Welcome back to The Stocklists Mystery Shopper column, which sees our partners at ProInsight visit flooring retailers across the country, posing as prospective buyers while using a set of objective metrics to evaluate the shops’ customer experience. Throughout this year-long feature we aim to highlight the many strengths of UK carpet retail and – where applicable – show where some aspects might be improved.
For our first Mystery Shopper expedition of the new year, we decided to head to the UK’s historic home of carpet manufacturing, Kidderminster. With the modern carpet industry founded in the area by Brintons in 1785, other major industry names like Grosvenor Wilton and Brockway Carpet followed in its wake, making the town famous the world over. Today, Kidderminster is synonymous with high-quality carpet manufacturing, but what of its retailers? We visited three locations in the town which – while all high-quality – demonstrated the impact customer experience can have on a shopper’s overall impression.
FOYNES CARPETS
Our first stop in Kidderminster was Foynes Carpets. Founded in 1984, the shop says it has built a reputation for supplying quality carpets and flooring at competitive prices. Offering an extensive selection of carpets and hard flooring, the retailer specialises in Brintons Carpets, although it also offers a wide range of remnants from other high-end manufacturers.
In its own words, Foynes believes customer service is of “paramount importance,” but what was our shopper’s experience? First impressions were admittedly mixed, with the layout and arrangement of the store leaving a little to be desired in our prospective customer’s mind. “Especially at the front, there were lots of rolls of carpet piled up,” they said. “The products on display could have been arranged better.” The shopper did note that “although a bit rough and ready,” the store immediately felt as though it would be good value.
When it came to service, the picture was a lot more holistically positive. Our shopper was approached as soon as they were in earshot of the counter, and the member of staff seemed “keen and quite enthusiastic,” they said. The staff member was obviously very knowledgeable about the products and provided lots of information about bleach-cleaning carpets and care of the product in general. He also asked relevant questions, enquiring about the colour our shopper was looking for and whether they would need installation services. They looked at four different carpets before making a final choice, and the member of staff helpfully offered to add the price of fitting and underlay into the final quote.
According to our shopper, while the product layout could definitely be improved at Foynes Carpet, the service offered by its staff probably couldn’t! “The member of staff seemed like he cared, and I would be happy to deal with him again,” they concluded.
KIDDERMINSTER CARPETS
Our next visit was to Kidderminster Carpets, a family-run firm which serves the entire West Midlands from its large warehouse stores in Kidderminster, Shirley, Longbridge and Amblecote. According to the company, its longevity and success is explained by its competitive price guarantee along with its “incredible service and fast, professional fitting.”
On this instance, our shopper’s experience (although certainly not negative) was somewhat mixed, and at this point it’s important to note that customers should always check multiple opinions before deciding whether or not to visit a store. For example, Kidderminster Carpets boasts a high 4.2-star rating on Google Reviews, indicating that our shopper’s more mixed experience might have been an outlier or affected by external factors.
Although the exterior of the store appeared clean and inviting, and the displays inside were well-presented and stocked, the experience inside was a little less appealing. Upon entering the store, our shopper wandered around for a few minutes before being approached by a member of staff, who they previously hadn’t been able to tell apart from the other customers.
When the member of staff did approach and engage in conversation, he was clearly knowledgeable, however our shopper described him as slightly abrupt and lacking in warmth. “That said, he did ask me about a number of extras such as door bars, as well as underlay,” they conceded.
Although the experience wasn’t necessarily the friendliest our shopper encountered during the day, it was clearly thorough. The assistant asked relevant questions before suggesting a range of different carpet options, explaining the features and benefits of each product and confidently overcoming the objection our hypothetical shopper raised. He also provided a quote when prompted, although he did not suggest any kind of a follow-up afterwards, reducing the chances of converting this visit into a real sale.
CARPET FACTORY OUTLET
Our final store of the day was Carpet Factory Outlet. Located at Unit 8 on the Easter Park industrial estate on Worcester Road, the shop has been in operation over 30 years. Boasting solid relationships with big name brands, Carpet Factory Outlet says it will guarantee it can beat any like-for-like quote: “it’s as simple as that”. Important as price is, however, it’s only one part of the equation, and particularly in price-sensitive businesses, customer experience can often fall short. Fortunately, in our shopper’s experience, this was far from the case at Carpet Factory Outlet!
The exterior of the store was smart and tidy, with several customer parking spaces immediately in front of the entrance. There was a counter to the right of the entry, and our shopper’s first impression was that of a tidy warehouse as opposed to a shop, however there was more of a retail feel throughout the rest of the area, with carpet samples as well as main rolls.
Our shopper was acknowledged with a warm greeting on entry, and all the team members were smart and well-presented, while appearing to be engaged in work activities. After explaining their hypothetical requirements, our shopper was asked a number of clarifying questions about budget, colours and the location of the carpet. “I explained I wanted something in a neutral, darker colour, as I intend to sell the house. I wanted decent quality to match the work I had completed.”
Given this relatively complex brief, the member of staff took our shopper through to the main warehouse and made several suggestions of carpets that could meet their needs. Although the first few options weren’t to our shopper’s taste, the assistant overcame these objections with alternate suggestions, eventually landing on a carpet that was hard-wearing and looked expensive, despite actually being quite affordable. “I agreed that it looked more expensive and would give the impression I was looking to achieve,” our shopper said.
The member of staff then proactively offered a quote, including both underlay and gripper bars, along with fitting in the final pricing. “The member of staff was confident and enthusiastic throughout my visit, handled my objections with ease, and displayed good product knowledge,” our shopper concluded. “As I was leaving, they thanked me for visiting and wished me a good day.”
Given this glowing review, it should come as no surprise that Carpet Factory Outlet was our highest rated store for this month’s Mystery Shopper feature, easily living up to the reputation of its hometown!
IN THIS SECTION
Foynes Carpets – www.foynescarpets.co.uk
Kidderminster Carpets – www.kidderminstercarpets.co.uk
Carpet Factory Outlet – www.cfoflooring.co.uk
As always, the Mystery Shopper feature is facilitated by the excellent work of ProInsight, which organises and carries out campaigns for businesses of all types, helping them to evaluate and ultimately improve their customer experience metrics.
www.proinsight.org