Friday, March 31, 2006

 

What's wrong with you people?!?!

This is one of those days when I'm glad I don't own a gun. I'm still feeling like crap, but I think (hope) the worst is over.

I have been working like a bastard today getting pictures put together and I think I deserve a break, so here I am. I can't get over the number of people who have come in here today. Before I even had the lights on in the place, a car pulled up to the front of the building. As soon as I hit the OPEN sign, they headed in. I didn't even get a chance to take a sip of my coffee. And might I add that I still haven't won sweetboodiddlysquatfuckall from Tim's!

One couple came in with some big canvases from the Dominican that they need stretched. As soon as I came to the front when they walked in, I started this coughing/choking thing. I tried stifling it, but I felt like I was gagging and ready to puke my tubes. Thank God I didn't! After they left I ran out to grab a pack of Halls from an adjoining business, and that seems to have helped. Of course, I'm coughing up a storm right now while I type this...maybe it's time for a refill.

This has also been a day for "lookie-lou's". I had one woman bring in 5 or 6 pieces and she told me right away, "I'm not ready to have these framed, but I want to know how much it would cost to do them". This shit always happens when I'm swamped. I knew I was in trouble when she took from her bag these two old ratty-looking, cheap-ass frames with the miters cracked apart.

"I'd like to reuse these frames if possible."
Translation: cheap bitch.

Did I really have to point out to her that the frames were smaller than the pieces she wanted to put in them??? Unreal. So I told her they can't be used and to move on to something with a bit of style. I went to work and picked the mats and frames and gave her a price. Every time it wound up being over $100 she let out an audible gasp. Lady, this ain't Wal-Mart. I'm not sure how long I was dealing with her...maybe 20 minutes, and we still had a couple more to go. In came a regular client to pick up the piece we framed for him. Knowing it would be a lot better for everyone if I got him on his way, I grabbed his picture and showed it to him. He was happy, and the nickle and dimer with the shit frames thought it was beautiful. I gave him his total - around $400, and as usual, he didn't bat an eye, paid and was on his way. Follow the example lady, let me do my thing and have some great looking things on your wall.

Back to El Cheapo. I got the rest of her things in the computer and after asking me how my prices compare with other framers in the area (How the hell would I know? Like I take my framing somewhere else.) she was on her way with every single thing she brought in. Thanks for wasting my time lady.

The weather out there has been amazing lately. However, today it started to look kind of gloomy, despite the warm temperature. Finally the sky opened up and it began pouring. About a minute after the downpour begins, this snazzy Mercedes Benz pull up out front and this lady walks in.

"Can you bring in some things from the back of my car?"

I rolled my mind's eye and thought 'Ya, it figures. Hasn't rained for four months, and the one day that I've got the flu it pours and someone has me going out in the rain to bring in the stuff she doesn't want to carry. Don't want to chip that new manicure.' Incidentally, the rain stopped about half an hour later. She wound up not being as big of a pain as I thought she would be. Except for the fact that she's one of those 'we just painted and the mat colour just doesn't go with the new walls' types.

This one piece is mostly a smoky lilac colour with a teal accent. She's painted her walls pretty close to this teal colour, but not exactly. She claims that the lilac mat (you know, the same colour that's IN the picture) doesn't go with the wall. She wants the mat changed to the teal colour which is close to her wall colour. The thing is SHE'S STILL GOING TO HAVE THAT LILAC COLOUR THAT'S IN THE PICTURE AGAINST TEAL!!! And what's worse, the mat colour will be slightly off of the wall colour, so it's going to look like she tried to match the wall colour, but didn't quite get it right.

People! Do it right, do it once. Frame it to suit the picture, not the room. Whew...ok, I'm better now.

Alright, break is over. Time to get back there and finish up before leaving for the night. One more day and I get my weekend. WooHoo!

Comments:
Good advice. There's also the old saying, "Art shouldn't match the couch."

I really need to visit you. I have some framing that needs to be done. ;-)
 
That's a good one too. Really, if someone wants what they put on the wall to match the cough, go to the fabric store and buy a couple of yards of the same fabric and hang that!

I would love to do your framing for you, but it's one hell of a commute!

I had the best customer ever on Saturday. She was young and hip and she said "do whatever works best for the pictures". I actually told her that I love her. lol
 
If I were coming to TO this year I'd pop down, but I'm going to Edmonton instead. $555 for airfare blew TO out of the water as a possibility! That and the hotels which think that $150US for a room is reasonable!
 
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