Probably one of the worst experiences I've ever had with an "art gallery".
I've been to this shop before and purchased a few photos I liked, no big deal.
I come in 11/15/16 and chat with the grey haired lady (I could use many words to describe this woman but grey hair lady will do) about a gift I would like to give my boss for christmas. She points out a photo of a mountain and I like it but not the price ($500) so she calls the gallery owner to see if he can do a smaller print in black and white. After a few moments while the grey haired lady is on the phone she comes back to me and says that he can do it and it will be a lower price since its a smaller photo, I say fantastic I'll take it! The grey haired lady ask me when I need it by so she can give a deadline to the owner (Lucas), I say December 7th, the grey haired lady said that was "NO PROBLEM". I happily pay for the photo in advance (nearly $200) and leave MY phone number so the grey haired lady or the owner can call me when it is ready to pick up. I'm so far pleased with my experience.
Weeks pass its now past thanksgiving and I still have not received a call about my photo, I'm not upset because of course my deadline was still a week away, I was in the area of the gallery and decided to pop in a take a look around. The grey haired lady was behind the desk again, she immediately starts to almost defend the shop as to why my photo wasn't there (I haven't even mentioned the photo) and she is persistent on reassuring me that my photo will be done. I leave the shop in a good state of mind that the are actually doing what they're saying.
December 7th, my deadline, no call. Everyday from 12/7/16-current present day I STILL HAVEN'T GOTTEN A FUCKING CALL.
Yesterday, December 18th I go into the gallery and the grey haired lady is behind her cluttered desk once again. She jumps out of her aged chair and says "your photo came in last weekend and turned out great, I tried calling your mother". ( IT WAS READY A WEEK AGO AND YOU COULDN'T CALL ME ?! YOU CALLED MY MOM!!!? DID SHE BUY THE PHOTO?!!!!!!!). Now she has my photo all wrapped up in bubble wrap and put a black cloth over the actual photo, I personally thought it was very strange I wouldn't be able to examine the art I had purchased, may I remind you A MONTH AGO. But I'm not the type of person to unwrap and make a big scene, because for all I know it should like the other one the owner made and hung on the wall in the back room. I take a long look at it, its beautiful, the black and white really shows off the mountain and give it really good depth. I'm unsettled by how defensive the woman is about how she didn't want to even try and call me weeks after it had past my deadline and how much she was trying to drive away from the fact the she had wrapped up my photo in lots of bubble wrap AND put a black sheet over the photo itself.
I run some errands and grab lunch with my family before going home. I get it upstairs into my bed and slowly start taking it out of the bubble wrap and lay it on my bed, its wonderful, elegant, stunning AND DIRTY?! WHAT THE FUCK!! WAIT YOU SPILLED A COFFEE DROP ON THE TOP OF THE PHOTO? AND YOU STILL GAVE IT ME? I was enraged, yes the coffee stain is the size of two pebbles of sand but WAIT since I found one blemish how many more can i find.... on the lower left hand side of the photo, yet again three small drops of what I believe to be coffee. HOW IN EARTH DID YOU FUCK UP SO BAD? I mean I'm a reasonable guy, I don't complain about much but when you give me a DIRTY photo that is unacceptable and the owner should be highly ashamed of himself. By the time I noticed the marks on my photo the gallery had closed and I now have to drive back to Seattle and give it to my boss as a christmas gift. No way I can change anything, no fixes or swaps, nothing, jack shit.
My mother, who lives in bellingham called to complain to the owner the following day, Monday and this is what Lucas himself had to say "that has never happened in 35 years, you should have been able to inspect it in the gallery" and suggested returning it to the store.
First off; if the grey haired lady put it in the wrapping and gave it to, thats against gallery rules? she should no longer work for you as she obviously doesn't obey or represent you properly.
Second - you've been perfect for 35 years? and now all of a sudden you drip coffee all over my photo? you hungover or just having a rough morning? thats pretty hard to do, spill in two different areas in noticeable size, and not notice.
Third and lastly - you want me to bring it back in? You -Lucas- knew the day I "ordered" it (11/15/16!) that this was A CHRISTMAS PRESENT FOR MY BOSS, I heard that dumb grey haired lady talk to you on the phone, maybe you didn't have enough coffee that day, but this is inexcusable and you -lucas- have showed very little interest in trying to make YOUR WRONG(FUCK UP) right.
Don't waste your time or money at this establishment. read more