Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Custom order is making me rethink doing them at all!!

01/31/12 (posting did not go through at that time for some reason)

Wrong time for a color malfunction!!! Custom order. Customer requested certain colors and upon seeing pic of finished product, decides that they'd like us to try different colors. Other item they ordered has never been done before and "blank" is ordered from the only source we can find with this exact item. Upon working with item, it becomes sickeningly (expensive) that it is not cotton as advertised or even the "coated" cotton it appeared to be before applying dye. Wait out the flu and short pay period due to Doctor visits and FINALLY do the new colors and hand paint the replacement for the other on a "sure thing" cotton piece. One color seems to be having an identity crisis for the new color choices! Hoping once it's done and dry that it's not as bad as it seems. I may have to do something I've never done before and contact the customer to let them know we just can not fulfill their wishes. Lucky for them, they haven't paid yet. Not so lucky for us. From start to finish, with all of the "malfunctions" we have spent (with shipping) $11 on the "imposter" because I wasn't going to pay $4 shipping for one $3 item, so I ordered 3, with the plan that it'd be what it said it was and I could have more ready if the customer wanted more right away. (a common thing) Now I have 3 polyester messes with badly surged edges. Then for the regular one, multiple trips into town because of Christmas stock issues. Now we've done this one twice, at $6 plus gas. Then, once more for the replacement to be hand painted, $3 plus fabric paint and FIVE hours spent meticulously hand painting a design. All total, without gas, time and dye (since we had it already) $20 spent for 2 items that total $9. Luckily I'm not out for shipping to them, since they were in the US for about a week after they placed the order, then went overseas. Shipping for domestic would have been $7, now it's $20. I'm ready to pull my hair out! I've NEVER had such a time with an order. Not even the Halloween costume for a man who was going as Cher in a tie dyed dress! (I loved that order and wish he'd sent pics!) Product issues just bug the tar out of me! On the up side, it has been confirmed that you can change a leopard's spots. Just have my husband hand paint them on!

No comments:

Post a Comment