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Ugh. Customer unhappy with the mat she brought in for framing...

Andrew Lenz Jr.

Frequent Poster
Messages
206
Location
Santa Cruz, CA
Company
Lenz Arts, Inc.
A customer brought in a matted photo for framing. She picked out the frame and glass with our designer and we framed it up.

Customer comes in to pick it up but doesn't like the borders on the mat and asked us to measure it, and, sure enough, it was bottom weighted:
"It's not centered. I thought a frameshop would fix the mat if it was bad."

I explained that bottom weighting is common and that I typically bottom weight all of my own personal pictures.

She asked if we'd charge to fix it.

I explained that we'd probably give her a deal on basically redoing the entire order but it wouldn't be free since the mat had been provided.

She said, "So, if the mat had been crooked, you wouldn't have called me?"

I told her that of course we would have, but that bottom weighting on a mat is not unusual and the framers didn't think twice about simply framing up the matted photo as is.

I suggested that she should take it home and hang it up and see what she thinks once it's actually on her wall. She said she would but she asked me to call her with the price for redoing the order so that the mat is even.

That's where it sits.

Well. That didn't take long. She just called 15 minutes after she left. Still unhappy and bringing it back.

Customers . . .

Andrew
 
That all sounds so familiar. No matter where in the world we are framing, we have these customers who can ruin our day.
Two weeks ago I had a customer who placed an order for three framed pieces worth $600 in total.
Great I thought. The same afternoon I cut the matboards as they were in stock.
The following day she rang, saying that she likes to cancel the order, because it is a lot of money.

In the end she did pay for the matboards I cut and left with the unframed artworks. Told her she can come back in a half year time to have them framed (when she gets her finances in order).
 
Andrew,
Unfortunately we all have to put up with some weird customers. I've come to the conclusion that some people do not have sufficient brain cells to think logically and should never be allowed to make purchases from a store.

This customer is surely one of those! I wonder if she brought her car to service station to have it tuned, and the front fender was dented, would she expect that to be fixed at no cost too???
I'm pretty tough with people like that and don't encourage them for repeat business. So what if they tell their friends? Their friends probably already know she's a whack job!

Kai,
The best solution to the problem you had is to insist on at least 50% deposit. Better still full payment up front. I found that worked really well and not one person whined or refused. If a customer doesn't have the money to pay at least 50%, then how are they ever going to pay the entire cost?


Framers are not Banks!
 
Since she didn't address it with you during the design consultation, she left it to your professional judgement.

I would mention that and also explain nicely that we would do the work for a reduced price, but not for free, since she left it to be judged by our professional opinion. I would also invite her nicely to google "bottom weighting mats for artwork" and read what other professionals in the industry have to say on the subject before she makes her decision. Yes, you can do that very tactfully and then offer to do it however she wishes, for the cost of the employee's time.

Yes, we've had this same scenerio, but I think only once (maybe twice?, but I remember only the one time) have we've been asked to actually redo it after explaining to the customer why we weighted a mat.

Unfortunately, most people are used to seeing mass produced art than custom, so that's what they are used to and expect.
(if you are used to margarine, it can be a shock to taste fresh sweet cream butter the first time.)


No matter how careful you are with customers at the design counter, there is always going to be one in so many that has some weird thing they "expected" you to do automatically. I guess that is probably true in all businesses.
 
Since she didn't address it with you during the design consultation, she left it to your professional judgement.

I beg to differ even on this Barb. Since she brought in a already mounted / matted piece for framing it would have not been up to the framer to use their own judgement and decide to alter it one way or the other without discussion with the customer. What if they had went ahead and cut it down so that the borders were even and she didn't like it? What if they had cut the pre- matted piece down and found out that the paper border of the print covered by the weighted bottom mat extended all the way to the edge and was also cut off when trimming the bottom to be even?

What if the print had 4" even borders all around and the customer thinks they are too wide, and didn't mention it, should the frame have just assumed 3 1/2" would look better and cut them down? It goes on and on, the customer got what they asked for. This customer and other like her, just want to pass the blame on to someone else. I say you need to charge her for the rework.
 
I'm probably not typical. But for a regular customer who admits they made a bad decision, I would fix it for little or no cost. For the occasional or one-off customer, I would charge full price, reminding them that we did exactly what was asked of us.

I usually try to avoid framing things in the mat that came with it, and point out that imperfections that are not visible before framing will stand out once the mat is against the glass. And often there are problems with the way the art was mounted. This usually results in a discussion about the size, color, etc. You might consider adding this to your pitch, since it often results in a larger sale and you have the assurance that the mat is perfect. If the customer chooses to stay with the original mat, they have been forewarned and I sleep quite well charging them full price to change it later.
 
John, I don't think we disagree on this.

If anything needs to be altered, I will mention it either during the design process, or if I catch something later, by a phone call. I'm certainly NOT suggesting that a framer go altering something brought in by a customer without discussion. It isn't our property.

I'm simply stating that the matting was brought in and it was properly executed. If not, the designer should have caught it at some point. If it is a personal preference to alter it, SHE should have mentioned it. It was his professional opinion that it was fine, so he said nothing.

I usually just throw in a question like "So, you want to use this matting as is?" I fully admit that my main reason for throwing that question out there is so that I might open the door up to better the design and increase the sale. The other reason is so that we're both perfectly clear as to what is going to happen with her matting. (I've been in Andrew's shoes). However, I know that the question might not get asked in every scenerio (say a husband or designer dropped it off) and therefore I use my professional opinion to proceed as is, or to pick up the phone and make a suggestion.

I'm hoping I am making myself clear, but I'm not always good with posts! I'd like to believe I'm a much better communicator in person. ;)

We might differ a little on the follow-up; I would not charge the full price THIS TIME on the redo, because I want the opportunity to win over this customer for LIFE. (I see these things as challenges on just how persuasive I can be; it's a game for me that I like to win.**)
A customer gets special treatment on redos just once though, and I am clear about that. (My game, my rules).

(** Unless they are snippy and rude and I'm not in my usual good mood. But, they have to be pretty nasty before I think their business is not worth an effort.)
 
Before she returned to the store, I did a quick online search and printed out part of page from another frameshop's website (I included the URL in case she cared to look it up herself) talking about the reasoning behind weighted bottom mats. That way, she didn't have to take my word for it.

I had told her on the phone we could trim the bottom a little and shift it down in the frame (yes, the top would be a touch bigger than the sides) and we'd do that for FREE. I also told her that if we had to recut the wood frame ($200) that's where it would get expensive.

She dropped it off, we trimmed and shifted and while she wasn't thrilled, she told the framer who handled the pickup that it "looked better" but she couldn't afford to make it exactly how she wanted---that is, redo the frame.

I also typed up a letter explaining/defending our position in detail and slipped it into the plastic for the redone order before she picked it up . . . saying the borders were "within the norm" but if they hadn't been "a frameshop would have been responsible to point that out to the customer at the time of the design." The letter also pointed out we did $50 worth of work for free in an effort to make her a satisfied customer.

She wasn't a regular customer, it was her first visit. Part of me hopes we get more business from her, but part of me will be happy if she doesn't come back. I can't blame her for wanting to shift the blame from herself, that's only human, but at some point, someone has to accept responsibility for their own lack of observation.

And just to be clear, I didn't take the original order. Typically, I just get called in when there's a problem or an order is unusually complex or troublesome enough that my framers want my opinion. I maybe frame one picture a week. These days, I'm like a "consulting doctor administrator" . . . except around Christmas when I revert to a full-time front-lines framer and it's "all hands on deck"!

Thanks, I just needed to share the story.

Andrew
 
Ha, talking about customers you prefer not to come back. I have a regular customer, who is always grumpy, never entirely satisfied with my work, needs to have things done before a certain date etc.
I wish she'd go somewhere else, but for some reason she keeps coming back for the fifth time.
 
Sounds to me like you did a great job explaining. What else could you do, really? Sometimes, people are just unreasonable--plain and simple.

I hope sharing helped a little bit.
It is good for the rest of us to be reminded to role play through some of these scenarios with our employees.
 
Whenever someone brings in something already matted and mounted, I automatically ask if they want to keep the mat. They almost always ask 'why'. Sometimes my answer is 'just making sure'. Sometimes I point out that the mat is badly cut (often). Sometimes the color isn't just quite right. Sometimes the margins are uneven. Sometimes the mat is scuffed which will show up even more under glass but might have gone unnoticed by the customer.
By asking if they want to frame this 'as is', I will avoid potential problems. I agree that a bottom weighted mat is not unusual, but I would have seen it and asked about it.

They come to me because I am the professional.

This is not about how wrong the customer is. This is about a problem that is not being solved and leaves bad tastes everywhere. How much would it have cost you to re-cut the frame? Order new?

Depending on attitude of customer of course, I would probably have fixed it. You failed to ask a question. Might not sound fair, and I realize we all do things without asking further, but in this case, I would feel like part of the blame would be mine.

Just my opinion. And if the customer has terrible attitude or I never want to see her/him ever again, all bets are off..... ;)
 
Here's copy from a slide from the class I am teaching tomorrow in Birmingham England:

The cost of fixing the wrong, making amends, making it right, creating a memorable recovery and adding (giving) something to the customer
is always less than the cost of an upset (angry) customer and a negative story that is told about you for years.....
 
I agree with that statement.

lets look at this like , A customer pulls up to front of your store then runs into your building with thier car. Then wants you to repair their car because you did not have a sign up saying stop don not run into building with car.
 
Was my designer negligent for assuming that the existing mat borders were perfectly fine based on what she saw? It's debatable, but in this instance, I'd say no. I'd agree it's good practice to ask if a customer is happy with their existing mat, for a variety of reasons. Is it negligence not to? I don't think so. However, if the matting has weighted sides, un-square borders, is overcut, has stains, a huge weighted-bottom or other problems and my designer didn't suggest to correct it, THAT I would consider negligent.

Rob has an excellent point. And generally, I agree. Regardless of whether the customer is unreasonable, you have to ask: what is it worth to prevent a customer badmouthing your business?

If a customer runs over a $3,000 project with her car in your parking lot and blames you, will you fix it for free to protect your reputation?

If your answer is still yes, what about $50,000? Or $250,000?

The answer can't always be yes. There are times when the customer must accept responsibility for his or her decisions.

But, yes, your reputation has value and it's worth some money to protect it. Each instance needs to be evaluated and you have to make a decision what is best in the long run for your business. We've definitely redone orders that have been the customer's fault just in the name of having a happy customer. Customers are, without question, valuable and important!

Andrew
 
I just had what I think is a similar situation.
customer comes in with a poster.
she says, "I don't want a mat!"
design proceeds as you'd expect.
husband picks it up and takes it home.
she comes stomping in the next day and says, "You covered some of my picture! I expected to see it ALL!"
i show her a frame and explain what a lip is. I explain that without a mat the frame lip covers some.
She repeats, "I want to see ALL of my picture."
She has that "I never understood geometry in school, don't pull it on me know" look.
i explain that she will see the edges of her "now dry mounted" poster, but I can make a bigger frame and "shim" around the perimeter (Shouldn't have used the word perimeter), uhh edges!
she says, "as long as I see it ALL!"
built a bigger frame, shimmed around it. No charge.
 
Yes, sounds very similar indeed! Andrew, I too look at things on a case by case basis. There is only so much you can do, within reason and only so much I would be willing to do.

I am not saying that your designer was at fault or neglected to see something wrong, as it plainly was a normal mat in our eyes.
I am just saying that by confirming to use the mat, the customer understands that I am using the mat as is.

Cliff, I had that almost same scenario not too long ago, and I did point out that some of the text would be cut off by the lip (I almost didn't point it out as it seems so obvious to me) but customer was okay with that.
 
Similar, Cliff.

I think a closer parallel would be if she brought it in already framed, asked you to take off her existing frame and you put a new one on and THEN she complained.

Would you have replaced it then?

In your exact case, I probably would have done what you did, that is, reframe it for free. It's on the designer to explain what the result will look like to the customer. If there is any imagery near the edges (instead of just blank space), I'd expect my designer to bring that up to the customer.

Andrew
 
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