Arrrgggh!

Bill Henry-

Brussel Sprout Connoisseur
Joined
Aug 17, 2002
Posts
21,495
Loc
Boondock Bowerbank, ME
Business
Retired from the grind
While I was using the chopper in the back part of the store, a woman came in to claim a finished frame.

Rather than wait for me at the front sales counter, she decided to meet me half way in work area. Anticipating having to pay for her completed framing, she unslung her shoulder bag (roughly the size and mass of a small refrigerator) and dropped it onto the work table.

Unfortunately, between the bag and the work table was a dry mounted, glossy poster which I had just finished glazing. The glass on the poster was no match for the studs on her bag. She appeared astonished that the 2 mm piece of glass would not support her hand tooled, leather accessory.

Sensing the weight of the bag would prompt her to slide the bag rather than lift it, I yelled, “Wait!”. Too late! She dragged the bag off the table and, wedged between the poster and her bag, a sliver of glass. The glass, of course, shaved a two inch swath from the surface of the poster. I was clearly not going to be able to complete that work in progress by Tuesday.

The woman blushed, then said, “I hope you don’t think I did that! The glass must have been defective!”

Without a word I calmly retrieved her frame and presented her with the bill. Without a word, she paid me.

As she was leaving, I said to her, “Needless to say, m'am, please find another picture framer!”

Merry freakin’ Christmas, lady!
 
Wow Bill!

Sounds like the kind of person that you would throw a beer bottle at if her car broke down and she is thumbing a ride!

Merry Christmas!
 
Bill... ohmygawd - you have my sympathy - people just don't realize the affect of their actions and then don't want to take responsibility.

I can't say anything quite that bad has happened to me - even though people will set things on things at my design counter... not even thinking about what they are setting it on. They probably are the people with piles of stuff at home and just keep piling it up (not that I don't do my fair share of that.. but it is my stuff and I know what it is!)...

I hope that is your only snafu this holiday week...
 
And I thought I was having a bad day when I got the piece needed for tuesday completely together and found that there was a little scratch on the front of the glossy black frame! :mad:
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By the way, do you have a sign telling customers not to come in your backroom? I admire your ability not to go balistic on her. I think I would have made her pay for the glass and the poster!
 
Bill,

Make darn sure the payment clears ASAP! That's the kind of thoughtless person who would cancel payment on a check or call her credit card company and complain about you.

You have the patience of a saint, in my opinion. I would have asked how she would feel if that were HER job lying there in shredded pieces!

Some people are so into themselves that they have no regard for anyone else's things.

Framerguy
 
On two (2) separate occasions, I have been working with a customer at the design counter, only to have a second customer come in and place a wet umbrella directly on top of the artwork belonging to the first customer.

That's when you wish your shop dog was a Bengal tiger.

The worst part, Bill, is that you can't even tell the owner of the damaged art exactly what happened. Nobody (but another framer) would believe you.
 
Female customers are the notorious floppers of their "stuff"(pocketbooks, umbrellas, coffee(!),
print tubes, children(!), etc)

Men seem to treat the design counter a little more reverently. After they get over the initial shock that there is no Mr. Framer that will be doing their work, they want to help me lift all those heavy corner samples of frames and mats(?) and help me put em away so we can begin their project. Where are they when I'm toting the 32 x 40 pieces of glass?

Bill, I hate that this situation happened to you! Were you able to locate a replacement print? No one is allowed back in my work zone unless they are gonna be framing.
 
It must be the season. Friday afternoon. Woman strolls in and drops her home-mounted poster and husband-made piece-o-shet frame right on top of this very nice anal retentive husband who wanted to frame his wifes doctors degree. (Real sheep)

"Here is that frame I want this poster in."

I carefully picked it up. There were three marks on the sheepskin.

The husband and I stared in horror.

"I didn't do that. I must have been there before. And anyway, it's only a diploma."

I gathered in my rage. My boss and partner was standing in the door stunned.

Quietly is said "Your husband seems to have made a fine start on your project, I'm sure he can also finish it the same way."

"Now that you have marked up this gentlemans $300,000 piece of art, you can leave."

"It's only a piece of paper from a college, for gods sake."

"no" I replied "This Sheep Skin represents the 12 long hard years this mans wife devoted to becoming one of the best doctors around. This little key means that she graduated in the top 5% of her class, and this trimming means that she was the Valadictorian which means there was no student with a higher standing. She was #1 in her class. And if you don't mind, I will now attempt to remove your offall from his art."

I did clean it luckily with a neadum eraser.

His response was even more stunning. "I didn't realize that she was first in her class. I thought she just gave that speech because she wanted to. Thanks. I guess I need to pay more attention." You could have knocked me over with a feather.

At the door, he turned and said "I'm never going anywhere else for framing."

I think I'll have his diploma ready on Wednesday.
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People can be so thoughtless. In today' society they are just so harried. I had a customer run in to my shop and say she picked this frame up at Joanne's but she did not like the poster that was mounted in it. So she ordered another poster online and wanted me to place the second poster in her frame. Needless to say, she paid a pretty penny for my time. By the way, she had paid $199 for the frame with the poster she did not like at Joannes. She could have gotten a custom piece for just a bit more, after she also paid for her online art poster. Did I also mention it was plastic?
 
baer your response is the most eloquently spoken thing i have ever heard.

and then to have the husband tell you he didnt realize what those items on the diploma meant...

I bet when he went home he cherished his wife even more, and started to pay more attention to what she is all about. You probably just changed thier whole marriage for the better!
happy! happy! joy! joy!
 
I had a substitute Postal Carrier (mail man) come in at an old shop I worked at and toss the mail 5 feet to the counter to land on a customers work that her child did. He didn't even look back or acknowledge us. I apologized and gave her a percentage off and the regular mail man came back the next day.
It made me want to go ........ wait for it........POSTAL!!!
 
Baer: Absolutely amazing story. I'm glad it ended so well.
Bill: Hope the poster is one that is easily replaceable. What a nightmare.
It never ceases to amaze me how people have no clue about how their actions affect others, and, as Roz said, don't want to take responsibility for them.
Oh well, I guess you go into business with the customers you have... not those you might wish to have some time in the future. ;)
You guys should have a nice tall spiked eggnog after dealing with those folks.
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Rick
 
I’ve calmed down quite a bit since the “incident”. The thing that really cheesed me off was her inability to accept any responsibility. If she’d apologized, everything would have been fine.

Glass is cheap and the poster is one of those ubiquitous charts of the Red Sox World Series win that anyone can find anywhere in New England these days for five bucks in a store that sells Twinkies and beer. I replaced the poster last night in a Quickie Try-’n-Save Mart.

I figured that if I had tried to make her pay for the damage, she would have walked and have been too embarrassed to come back, anyway. By my banning her from the store (only the second so-called customer I’ve said that to in nineteen years), I got to control the situation, display my indignation and feel slightly superior.

I feel much better now!
 
I think the Christmas Grinch is alive and prospering here in my part of the country. He's living in one of the Big Boxes.

Last week a woman called to find out if I could frame an original charcoal that was done by her brother who had just recently died. Generally I wouldn't guarantee it this close to Christmas, but she was so nice that I told her to bring it over.

She brought this gorgeous picture in and together we picked out a pretty spendy moulding and frame. Over $400 worth.

Then she told me how much this picture was really costing her. I almost fainted. Little did I know that she had already taken the picture to one of the big boxes before finding me.

Not only had she been treated badly by this store, she was told that they would not guarantee that it would be done in time for Christmas. Because she really wanted this gift done she left them a copy of it, paid them $400 in cash and told them that she was still going to try elsewhere just in case she was able find someone who would gaurentee it in time for Christmas. When she left she told them that she would get back to them within the hour if she needed to cancel the order.

She then called me on the advise of a friend. An hour and a half later she called the big box back to tell them that she needed to cancel her order. She was told that it was too late, that everything had already been ordered and that they would only return half of her money if she canceled. Now...I could see maybe keeping $25 for their trouble....but half! Grinch, Grinch, Scrooge, and words I can't repeat!

The Big Box lost this customer forever, deservedly so, and she will tell everyone she knows how they treated her. I now have a customer who will always remember me kindly. Especially when she finds out that not only will she have her picture in time for Christmas, it will only cost her half of what she expects to pay. The Grinch will not spoil her Christmas if I can help it.

Merry Christmas to you all in Grumbleland and a happy and prosperous New Year.
 
I often bring small and interesting projects to work on out front. There is many reasons I do this but primarily I like to get out of the workshop and customers get to see some of the neat projects I'm working on.

I have already discontinued this practice because the piece often gets put at the front counter. I can't recall a single time when another customer showed said piece one ounce of respect. No matter what it was or its value it was treated much like a tablecloth. Now all work stays in the back and unfortunately so do I. Customers aren't allowed there.
 
Bill, I'm so glad you could replace the poster so easily. Last year cost me $350 for a boot leg Lyle Lovitt poster with a little dimple in the mount....

This morning, I took advantage of the rain-free time and went for a brisk bike ride.

A young couple entered from a joining street and the young man realized who I was.

"Baer! I'd like you to meet my #1 wife."

What a sweetie! We chatted a bit as we enjoyed the morning. She still doesn't know how we got onto her being validictorian.... Residencey with lack of sleep will do that. . .

Evidently they have several pictures that were gifts and poorly framed in their youth.....

There is magic in the air this time of year....
 
Baer,

I am not really a hopeless romantic, but I think that is one of the neatest Christmas framer stories I have ever heard. Your response to a disrespectful customer turned into something so nice.

Kuddos to you!!!!

Merry Christmas

Candy
 
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