Last week I delivered a small sofa with one wide cushion in the seat. Customer called this morning saying when she gets up from siting in it, she sees wrinkles.
I told her I would come and wrap it with Dacron. I also told her this is typical for a cushion this size and its difficult to give enough "push" to the foam to keep the wrinkles out and still make the cushion look good. Usually I tell them this when I pick it up, but this time I forgot.
One other option could be to make two cushions out of the one. Should this be a freebee?
Any other ideas? I'll see her Friday. Thanks.
I don't think it should be a "freebie", your time is your time and the batting isn't free, either, a reasonable person would understand that. Maybe you could work out a "deal" with her since you forgot to tell her about the possibility of wrinkles, but I don't think I'd offer it unless she's pissy or asks you. Wait and see what she wants.
If I'm not mistaken, I think you said that you work out of your garage. So you may not want customers coming into a residential neighborhood.
But since I'm in a commercial building, I would tell her that I'll wrap it for free IF she brings it in.
I would tell her that if she can go run some errands, and come back in an hour, it will be ready.
This way, you're only out about 10-15 minutes of your time, and a few dollars worth of batting.
I'm only saying this because you said that you feel partially responsible for not warning her about the possibility of wrinkles.
Otherwise, I'd be more inclined to agree with Bobbin.
I don't see why you should soak up all the cost, were you copying the original cushion set up or was this a custom make from scratch?
If it was a like for like recover why should you change the spec. for free? good will has a price too.
Thanks everyone for the advice.
The customer is the MIL of a good, long standing client of ours. Shes also very friendly and easy to get along with. I want to do right by her as she has more work.
When I finished upholstering the sofa I put the old cushion in and it fit good, so I used it for a pattern.
The new cushion also fit good and when I sat in it I noticed a few wrinkles but they smoothed right out with my hand.
I'll charge her for the materials but not my time as its on the way to some other appointment's. Should take less than 1/2 hr.
When I Googled this there were quite a few complaints about this problem. The manufacturers call them comfort wrinkles. Maybe if I give it a cute name it'll make her feel better.
I had the same problem with a customer
they kept insisting that the cushion didn't do this before (it had one cushion when I picked it up)
I took it back, and added some more padding in the ends to try to tighten it
but
now that I think about it
The reason it didn't do it before, is all the POOF had come out of the cushion due to use over the years,
when I redid it, I added new poof
hence
"comfort wrinkles"
I like that term :D
The guy that came up with "comfort wrinkles" must be the same guy who coined the term "Pre-owned", instead of "used".
How about "Character sounds" instead of "squeaks"?
"Rustic charm" instead of "worn out"?
There's also "Distressed leather" instead of "flawed leather".
I'm not short, I'm just "vertically challenged".
Don't you love this age of non-offensive, politically correct buzzwords?
NO! I hate it and I still use "fat" and "retarded". And my favorite movie will always be "Blazing Saddles". :o
Hey, I got one for lumpy cushions. How about "Luxury lumps"?
Blazing Saddles was a classic. And it was the LAST movie where I had to show my I.D. to get in.
I guess there's no question where that movie got its name. Was Blazing saddles rated R?
Here's one for you sofa. I still get updates from job search sites. Guess what a Facilities Coordinator is?
Quote from: kodydog on August 10, 2011, 06:59:22 pm
Was Blazing saddles rated R?
I don't remember what the rating system was then, but you had to be 18 to get in without a parent.
Quote from: kodydog on August 10, 2011, 06:59:22 pm
Guess what a Facilities Coordinator is?
Janitor?
I think that from now on, anytime I have to state my occupation on any form, I'm going to call myself a "Relaxation technician".
Another example "perky-positive" terminology is when you see the term "Team Member", or "Sale's Associate" on an employee's badge.
That's just a polite way of saying "One of the cattle".
Quote from: bobbin on August 10, 2011, 05:44:28 pm
NO! I hate it and I still use "fat" and "retarded". And my favorite movie will always be "Blazing Saddles". :o
I was watching Blazing Saddles on network TV once. they had to edit out some parts to make it suitable for all audiences. I couldn't believe they edited out the fart noises in the "eating beans around the campfire" scene.
The cowboy would lift a cheek and no noise would come out. It was pitiful.
Folically challenged? Bald.
Gravitationally challenged? Fat
I don't think it would be a good idea to use 'comfort wrinkles' or 'luxury lumps' in reference to a woman.
I loved the turtles singing! (In Blazing Saddles.)
Mel Brooks used the N word to point out the stupidity of racism. Today our politically correct society won't let us use the N word in order to foster and increase racism.
gene
We have "Blazing Saddles" on DVD and one of the bonus features on the disc is the commentary by Mel Brooks during the movie. As Gene pointed out he used racial stereotypes and pergoratives to underscore the abject stupidity of racism and bigotry. He notes in that commentary that he used "the N word" correctly and that is why it was not considered particularly inflammatory. We could say the same thing about some of the brilliant Saturday Night Live skits involving Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, Garrett Morris and the rest of the cast.
Another of my all-time favorites is George Carlin. But I digress.
(and yes, it did emerge with an "R" rating; I took Mum to see it after it was rereleased and the two of us sat in the theatre shrieking with laughter)
Here is another term I used for the cause wrinkles.
I would tell the customer that "the fabric has poor yarn memory". I would go onto explain that some fibers, when put under pressure will stretch and will not return to it's original length without some "rubbing and patting".
One of the things I learned was to anticipate things that could happen before they happened. I would go over the issues with the customer prior to the start of the project.
I would always go over the possibility of wrinkles in long cushions. I would explain "yarn memory", making multiple cushions instead of one long one or adding buttons.
When ever I did a job with a velvet (especially a cotton velvet), I would explain about how it was the nature of the fabric to show "wear marks".......this is where the nap of the velvet gets crushed and does not lay down properly. I would explain that this was normal and how they could "fix" the issue with a steam iron and a stiff brush.
My point is this, I found it easier to explain all of the possibilities before the job was started, than it was to repair things once they were delivered. Steve
Funniest brief i have ever seen
to design and manufacture a "Paper processing surface with ancillary body support structure" erm that will be a desk and chair then.
Went to the ladies house Fri. As much as I hate to admit it she had a legit gripe. She was very understanding and knew there will be some wrinkling. I was going to fix it there but decided it needed more work. I'll take 1/2" of the back and sides of the casing. Take it out of its muslin liner and add some foam to the sides (Thanks Joy). Then wrap it with Dacron and put it all back together.
Bobbin I told her it'll be a little extra for the supplies and she was all peachy.
Steve thanks. It was COM and I"ll tell her what you said about the fibers. Maybe I'll drop your name and number :o Just joking.
Good for you. It's important to do the right thing once you've had a chance to look at something. I find most people are pretty reasonable if you're straight with them.
Just finished reworking the cushion and boy is it nice and tight now. Looks good too. 2-1/2 hours labor, I'll eat it and the customer is going to love it. That's what its all about. On to the next project.
Kody, as expected, you did the right thing. I knew you would because you are a craftsman as well as a business man. It will come back to you in more ways than one.
No doubt she will like it and she will tell everyone how great your work is and how nice a business man you are.
I had a sofa with the same problem but it had two pretty long cushions. Oh, my situation wasn't something that I had covered, the customer bought it new and I drew up the analysis for her to send back to the factory. I reported the problem and what was needed to fix the problem, she faxed it to the factory. She said she hoped I would get the job of fixing it, but I explained to her that it would be cheaper on the factory if they fixed it. I just drew up a lot of measurements of the cushions and the opening and presented the new cushion measurements that would take care of the problem. So far, they paid me for that and I assume that I am out of the picture.
Glad you got yours resolved, now you feel good and are ready for the next wave of work.
Doyle