What To Line With ... Difficult Customer

[RoosterShooter]

We've all had them, and I guess it's my turn this time.

I had a walk-in customer want a Velvet lined holster for her Customized Lady Smith. I insisted that the velvet wouldn't hold up, and talked her into a leather alternative. I normally only use 4 oz. inside of my 7 oz. leather for lining holsters, but she is insisting that it be 'soft' to the touch.

What should I use? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

[Eaglestroker]

My recommendation would be to run away, quickly.

Split pigskin is a suede like leather in 1-2oz that is a popular lining leather with holsters.

[DuaneS]

I'd suggest she use Someone Else????

[Red Cent]

I would have told her that the stuff wouldn't hold up, have her sign a hold harmless, and make it for her

[blue duck]

These guys are right, Run! There is nothing worse than a woman (or any client) that won't take professional advice. No matter what you do, it will not be right, nor good enough, nor what she wanted to begin with. You can not win. Have one on the books right now and I am pulling out every gray hair she has given me. Thought we could show her what was right and why, but even with tens (hundreds?) of hours on the phone and emails and redesigns, we are so far in the hole on this one, it hurts. Even with an agreement, it is your name she will drag through the mud. Folks will never hear the other side of the story, only see where your work did not hold up.

Edited May 19, 2014 by blue duck

[dirtclod]

People like that i give them their stuff back and tell em i'll never able to make you happy so i'm not doing it. I'm guessing you will be wishing you had told her that before it's over.

[DavidL]

abbey england has some soft french sueded leather that would feel like velvet but hold up like suede. Worth a look.

[Chief31794]

The Pigskin Split is an option, but if she's that picky, I'd suggest she design and make it herself. I line holsters with Pigskin Splits and it has a nice soft feel and holds up well.

Chief

[TexasJack]

What happened to, "The Customer Is Always Right"?

Once you've explained why there's no warranty on her choice of materials (and perhaps that it's a premium cost), you make what she wants.

When it works out like you said it would, she'll come to understand that you know best.

[rickybobby]

I quit trying to please people read (busting my butt to try and make them happy) against what you know is best. Are you going to buy a "special" hide for this person.

How much are you willing to spend $$ to try and make her happy?

I send these people down the road (i'm not rude to them) I just tell them someone else is better at ________ then I am and give a huge price and they go to the "expert" that may or may not do it.

Send them away, if they don't like what you make, they won't like what they make for them.

[DavidL]

The type of people that are really picky tend to be customers for life, if you provide them with excellent customer service. 85 percent of people will not rebuy if they had a bad experience, there are so many other options. If your too stacked up in orders send a rough estimate and once they confirm the deal order the additional leather.

You could find the cost of buying the leather plus shipping and factor it in and break down the cost in front of the customer. Customer will have to end up paying for the cost of shipping and hide. The price will be high to buy an entire hide so at least the customer will walk away with the thought that they were treated well and a future purchase wouldn't be out of the picture. Other options like finding a small piece on ebay or garment/upholstery leather could be used.

If anything you could find a segment of the market that you may have not know was there, exotic holsters or holsters made specifically for women.

Just my 2 cents.

[Lobo]

Many people have ideas in their heads about what they think a holster should be and how it should be made. It might help to keep in mind that when you do it their way, and it doesn't work as they envisioned, they will always remember the bum who failed to turn their dream into reality, but they will never remember that they had a bad idea to start out with.

[St8LineGunsmith]

I'd suggest she use Someone Else????

DING DING DING DING... Wehave a winner folks!

run the other way and don't look back!

[malabar]

I keep a roll of kipskin on hand. When someone wants a holster lined with "something soft," I dig it out, let them feel it, and they're usually sold.

tk

[Renaissanceman]

Have to agree with Eaglestroker,

Pig split is soft and durable.

[WinterBear]

You might tell her a big problem with velvet is that the nap is made of cut threads. When exposed to rubbing, those threads will break or pull out of the weave, leaving fuzz everywhere (and probably not good for the gun to get those clogging things up), and the weave that is left behind becomes the very definition of threadbare. Velvet gowns, velvet children's toys, and velvet upholstery all tend to show wear quickly where the nap is rubbed--so where the arms of the dress rub the ribs, where a child carries their teddy bear and drags the leg on the ground, and where the seat of someone's pants rubs the seat of a velvet chair. A thrift shop might have a article of children's clothing worn threadbare that can be bought for a very minimal price that you can show her, and then maybe you can coax her into something more appropriate after viewing it, while making her think that the change is her idea.

[GrampaJoel]

You might try some newbuck. It looks like velvet but will wear pretty good. Takes oil ok too. That is it won't give up, the ghost if some oil gets on it.

I'd bet that she won't be putting the gun in and out of the holster very often. Especially if she is asking for velvet.

It would seem to me that she would know how a good holster is built if she had a lot of gun drawing experience.

Joel

[reuben cogburn]

I gave up modifying my patterns to suit others.. I got tired of losing $$ on the jobs. If I have a pattern, it is built that way. No substitutions. I had a customer dislike my replacement because it was built better than the piece of junk she bought in Guatamala (seriously).... She needed it replaced because it was under built tourist junk...

[Jim]

This is a classic case of "the customer ain't always right, but they think they are because they think they know more than you do." (Okay, that was a little longer than I thought it should be.) But, you get the point. I have had to turn down custom jobs for folks because what they wanted was not gonna work and they were not going to be happy and I did not want to deal with the whinning about it afterwards. RUN!!