This summer, Carpet One is rolling out two new courses at Carpet One University, the floor covering retailer's proprietary training program for its store owners and their employees.

The new curriculum - "Fast Start" and "Hard Surfaces" - supports the 13-year-old University's overall goal to assist Carpet One owners and staff in becoming more effective and profitable.

"Superior training and customer service are essential ingredients for the continued success of Carpet One stores," said Dean Marcarelli, co-chief operating officer of Carpet One. "Carpet One University arms our owners, managers and sales associates with the tools they need to be flooring industry leaders."

Since its 1992 inception, Carpet One University has offered specialized instruction to 50,000 students (approximately 4,000 per year), including owners, managers and sales associates. The University's curriculum focuses on product knowledge, customer service, installation, merchandising, and selling techniques.

The new Carpet One University courses include:

• "Fast Start." A training program for new hires, "Fast Start" combines online training with intensive five-day, face-to-face sessions. The goal for this course is to jumpstart sales training and get future sales associates up-to-speed quickly and efficiently, so that they're ready to enter the Carpet One workplace. This program reinforces Carpet One's commitment to a customer focused selling environment. The goal is to ensure that anyone who meets a customer in a Carpet One sales environment is prepared to provide the customer with a superior experience where their goals can be met. It will be taught by Carpet One University Director of Training John Umbaugh, an industry veteran with 40 years of experience. Umbaugh has personally trained more than 25,000 Carpet One University students to date.
  
• "Hard Surfaces." This class will be taught by Carpet One University Hard Surface Specialist Jim Aaron, who is well-versed in the flooring industry, having worked extensively with Mohawk Hard Surface Division and other Hard Surface suppliers for 20 years. Aaron will provide Carpet One owners and their sales staff with an in-depth understanding of the popular hard surfaces category. The goal is to ensure each Carpet One Sales Professional has the ability to help customers achieve their goal of improving their home.