Customers... customer being awkward.

[Keith]

Hi
Here’s the short story !!!

I have a customer who is a photographer, I stretched 3 photo canvases for him he in turn passed them onto his customer with I assume his mark up.

His customer is saying that after un-wrapping the canvases they all have crease marks in the corners and one has a tack protruding through the canvas, which is impossible, and more or less accused the photographers supplier (that’s ME) as sending them out like this. I assured my customer that there is no way these were sent out like this it’s just not in my interest to, and something has happened since he picked them up.
But I agreed to redo the canvases again no problem as long as his customer returns the canvases for me to inspect. His customer has refused to do this, the photographer also told me that he had some cheap canvases done before me and his customer refused these as well and also to return these canvases as well.

So does anyone know how this situation stands legally, mainly from his point of view.

Any help would be good before I return his email.

Thanks Keith

[stcstc]

did you show your customer them before shipping? i assume your customer would of inspected the products before putting his name on them


if he signed them off its not your problem directly, although if he is a good customer then obviously going the extra mile could be worth the effort

[Keith]

Hi stcstc
Thanks for the reply, there was no shipping involved he is local and I've done canvases for him before, the only wrapping is the Andy wrap
on the corners and around the edges, which he didn't remove and passed onto his customer.

I just wanted to know if legally can you ask for the item back before issuing a replacement, as at the moment I don't know who is telling the truth.

Keith

[stcstc]

i always insist on having it back before even starting a replacement

not sure there is much the customer could do otherwise

[IFGL]

Sounds like he's trying it on to me.

[Tim]

I wouldn't redo them without seeing the 'damage' either first hand, or from a photograph taken BY THE PHOTOGRAPHER - not the final customer. Proviso for re-doing the work would be that the original canvasses would have to be returned at the same time as the replacements were collected. No return, no replacement.

[Ryan Montgomery]

The customer has the right to a replacement or repair but they don't have the right to keep the 'damaged' goods. It's not like this is a bed or a car that they simply cant be without.

From a legal standpoint your contract of sale is with the photographer and his is with the client. I would replace it, but only once the first has been returned, by that I mean have it sitting ready when the other is brought back.

I have never have a client complain about the quality of a product (I'm a photographer by trade) but if I had an issue the last thing I would want would be a sub standard example of my work hanging on any wall so I would be insisting on it being returned. I have only ever given something to a customer if the wrong image has been printed (very rare but it does happen) even if it was their fault, I still change it at no charge.

[misterdiy]

It has to be a try-on because anyone with a shred of common sense knows that the the supplier (you) needs to see what is wrong with the product before deciding what to do about it. It may not be unrepairable and so he is duty bound to return it to his supplier (photographer) who in turn needs to send it back to you.

The only exception to this is the distance selling regulations for online articles, and even those are exempt if the item is "bespoke"

Insist on having the job back before even tarting this, because it certainly won't nbe as bad as is being made out - if anything at all.

Customers - who needs em

[misterdiy]

Err "tarting" should read "starting" though perhaps the former would be the answer?

[prospero]

The fact the the guy refuses to bring the allegedly substandard goods back puts up a few red flags in my book. Sounds like rather than a replacement he wants another lot free.

There was an instance not so long ago on this very Forum concerning a guy blagging samples with the promise of big orders and rejecting them out of hand. Do that with a few framers and you have a nice free supply of frames. Not saying this is another such case, but ......

[Keith]

Hi

Thank you all for your input it certainly helped, I will be emailing him tomorrow.
I will let you know how this "pans out"

Thanks Keith

[StevenG]

Any updates? This thread is better than Homes Under The Hammer

[Keith]

Hi Update as requested

I sent a lengthy email to the photographer and the bottom line was that I am willing to replace the canvases no matter who’s fault the damage was, but only if the canvases were returned to me to inspect.

He replied with and I quote “I'm not personally in a position to confront the customer and just want to get it done and dusted and out of the way. At the end of the day, I know when I had them from you they were fine no problems at all and I know that you wouldn't have given me a product that would be faulty”.
Now this leaves the photographer or the customer as the culprits.

So his reluctance not to pursue his customer for the return of the canvases makes me wonder if he damaged them!!! Anyway he just wants to get them off his back so he is paying for them to be replaced and the customer gets to keep the original ones.

THE END.......I hope!

Thanks again Keith

[Dave]

Not directly connected, I had a football shirt returned to me last week. The customer insists that it just fell of whilst hanging on the wall. Once she left the shop we inspected it to find 3 dents to the frame (about the same profile as the radius on the top of a radiator) containing flecks of white paint, the screw holding the shirt hanger to be bent and one of the corner joints had opened.

When the customer returned to collect it, I told her that I was making a charge for the repair as it appeared to be impact that had caused the shirt to fall off. I had made up my mind that £15.00 covered the cost of the materials. The customer absolutely refused to pay (did not know the amount), adamant that it was just hanging on the wall. As she left she also made a comment about "I hope I don't have to bring it back again".

At no point was I rude or abusive and I certainly didn't accuse her of any mistruth.

She perhaps felt that she'd got one over on me and saved a few quid, if that makes her feel good, well done.

The worse part in this type of situation is that she will now go around telling anyone who will listen what a crappy framer I am and how rude I was, and that I called her a lair. Unfortunately we never get the chance to defend ourselves. It takes years to build up a good reputation and half an hour to have it seriously damaged.

So in the long run I probably should have just taken it on the chin and smiled sweetly.


Dave