I don't doubt that the owner of this business has developed a reputation that has allowed him to…read morestay in business for 20+ years.
Some of his employees, however, aren't helping his cause.
I recently had a few things I needed framed and became acquainted with one of the stores employees who lives in my neighborhood. One thing led to another, and I learned that since this person worked at this gallery. I figured I could trust this person and have these things framed.
It ended up feeling as if I were dealing with irresponsible high school students.
First, I was told my items would be done in 2 weeks. 4 weeks pass by, and I'm wondering what's going on--but I had been distracted by long hours at work. Finally, I ran into this person, who says, "oh it's almost ready, they are cutting the matting."
I called a week later, and the woman who answered the phone, says, "oh, it's close to being ready, they are cutting out the matting."
I finally got worried, and asked, "Look, I was told it would take 2 weeks. We're on 5 weeks now. Can we get this done, please?" I got this "Oh, sorry, I'll talk to the owner, and we'll call you back later today."
I never got a call. It turns out that when I originally placed my order, my phone # was transcribed incorrectly. "She tried to call you but it made a weird noise when she called," I was told later. Well, I could understand if my name were Jim Smith, but a little Google action would have dug up my number. I was finally getting the hint that these employees were clueless.
A week later, I was told by running into this acquaintance that my frames were ready. I nicely told them that this really too way longer than originally planned. Well, it got worse. I never got an itemized receipt, and it turned out my 50% deposit was "calculated wrong." I honestly couldn't believe this place. It were as if the right hand didn't know what the left one was doing.
I said, "Look, now you're raising the price after taking tripling the time it would take to get this done. How are you going to fix this?" We were talking about a $130 difference there.
Her response: "Well, we can just take these out of the frames and give them back to you."
I honestly wish I had done just that and walked out the door. There are plenty of frame shops out in Fresno, and my artist friends in town told me I could have done better instead of relying on a shop that just orders from Valley Moulding in Tracy. But I just paid and decided to get out of dodge. "You know, you got a really good deal." Uh, after asking a few friends from whom I should have gotten recommendations in the first place, I really didn't.
My experience with this store was in one word, sour. I like to support local businesses, but in this case, I just can't. The irresponsibility of the employees, not to mention their tone and the way in which they carried themselves, makes this place a one-star in my books. I'll never go back, and will have someone else make my frames next time I have a batch done.
Lesson learned. Shop around. Get an itemized receipt. And call and demand accountability- and make sure they have your number.
