As with any rapidly developing community, many large-scale corporations move in. However, All Flooring USA is an example of a community-conscious small business soon to open its doors in Lake Nona. Owner Hector Torres moved to Florida in 2004 after experiencing what he said was his last cold winter. Currently, he lives in Fells Cove, just south of the Orange County and Osceola County border. Hector moved to this part of Central Florida because he identified the area as a tremendous opportunity to grow his business, expanding from another location on State Road 50, just east of State Road 408.

“It’s a nice community. That’s what brought us here was the community. The schools are good schools for the kids and also the VA Hospital,” said Hector, who likes the convenience he now has as a veteran being close to the VA Hospital. Hector takes pride in his business being veteran-owned and operated. He feels his experience in the United States Army gives him an advantage over his competition.

“The initiative that you pick up in the military, strength of character, things that you learn to do, how to work with other people, work with teams, all that leads to having good business sense. Also, making the right decisions, and being decisive when you need to be,” said Torres.

Hector also places a large amount of emphasis on staying involved with the day-to-day operations of his company, in addition to being the business owner. “The customers deal hands on with me. I’m always in one of the stores, and I do a lot of the measures, so we’re very upfront with everything, very transparent. For example, I’m going to measure for this customer today. If he wants installation this week, and I have the product in stock, because I carry a lot of things, I can get it installed Thursday or Friday for him,” said Torres.

Many times, large-scale flooring and home décor retailers receive the reputation of being less expansive. Hector explains that the consumer should be careful to make sure that all of the work required to complete the job is included in the estimate.

“What that means for laminate (flooring), for example, (is) we’ll go and pick up your carpet and padding, and dispose of it; we don’t leave it out on the curb. If there’s a second floor and the floor squeaks and creeks, we try to address it then and put ring nails or screws into the sub-floor to try to eliminate the noise. Then we take out the baseboards at no extra charge. We install the upgraded laminate pad (between the subfloor and the new flooring), which is the only one I use, the best laminate pad available. We then install the laminate and put the transitions at the doorway. Lastly, we put the baseboards back on, caulk them, and move the furniture back,” said Hector.

Along with staying involved in the daily operations, using his own installers (not subcontractors), and providing a complete package, Hector wears All Flooring USA’s A+ Better Business Bureau rating as a badge of honor, a rating they have held for 12 years. Hector credits turning what would be unhappy customers into enthusiastic supporters as the reason for such a high rating. Torres explains that if there is a problem with any installation, they go and fix it no matter what. He even admits that sometimes a customer will ask him to repair something or take care of a situation that his company isn’t responsible for. He still addresses the problem so the customer is satisfied with the end result.

All Flooring USA opens its doors in Lake Nona at the beginning of May, if not earlier. Thinking about upgrading your existing flooring, cabinetry, or counter tops?  Go visit Hector at 9368 Narcoossee Rd., Suite #103 (South West Corner at Intersection of Narcoossee  & Dowden).