Originally posted by Jay H:
...Most customers said nothing or liked them. However PLENTY hated them and was quite vocal about it. I was concerned about how many also hated them and said nothing? This is a concern you too should have Jim.
...This doesn’t have anything to do with customer reactions but they are a bit pricey too.
I have no concerns about customers hating WallBuddies -- or any other element of the framing done in my shop. Everything we do is guaranteed to be satisfactory. After-the-fact, customers occasionally change their minds about a mat color, but rarely their choice of hanging hardware. They do, hawever, come back quite often to buy retro-fit WallBuddies kits.
WallBuddies are presented as the best hanging system we offer for general purposes. We do not recommend them when other hanging hardware is more appropriate for the job at hand.
During the design discussion -- before the customer buys anything -- we explain & demonstrate whatever hardware we believe to be best for a particular job. At that time, every customer makes a conscious decision to buy the system we recommend, or not. It is their choice, free of pressure or coercion.
The few customers who are not enthusiastic about WallBuddies are welcome to specify D-rings, wire, or whatever other hanging system suits their preferences, so long as it is adequate for the job. (We will not put a sawtooth hanger on a frame larger than 11x14, for example.)
We charge a little more for WallBuddies because the system is worth more, but at our $60 per hour shop labor rate, our net installed cost is actually lower than tying a wire.
I think anyone who "loves" or "hates" a hanging system may be a bit strange. Emotion probably should not command that decision.