too bad for bluners and gaffes section!

kev@frames · Post by **kev@frames** » Tue 27 Feb, 2007 7:43 pm

presented over the shop counter today.
the individual concerned had the temerity to ask for a TRADE DISCOUNT, as he claimed to be a "fellow professional" who was "too busy" to make the frame himself.
A professional what?

this is a photograph, taped all the way round with 50mm masking tape. No comment on the corners of the bevels, but I suspect this is one of the "bread-knife" merchants that pete referred to once.

admin: please move to gaffes board if you think appropriate.

Not your average framer · Tue 27 Feb, 2007 10:01 pm

Cut with a broken bottle I reckon!

Alzibiff · Post by **Alzibiff** » Tue 27 Feb, 2007 10:24 pm

C'mon Kev, spill the beans - what was your reaction - to his face? I was presented with something similar before Christmas - brown parcel tape rather than the masking tape though. Photo of a photo of Man Utd superstar Rondaldo in one aperture, a photocopy of an autograph in the second. What got me was that the customer hadn't noticed that the photo was buckled or that the window corners were overcut and generally mangled. Just wanted a frame but I simply could not oblige without also remounting. Whether he agreed because he wanted it framed quickly or not, I never got to find out.

At least he didn't claim to be in the trade though!

Alan

osgood · Post by **osgood** » Tue 27 Feb, 2007 10:55 pm

Kev,
Maybe you could have asked him what trade he was in and what "trade discount" he would give you when you need his services?

Alternatively ask him what his definition of a trade discount is? I bet it's not the same as most of us!

foxyframer · Post by **foxyframer** » Tue 27 Feb, 2007 11:14 pm

Very typical of what we get in too. Frontal attack with the Stanley knife.
Masking tape all too prevalent and tooth torn joins. Extreme diplomacy called for in the case of a d.i.yer. Who would have the nerve to call themselves a pro. Some will try any old con to get a discount.

It really pays to draw attention to ripples and blemishes. Missing tapestry stitches and grubby fingered embroideries.

Oh! I never noticed that, is the usual reaction.

kev@frames · Post by **kev@frames** » Tue 27 Feb, 2007 11:31 pm

I manage a straight face for long enough to make my excuses and leave, and let the long suffering Mrs Kev deal with it.
Chivalry being long dead round these parts

Sadly its almost a daily occurance seeing stuff like this, it was just the sheer balls he had, asking for "trade" that made such an impression on me !

Normally Mrs Kev would just tactfully price in a new mount and we'd sort it out as best we could.

I think his trade was "clown". I'll keep him in mind in case I need to borrow a car with doors that fall off or a red nose one day....

Mary Case GCF · Post by **Mary Case GCF** » Mon 19 Mar, 2007 4:21 pm

Alzibiff wrote:C'mon Kev, brown parcel tape rather than the masking tape though. Photo of a photo of Man Utd superstar Rondaldo in one aperture, a photocopy of an autograph in the second. What got me was that the customer hadn't noticed that the photo was buckled or that the window corners were overcut and generally mangled.

This sounds rather familiar to us here in Edinburgh, we received a reglazing job in, a "Michael Owen" shirt that the lady had bought off the internet framed for £349

Now, it looked pretty bad from the front, bent mount, and rippling pictures along with the football shirt scrunched up through two slots in the mount.
the back was well, MDF, nowhere near conservation quality, and stuck with licky sticky brown tape, which had come off. No fixings supplied, except two tiny screw eyes.

i wouldn't have paid £3.49 for this never mind £349.

My mother being the busier of the two of us on this occasion decided to let me reglaze this one, as it was "a simple job"

Obviously to enable us to reglaze it we had to take it apart and well, that was a shock, In my short 10 years of Picture Framing i have never seen anything like this, and neither has my mother.

Parcel Tape! everywhere, combined with sellotape, and a dose of masking tape for good measure.

my first reaction was that of disbelief, i sat there for minutes dumbfounded. how could anyone do this to a signed football strip?

the photographs and signature were photocopies too, and these had been stuck all the way around with Parcel Tape!

This actually upset me so much i phoned up the person responsible for framing it, (the company) Signatures 4U i think they were called. and luckily the person responsible answered my call, after me waking him up i think

he seemed to think that just because he used Brown tape on the back meant that everything was okay.

Needless to say, i gave him a brief lecture on how to frame things properly and advised him in future to go to his local Guild Commended Framer and have it done properly.

Also needless to say, he didn't give a monkeys what i think and to this day i'm sure the general public is at risk of having shoddy framed memorabilia provided to them over the internet.

People like this give us honest folk scraping out a living a bad name.

Grahame Case