GREENFIELD — Good customer service, a unique process and the satisfaction that comes with a job well done — that’s what Greenfield resident Tyler Ward said motivated him to take over as owner of Pristine Orientals after being in the high-end rug business for a number of years.
Ward bought Pristine Oriental on Butternut Street last November, and said besides a bit of a learning curve on the business end of things, the transition went smoothly. He said he’s been in the business for about six years and got started by working for former Pristine Oriental owners Bill Noyes and Dennis Cleary after high school. He later went on to work for another company that focused more on wall-to wall carpeting.
“I kind of had wanted to do more than what I was doing, and these guys were selling,” Ward said. “I enjoyed the work, I enjoyed dealing with customers bringing dirty rugs in and getting clean rugs back, and the satisfaction that comes with that.”
Another highlight of the job, he said, is the process the business uses for cleaning rugs, which Noyes and Cleary flew out to Colorado to learn when they founded Pristine Oriental in 1973.
“(Other companies) kind of wash it more as a carwash type of wash, whereas this is more of a car detail where quality shoppers go instead of price shoppers,” Ward said. “A lot of the rugs we have in here are nice orientals and they’re not cheap, so we take delicate care where some other companies just do the necessities.”
The seven-step process involves using compressed air to dust the rugs, letting them soak overnight in a pool of water, washing them with a shampoo called Orvus, which Ward said is used by a lot of veterinarians and is safe on wool, and flushing the rugs with water and air.
The business also offers mothproofing, rug wrapping, padding, stretching and storage, repairs, pickup, delivery and shipping, as well as wall-to-wall carpeting for homes and businesses.
“If you want to come in and see how we wash rugs, we’re open 1 to 5 p.m. and the doors are always open. I don’t hide anything from anybody,” Ward said. “If you have a fine oriental rug and you care about it, you might want to see how it gets done.”
He owns and operates the business himself and stressed the importance of good customer service, recalling a recent occasion when he dropped off rugs to two sisters who had sent them to be cleaned.
“We went to the first sister and before we even got to the second sister, (the first sister) called her and said, ‘You’re going to love the way your rugs look,’” Ward said. “That’s it right there. It makes me feel good about what I do.”
For more information about Pristine Orientals, including a detailed breakdown of the cleaning process, visit: pristineorientals.com
You can reach Aviva Luttrell at: aluttrell@recorder.com
or 413-772-0261, ext. 268
On Twitter: @AvivaLuttrell