Venting!

[caroleallen]

Had a customer who commissioned a pendant and send me a photo of what she wanted. It was a piece that had vertical lines in a frame that appeared from the photo to have a backing. I duly made the piece and she phoned me to say that she wanted it in a box frame. When I said I hadn't appreciated that from the photo and that I was reluctant to re-make it as the photo was misleading, she ranted and raved down the phone at me that I was going to disappoint her daughter. She threatened to report me to Trading Standards and that she would wreck my business using social networking sites.

I duly re-made it in a box frame with a backing and thought it was looking good. I posted it via Saturday delivery and got a truly horrible e-mail this morning to say that it was still wrong and why did I put a back on it. The pendant in the photo definitely appears to have a back as confirmed by a group of my friends who were visiting.

I said I would refund her money if she returned both pendants to me and received back an e-mail to say she would hand deliver them once I had refunded her. She also said "I dont care what you think, it is the customer that matters and my daughter is deeply upset. I hope that you are happy with the fact you made a 13 year old child upset!

I am firm believer or what comes around goes around, you cause upset and you will recive it four times over, this is my only solice in dealing with you."

I've now blocked her e-mails and said that I'm complying with the Consumer Contracts Regulations and therefore she must return them to me before I refund her. In all my years of making jewellery, I've never had to deal with such a customer.

[mizgeorge]

That sounds horrible Carole. Her sentence construction and spelling make me shudder too...

Sadly, there will always be customers who make misleading requests and then expect them to be fixed instantly. I do hope you manage to stick to your guns and get them returned before you even think about returning any money to her. I think you're actually being incredibly nice to offer a refund at all.

[Aurarius]

Very sorry to hear this. People who've decided they're victims can often be vicious persecutors. Her reaction is totally disproportionate, and could be mainly a reflection of troubles in her personal life.

[Dennis]

Poor Carole. This sort of thing can make you ill. You will never be happy to have the returned pieces for re-sale, or ever see them again.

If you can afford it, re-fund her and cease all contact. Dennis.

[Gemsetterchris]

Can we see pics of photo & offending items then?
Any element of doubt is multiplying risk of wrong, to do that twice is abit poor judgement & despite it probably working 99% of the time it'll go pear shaped eventually.
Some customers are abit rude & nasty as you are aware, so being 100% crystal on the plan helps.
Just my honest opinion.

[pearlescence]

Get in first and have a word with trading standards. Confirm that you don't have to refund. I wouldn't block her, let her be unpleasant because if this ever does go 'official' unpleasant emails will only weigh in your favour.
She sounds like a bully. The only way to beat a bully is to be strong and not to play their game. Do not refund unless and until she returns the pieces.
May I ask...is there a lot of money involved? two figures, three, four? This may even be an attempt at a fraud - get the precious metal -two pieces - and then the refund.

[ps_bond]

Sounds a charmer - and while I'd redirect their emails to a holding folder, I also wouldn't block them.
As this is custom work to her design spec - namely the photo - I wouldn't be offering a full refund either, and no refund at all until she's returned both pieces.

But then I'm a tad grumpy having spent a chunk of time building a detailed model for someone who has just turned round and binned the project as out of their budget (after supplying renders, pricing variations et al). Lesson learned, I will be billing for CAD time up front on custom commissions and that will be non-refundable.

[caroleallen]

Oh dear, sorry to hear that Peter.

I've learned some lessons as well. The first one is that I do not take on any more commissions. They bring nothing but stress and misery.

The amount involved was only £80 as I thought it was a very straightforward piece. I thought I was being kind to offer a refund, as I believed the mistake was hers and this is how I'm rewarded. I've blocked the e-mails because I find them too upsetting and I think I have enough evidence if I ever need to take it forward. Hopefully she'll just post them back to me and that will be the end of it.

Thanks for all your kind words, it certainly helps.

[Gemsetterchris]

You must bill for design time Peter even if you subtract abit from the final job.
Working from a mis-leading photo is abit of a gamble?

[ps_bond]

You must bill for design time Peter even if you subtract abit from the final job.

Absolutely. Unless you've been lax cos it's a FOAF and you've not agreed that in advance...

I enjoy commissions. This one was a bit more restrictive because it as duplicating a pair to an existing piece and had to be exact.