Speedwell Design

ABSOLUTELY BEST PRICES They absolutely have the best prices in northern New Jersey. How do I know? Well, it's sort of my job to know. I've literally gone to every single flooring/tiling store and Speedwell has beaten them all, sometimes by a very significant margin. If you don't believe me, call any store and get a quote on a piece of flooring. A lot of them will say they don't quote over the phone. (That's double-speak for we want you to come down and then hopefully, when you hear the price, you'll be too lazy to go back to the cheaper place and you'll just order then and there. What's crazy is that this actually works. Ask car dealers.) Think about this observation I made about them. Their normal prices are better than the sale prices of other places. It makes my job easier since I don't have to always comparison shop because I know I'm going to get the best price. I still do time to time to make sure but it's always cheaper. WHAT MIGHT BE WRONG I think the reason for the negative Yelp reviews is that this business does a lot of business with commercial buyers who buy in bulk. (Thus, the cheap prices.) They don't do as much business with residential customers so they don't have their own in-house installation crew. They sub-contract the work and that is the problem. They try to find good people but quality control is pretty tough when you are subcontracting the work out. This is probably the reason why there are so many complaints about the workmanship. Speedwell isn't overseeing the work so they can't control the results. Speedwell probably just offers installation as more of a "favor" to residential customers. (I'm not sure of this but I'm just speculating.) If I were them, I would just sell floor products rather than include installation. It's the better business model. But, what do I know, right? SELECTION AND TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE The ladies in the store are absolutely the nicest people you'll meet. They let me take their only sample piece over the weekend so I could bring them to job sites. My designer could now see if the sample piece's color truly matches the room's surrounding fixtures. That's really great customer service. Their store has a real wide range of products to choose from and the ladies' technical knowledge is solid. What's more important is taste and they've made some great suggestions in the past. BUY THE MATERIALS HERE. FIND YOUR OWN CONTRACTOR TO INSTALL. This is how you save a few hundred/thousand bucks. The contractor is not going to go looking for the best price like you will. But, they do get a slightly discounted contractor's price sometimes so when you go shopping around, just say that you're a designer and you want the contractor's price. Not so hard, is it? I'm a property manager so I have previously used contractors lined up to install the product. I suggest you guys to look for contractors that will just do the install. To find good contractors, ask to take a look at work projects that they have done a year or two ago. (Newly installed product will almost always look good; the bad quality reveals itself over time. Look really close and be anal.) If you still want to use Speedwell's subcontractors, ask them to only suggest contractors that they absolutely know to be awesome. I'm sure they will tell you the truth. They really are nice people.

They did a very good job.

We had multiple interactions with Kathy and the rest of the staff at Speedwell Designs over a 5 - 6 month period as we completed the various stages of the remodel of our family room. It all started with carpeting for the stairs. I wanted to match existing carpeting on another staircase in our house, but the store in Summit (closer to my home) I had purchased that from had since gone out of business. Speedwell Designs carried the same carpet, so I went to take a look and discovered the full range of services they offer. Ultimately, we ended up purchasing not only the carpeting for the stairs, but drapes and shades for the window, an area rug, and custom throw pillows for the new sofa and chairs. At each step, from consultation to measuring to installation, we received courteous, top-notch professional service. Kathy, in particular, proved to be invaluable in helping us achieve the exact look we wanted for the space without sacrificing function. And, when there was a problem with the shade (manufacturer's fault), Kathy and the Speedwell team got it corrected asap.

Ashely the salesperson was very patient and helpful. The installers were experts in the field. They did an unbelievable job.