bar cabinets w/ bamboo

Hi Verne;

Clients, gotta love ‘em.

I just this past Friday finished a job of building two bathroom vanities. High end stuff.

The contract was signed Jan. 17, 2007. For reasons not known to me, the owner and designer kept postponing the work.

The first unit went in about three months ago. A few small problems with the lady, as she didn’t like the fact the side was a different color than the front. The front was in direct sunlight, while the side was in shadows. The colors were the same. She said she thinks I used the wrong stain on the sides. There was no stain involved at all, it was clear conversion varnish. She wanted me to stain the side to match the front. I told her no.

She calls me a month ago to arrange for the second unit. I went to measure the space, and she asked me when I could start. I said about a month, and it would take a week to have ready. She said that’s too long, can I have a refund? I said no. Then she said the design has been changed to something easier to build, so she expected to get change back from her deposit. (I collect a 50% deposit on custom orders)

I said to her, you expect me to bring you a vanity and a check? she said yes. I told her, not gonna happen.
She said why not. I told her the increases that have taken place over the past year and a half have brought the cost of everything up.
I told her I would review the original estimate sheet and let her know of any discount I could give her.
She called me that night to say her husband said the cost of living has only gone up 3%.

I explained that gasoline has risen considerably more than 3%, as has the cost of energy and materials.

I refigured the price and deducted $ 500. She finally said okay, just do it.
Since she was going to Florida for the holiday weekend, I told her to leave a check for the balance with the designer. When the designer called her to arrange for her to get the check, she said I don’t have time to write checks, I have to get ready for my trip. I’ll do it when I get back.

The designer knows me well enough to know I won’t do the final installation, which in this case was two mirror frames, until I have a check, so she didn’t tell me that until after the work was done, and I was on my way home. Otherwise, I would have rescheduled the installation for a few weeks later. (The designer is owed money also, which she wouldn’t get until I was finished, which is why she didn’t tell me).

It’s a fun business no?

Lee

-- http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com

Lets see if I remember correctly, Jim Morrison said it best…”People are strange, when you’re a stranger. Those that owe money, never come ‘round!”

Hey Trim! Looks good to me and the color matches the bar. Good job bud!

-- Dadoo!

Looks like you did a nice job. I usually try to tell folks, “If you want dark furniture, use dark wood, if you want it light, use light wood.” Never fails, though. They want a maple table with walnut stain. Go figure.

-- Tim

Verne Good job. Sorry for the customer screw-ups.

-- Retired in Delaware

And you wonder why I don’t turn pro, sheesh! In all my professional endeavors I’ve run into those “special” customers. Fortunately, my faith deeds a particular place in the afterlife for such as these. Nope, I think I’ll piddle away at my projects where the only special customer I have to deal with is my own sense of perfection and… er… uh… the missus. But at least I get to sleep with her.

always,
J.C.

P.S. Your work rocks, dude. You know it and real people know it too. Keep it up and never let the bastards get you down. Rock on, MrTrim.

-- "Imagination is more important than knowledge" -- Albert Einstein

thanks for all the kind words and understanding . it sure is nice to have a group like yall that you can tell these stories too and they understand how frustrating it can sometimes be ! for several years i worked in a body shop and built furniture as a hobby . seems like i enjoyed it more then ! lol well at least those folks were quite pleased with my work and gave me 100.00 tip and asked me to do some more stuff in their house , so its not a total loss ! lol thanks again my friends

Nicely done MrT. It is too bad your masterpiece was covered over, but that happens at times. At least you did get paid for it. Keep up the good work and you will find people that appreciate what you build for them.

-- Bill - Turlock, Ca. - http://www.brookswoodworks.com

thank you kindly mr. bill

Nice Job Sir! I like the bamboo accents…. very well done!

-- --Steve

thank you steve

Well, I think it’s very nice looking and matches the bar nicely. I know this is an old post, but I just came across it and had to say something. People suck, especialy customers, not that I have any, but I work with the public. I can understand your frustration. And why did he even have to call you to tell you he was gonna strip it down hisself which he probably can’t do anyway. Your job was done, and I think you did a great job with it.

-- Janice

The Bamboo is an interesting touch nice work.

-- a-1contractor.com