I couldn’t get Mark (hubby) to go with me so I went alone, which is often the case. Shopping for home remodeling products and services is something I consider myself quite good at.

Before I go I always search all over online for whatever service or product, or in this case the combination is that I’m looking for.

So after hitting a few different showrooms looking for samples of granite and seeing what our local installers have in stock I ended up at Trademark Universal Stone at 4103 Bishop Ln.

I almost didn’t visit this location due to their website not having much along the lines of samples but it turns out I’m glad I did.

When I first pulled in I was still a bit hesitant because for a Saturday the place didn’t seem very busy, but it was obvious from the signange out front that they were indeed open. So in I went in full stealth mystery shopper mode, with all senses tuned to the highest state.

The minute I walked into their large showroom that is obviously having a considerable renovation done to it, I was impressed with the size of the place.

Within seconds a young lady came up and asked if she could assist me, and this is good. I like this when I’m shopping and especially when it’s something home related. So that’s when I met Rosie and she started showing me around the place.

Of course I asked to see some of their work and she took me into a mock up area that had several different sections laid out as kitchen areas with different colors and styles of stones for me to view. Also there were several sample racks with various types of granite samples displayed on them so that I could see them for myself.

While Rosie and I were talking, a young man that was passing through the showroom slowed down then stopped next to us and politely waited for a pause in the conversation we were having. When he saw a break he introduced himself to me as Henry Berroa the owner and wanted to make sure all was going well during my visit. Big points for Henry here! I love meeting business owners.

He asked Rosie to check my schedule and if my time permitted to take me back in the back and show me the processing area.. Really! Of course I wanted to go back into the back and see the inner workings. I’d never seen inside a granite fabrication and design facility past the showroom and couldn’t wait to see the back stage.

Wow!! I’m sure somewhere in the back of my mind that I new granite came in these monster slabs. But I had no idea they were so large and heavy that they needed to be lifted and guided with forklifts and big wenches. The workers were all doing their things and I must say it looked like a very efficiently run ship. But then I will admit that I don’t know that much about what I was looking at. However Rosie did lead me around and informed me what stages each individual piece of granite was going through at that particular station, and it was totally interesting to me because we are going to be having granite installed during an upcoming kitchen remodel.

Before leaving I scheduled to have Henry’s person out to our residence where they will measure our entire project in anticipation of putting together pricing for us. Rosie was kind enough to give me an adequate amount of literature and brochures about the individual styles and colors of granite that they carry so that I can bore my poor husband to death when I get home.

I reassured Henry that I’d read everyone of the customer testimonials on his website and thanked him for taking his time out to talk to me, and having Rosie let me see the back end of their business.

In a week or two I will drag my husband back over there with me to make what will in all likelihood be our choice of style and color. Not that we’ve hired Trademark yet, but I’ve shopped long enough to know that when I find a winner that’s what I go with. And barring Henry’s price not being crazy I will go with Trademark for my Granite because I like quality.

My over all rating of Trademark Universal Stone on a scale of 1 to 5 is a solid 5. Customer service was outstanding and they made me feel as though I was the most important person in the building and I was. The products are top notch and the employees and quality of work in the showroom was perfect. If the estimating process or pricing and installation proves otherwise I will report it here. Somehow though my years of experience tell me that I will not be disappointed.

So there you have it. Out of the 4 places I visited on Saturday to see Granite countertops in Louisville KY, one and one only stands out in my mind as the clear winner. TRADEMARK UNIVERSAL STONE.