Tops in Flooring knows it's about being tops in service
by JESSICA L. FINCH Associate Editor

Gary Boye, owner of Tops in Flooring, goes through the carpeting selection he offers with Rebecca Ryan

Will this carpet match the walls? Will the flooring match the kitchen counters? How will the design look over the entire room?

These questions, and many more, go through the minds of someone trying to remodel a home with new flooring or carpeting.

There is a simpler way to get an answer - shop at home. Williamsville resident Gary Boye has been in the flooring business for 39 years, working on the creation of the shop-at-home concept.

He owns Niagara Frontier Carpet Makers and its subsidiary service, Tops in Flooring.

"We started the concept in the early 90s. It's a non-showroom, inhome consultant company," he said about the Tops in Flooring method. "It was a brand- new way of doing things."

He added that the system was about good service to the customer, which is of the upmost importance when competing with large, national franchises.

Niagara Frontier Carpet Makers offers many types of flooring, Boye said, including vinyl, carpet, ceramic, laminate and hardwood.

Once a customer makes an appointment, Boye assesses their needs and makes a recommendation.

"They can see the samples under their own light, in their environment," he said. "There is no guess work."

He added that another advan- tage to shopping at home is that an exact cost can be calculated.

"The feedback from customers has been they tell me it's great to have someone come out and know exactly what it will cost. And they like that they can see the flooring there. You can't get that personal service at a store."

By visiting the home or business that is being redone, Boye said there are no distractions, only the details the customer needs to focus on.

Tops in Flooring has a trained staff that installs the flooring once the pattern is selected.

Boye has been in the floor covering business since 1968 and is a former CEO for a chain of stores. He then specialized in commercial floor covering. It was through his work in commercial property that Boye got the idea for shop at home.

"Commercial work is done in the field. They have consultants to make recommendations and specify," he said. "I thought that could be transferred to residential."

During the time he was developing the shop -at -home concept for flooring, the country was beginning to use the Home Shopping Network. He said he was a growing trend.

"Tops in Flooring is a concept founded to offer my business model of customer service to other small floor-covering companies across the country to help them compete with big companies," he said. "If the customer has a good experience my reputation goes (before me)."

For information, visit www.NFCarpetmakers.com or call 697-0239. and Bob Becker. Boye's company has been using the shop-at-home method for the past two decades.