Look up not down...

Dave

SPFG, Supreme Picture Framing God
Joined
Jun 11, 2004
Posts
13,355
Loc
Edwardsburg, MI
Let's all stop bashing LaMarche and wish them the best of luck pulling things together. When I received their new catalog I drooled and remembered why I loved their mouldings so much. They obviously are committed to our industry as that catalog was not cheap to produce or send out...probably cost far more than most of our businesses are worth. I don't have any inside track on why there are problems or how soon they could be rectified, but I, for one, wish them the best. Losing them would be a sad blow for independent framers and the entire industry.

Did you know you can go to their web page and check availability on-line?

www.lamarchemoulding.com/customertools.htm

You must have an account and register with them to access this info. If there is an expected delivery date for an out-of-stock, it'll show under both the availability and check stock buttons.

I too took my samples off the wall in frustration, but am now adding them back in and look forward to using some old friends (mouldings and people) again. LaMarche has always been known for quality...let's support them wherever we can as we should any manufacturer in the industry. Fewer suppliers are a symptom of an ailing industry.

Dave Makielski

PS I know I'm getting old when leafing through their catalog is more exciting than looking through a Playboy. ;)
 
Good luck with that. Let us know how it works out.

I think most of us here are pretty reasonable, and will trust an individual or company until we are given a reason not to. After reading the past couple years about all the problems and broken promises, I'd say they have a lot of work to do to earn our trust again.
 
My other supliers don't need to have their sites checked for availability.

I also don't want a customer to stand around waiting for me to go to a website to check on a moulding not to mention how often is the site updated for in stock moulding.

Every couple of days there are still posts about people looking for a LaMarche moulding. That speaks volumes to me instead of a nice catalog.

Best of luck to anyone who tries them again but I'm not willing to go through all the agravation caused by them.

I'm waiting for all the glowing posts hailing them as the best darn moulding company ever, before they go on the wall here.
 
The posting on their website about availability and/or when it is due in carries as much weight as calling them and having someone on the phone tell you the same thing.

It means nothing. Especially when they will tell you one date and then another date when that one has passed with no moulding in site and yet another date, etc. on and on and on.

Why would you want to subject your customer to that kind of service? I don't care how pretty the stuff looks if it doesn't exist!
It doesn't matter to the customer why it isn't there, yet again. All that matters is that you failed them and they don't forget stuff like that and they don't come back. I wouldn't. Would you?
Your business depends on showing the customer something you can ACTUALLY GET not something that might or might not be available.
Yes... I'd like to buy that nice lookiing car in your showroom.
I'm sorry, sir. I just called the company to check on availability and that car has been discontinued.
No problem. I'll just go someplace else where they actually have cars they want to sell.

Losing them would be a blessing to the whole framing industry as then Gryphon could pick up their slack and give us a complete working replacement to La Marche. It would also mean we would no longer have to keep seeing postings here about LM anymore about how they really are trying and how nice the catalog looks, blah, blah, blah.
They screwed up badly for too many years and now must pay the price. They continue to screw up by wasting their money on a pretty catalog of moulding they don't even have in stock.
Sounds sort of like Mat Maestro, doesn't it? Except at least you don't give them the money first and then hope for the mouding.

They would be better off doing what Enron and Worldcom and the other screw ups did and declare bankrputcy and change their name.
But if they really want to be a supplier, they actually have to have the mouldings in stock. Not just empty promises of future availability.
In all the many years I have worked with Roma, I have never had a problem like this company continually creates.
 
Nice Try, Dave

But it appears that the "dark side" of the Free Enterprize system has raised it's ugly head.

Empathy, compassion, understanding and recognizing that real people are invoved in these situations carries weight in my appreciation of these situations.

John
 
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