Competition issue

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jim_p

jim_p

SGF, Supreme Grumble Framer
Joined
Apr 8, 2007
Posts
2,151
Loc
Natick, MA
So we had a customer come in to have some photos digitally restored, and then she wanted to have them framed. She provided us with another project she had done in this manner, and asked us to frame it in a similar fashion. Turns out she had done that other project at a competitor a couple towns away. We went around and around trying to find exactly the same shade of white that they used, and we couldn't match the frame so we came up with an alternative.

In the end, she decided she didn't like the frame as much as the one she had, so she left with just the pictures. She said she'd go to the other framer and get the particulars, then implied she'd come back to us... but I don't think so. If the other framer (who may even be right here on the G) is any kind of decent businessperson they'll figure out how to get the job once the customer is on the premesis :)

So the question is: if I'm trying to match work done by a competitor who's (a) local and (b) still in business, what's the best way to go about it? I figured it would be kind of rude to ring them up and say "Hey, your customer is in my shop, can you give me the part numbers for this job you did for her?" Trying to match the piece without that information is quite time-consuming... we easily spent nearly an hour with her.

Thoughts?
 
This happens from time to time. It depends on how much you want this customer. I have gone shopping at my competitors from time to time if I am matching a frame. I try hard not to waste their time, but I will look at their sample wall and when I find the moulding, I make a mental note of the number or the supplier.

Some may feel that is not ethical, but I have no problem trying to satisfy my customer. If the job was a small cheapy I might just let it go.
 
You could have done what a lot of people, myself included, have done, adn post a picture of the frame in question on the G to see if someone can ID it for you.
The fact that she was out looking for alternatives says something about a certain degree of dissatisfaction with the other framer, but can't tell if she is just price shopping, or if there are other issues.
It's odd that you couldn't match the mat color unless it was one of the proprietary colors from M's.
 
Next time take a picture of a corner of the frame and post it here and let the Grumble minds tell you what it is.

Edit: Wally wins by a nose!
 
Actually, the reason she came to us is that we do digital photo restoration as well as framing. If it weren't a matter of trying to *precisely* match someone else's work it would have been a slam dunk... she stated her generous budget up front...

It doesn't help that we were trying to match the mat color from behind glass... now I'm wondering if it would have been worth the effort to disassemble the frame. Deciding how far to go to win a customer can be a delicate balancing act...
 
Keep a couple scraps of sanded glass, regular, UV and museum and lay them over the mat samples to match mats behind glass. It still takes a while, though. There's more white than anything else.
 
I ditto what Wally said...except I normally offer to replace the matting at no charge on the original if I can't match it. Odds are (unless its a huge piece), I'll have that much left over regardless.

Even if you can find the exact frame, most people are happy with a close one and an exact mat.

It's worth it to me to win the customer, and I'm not tipping (or peeving) off the competition.
 
Some good advice on here that I will keep in mind if it happens to me.

I think I would have asked her to leave it with you and you would find the match. It would have given you time to either disassemble, post a picture, do the glass dance and see how it would match.

The only thing you needed to do was buy more time.
Always have a handy camera in the store; wow them with taking pictures. I do it for certain designs as well; as a visual reminder to myself. (I always write everything down...but visual is easier and more accurate) Customers are always impressed!
 
Odd are pretty good that your competitor is selling mats and mouldings from a local distributor.

Matching an existing design is one good reason to maintain a relationship with all the distributors that serve your area.

No guarantee but it works most of the time.

Doug
 
Ylva said:
I think I would have asked her to leave it with you and you would find the match. It would have given you time to either disassemble, post a picture, do the glass dance and see how it would match.
Click to expand...

What hurts is that she DID leave it with us when she placed the digital-imaging order. What was not clear was *how closely* she wanted this thing matched. If I had known, we could have taken it apart to match the mat and asked the Grumble about the moulding...
 
I have been noticing a lot of "minor" color/batch variations lately with mat colors.

I have even been paying special attention to multiple frame jobs using the same mat. When I go to my racks, the pieces can be quite different.

Couple that with the cast caused by glass and you probably had exactly the same mat in your hand.

One time in frustration, I pulled another framer's job apart ... found the number on the back of the mat and ... my sample of that number wasn't even the closest match I had.
 
Cliff the colors have been so off recently that I was wondering if they were recycling the mat numbers :) I ordered a soft blue-green textured mat and it came in a deep green-blue non textured. Wasn't even close....
 
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