Local carpeting and flooring business Marshall Carpet One has been serving the Mayfield Heights, Ohio area since 1966. Started by Grandpa Marshall, and supported by his two sons Marc and Chuck, the business started in a 700-square-foot retail space on what was then the second floor of the Richmond Mall in Ohio. In their store, they had a section dedicated to carpet with some limited samples. They were unsure of the success of the carpet business so they also sold coins and other popular knickknacks.
When starting the carpeting business, they had one crew and continued to scale the business due to their popularity. They did this by offering top-tier customer service to their customer base. With this existing customer base, they established long-term relationships with their clients, and now the business has continued to thrive by grandsons Matt, Ryan, and Nate in its new 17,000-square-foot showroom, operating with thirteen crews daily. The carpeting business has been and will continue to be generational in the Wien family. In the last few years, they've solidified themselves as one of the top 10 most successful single-showroom flooring retail operations in the country.
When asked about the business' success, Matt Wien says: "The secret to the success: Emphasizing customer service that you don’t get from the big box retailers. Everyone else is focused on pricing and it's a race to the bottom, we’re the opposite, people come in here and expect to spend more money, we don’t try to be the cheapest option, but we do advertise to be the most accommodating and have the absolute best level of customer service".
The customer service is what brings people back to Marshall Carpet One, the top tier customer service is what customers have grown to expect, which is why many families recommend Marshall Carpet One to their children and grandchildren when they need carpeting and flooring work in their homes. People always come back to Marshall Carpet One, even if they decide to choose the cheaper option first. When end-users experience poor-quality labor and failing installations, they end up back at Marshall Carpet One.
Matt says, “We do not ‘sell’ to our customers, we have a conversation with them, we get to know them, we have a discovery process where we ask them questions and learn what their expectations are concerning the performance, maintenance, and longevity, and then recommend the best option for the consumer.”
Supporting local businesses is something the Wien family has done since opening the business over 56 years ago. During the pandemic, they bought lunch from independently owned restaurants for local EMS to show their support during hard times. To this day, they buy lunch daily for their 26 employees from locally owned and operated independent restaurants. The family believes it’s important to support these local businesses as it supports the local community. They want their customers to do the same, and support the local community, so it's important they do the same.
"We understand how much work it is to run successful small businesses, especially when there are big box retailers on every street corner putting mom-and-pop shops and independent retailers like ours out of business,” says Wien.
The business has continued to be successful for over fifty years and expects to continue to thrive. To learn more about Marshall Carpet One and their generational carpeting and flooring business, take a look at their website.
Read more about community service, Local Memories. Lasting Impact., tmbr.
