Thursday, May 15, 2008

The Floor Store has been selling and installing quality floor covering from Main Street in West Stockbridge, Massachusetts for over two decades. We’ve been “flooring people” since 1983! For our first two years, we operated above The Public Market [next door] on the second floor until we outgrew the space. We named our new building ''The Phoenix Building'' because it had burned down a year or two before we bought the space and rebuilt it [some of you may remember it as ''Miss Ruby's Restaurant''].
 
Joe Roy, Jr has been in the business for about 30 years and is still involved one way or another on most jobs which involve installation [and much of the rest as well.] He can help you in the store with your selection; and is often the one who will come to your home to size up the work you need to have done [but you might also get son Joe or daughter Jennifer - sometimes Anne fills in too - their combined years of measuring floors exceed Joe’s!] His job includes putting together your quote with a breakdown in simple terms that will include all the details and is easy to understand. We have able, courteous installers that will respect your home and your wishes and will make you feel comfortable about coming back for more.
 

Joe’s wife Anne is the store’s chief overseer and part of her job is to welcome you and help you find what you are looking for. She’s likely the first one that you will see when you walk in. She's also the one that keeps us all on our toes: she sets up most of the appointments and is the one who is most likely responsible that they all be kept and stay on time; she double-checks the math & spelling; triple checks everyone's timing; makes sure everyone's orders are on schedule; does all the books; pays the bills; keeps the store and yard so neat [plants the beautiful flowers, rearranges the front windows just about every day - even sprinkles salt & sand on the sidewalk when needed;] and does just about all of the follow-up in the office. She can also come to your home to measure your area [when the schedule gets heavy] so that we can prepare a quote for whatever it is that you're considering. Since she's been involved with Joe on installation procedures [as well as sales ] for decades now, she knows the flooring business as thoroughly as anyone can. 

Daughter Melissa has worked at The Floor Store on and off for most of her life. A few years ago, she left the store for a while to pursue a career in the nursing field. She put herself through school and has earned her Medical Assistant Certification. She's been working full time in the medical field for quite some time now and loving it!

Daughter Jennifer took three years off to be at home during the daytime to raise her two happy and healthy daughters. Now Mary and Caitie are in school and growing every day! So now Jenni is back at the store and we sure are glad to have her back! Jen’s primary responsibilities are sales, drawings, proposals, contracts and all aspects of customer care. She also does many of the measures [coming to your home and job sites] and works closely with the installers to make sure customers’ ideas and wishes get properly applied to the final products and installations. She started working with Dad at age eleven in the field on jobs and also in the store. She also put in a couple years working in a flooring store in California which rounded out her floor covering expertise. When she came back, she actually ran the store for about five years when Dad was still installing full time, so she knows what she's doing. Often Mary and Caitie come to the store after school, and if you're lucky, you'll see them busily dusting [or counting] the samples so they can be "very busy with their job too'' - just like Mommy used to. One of their responsibilities is make sure all of the contents of the toy box [for visiting children customers] are in good condition. Sometimes, Mary gets to help Grannie put stamps on the outgoing mail. It's in their genes! This past September, Jen got married to a great guy named Jim Hallock. Jim brings his daughter Shannon and son James into the fold. Jim’s in the land maintenance, excavation and yard work business [so if you need “extensive floor prep” done, he’s on call - just kidding!]   

Son Joe is now and has been working full time at The Floor Store. He does most everything that Dad and Jen do, plus a few very specific things that only he does best. Since he has an extensive background and a degree in computer repair and networking, the computers at the store have never been so seamlessly integrated. We had no idea how valuable that would be! He also does all of the pricing and is responsible for computer hardware, software, and general upkeep. In fact, he is the master of all things electronic in the store: phones, copier, fax, answering machine, and just about anything that needs attention. He helps Anne with the bookkeeping and data entry as well. He receives all deliveries and prepares shipping; does most of the delivering, a good share of the custom binding; and maintains the warehouse inventory. He's become an expert at backing the 3/4 ton pickup truck [with 15 foot rolls of carpet on it] into the warehouse bays [although he'd much rather be driving his sports car.] He helps in the store with customers. He knows the products very well and understands the various installations because he started helping his Dad when he was a small boy. [He was much closer to the floor then!] He had also worked with the installing teams through many summers when he was in school. He truly started on the ground floor of the business and knows how it works. We're lucky to have him. The only problem that we've had since he's been in the store full time now is figuring out how he answers the phone. Pappa Joe is really the ''Junior'' of the family. Son Joe has a different middle name, but everyone assumes he's the Junior. Older customers know that Pappa Joe is the Junior [some still call him ''Joey'' and that's when it can get very confusing.] So son Joe has adopted the title ''Joe Jr'' to make things simpler for most folks. We're still trying to figure out the best way to deal with it. Son Joe is the fourth “Joe Roy” in a row, which continues a tradition that is special to us, but we had no idea how complicated it would be in the store. It’s a work in progress.  

Our store hours are 9AM to 4PM Tuesday through Friday and Saturdays from 9AM til noon. Give us a call at (413)232-7175 anytime or fax us at 232-4659. Email us at info@the-floorstore.com and we'll get right back to you. You might want to use one of the above buttons [at the top of this page that lets you inquire about an “online quote.” Just click on it and answer the questions as best as you can. We’ll get right back to you. Our store is directly opposite the Old Town Hall on Main Street in West Stockbridge - right next door to The Public Market where we started. Come by on a warm day and you can still sit on the balcony overlooking the peaceful Williams River and watch the trout go by. We're in the heart of the beautiful Berkshires. Many people come for a weekend and want to stay forever. And many do. They keep us busy and we're grateful for it. This is the kind of place that folks choose to move to. And it's home for us. Young Joe, Jenni & Missy are third generation Berkshire natives!

Come on in and take a look. Try to arrange your home improvement with time to spare so your project doesn't get too complicated or rushed at the end. Try to allow enough timing so that different workmen aren't working on top of one another to get your job done in an unrealistic amount of time. Plan ahead as best you can and try to allow for those few delays that are bound to pop up. Look ahead on some of the other pages on this site like "Our Service'' that give you some heads-up ideas on things to consider while doing some changes and upgrading in your home. Hit the "Our Products'' and the "Floor Care'' buttons above for lots of additional information on what's available and ways to care for your flooring.  

Appointments are usually scheduled within a week or so; and installations often run from about four to six weeks or so ahead... depending on the time of year. It makes good sense to come in the store and choose something before we come to measure [if that's possible,] but if that can't happen, we can still set an appointment as long as you know what materials you need. Call ahead for an appointment at the store if the hours are inconvenient for you. 

Come inside and pick out some samples to take home and see how they look. Browse through our extensive photo collection of the very fine installations that we've done. We're very at home in your home and we'll treat it like our own. We'll want you to ask us back. It's what we do.