This is a very busy time of year all around.  At home there are dinners to plan, decorations to put up and gifts to buy.  At work we have been making sure there are people on the phones to answer your calls, stock in the warehouse and ensuring things go out on time. I’m mentally prepared for high volume of calls, figuring I’d be selling a lot of our in stock folding mats or a balance beam, but I’m talking to more people about Anti Fatigue mats and Carpet mats than any of our more typical holiday items. I don’t quite get it. I know most of the country is being rained or snowed on, and I’m sure keeping floors clean is probably a big concern, but I might be upset if I received and Anti Fatigue mat for Christmas. Not that it isn’t a great product, but I would only buy somebody something so practical if it was expensive and our mats so aren’t!

The Carpet logo mats I kind of understand.  They’re very practical for keeping your floors clean and dry but they’re customizable so you can create a unique one of a kind gift for someone. One of my co-workers actually bought one for her husband for his garage. Now he has something cool to look at and she knows all the garage crud won’t be tracked in on his shoes into their house.

Speaking of the garage!! And this is totally off subject, but I just had a customer put Tuff-n-Easy tiles in his garage and I want to now! We advertise that they’re meant for gym or garage flooring, but I personally have never had somebody use them in the garage. According to my customer the tiles have a very professional clean look and protects his cement. I wouldn’t think the garage floor is something you’d be concerned with “protecting”, but I guess over time oil and whatever else can make it look pretty gross. Also, if you have weights or heavy equipment you can be sure if you drop them they won’t crack the floor or me damaged by it.

I recently, FINALLY, got business cards and now I’m looking for reasons to give them out! I got my first opportunity a few days ago. As you may not know, I have become permanently damaged and have this constant need to examine any “Mat” I come across. Well, I was at a car repair shop and noticed their Carpet Logo Mats were in horrible condition! I could clearly see the name of the company they got it from; it’s one that makes the mat and also picks it up and cleans it for you.

Now I’m not going to throw that company under the bus, but they don’t seem to have a very good product. Granted the fact that they have a cleaning service is probably a big appeal, but I would think a mat that’s easy to clean yourself (like ours) is probably better.  It also seemed to me that they either don’t know how to clean their mats right or have a very low quality mat. The one I saw had absolutely no border on one side, and according to the repair shop guy- he was told that just happens sometimes, and he’d need to buy a new mat. I saw my chance. I casually pulled out a card and said “check out my company’s website, our mats won’t fall apart when you clean them”.  I should have also mentioned that the artwork on our entry logo mats would be much clearer than his mat, but I didn’t want to bad mouth the competition anymore.

I’ve always believed that our quality speaks for itself.  Carpet Logo Mats are a great way to advertise at the entrance of your business. These personalized floor mats have a washable, rubber gripper back for safety and longevity.  In addition, these mats are durable and fade-resistant.

He’ll call, eventually. Especially now it’s starting to rain he’ll probably have a need for a mat with borders. Even if his current mat has the capacity to hold water and debris, without a border the water will just leak out.  I almost feel like going back over there to point out that with the current weather his mat will probably need to be cleaned more and could potentially fall apart more.

On a side note (as a testament to how great our stuff holds up) I bought my grandma a cushion comfort mat over a year ago and I know it gets plenty of abuse.  It looks a little darker but with no tears or scuffs.  As important, it held its cushion feel very well, it still feels brand new!

I know I just wrote a blog article about seeing our products or similar, but just yesterday I had two experiences that I thought I’d tell you about.

The first happened at a bakery in Studio City, CA. While I was ordering my ice cream, I looked down and realized I was standing on a carpet logo mat. Of course the first thing I did was flip over the mat corners to see if our name is anywhere, once I determined it wasn’t ours (thankfully, because it was torn up!) I told the lady behind the counter that if they need a new mat, I can get them one of much better quality, for much less than I’m sure they paid.  I didn’t expect her to get the manager!!  When he came out I let him know that I work for a company that manufactures logo mats, and I noticed that his may need to be replaced soon.  He tried to tell me that their mat looked like that because it was thrown in a washing machine and those types of mats can only be dry cleaned, “as I’m sure you’re aware “.  I couldn’t wait to tell him that our carpet logo mats can absolutely be thrown in a washing machine and our colors would not fade nearly as bad as his. I’m not sure if he’ll call me but as we were pulling out of the parking lot I saw the cashier rolling up the mat. 

The other incident happened literally 15 minutes later while I was walking by a Martial Arts studio. My friends and I were walking in an alley and I saw a few boxes of what looked like our red/blue jumbo interlocking foam mats, so again I stopped to look. This time I wasn’t planning on saying anything but I was busted by the owner while looking at the tiles…woops!  At first he was a little angry as I’m sure he thought I was trying to steal from him, but then I explained that I work for a company that sells martial arts flooring and was just curious.  He asked me what company and “out of curiosity” what my pricing for these tiles were. Unfortunately I had to tell him that we don’t carry those tiles, ours are 4’x’4×1” and his appeared to be 40”x40”x1/2”.  He then, like the bakery guy, proceeded to try and educate me by telling me that the thicker tiles really don’t work as well.  He said they are too soft and therefore make it harder to maneuver and don’t support your knees and ankles.  He tried to make it sound like my knowledge was incorrect.  Since he obviously just purchased tiles and I wasn’t in the mood to argue with a Sensei in a dark alley, I said “ya that makes sense” and kept walking.  I’ve never used these tiles, all I know is what I hear from you guys, but I find it hard to believe that people would be expanding their floors if they didn’t work. I found this fun video of our tiles being used and it looks to me that everybody’s ankles are being supported, and able to maneuver pretty well.  You be the judge…
http://youtu.be/sR5-NKFYB9Q

“Thank you for calling MatsMatsMats.com! This is Chris, how can I help you?” 

Say that 10 times fast.  My whole life is mats.  I know we all take work home with us, but that usually applies to actual work or problems from work.  I find myself noticing our products (or similar) all over the place.  From the Marble Fatigue Mat at Costco to the Jumbo martial arts tiles at the DoJo by my movie theater and the carpet logo mats I see everywhere.  

I find myself inspecting various products to see if they are ours or if they compare.  Often, they are our products and unfortunately for the various businesses, many other times they are not our products and look pretty “cheap”.   One of these days I need give those business owners my business card and the opportunity to get a product that will last, and is most likely less expensive.  All I need is a little courage, because I’m not a very pushy person- It’s easier when I get to talk to you guys because I’m really just giving you more information on something you already want or need.

Am I the only one that finds themselves being an employee outside of work? I think it’s probably that it’s just become second nature- and maybe a little pride?  Every once and a while a friend or family member will say something about needing kneeling pads, or a yoga mat or something we carry and I find myself very eager to just start spewing all the information I know about those products and why ours are better than anybody else’s. What is that?!?!  Let’s be honest, mats aren’t the most fascinating thing to talk about but for some reason I’m progressively more aware of their existence.  Please tell me I’m not alone!  I know you can’t comment below…but feel free to call me (877.777.6287)! I’d love to hear your stories.