Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Cheap Bastard
I have my fair share of customers who hate to part with a nickle. A couple of weeks ago an elderly fellow walked into the shop with a 10" x 12" photo of the few remaining survivors at a university reunion of the class of...oh I don't know...1830. He went on to tell me that it's a very important picture and he wanted to have it framed so he could display it. I went about picking out matting and a suitable frame, and figuring he probably didn't want to spend too much (you get to know them after a while), I selected a low-priced metal frame. The work order came out to around $60 or so. Well, I swear, I thought I had to get out the paddles and jump-start the old guy.
"Sixty dollars!?!? It's just a photograph!"
I told him it didn't matter if it was a photograph or an original watercolour of the same size, it still works out to that price. What is going into the frame is irrelevant.
Well, it's funny how his tune changed. Suddenly this "very important picture" turned into "just some picture" that he really didn't care about. Even after removing the mat and just going with a frame and glass, it was still more than he wanted to spend. The next option would be the Plak-it solution. Basically, this means that his photo is glued to a masonite board. The cost was around $25. He still griped about it.
"Sir", I told him, "that's the least expensive option I have for you other than sticking the picture on the wall with a thumbtack or tape."
He still grumbled about the exorbitant price, but agreed to have the work done. So the picture was mounted and he picked it up, paid by Visa, and took it home.
This morning, he called the shop in a panic. He checked his Visa bill on-line and saw the payment made out to our incorporated name, which is different from the store name. I assured him that it is, in fact, us that the payment went to. Our banking information is under our incorporated name as we run other branches of business under the same corporation. I told him that the information is right at the top of his invoice (ie, The Frame Place, a division of The Bigger Picture, Inc. - hey, that's pretty good...I should use that). Of course he told me that he never looked at the invoice. He had already called Visa to investigate the charge. He even called his bank. The information is even on our business cards, and I gave him one the day he brought the piece in. He then told me that we should hi-lite the incorporated name on the invoice so people notice it. My question is: he already said he didn't look at the invoice. Does hi-lighting it ensure he'll look at it? NOT BLOODY LIKELY.
Now another thought has set in. We're having a sale in the next couple of weeks. I just know that he will call in and demand a reduction in the amount he paid. You know what? If he wants to make the drive over for five bucks (and I'm sure he will), more power to him. It will be worth the laugh.
"Sixty dollars!?!? It's just a photograph!"
I told him it didn't matter if it was a photograph or an original watercolour of the same size, it still works out to that price. What is going into the frame is irrelevant.
Well, it's funny how his tune changed. Suddenly this "very important picture" turned into "just some picture" that he really didn't care about. Even after removing the mat and just going with a frame and glass, it was still more than he wanted to spend. The next option would be the Plak-it solution. Basically, this means that his photo is glued to a masonite board. The cost was around $25. He still griped about it.
"Sir", I told him, "that's the least expensive option I have for you other than sticking the picture on the wall with a thumbtack or tape."
He still grumbled about the exorbitant price, but agreed to have the work done. So the picture was mounted and he picked it up, paid by Visa, and took it home.
This morning, he called the shop in a panic. He checked his Visa bill on-line and saw the payment made out to our incorporated name, which is different from the store name. I assured him that it is, in fact, us that the payment went to. Our banking information is under our incorporated name as we run other branches of business under the same corporation. I told him that the information is right at the top of his invoice (ie, The Frame Place, a division of The Bigger Picture, Inc. - hey, that's pretty good...I should use that). Of course he told me that he never looked at the invoice. He had already called Visa to investigate the charge. He even called his bank. The information is even on our business cards, and I gave him one the day he brought the piece in. He then told me that we should hi-lite the incorporated name on the invoice so people notice it. My question is: he already said he didn't look at the invoice. Does hi-lighting it ensure he'll look at it? NOT BLOODY LIKELY.
Now another thought has set in. We're having a sale in the next couple of weeks. I just know that he will call in and demand a reduction in the amount he paid. You know what? If he wants to make the drive over for five bucks (and I'm sure he will), more power to him. It will be worth the laugh.
# posted by Dave @ 2:29 PM 
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Believe me, if it was a standard size I would have! I should have told him that they have that size at Wal-Mart, and let him rag out on the poor staff of that evil empire.
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