KISS Carpet History, Meet The Owners

- History -
- Meet The Owners -

Ken Roberts never forgot the words of motivational speaker Earl Nightingale: “Keep it simple, salesmen.”

In fact, the advice made such an impression on Ken that he and wife Kathy decided to use it when they named their business.

KISS carpet in Mancelona not only carries Nightingale’s words in its name, but the philosophy has carried through in the way the Roberts do business. It’s worked so well that the have opened three other stores at 6250 E. Traverse Hwy in Traverse City, 126 Waters St. in downtown Boyne City, and at 8600 Moeller Dr. in Harbor Springs.

KISS carpet opened in March of 1986 in Mancelona and has expanded that location three times to meet the demand of customers. People used to ask the Roberts why they built a store “in the middle of nowhere.” His answer? “It’s the middle of everywhere!”

The Mancelona showroom at 7152 U.S. 131 has more than 15,000 square feet of space to showcase every type of flooring, including thousands of yards of stock carpet and vinyl and hundreds of remnants. At all KISS locations customers can view a huge selection of colors, products, and the latest fashion statements in the flooring industry.

The warehouse in Mancelona is the is key to their success as it’s size allows KISS Carpet to buy in larger quantities at reduced rates, four locations also aids in this strategy, and then they pass those same discounts along to their customers.

It’s a family business, with Ken and his son Ken working together to successfully run 4 locations and millions of dollars worth of inventory. What sets KISS apart from others? “We continually stay focused on our service department, working on providing the best service to our customers, the type of service they cannot get anywhere else.” “We also have a great and loyal staff, including office, sales and estimating department.”

“We provide the extra service much-needed in the carpet business,” Ken Says. That means your flooring project will likely pass through Ken’s hands. Now that’s service. KISS follows up on every installation job to ensure that customer satisfaction remains at the highest level. KISS realizes that they owe the people and businesses in Antrim and Kalkaska counties a huge thank you for helping them succeed and grow. They look forward to adding new customers to their growing family of satisfied customers as they continue to service northern Michigan.