(Disclaimer: When I visited Art Frame Wholesale (AFW), I was sloppily dressed in flip flops, t-shirt, & shorts made of jersey material - So, I was looking somewhat "less fortunate.") I based my decision to visit AFW solely on the positive Yelp* reviews, and I was sure after reading the reviews I would be satisfied with AFW. Annnd... I aaammm, BUT...
It was shortly before Christmas when I took my Alamo print in for custom framing and, as one might expect, AFW was pretty busy. As that was the case, I patiently waited... and waited... and waited. After about twenty minutes of waiting, I positioned myself directly in front of the young lady at the counter. The young lady finally looked up at me and asked if I needed assistance... In short, I became so frustrated at the young Lady's apparent cluelessness to my having been standing nearly in front of her for twenty minutes, I expressed my frustration for the long wait and left.
It took a couple of days for me to regain a willingness to give AFW another chance to earn my business. After all, there were such sterling Yelp* reviews of the place.
When I did return to AFW, I dealt solely with Tone, who did show a very sincere interest in me as a customer. Tone took time to try and find the perfect combinations of frame, mats, glass, etc. to make my print unique and to my liking.
After some delay, because of my schedule and the busy Christmas schedule at AFW, my project was being worked on. I remained patient because I wanted the framing to be done correctly and without flaws. It took much longer than I would have liked overall due to an internal miscommunication at AFW about which colors I wanted and where in the final framing. In spite of the delay, Tone made every effort to keep me informed, which I very much appreciated!
When I finally did go to retrieve my print, I was a little disappointed at the placement of the fillet and the absence of the exposed white on one of the mats. In this regard, I take responsibility because I made some assumptions based on framing I had done previously at a different framing studio. Because I considered this to be my fault, I did not make mention of it and decided I would live with it. Mainly, because I felt if I demanded a change, Tone would have been gracious enough to disassemble the framing a second time, and make it the way I preferred or expected. Instead, I opted to ask for a discount due to the overall time to receive the work and at that, Tone approved the discount on the final cost.
All things considered, I am pleased with the final product. I am satisfied that Tone did everything I asked to make me happy with AFW.
I would use AFW again in the future and I would be very explicit in my wishes, to preclude any misunderstandings. I also would recommend AFW to others with the caveat, you MUST be decided on what you want and you must either convey that exactly or, you must understand what is going to happen with your art work. Meaning, if you give artist liberty to Tone or others at AFW to design your framing, have them explain where any fillet, mat, white showing or not showing on mats, will appear when finished.
Live well. Be well. Cheers!
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