I was going to the post office at 2:00 pm today and it was 98 degrees. Very hot day in Los Angeles. The rug market has been very slow. We hang a 5' x 8' rug outside of our store every day and put it on sale for $69. We change the rug everyday if it is not sold so when we say "Today Only", our customers do not lose their trusts on us.

Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
www.RugIdea.com
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
310-770-9085

We hang an area rug on a rack outside of our rug gallery on La Cienega Blvd. every day to attract customers. The day before yesterday, I was the last one who left and closed the doors. I totally forgot to take this rug off and put it inside. When I came to work yesterday, I realized the mistake I had made. The rug was still there hanging on the rack!!Why should I forget to take the rug down and bring it back inside. Was I too busy, or it is because of the AGE?!!! :)

Khosrow Sobhe
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
310-770-9085

We have online chat on our web site. A customer chatted with me for a few minutes and got a quote from me for rug cleaning. He showed up in less than half an hour and brought us one Moroccan kilim, one Moroccan hand knotted rug and an area rug for cleaning and minor repair. He needs to buy a hand knotted 12-foot long runner for which he will comeback later.

That is the miracle of the Internet and online chat in getting rug cleaning business!!

Khosrow Sobhe
www.RugIdea.com
310-770-9085

Yesterday, we had two customers, a husband and a wife looking for an 8 x 11 feet area rug. They messed up our store and liked/disliked many pieces. Finally, they selected one piece. The wife said I would also like to have a matching runner. We found a matching runner from the same collection with the same design and color combination. She said it would be much nicer if we could order another runner since she would like to have two runners. We found another runner. Strange?! The husband looked at the label of the rug and said " This rug is from Romania!!". And I said what about it? Are you from Romania yourself? The man smiled and said YES. I said OK now you have no excuse. You should buy these three pieces. They did buy the rug and the two matching runners.

Khosrow Sobhe
www.RugIdea.com
310-770-9085

Before I close my rug store this afternoon, a lady walked in carrying an area rug for cleaning. I walked toward her and got the rug from her. It was an extremely dirty rug. It had a kind of Zebra design. I measured the rug and said it would cost her $125 to have it cleaned and she could pick it up in a week. She said $125 would be too much for her at this time and she prefers to bring the rug back after the Christmas. I said what if we clean the rug and she picks it up after the holidays. I did not want to lose her rug and her business. She agreed. After I issued her a receipt, I said if you need your rug for the Christmas, you can pick it up next week and pay us after the holiday season is over. She was so surprised and could not believe me and I told her I did really mean it. She left our store happily and said she would comeback soon after she pick up her rug to buy a hand made rug from us.

Khosrow Sobhe
www.RugIdea.com

Few days ago, we went to a customers house to pick up two rugs for cleaning. The rugs were very old Karastan Kerman machine made area rugs. The rug pads were not the right kind and the standard pads suitable for hard wood floors. They had been spoiled over the years and were attached to the back of the rugs. The rugs were so dirty that made the back of our car dirty and full of filth, dust and dirt. here I am posting few photos. The rugs came out alright after the cleaning.

Khosrow Sobhe
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
310-770-9085

Area Rug and A Half a Million Dollar Ferrari!

A beautiful half a million dollar Ferrari stopped in our parking lot and blocked the way to our store. A young man got off and came into our store and we thought he would buy one of our Persian silk rugs. He said you have a $99 area rug on a rack in front of your store; what other colors do you have in this price range?!

He looked at few rugs and left without buying anything. I said to my son who was with me at the store "Everything looks upside down these days. A homeless man buys a rug (read the story)and pays cash and a man with a $500,000 Ferrari asks for a $99-rug and doesn't buy anything!"

Khosrow Sobhe
www.RugIdea.com
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
www.RugTentSale.com

The day before yesterday around 5:00 pm a homeless man walked into our rug gallery and looked at an area rug which was on a stack of Persian rugs and asked for the price. I treated him well with respect and responded to his question. He said he would come back tomorrow morning at 10:00. Surprisingly, he showed up tomorrow, paid cash and picked up the rug carrying it on his shoulder. I was happy that I treated him respectfully and it paid off.


Khosrow Sobhe
www.RugIdea.com
310-770-9085

It is 4:44 am and I could not sleep. I got up after struggling in my bed to continue to sleep. It did not work. So I checked my e-mails. These days I receive many inquiries from walk in or the Internet customers who want to sell their rugs. They either have no space to keep the rug in or need money therefore want to sell their rugs. What is the best way of selling a rug? I will have to talk about this in a separate post.

I have noticed that most of my customers who buy rugs from me, area, Persian, or Oriental rugs, would prefer to buy traditional or classic design rugs. I have not been that successful to sell rugs in modern or transitional designs. I do not have a good reason for this, but I can guess that traditional designs are never out of market, while those designs which come with fashion and trend, will go by the change of the fashion. On the other hand, many people are used to traditional rug designs, so when they come to my rug gallery on 1655 South La Cienega Blvd, in Los Angeles, they look for a familiar design.

Khosrow Sobhe
www.RugIdea.com
310-770-9085