Page 3 of 3 FirstFirst 123
Results 31 to 34 of 34

Thread: hickory table top changed color

  1. #31
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    WNY
    Posts
    9,647
    Oh yeah, she's a coworker. I hope not one you have to interact with frequently. Well, it's done with now and you can sleep easy knowing you went above and beyond to make it right even though there was no wrong to be righted.

    John

  2. #32
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Michiana
    Posts
    3,046
    Quote Originally Posted by Bob Riefer View Post
    LOL it’s not a mystery that I was played. We’ve known that for awhile now. Just closing the loop to show the end of the story... and, I’d rather get played, lose an insignificant amount of $$, and sleep well at night knowing that I did good work rather than hold a hard line on this and risk my actual job and income.
    Taking the high road was the right thing to do in this case. If this person can have a negative impact on your day job (and would stoop so low as to do so) then you didn't have much choice. What a shame. I know one person who would no longer be on my list of prospective customers going forward.
    Sharp solves all manner of problems.

  3. #33
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    McKean, PA
    Posts
    15,593
    Blog Entries
    1
    I'm a little late to the party, but you indicated that the last coat of poly was only about a week old. Poly takes a good bit more time to fully cure. If someone placed a folded plastic table cloth over it, the out gassing of the plastic could have affected the finish. A table pad could do the same thing. Memory foam will soften many finishes that have cured for years. Even though this problem was not of your making IMO, you had remarkable strength of character to step up and make it right with your customer.
    Lee Schierer
    USNA '71
    Go Navy!

    My advice, comments and suggestions are free, but it costs money to run the site. If you found something of value here please give a little something back by becoming a contributor! Please Contribute

  4. #34
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Collegeville PA (30 min west of Philly)
    Posts
    1,143
    Blog Entries
    1
    Thanks guys!

    Luckily, selling of woodworking projects isn't a make-or-break thing for me. Basically, since my wife won't allow many more pieces in our own house, I have to build and donate/sell/gift in order to keep the hobby and learning curve going.

    Donating and gifting are the easy part, but that gets to be expensive. So, over the past couple years, we have setup all the legalities to be able to properly sell. Our approach in pursuing customers has been word of mouth which keeps the volume very manageable. And, when it comes time to accept work, we look to take on just one customer at a time, and focus on projects that I can confidently build (with a little bit of something new to allow me to practice another skill). Our pricing model is basically "materials x 2" (with adjustments up or down based on project complexity) which allows me to cover shop expenses and put a couple bucks in my pocket (which are usually reinvested into tools I don't own yet).

    The good news is that this approach has allowed us to:
    - Keep my learning curve going. I'm active in the shop nearly every day now.
    - Upgrade my shop continually (but incrementally)
    - Meet a steady stream of really cool and thankful people that truly appreciate that I'm giving them the best I can build at a fair price


    In this particular case, I sensed from the beginning that this customer would be different. I was enticed by her connectivity and that this could lead to other customers.... forgetting that my entire approach is built on low volume and basically not caring too much if I don't sell work consistently.

    In short, I broke away from my approach, ignored my "Spidey sense", and got burned.

    What makes me feel ok about it is...
    - The end projects turned out as something I can be proud of. The table and bench are nicely built.
    - I kept my (infamous) temper and took the high road.
    - I covered my costs while learning to stick to my approach from here on out.
    and
    - The guys here at SMC are a great support group... teaching, coaching, advising. MUCH APPRECIATED.
    - Bob R.
    Collegeville PA (30 minutes west of Philly)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •