STANFORD CARPET

I travelled here from Phoenix to assist my best friend in redecorating and moving her mother into a lovely subsidized apartment in Santa Clara. The only hitch was the hideous carpet that came with it; the facility would only allow changes if the changes made were returned to their original appearance when the apartment was vacated. We determined that the best option was to install carpeting over the original, but finding a carpet company willing to install carpeting over existing carpet was a vexing; even with a waiver of any liability and expressed written permission from the facility! My best friend and her husband were familiar with Al and Stanford Carpet, from carpet installation in her home and in other properties. I spoke with Al about our constraints and he agreed to do the installation. Now it could have just ended there but we still need carpet; Al allowed me to bring HIS samples home so that a decision could be made and also to shop for competitive carpets and prices. In the end we purchased our carpet from Al because he had the best price and by far the best accommodating attitude. The installer Sam, was both efficient, confident and conscientious. When we determined that there should be carpeting in the bathroom in the apartment, once again Al was there to assist suggesting that instead of tacking the carpet down, since it would eventually be removed, to 'loose lay' the carpet. Al selected a beautiful plush carpet from remnants in his stock had it bound and had Sam install it. So, within one week of my arrival in California the pivotal piece of our design scheme was settled. I only wish that I could upload the pictures for all to see. Thank you Al and Sam for making my work and my best friends life so easy.

The master bedroom installation was comprised of 3 separate pieces of carpet. None of the seams matched, and the carpet was raised at the seams (see photo 1). Stanford Carpet owner Al Habiby came the next day to collect his payment, and I showed him and told him the quality did not seem good. He assured me after vacuuming it several times and after a few months of settling in, it would be fine. I called back letting him that the work wasn t satisfactory. (Note: they postponed the installation by a day, came the next day, and finished at 10 pm.) To his credit, he sent his installers back; however, not for several days later as Al is more interested in servicing new customers then fixing problems with recent jobs. While they were able to improve the carpet (now there are two pieces instead of three and the seams mostly line up), it s still sub-par (see photo 2). The seam buckles in more spots than it lays flat. I sent him a letter asking for a refund for the master bedroom, which he ignored. I called him again, and he said he d send someone out. He never followed through, which is just as well as his installers told me they would not be able to do a better job anyway, citing similar problems with this same style carpet before. There were other problems. They installed the carpet in the closet in the opposite direction as in the master bedroom. I specifically told Al I wanted it to go the same way, which he said was OK. The carpet in the second bedroom was to span the whole room including the attached closet. One of the installers cut the carpet short; he said there was a stain, which is why he cut it. Al s fix was for him to glue the carpet back together, hardly an optimal scenario for brand new carpet. In addition, they did not put padding in the closet, so there is an obvious indentation between the room and closet (see photo 3), which did not exist with the old carpet installation. Al has an excuse for every problem. He also said he'd provide mats made from the carpet, which he never delivered. I filed a complaint with the BBB on Stanford Carpet. I wish I checked that site before going with Stanford Carpet. They have an unsatisfactory rating on BBB for 2 unanswered complaints.

THE OWNER IS A BIT QUIRKY, BUT WORTH IT FOR THE QUALITY AND PRICE.