return to for flooring for the other rooms. This was the place. Customer service is paramount to Gumby, and this place has it along with reasonable prices. They also do tile and wood floors.

Next step: clear out the room, and await the call to schedule the installation.