When no seems to be the hardest word ..

Yes, we’re making  an intended  pun here to Elton John’s famous 1976 ballad, but the sentiment, how to say some thing tough firmly. but nicely, such as the negation, no;  is much the same.  While custom picture framers the world over pride themselves  on customer service, sometimes, someone, someplace will have to say no to some Customers’ requests. And saying no to, anyone, especially Customers who are our business lifeblood and livelihood, can be the hardest word, as the song says. We are no different, and over the years we have had to respectfully decline various types of requests .. many of which are listed below.

1)  Asking for goods, picture frames, or other stock, to be set aside without committing to buy:

This is a request we receive from time to time and which we invariably have to decline. There are several reasons for this.  The main one is that on some of our picture frames we may have limited  stock. We also advertise on the internet with Google Adwords and Bing Microsoft Advertising and online Customers clicking on our advertisements have ordering priority.

This third-party advertising is quite different to listing products for sale on our website and these are not advertisements. Thus, if have only 12 of our  50x50cms black square shadow box frames are available and someone rings asking for a dozen to be “put aside”  with a vague,"I’ll come in when I can” , we will have to pass on that.

The reason for this is because, by complying with that request, we would be denying other online Customers, who may have been prompted by our online advertisements, the opportunity to place online orders for the same stock.

And it is also partly because, from past experience, hardly anyone who has ever asked us to put frames aside for them, keeps his or her promise to come and buy,  they just never show up.

2)  Wanting free fitting of customer’s artwork into ready-made picture frames:

As a photo frames and picture frames online store and custom picture framers, we derive our income from two main work sources.  The first is via our website www.pictureframe.com.au  which receives online orders from all over Australia.

Our products include shadow box frames, 3-dimensional frames, certificate frames, ready-made frames, photo frames, football and basketball display cases, clip frames, Art Deco mirrors and many other office and home décor products.

The second is via our picture frames factory with picture framing workshop where Customers visit us so as to have their custom picture frames made. To prosecute and accomplish both endeavours, the deployment of highly skilled labour is required.

Logically,  the efforts an labour undertaken by our employees are remunerated. In other words,  all the online order parcels that we send out and all the custom frames that we make are costs to our business.

These costs are recouped by charging all Customers the prices, fees and charges necessary to make the business viable, profitable and sustainable.  This brings us to the main difference between our two income streams.

The first income stream, that of selling online imported read-made-picture frames, is more popular with Customers because,  by and large, imported picture frames are much cheaper than locally made ones.

The reasons for this are beyond the scope of this post and, in any case, have already been detailed in our prior post “  Made in Australia? Are you kidding? “.  The second income stream, custom picture framing, is also popular, albeit to a lesser extent, largely because custom picture frames are more expensive than imported ones.

Again, why this is so, would be digressing from the topic at hand, however,  “Who or what, killed all the picture framing shops?”  provides more expanded information to those inquisitive enough to seek.

More to the point however, ready-made, or off-the-shelf photo frames and picture frames, are much cheaper than custom picture frames because these are fully imported and not assembled or manufactured by Australian labour.

It is simply not realistic to have a picture framer paid at an hourly rate of AUD30 or more x hour to free-fit for a Customer’s certificate into an A4 Certificate Frame , such as the one below, costing $4.25,  as some Customers want us us to.

To sum up, the single, most important reason and cause of most of the imported, Asian-made certificate frames, poster frames, photo frames and picture frames being so cheap,  and in any case,  always far cheaper than anything made in Australia, is because there is no Australian labour involved in making the product, at all.

The moment local labour is involved in handling, fitting or customizing  imported picture frames in any manner, the price of the frames will need increase so much that these will no longer be competitive in the open market.

Relevantly, the fitting up, or insertion of artwork into ready-made frames is a relatively simple and easy task.  The flexible tabs at the back to picture need to be raised, the backing of the frame removed, the artwork inserted, the backing put back, the tabs closed and, in most cases, that's it!

3) Requesting non-existent or fictitious discounts:

Our online store products are already competitively priced and, in addition, many of our products have generous quantity discounts.  Yet, our Staff from time to time continue to receive unwarranted discounts requests.  Whilst there's no harm in Customers asking for discounts, it can get a little vexing when these become insistent.

Examples of unentitled and insistent Customers are those with Pensioner Cards, Health Care Cards, Student Cards, A.B.N. holders, Disability Pensioners, Service Personnel, Teachers, Educators, Wholesalers, Retailers, Store Employees, Government Employees, etc.

We even had a Customer some time ago showing us a well-worn letter claiming that his organization was exempt from the Good and Services Tax and wanting us to change our Invoicing system so as attest to his GST exempt status, which we are not authorized to do.

It was explained to the Customer that in his case, it was for his organization to lodge a Business Activity Statement, claim any GST exemptions and receive a refund from the ATO, if and when due.

The bottom line is that we offer no discounts  of any kind aside those we publish online and if it's not online then, we don't have it to offer it.

With regard to our prices and purchasing our picture frames and other products, it is irrelevant what the Customer, does, who he or she may be, who they work for , or what their social, medical or financial status may be. Our prices are the same and equal for all, without favouritism or discrimination.

4)  Unauthorized removal of goods to be charged on non-existent Credit Account:

Our business premises are located in a factory in an industrial area.  We enjoy excellent relation with all neighbours, some of whom we also supply with picture frames and other goods and products.  Being a small business, we get to personally know other factory owners and also help each other out when the need arises.

There have been several occasions however when neighbourly amity  has been taken a liitle too far and we have had to intervene.  A good example of this is when employees or workers from nearby factories come to our factory and help themselves to our picture frames or poster frames, breezily asking that whatever they are grabbing be "put on the Account".

This is when we have had to physically stop and prevent these would-be Customers from leaving our factory, telling them that, no, the picture frames they were taking could not be booked to a Credit Account since we do not offer credit and, on the contrary,  they were required to pay for whichever goods they wanted to take.

5)  Demanding free deliveries of picture frames:

From time to time we receive firm requests, demands even, that we are to process an order only if we give free delivery, even when a shipping, or freight cost, is being added to the Checkout.

There have even been several cases where Customer have placed online orders for goods,  generated Taxable Invoices , which we duly processed, and then later on, emailed us or rang us saying that we should only process  their order if we could give free delivery!   Needless to say we really must decline such requests.

Shipping is not a free service, it is a cost to the business to the tune of several thousand dollars per month which must be recouped, hence our freight charges.   On this particular subject, we have delved a little deeper and published the post  "The free shipping confidence trick".

6)  Wanting waiver of our Online Store Checkout Minimum Order Value:

This is another of those inquiries to which we always have to say no, an example being the Contact Form email below:

Contact Form Email

Hi Guys, I wanted to order some frames from you but your store stopped me at the Checkout with an annoying  a minimum order value warning?  I only need 2 frames totalling $11.40 and can't afford to add more just to meet your high $29 minimum order as shipping is already adding another $14.49 to the total cost.  Can you not waive this spending minimum for me as I am a disability pensioner on a Centrelink benefit?  You are the only store I can find in Australia that has A5 frames that aren't ridiculously expensive so please find a way to ship me the frames I need without me having to spend more than I want. If you can answer me as soon as you can because my order is urgent. Frustrated Customer.

All businesses have their own trading Terms and Conditions and one of ours is that this store's Checkout requires a Minimum Order Value ( MOV ) or $29.  This requirement is not because we want Customers to buy more, but rather,  because it  is simply not commercially viable to process, pick, pack and dispatch orders less than the  MOV.

We enabled MOV and stopped accepting smaller orders because of the the high risk of glass breakages and damaged picture frames.  Our experience is that, the more frames are packed in one parcel, the lesser the breakage rate, conversely, the lesser there are, the greater that rate becomes.

Pertinently, our Store Product Categories warn Customers that we do not ship single frames, because of this issue.  However if a Customer wishes to come and buy just a single, small, cheap frame from us, that's fine, because there's no risky transit and road shipping involved.

7)  Soliciting goods donations and free supply of products for charities and fundraisers :

This type of enquiry conundrum has been around for years and it's still going strong.   Typically, it's a young trainee, intern or volunteer worker at a large charity or fundraising organization ringing all the businesses the may have on a supplied list  and seeing what donations they can raise.

While this cold calling may not be illegal,  to an online business such as this one , it's unproductive, wasteful and downright annoying , especially when these unwanted callers ring repeatedly, regularly and even after being asked not to do so.

We even have had to list this issue as a FAQ on our Help & FAQs  page, because, at one stage, we were receiving up to 6 nuisance telephone calls per day.  While we do privately support a number of charities,  this does not involve our online business which is strictly a commercial, for-profit entity.

8)  Requesting to modify or to customize ready-made picture frames or poster frames :

Item 2) of this post detailed our two main areas of work, the first one being the retailing  of picture frames, poster frames, etc, and the second being the making of  custom picture frames.

It was explained in that section that ready-made, or off-the-shelf, imported picture frames, are generally much cheaper than locally made ones largely because Australian labour and materials is excluded.

Because of this price differential, Customers often tend to gravitate and choose the cheaper frames.  However these frames do not always fit or suit Customers' art and sometimes they ask us to modify or customize these frames, to save money.

But from a commercial viewpoint, this is simply not feasible. As advised earlier on,  the scarce and expensive labour of a local picture framer cannot be profitably used to change or modify a cheap Chinese frame costing a few dollars.

9)  Wanting us dispatch, deliver or ship out custom picture frames:

It has always been our policy to never parcel out, ship, or Courier custom picture frames.  When we explain this to inquirers, they often ask us why is it that we can ship out our online store ready-made frames and photo frames but not custom frames.

The reason for this is simple, we don't dare risking Customers' framed artwork, mementoes, keepsakes or cherished memories to the vagaries and hazards of road transport.   While we

each day, these always contain inexpensive Chinese-made, frames costing a few dollars at the most, which can be easily refunded or replaced if a parcel is damaged or, lost.

Were we to ship out a parcel with a custom frame containing someone's valuable,  irreplaceable, personal memories or memorabilia and this parcel got damaged, or lost, as sometimes happens, not only would the Customer be devastated but we could be liable for a substantial damages claim for which we are uninsured.

10)  Inquiring if it's possible to add a gold, or a silver line to frames or to customize a moulding's finish:

This a specialized process called moulding finishing.  It generally requires an industrial manufacturing process which 99% of custom picture framers, as ourselves, do not have the materials, knowledge and machinery  to achieve.

There are still a few specialist picture framers who can and do hand-finish or decorate picture framing mouldings, but these are far and few between and practising perhaps at the higher end of the picture framing restoration and museum commissions.

11 )  Ordering custom window mats:

Window mats, or window mounts, as they're called in the British Isles, are often an essential component in the taxonomy of picture frames and photo frames.

With the rising popularity of ready-made picture frames and poster frames   we started manufacturing  window mats in standard sizes and disparate proportions as listed in our window mats and photo mats   Category page.

We receive orders daily for our window mats because these are inexpensive and  excellent value for money.  The reason this is so is because the mats are not cut individually, or by hand,  but cut in bulk,  with a computerized mat cutter which obviates slow, inaccurate, wasteful and expensive, local labour costs.

Were we to accept the cutting of single, one off, or custom window mats, the prices charged would be excessive for the majority of our  Customers  who have come to expect inexpensive products and services from us.

Since the charging of high prices would not be politic, but could also be detrimental to our image, we prefer not to offer  this service.

12) Asking and expecting one discount after another:

Discounting is something that we rarely, if ever, practise.  Our business theory is that  this practice merely tells Customers that our picture frames  are not worth the list price and that their true price is whatever we can be haggled down to.

Haggling is not fun, smart, clever or empowering. We find it demeaning and undignified, particularly so when a request has been declined, yet a Customer keeps insisting.

That said, there are some discontinued and clearance products for which we offer discounts, however for in the pricing for these, we also warn:  " Please note that the prices shown below are already discounted and that we do not offer further discounts".

Lastly, there have been Customers who have bought goods already discounted and, on payment, claim that they are entitled to additional discounts as they have a Pension, Disability, Health Card or other Government membership card.

However none of these Cards or Memberships are valid with our private enterprise and any entitlements or benefits attached thereto cannot, do not and will not apply to our organization.

13) Bringing one's own glass, moulding or matboards to us and asking that we cut it to size or somehow customize their materials:

Every now and then we do get Customers bringing in their own materials and which they want us to size, chop, cut or customize.  Unfortunately we have to say no to such requests for one simple reason,  we don't want to make a mistake with somebody else's materials or property.

If we cut a pane of  our glass wrong,  or  chop a length of moulding too short or cut a mat the wrong size, no problem. We can get another sheet of glass, another stick of moulding or another matboard sheet from our stock.

But what if we make  this mistake with something which is not ours?   The glass, wood or board could be of unique size, colour or finish, and not easily replaceable, if at all.  We could be accused of negligence and be liable to a compensation claim for which we are are uninsured.

This type of service is not commercially viable,  and  therefore we do not offer it.

14)  Wondering aloud if we can "touch up" artwork while we are framing it :

This is an unusual request but one which we receive from time to time.   We used to get it more often in the past when Customers brought in original art, but not as much nowadays, perhaps because less people collect original art and more collect reproductions.

Generally, what some Customers asked of us was to "touch up" , "fix up" or restore tears, cracks, creases, holes, stains, discolourations or other defects in their artwork prior to framing it.

The surprising aspect wasn't so much that they wanted us to do this, but that it was assumed that art restoration would be part and parcel of normal picture framing.  That said,  we have to decline. This is partly because repairs and  restorations are best undertaken by qualified restorers and art restorations is not as service that we offer.

15)  Buy, accept or trade-in, second-hand, or used, picture frames:

As detailed at the beginning of this post,  our business evolves around two main activities, that of selling by retail picture frames, and also, that of manufacturing them.

To legally accept used frames so as to re-sell them, we would have to register, be licensed, and become,  Second-Hand Dealers and Pawnbrokers, which is not what we do, or desire to do.  Therefore, we regret , but we cannot and do not buy used or second-hand picture frames.