SFA: What's the Answer?
Customers and Seams
Jennifer Mitchell
How do you set realistic expectations with customers for their seams?
Kevin Spaulding
That can be a different conversation for each job. It really boils down to the potential challenge in getting the pieces in, the size of the slab you're working with in the first place and a whole host of other potential factors (sink location, dishwasher location, etc.). It's really a conversation of all the factors, and then hopefully, they can be reasonable and understanding about those variables.
Brent Brosnahan
Kevin Spaulding, yes, this is the correct answer!!
David Wong
You get what you get and you don’t get upset
Carlton Seward
David Wong: Throw a fit! It’s throw a fit! Lol
Kevin Spaulding
Carlton Seward You git what you git and you don't throw a fit! I'm glad somebody corrected it. 🤣
Carlton Seward
Talk with them and educate them on the difference in epoxy resin hue and countertop hue and underpromise and overdeliver.
Centex Surplus
We have OK seams in our displays and samples of laminations and miters Are actual work exceeding those so they always are in the benefit of the client We also refer to the Natural Stone Institute standards, as that’s our governing body, and their seam tolerance is looser than that of ours, which is a good rebuttal to clients
Carlton Seward
For all who want to under promise and over deliver. It’s a lot better to respond to “that looks a lot better than what I was expecting” rather than “but I can still see/feel the seam” or “it’s going to blend in more when it cures right?”
Jesus Ibarra
Centex Surplus, we do the same at our office.
Brian Alfaro
I thought about making a picture book with various seems that we get done as well as the different materials, just so they can see how it can consistently look for the various materials
Carlton Seward
Good idea…but can we not call it a picture book? Lol
Alex Bores
Seam sign off on contracts. Example in your showroom. Explain on your contract your process and what you DO NOT DO.
Shayne Hogenmiller
I think of it this way. There is a big difference between customer expectations and what the customer should expect. Realize that difference and communicate with them accordingly. You are the professional!
Brett Skinner
I just tell them “you will be able to see and feel your seam.” Because.. you will most of the time.
Brandon Johnson
Show pictures of different material and what seams should look like. Let them know natural stone typically will be more visible. Quartz, you can pretty much make it disappear and quartzite, well you are going to see that one.
Menghi Eddie
Seam is anything you can not see standing two feet away under natural light,
Bo Penman
Stone institute of America, have pictures of your seams from different shades of stone and show customers examples. So they understand how they can very or change depending.
Braedon Andrae Smith
I say that you will always see seams. Now there is times that we can hide them very well. Sometimes you don’t see them. But we will always do our best to provide the best quality of work. Now if a customer doesn’t want seams and you need them due to the install circumstance. I remind them it’s to protect our installers and what surrounds the countertops. We are human. We have humans that are lifting and placing these objects. Hercules does not exist. Lol
Garrett White
Well trained install techs are a huge aspect of this conversation as well. I think they should constantly be trying to get better at their jobs. Having the right tools to do the job as well, is huge!
Ben Yarcho
When I was an inside salesperson, we had a relatively large packet of information to go over with customer when they were making their deposit. having them initial, sign a lot of disclosures (more so covering what WE'RE NOT gonna do) there was no way to really cover it in less than ~20min. As I learned common pain points or customer concerns I added my own snippets of information- One of them being, explaining seams. I let them know I'm going to get sqft as close as I can based off their pictures/drawings/descriptions, Yada Yada Yada. I'd let them know based off my experience installing and helping in the warehouse I can *speculate* if a seam will be needed and where it will likely go, but ultimately the templater will discuss that with the layout manager after measuring At this point I would always include, "if we're doing a seam, it's because we have to. Some customers have a bit of weariness in regards to seams, but no one hates seams more than us. So if a seam is being utilized, it's absolutely necessary to maintain structural integrity during transport/install, and/or avoid damage to your property/the installers due to sheer size or dimensions of the piece." Explaining to them, before they even got a chance to express any type of feeling about seams, that there's no way you hate seams more than we do, was a way that anyone could comprehend that we're not doing them for fun.... Also helped having a showroom with displays, some of which had seams which I could go further reassure the customer of the non issue it is, visually showing the standards we have for our seams, and should they not meet those standards and leave, to please call us so we can remedy that.
Tim Bayne
Back in the early 2000s I did a ton of Home Depot and Lowe’s jobs. Every display I did in the home stores I would make sure the seams looked like shikaka and then tell the homeowner I can make your seam look better than what you saw at the store!
Nicholas Aikey
You show them an example of the quality of your seams.
Nanette Weeg
We do put in a disclaimer that our seams are not invisible. And show photos of examples.
Eric Wilber
You can always see and feel every seam. The tolerance is .015. Five sheets of paper. We shoot to be perfect but it is not always realistic. If customer not happy with seam not being even we top-polish until nice and smooth. We will also redo the glue color if necessary.
Stephen Murphy
Tell them they will have 2 pieces of stone glued together just the same as they would find at The Vatican or St Marks Cathedral. if their expectations are higher than that perhaps they should have some sort of plastic or resin worktops.
Curt Sample
Do a mockup.
Troy Roberts
What seam?
Shelby Duncan
The goal is for them to not be seen or felt, but It’s a couple of rocks with some glue in it. They aren’t melted together or fused or anything. It should not be a grout joint, but it won’t be a Mona Lisa thing every single time. You gotta start at the concrete to get it that flat.
Colin Hildebrandt
As an installer, I tell the customer they will always see the seam, as the glue is a different material before I get going so that they don't get any ideas. This keeps 99% of them happy. The tech to make a seam disappear is there, use it! It will only benefit the longevity of your installers.
John Teters
Expectations should be set in the showroom -- responsibility of the salesperson. Our contract (and my usual seam speech) includes “Seams are always visible, and always tangible.
Jim Clark
The real question is why do customers think they won’t see a seam? Ya got eyeballs, right? They work?
Erik Thaii
Depends on material as to the type of conversation you’re gonna have
Gary Lowe
In my contracts I have three paragraphs taken word-for-word out of the Marble Institute of America handbook. Stating allowances for lippage, seams, tolerances.
Matt Pelton
Talk with them. Take measuring tapes, don't overpromise.
Ron Kurtzweil
I always told them it will be as inconspicuous as possible and will be the last thing youthey’re think about after they’re installed. I used to do a lot of installs and got asked that 1,000 or so times; it always seemed to help them understand.
Jeremy Boatman
Expectation...told to every customer. They will nearly be invisible and you will feel them.
Manuel Lopez
Tell it is not a seamless product and the seam will be visible.
Basey Billedeaux
They are better than tile seams. When you adhere two stones together they need a binder to keep them together. No thicker than a razor blade is standard.
Greg Koenig
"All seams can be seen and felt. There is no such thing as a perfect seam 100% of the time when gluing 2 pieces of stone together." That is all I ever say and it's heavily pushed in our contract. Yes, our guys are amazing; however the nature of stone is that of which things beyond our control prevent 100% perfect invisible seams.
Carlton Seward
Greg Koenig. no matter how great the color and tightness of the seam it goes from stone to not stone back to stone so it will always been seen in the light at the right angle
Israel Reynolds
Don’t put good ones in your showroom.
Mark Lauzon
Israel Reynolds this 😆
Amanda Celeste Jones-Bell
Israel Reynolds, we did one that wasn’t perfect for a reason. We wanted to show the color can be a bit different even in quartz.
Antonio Ageeb
Start off with using words like 'inconspicuous'' and not ''invisible'' in your wording.
Al Douma
I don’t know what the name of the place in Miami where I saw an island on display that had huge cracks in it. Pure genius. Lower the expectations!
Chris Sousa
Have examples in your showroom.
Gabriel Backer Zuany
Tell them it's a piece of art, let the artist work. Give your best. And some times take a spoon of the glue, make a few mixes, sometimes add yellow, blue and brown when it not even makes sense and you're going to see some colors matching perfectly.