Good business

[markw]

For me todays the day - if the moulding hasnt arrived then ime in the mire - being very paraniod about not letting my customers down i make sure that i can deliver on my promise of the framed work before christmas, please pick it up before 2pm Christmas Eve. I was given a very severe ticking off last year because i wasnt open at 6pm Christmas eve - "so inconsiderate of me" i thought. same customer has just picked up the work she left with me that early january day, i am sure we all have a similar customer. I close my books a week before the 24th - even then at this late point i wont take on a major job for Christmas. I know that i will get customers in asking for framing right up to closing on Christmas eve and i hate turning work away- but i do - in as pleasant a way as possible - hoping they will come back. How do you cope with Christmas - when do you close your books - how do you encourage customers back when you need them in early January?

[Merlin]

Likewise - If the customers want the work for christmas, then it had to be in by close of play today..
But would you believe it. And you all probably will, coz we have the same customers.
Twice last week, we were asked if we could open at 8 am on Christmas day, so that work could be collected. The reason given.. I want it to be a suprise and I have no storage space if I pick it up Christmas Eve.

I may lose one of the customers. but tough!! No was the answer, especially as the customer is on two weeks holiday over the Christmas period. I feel myself very lucky in that I have given myself four days off.

As we all say.. You just got to love them.

Merry Christmas and a prosperous 2005 to you all

[SquareFrames]

Hi,

We close at 2:30pm every Xmas Eve without fail, if items havent been collected by then, ....... well then, they just dont get collected, I have to do my last minute shopping. A few years ago we got caught with 2 orders NEEDING done in a rush before Christmas as they were for pressies, then after numerous calls, etc., they were not collected by the agreed time of 2:30pm, guess what? yep, they are still there, and for all the room they are taking up, they can sit.
I tend not to turn work away if at all possible, (I havent turned a job down for years) and this time of the year we dont mind doing the 15-18 hour days for a month or so, infact I havent seen my house in daylight from early November, but thats my problem, and the way I choose to work. I start at 6am every morning and leave anytime between 9pm and midnight, a job will not be started unless I am going to finish it. (My wife does her own thing, so little makes no never mind) As for closing the books, we closed ours at 10:45pm last night with the last 2 orders coming in, and already completed and wrapped, awaiting collection. (2 fully equipped workshops in the one building certainly comes in handy), and we got fully cleared up 1 day early for a change, so we could cope with a few orders tomorrow (Thursday) Anyone have 16 cross-stitches to do for Christmas pressies, as well as the other orders? I got stitchers thumb
We already have quite a bit of work in for January and 2, 5-Day courses booked, so the first 3 weeks (the slowest weeks) will be busy enough and that will keep us ticking over.

I have to admit to terrible gallery takings this year, and not only in the run in to Christmas, the year as a whole, and by terrible, I mean CRONIC, thankfully all our artists work on SOR basis, so we personally are loosing no sleep over this, but more print sales and orders from catalogues, especially WG, S&W and De Monfort, the high end LE's Giclees, etc., so we are now looking very seriously of curtailling our artists and getting shot of quite a few, and turning over to at least 50% prints in the future. Infact it was this time last year when we closed our second floor gallery to make way for the new extra workshop. We shall see what we can glean from the print companies at the SFB in February.

We have finally worked it out, that unless you are in one of the major towns or cities in Northern Ireland, or selling artwork for £10-15000.00 and above, selling mediocre or rubbish artwork by mostly dead Irish artists, no one else gets a look in, so we will stick to our steady sellers and introduce more high end, collectable prints and if needs must and all that, sell a few cheaper ones to attract every available customer possible (we dont discriminate here, we cater for all types and have made that a policy since we opened), and also consentrate on our framing and framing school and courses.
Well, anyhow folks, been a good year all in all, hope everyone has a good Christmas. Workshop is now closed ror 2004. (I hope)

Talk soon.

Steven