A few words about samples loaned out to customers: There is a lot of disagreement as to whether sending samples home with the customer is in the retailer’s best interest. Many of the pundits of our industry discourage such a practice, as they are afraid customers will drag these samples into other retailers, shop by phone, or search the internet hoping to secure a better price. It helps that the retailers these days generally have the option to private label (private branding) and most do, even if it is entirely the choice of the vendors. For suppliers, private labeling is a simple matter of logistics; mills want to create exclusive products in more showrooms while maintaining a realistic inventory.
Proponents of check-out samples maintain that when a customer is buying or looking at new flooring, taking samples home is crucial to good service. Even with the best in-store design efforts, the customer may need to see several different samples in the home as each sample is likely to look different in different parts of the house, and lighting can have quite an impact. Sometimes it’s a trial-and-error process for your customer. If you want to aggravate the bejeezus out of a customer, explain to her she cannot take a sample home to match with her personal decor when she is about to spend thousands of dollars in your store. The “director” personality may find this especially discontenting.