billrobertstudios
True Grumbler
So a lady comes in today while I am working with a customer on a design for a Coca-Cola calendar from 1919 that she claims is worth 10 grand... and she bought it. Didn't say what she paid.
I acknowledge the new customer, who has 3 prints in her hands, and explain that I will be with her asap. She goes over to the molding samples and "browses."
Coca-Cola lady and I come up with a design and she runs out before I can quote a price since she had to pick up her daughter at school. Said to call her with the price. She had been in the store about 2 hours.
Second customer had made some comments on the design process... liked something-or-other and didn't care for something-or-other-else.
Now that Coca-Cola lady is gone, second customer saunters up, dropping her 3 prints on the counter and brandishes about 8 or 9 fillets. She says, "Which one of these will look good in these frames?"
I didn't laugh, but I could have!
I explained how fillets are used and why they couldn't be used as a frame. She was obviously looking for "cheap"... or is that "inexpensive?"
She did finally pick out about $300 worth of framing after several iterations of: "mat-vs.-no mat," "this frame vs. that frame," "what-I-really-like-on-the-piece vs. how-much-do-I-want-to-spend-on-my-son-who-lives-with-3-roommates-and-4-dogs?"
It was fun!
I worked up Coca-Cola lady's order and phoned her with the $841 price tag... conservation all the way, 3 mats, gilded gold frame and fillet, etc.
She was not really shocked at the price, but commented at how much it was. The owner previously encouraged me to offer a 20% discount for "good" customers, whatever that means, and so I said that we were running a special for returning customers (usually with a cupon received in the mail) and I would offer that to her. "Not off the whole price?" she wanted to know. She had to "think about it."
So, later, near closing time, the owner comes in and his cell phone rings. Yep, it's Coca-Cola lady complaining that the previous owner had been able to give her a better price. Well, the owner explained that prices go up over time and that the previous owner was out of business because he gave the store away. He even offered to let her call the previous owner, who agreed to say that to returning customers, if needed.
So, in front of me, the owner says that he will be with me in about 5 minutes and says he wants to work with her. Says he can give 25% off the cheaper molding and maybe up to 30% on higher end stuff.
The converstaion goes on and we find out that she got his number from the owner's other location about 5 miles up the road where she had stopped, obviously to get a competitor's quote!
He hangs up and we do research.
Markup was 2.4 on this particular molding. He decides that 25% is the max he wants to go on something that costs us about $8.50 per foot.
I call up Coca-Cola lady and tell her that we can lower her total bill to about $695 and explain that is saving her about $150 from the original price... still not happy!
She says the owner said he would take 30% off the expensive molding. I went on to explain that we were giving her 25% off on molding that should cost her about $20 per foot and that the "expensive" molding runs about $35 or more per foot. So.... now she is "thinking about it."
So what is the point of all this? I don't know....
Warmest regards,
Bill
I acknowledge the new customer, who has 3 prints in her hands, and explain that I will be with her asap. She goes over to the molding samples and "browses."
Coca-Cola lady and I come up with a design and she runs out before I can quote a price since she had to pick up her daughter at school. Said to call her with the price. She had been in the store about 2 hours.
Second customer had made some comments on the design process... liked something-or-other and didn't care for something-or-other-else.
Now that Coca-Cola lady is gone, second customer saunters up, dropping her 3 prints on the counter and brandishes about 8 or 9 fillets. She says, "Which one of these will look good in these frames?"
I didn't laugh, but I could have!
I explained how fillets are used and why they couldn't be used as a frame. She was obviously looking for "cheap"... or is that "inexpensive?"
She did finally pick out about $300 worth of framing after several iterations of: "mat-vs.-no mat," "this frame vs. that frame," "what-I-really-like-on-the-piece vs. how-much-do-I-want-to-spend-on-my-son-who-lives-with-3-roommates-and-4-dogs?"
It was fun!
I worked up Coca-Cola lady's order and phoned her with the $841 price tag... conservation all the way, 3 mats, gilded gold frame and fillet, etc.
She was not really shocked at the price, but commented at how much it was. The owner previously encouraged me to offer a 20% discount for "good" customers, whatever that means, and so I said that we were running a special for returning customers (usually with a cupon received in the mail) and I would offer that to her. "Not off the whole price?" she wanted to know. She had to "think about it."
So, later, near closing time, the owner comes in and his cell phone rings. Yep, it's Coca-Cola lady complaining that the previous owner had been able to give her a better price. Well, the owner explained that prices go up over time and that the previous owner was out of business because he gave the store away. He even offered to let her call the previous owner, who agreed to say that to returning customers, if needed.
So, in front of me, the owner says that he will be with me in about 5 minutes and says he wants to work with her. Says he can give 25% off the cheaper molding and maybe up to 30% on higher end stuff.
The converstaion goes on and we find out that she got his number from the owner's other location about 5 miles up the road where she had stopped, obviously to get a competitor's quote!
He hangs up and we do research.
Markup was 2.4 on this particular molding. He decides that 25% is the max he wants to go on something that costs us about $8.50 per foot.
I call up Coca-Cola lady and tell her that we can lower her total bill to about $695 and explain that is saving her about $150 from the original price... still not happy!
She says the owner said he would take 30% off the expensive molding. I went on to explain that we were giving her 25% off on molding that should cost her about $20 per foot and that the "expensive" molding runs about $35 or more per foot. So.... now she is "thinking about it."
So what is the point of all this? I don't know....
Warmest regards,
Bill
