I will sell the carpet cheaply!

Whether the crisis is continuing, whether it is over or whether there was a crisis at all is a topic for another discussion. What is clear is that some industries got hit hard. Especially those related to the financial or real estate sector. The object flooring industry, with which I am involved, has also felt it. Interestingly, not all companies equally. I know of companies whose turnover has fallen by more than 40 per cent, others whose sales have only slightly worsened, while I also know of companies that have not felt the crisis at all and have even seen their sales increase by several to several dozen per cent.

The exact reasons for this are difficult to ascertain. One can only guess that it is down to grassroots work, innovation, early and sound investments, a high level of customer service and much more. One thing I can say with deep conviction based on observations: companies that sell the cheapest do not do well.

The consumer market in Poland is now mature enough to know what is behind the lowest price. Many people know that this may simply mean poor quality carpet which, instead of being laid in a flat where conditions are almost hothouse-like, is somehow recommended for an office corridor, where it will be trampled by several hundred people a day armed with high-heeled shoes.

This "opportunity" is either taken by customers who have no previous contact with object carpets, or those who are intermediaries in sales and do not particularly care what happens to the carpet later. The end result is, if not complaints, then distaste, which you remember long enough not to return to the retailer who recommended the cheap carpet for your office.

The same applies to the pricing of services. People unfamiliar with the industry think that installing a facility carpet, for example in a conference room, is a matter of bringing in and laying out a roll.
Such a customer expects and demands a price equivalent to their perception of this service. That is, cheaper, because it is, after all, easy and simple. Weak companies, under pressure to sell the carpet and the service, succumb to this pressure. Wanting to cut their losses they adjust their service level to the price they gave. This means poor flooring, saving on auxiliary materials and, on top of this, a specific installation team, often hired, who may not necessarily know, for example, that the work has to start at the agreed time and finish at the same time, or that they have to clean up after themselves. Not to mention the quality of the work itself.

All this leads to misunderstandings, complaints, cash flow problems and, of course, loss of clients or, in the best scenario, a lack of new client acquisition. I think this is an important cause of the crisis inside some companies.
I sometimes think of the high demands of some customers with simultaneous expectations of a low price, then I am reminded of a mobile network advertisement that said that such things are only in Era.

Only I personally don't believe it.