Carlisle Wide Plank Floors

Our firm works with clients who expect the best in both workmanship and quality of product. The client we purchased Carlisle Wide Plank Floors was looking for something unique for an upscale barn home they were having Martin Bros. Contracting, Inc. build for them. While I was at the Chicago Merchandise Mart I spotted a sample of a Hickory floor that had a lot of character, by Carlisle Wide Plank Floors, that I knew would be a perfect fit for this project. We asked the client to view the sample at the Merchandise Mart, and they too, fell in love with the sample. When speaking to the account manager, Evan Kennel, we were very clear (as was the designer of the project), that we wanted the flooring to match the sample in EVERY detail. A quote was provided to us, but nowhere on the quote did it say the details did not match the sample. The quote said “Signature” on it but Evan did not explain what the Signature blend was until AFTER we received the order. In the link that Evan gave me it showed the Original blend and Heirloom blend. The Original blend was full of character and the Heirloom blend is clear. The Signature blend is a 50/50 mix. If this would have been explained to me up front there is no doubt that the Original blend is what the client would want. Unfortunately this was not communicated to us. When we received the order I could immediately tell there was going to be a problem. All the pieces I was unloading were clear and had very little character. I called Evan right away and expressed concern. It was during this conversation, that I was first told about a 50/50 blend. The sample we looked at in the showroom had 5 boards, 4 of them had character and 1 was fairly clear. What we received was the exact opposite. 1 in 5 boards had character to the level of the sample and 4 out of 5 were totally clear. At this point, because they had my signature on the proposal for the “Signature” blend, it was obvious they weren’t going to help me even though they had not explained what Signature was. All I knew was, that what I thought I ordered, was to match the sample in the showroom. I had to spend nearly $10k out of my own pocket to buy more material with character in it to make my client happy. The replacement material came and wasn’t much better. There still was not much character in the boards. The other issue was that flooring didn’t have the same depth and richness in the stain. When I complained about that as well, I was told that the sample in the showroom was hand stained and the flooring we received was machine finished. Isn’t that a detail we should have been told? It looked totally different. What really upset me is that they have a sample in their showroom that apparently they cannot produce. This put me in a very bad position with my customer. Be careful of the Carlisle bait and switch. If it is up to me, I will never use them again. Jeff Martin, President Martin Bros. Contracting, Inc.