Yikes! Another Decorator

[kodydog]

A decorator we've never done work for called last week. She told me she just picked up 3 cornices from an upholsterer and they look like crap. Not enough padding, full of puckers, and no welt on top or bottom. Can I help her?

She's working with another decorator. We just delivered our first job for this other decorator. She said they talked about the cornices and decided to change the fabric, add more padding and now they want to add channels to match the bed that is in the same room. She said she would get the cornices to us for an estimate. And because the other upholsterer screwed up, its a rush job.

I assured her our quality is the highest possible and we do work for some of the best designers in town. We have two jobs we have to get out but I could start on hers right after that and have them done in 3 weeks. All was good. We told her we could meet her sometime and somewhere Saturday.

She called Friday and said, you know these cornices are for the same customer you are delivering a chair to, why don't I meet you there with them. I don't know why she didn't tell us that to begin with but then the other decorator calls and we go through the whole scenario again. Okay good we'll meet Sat at 10:00

This customer lives in the best neighborhood in town in a really nice house. Her furniture is all high end. The chair we upholstered is Chinese Chippendale style with black lacquer and gold leaf trim, made by Baker. She likes nice things.

And of course the decorator didn't show. The customer was there so we delivered the chair and she showed us the space where the cornice will go, kind of a bay window type setup.

So we worked up an estimate. And just for clarity I'll give you the numbers. One cornice is 100" long and two are 30" long. She wants 1-1/2 inches of padding added. She wants 11 pleats added with a button in the middle of each one. And of course lining added to the back. And top and bottom welt. For all this we quoted $450. We thought that was a pretty good deal.

The decorators response, YIKES! Rose was going to e-mail her right back to justify the price but I told her not to respond to such a snarky comment. So we left it at that. I imagine she will call me sometime this week.

What would you tell her?

[sofadoc]

I'm wondering if she is saying "Yikes!" because she has already paid a big chunk of her profit margin to the last guy that did a bad job.

Considering all the padding, channels, and buttons. Your price doesn't sound out of whack at all.

I've told this one before. But I had a customer that would always exclaim loudly "Oh my lord!!" after every price that I quoted her. So one time I said "Yeah, we can do all these cushions for about 5 bucks". She immediately shouted "Oh my lor------------wait, what did you say?"

[baileyuph]

You did the right thing, the work you describe and given the time and materials/padding, etc
the price can't be out of line.

Working for an ID who is working for customers, can't expect craftsmen like you to cover for their mistakes.  

Which leads to how to screen for a good ID business person?

Keep looking for your next project that you control the process - not an ID

Doyle

[gene]

You are fixing someone else's problems. That's a hornets nest to begin with. I think it's good to keep this in mind. Not only do I have to do the work, but I have the additional cost/time of fixing someone's else's problems. I would add something to my estimate for this.

The decorator is probably out the money she paid the other upholster on the cornice boards and your cost is something she may have to pay out of her own pocket. She probably cannot go back to the homeowner for more money. I think this is not your problem nor should it be your concern.

Not showing up for the appointment is a BIG RED FLAG!!! for me - especially if she did not call. If she did not call, she lost my respect and my desire to work with her on this or any future job. I will work with her, but with great caution.

If I did this job I would put it on my normal schedule and let it go at that. I would even make it clear that I am not going to rush anything concerning this job. She's not rushing, why should I? Unless she wants to pay extra for it.

I would require a deposit of 1/2 the total amount before I started on the project and the remainder paid in full before the cornice boards left my shop. THIS WOULD NOT BE NEGOTIABLE! I think she showed her character by not showing up for the appointment. I would not put myself in a position where I would have to chase this decorator for payment.

She presented this project as a 'rush' and she did not show up for the appointment. She's willing to let you rush but she's not interested in helping out? Again, this speaks volumes to me about the kind of decorator she is.
----------------------------------------------------
Tell you wife that YIKES! is called a 'flinch'. And it doesn't matter if it is done intentionally or as an honest reaction.

I went through 3 days of sales negotiation training and we were taught about the 'flinch'. It's used to get people to jump and start working for the person who flinched which often leads to a lower price. Look at how your wife wanted to immediately email the decorator. LOL.

What do you do when someone clears their throat? Do you immediately send them an email? Do you immediately start to explain your prices? Do you immediately lower your prices? Do you immediately feel like they are going to reject your prices? NO! You totally ignore their throat clearing. This is exactly the best way to deal with a flinch. Ignore it. Learn to think of a flinch as a throat clearing- totally irrelevant to the business at hand. If the customer wants an explanation of the prices, if they think the prices are too high, if they are thinking anything, let them tell you, do not react to someone clearing their throat (flinching).

Just my 2 cents. Take what you like and leave the rest.

Best wishes on this one.

gene

[gene]

I may have told this before:

When I travelled a lot, I would stop at a hotel for the night. I would ask if they had a non smoking room for one night. They would say yes and give me a price. I would flinch.

Almost every time they would say, "Well, let me see if I can get you a discount." I did not ask for a discount. I did not say anything about the price being too high. I just said, "Ahh." A flinch.

They would ask if I had AARP. No, I was too young. They would ask if I had AAA. No I didn't. I would then say, "I do have a library card." Again, almost everytime they would laugh and give me the AARP or AAA discount. It was company money so it was not like I was saving money for myself. But it is fascinating how powerful the flinch can be.

gene

[sofadoc]

We have a local FB group page here in my town. One local resident was venting about a painter that she hired to paint her large Victorian home.

He worked on it for several days. While he was away, she peeked under the tarps in the garage at his supplies, and saw that he was using indoor paint for the exterior of her house. She called him and confronted him about it. Since he had already been paid a huge amount up front, he just came by while she wasn't at home, collected his tools, and left the job unfinished.

She got many replies to her post. Some of them suggested the most reputable paint contractor in town. Her answer was "I got an estimate from him......he was way too high. I can't pay those prices".

I don't think it even occurred to her that it would've saved her a ton of money if she had paid the higher price, and had it done right to begin with. A bargain is no bargain if you have to have it done over.

I think K-dog's new decorator is learning that same lesson as well.

[sofadoc]

Tell you wife that YIKES! is called a 'flinch'. And it doesn't matter if it is done intentionally or as an honest reaction............ It's used to get people to jump and start working for the person who flinched which often leads to a lower price. Look at how your wife wanted to immediately email the decorator. LOL.

I used to respond to the old fashioned in-person "flinch" with a "shrug".

Now that so many "flinches" are done in electronic form (such as an e-mail or text that just says YIKES!) I've found that the most effective response is no response at all.

When they ask me if I can make them a better price, I'll say something like "I'll sit down and really crunch the numbers and see if I can do better...... I'll get back to you later today". Then I wait an hour or two, and reply back with "Actually, after going over the numbers again, I realize that I should've charged more.......but I will honor my original estimate". 

[byhammerandhand]

I used to work at a mid-sized company with sales people all over the world.  One of my bosses (in product development) was a former sales rep with the company.  The products we sold were an annual license that involved not only a yearly fee, but a significant commitment from the customer to continue using our products indefinitely.   One of the things my boss once said was you put the proposal out there and shut up.  The next person to talk loses.  Like Gene says, ignore the flinch or "Yikes!" and wait for them to talk.

[sofadoc]

I always laugh when I see ads on TV for car dealerships that offer "NO HAGGLE PRICING".

What does that even mean? It means that they will not tolerate any haggling FROM YOU. Yet they make it sound like they're doing you a solid.

I don't recall a salesman ever saying "Well.....the car is $30K......but we'd really like to get $35K".

"No haggle pricing" simply means that their prices are not negotiable. Take it or leave it.

But at least everyone at the dealership "Treats me like family".

[kodydog]

Tell you wife that YIKES! is called a 'flinch'. And it doesn't matter if it is done intentionally or as an honest reaction.
gene

I think this decorator went to the same school as Gene. LOL

I told Rose that because the decorator is in a hurry we have the upper hand. She will figure out real quick that no response (ignoring the flinch) is wasting time.

The decorator just e-mailed Rose. She acted like nothing happened and simply said she'll order the fabric. Rose told her as soon as the fabric comes in we'll put her on the schedule.  :) Score one for Rose.