a cautionary tale for custom builders...

Rick Turner

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Just had a customer return a uke because it didn't meet the agreed upon specs. So I went back to the original, extremely detailed work order, and checked off all the specifications. Everything was as per the work order...which had been sent to the customer. Checked it twice. Had one of my luthiers triple check me. Everything was exactly as on the work order.

Turns out that the customer did not understand the words "binding" and "purfling", and he was expecting something different. How different? I still don't know for sure.

We're obviously going to have to go through an education process with every customer. And we're also eliminating even the possibility of options like "tortoise binding with tortoise purfling" because I think it will wind up looking slightly weird with a glue line and mis-matched pattern. Hoping for black on black for this customer, so the effect is like double wide binding.

And then there are the tuners where what was on the work order but misunderstood; it's just that sometimes we go with bright nickel plating, sometimes there's a slightly more expensive option of using Gotoh's "antique" nickel tuners. Both are nickel.

So...here I go...with a major bunch of verbiage coming up in order to excruciatingly detail all our options, define terms, etc.
 
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Just punch them in the face in your mind. You will fell way better. I noticed on Gurian's website in his specials section that he says some things get returned because the custom says "that is not what I meant by herringbone"... it made me laugh, then cry...then think about punching them in the face
 
Its entirely possible that the customer was making excuses and wanted or needed to return the instrument for other reasons. Anticipation is often greater than realization.
 
man what a pain in the ass. I wouldn't have the gall to return a uke to someone like RT - or anyone for that matter - having previously discussed and agreed upon specs. That is truly a bizarre act in the extreme. Doesn't seem to me that you even have just cause to accept this return Rick, under the circumstances you describe. If you do, then my hat is off to you. Were it me, with far less capacity for tact, I'd just tell em to #*%* off and waste someone elses time...
 
man what a pain in the ass. I wouldn't have the gall to return a uke to someone like RT - or anyone for that matter - having previously discussed and agreed upon specs. That is truly a bizarre act in the extreme. Doesn't seem to me that you even have just cause to accept this return Rick, under the circumstances you describe. If you do, then my hat is off to you. Were it me, with far less capacity for tact, I'd just tell em to #*%* off and waste someone elses time...

Agreed - I would be embarrassed to return a uke because I didn't know what the word binding meant. My guess is that Rick will be able to sell this one and hopefully not take much of a hit but what a pain to have to deal with.
 
man what a pain in the ass. I wouldn't have the gall to return a uke to someone like RT - or anyone for that matter - having previously discussed and agreed upon specs. That is truly a bizarre act in the extreme. Doesn't seem to me that you even have just cause to accept this return Rick, under the circumstances you describe. If you do, then my hat is off to you. Were it me, with far less capacity for tact, I'd just tell em to #*%* off and waste someone elses time...

. . . and wouldn't you ask what it was if you weren't sure?
 
I am ashamed to admit that I was confused myself, and it took me 3 seconds on google to find out more than ever wanted to know about binding and purfling. Ya think if you were plunking a bunch of money down on anything you'd educate yourself a little. I thought purfling was that weird sport where these bunch of guys throw this massive puck down the ice and the team who cleans the ice the best wins. anyway, I've been lusting after one of Rick's CR's since I first saw them. I finally scored a "base" model used ,if you could call any instrument with the prettiest rosette I have ever seen ,"base". it hasn't arrived yet, but I'll bet you won't be able to pry it from my cold, dead hands. the buyer is a fool. you should require all prospective buyers to take a test to weed out the jerks?
something like
1. Purfling is____
A. The strip that sits between the binding on the top, back , or side
B. an Olympic sport
C. a Swedish bird
D. all of the above.
 
On the flip side, it'll make someone else really happy that they get to buy that uke
 
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I am not sure what most people do, but for my custom stuff, half up front, and the balance when ready to ship, is how I work. This year, there have been 2 customers who were slow to respond when the project was finished. One customer I just gave up on, 6 months later he contacted me and paid. The other was only about 6 weeks late. I think that in both cases, it was 'timing' in their lives, possibly also money. How do others deal with this? a storage 'fee' in the contract? a deadline for forfeiture? In the process of all this, the worst case scenario is not real fun, having a piece tied up, basically in storage.

As for customers who 'come out of left field', it just makes me see red sometimes... fortunately it has only happened a few times , always ending ok or better.
 
That is not an acceptable reason to return. That seriously sucks didn't know binding from purfling. I would want to explain what purfling was and upcharge for purfling labor and materials. Sorry this happened to you.
 
Commiserations my friend - I suspect there were other reasons behind this. I am hoping to move away from the minefield of custom work and simply make the stuff i want to and then sell it off my website. The strain of working when I have health issues, trying to meet competing deadlines, problems with processes delaying things are always aggravated by insistent and demanding customers who generally find some fault with the completed work. Despite us both being experienced we seem to snag a rattlesnake every so often.
 
Despite us both being experienced we seem to snag a rattlesnake every so often.

Pete, I think its just a numbers thing. If you build enough ukes, and deal with enough customers its bound to happen.
 
I don't understand the mindset of someone who treats a custom builder as just another faceless corporation. The whole experience of dealing with an artisan is miles removed from the anonymous interactions we have daily with Big Business, and much more exciting (you never know precisely what you're going to get, but you trust the integrity of the artist you have commissioned).

And as for returning something because you (the customer) have misunderstood ... well, that's embarrassing, as well as just plain wrong.
 
Thankfully nothing like that has happened to me in the custom instrument business. But it has happened on numerous occasions in other occupations.

But seriously, what do you do? It's a loosing proposition no matter what stand you take. Refunding money and trying to on sell a custom instrument. Or tell them no and take the chance that this customer doesn't slag you on every forum and uke group that they know of. Watching the sheep follow.

Some people are just oxygen thief's.
 
You should ask them to supply detailed drawings..like any other industry would :D

I've never bought a custom, but I'm surprised if there aren't drawings - either by the builder to confirm the specs (done after down payment of course) or templates that help show the options when the customer is choosing. Either way though, if a customer didn't take the time to educate himself on a major purchase, well, that's just silly.
 
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