What Would You Do? Customer Wants Changes 2 Months After Delivery

[Leese]

All-

Good evening!

Would appreciate your feedback/experience here, please.

I was asked to make a diaper bag that didn't look like a diaper bag for a man (a family member's colleague) who wanted something special for his wife since this would be their last child.

The man reviewed pictures of my work and decided on a variation of one of my vinyl tote bags (easy to clean & sturdy).

He was pretty adamant about wanting 4 clear functional pockets to display pictures of his kids.

Although I cautioned him that it may not be a good idea to carry around in the open photos of his kids, he still wanted the clear pockets.

I agreed and made the bag with four pockets. When the bag was complete, I sent him pictures of it with the pockets empty and full of pictures and stuff.

He was pleased and then asked me to make him a changing pad to go with it. I did and shipped the items out together back around January 20, 2015.

A few days ago, the man contacted me, said the bag is the right size, the wife loves the color and style, but would prefer four expandable pockets with snap closure tops - he wrote he really wanted to "make it right for his wife" and asked if it was possible to re-work the bag.

Because he was involved throughout the process, i sent him photos of the finished bag, and it's been nearly 2 months since I sent him the bag, what would you do?

Here are some of my thoughts:

Re-working will take longer than creating from scratch

I don't know if I have enough materials to re-make with four flapped pockets

Not familiar with that style of pocket (read I have to design one)

Cannot re-work what he has, the integrity of the vinyl would be compromised if I remove and re-sew

If I agree to try, do I charge him or take a loss and just make him a new one

I mean, it's not like I sent him a bad bag or there was a structural issue

How do I talk to this man, handle tactfully and properly?

What can I do to avoid this type of problem in the future and potential bad Internet press?

Thank you for your time and assistance.

Leese

[Andrew Chee]

Offer to do it for him and charge him for it. He received what was agreed on and what he asked for. If now he either wants a change or even a new bag you should say fine as long as he pays for the changes or new bag. There's nothing implied in your work for him that you owe him changes to the design after the fact. You should always fix any problems or defects with your work but if he changes his mind afterwards you are under no obligation to change it for him for free.

You should tell him what his options are for getting the bag the way he wants, what your recommendations are for him to do so (modify existing bag or make a new bag) and the costs involved with the work.

Andrew

[Tugadude]

+1, agree totally

[thefanninator]

If you can't modify it due to the intergrity of the vinyl, offer to make a new for full price and if you think it's possible to re-sell the first one - charge him a 25% re-stocking fee.

Other than that I agree with the above.

Edited March 13, 2015 by thefanninator

[Thor]

There should be a voting feature here. I'm with Andrew.

[TwinOaks]

Explain that trying to re-work the bag would damage it. Then offer to make a matching bag with the expandable pockets.

[Handstitched]

G"day,

Yes, I agree too, charge him for any alterations.

If he wants a new one made, fine, but so long as he's prepared to pay.

He'll end up with two bags instead of one.

You've done nothing wrong .

HS

[papaw]

Do not rework make new bag and charge.

[Bob Blea]

I agree with everyone here. Explain to him his options and make it clear what the charges are (and absolutely you should be charging for all of this extra work) and let him decide if he is willing to pay for the additional work. Even if you provide a guarantee or warranty with your products, there is nothing wrong with the bag as delivered that would warrant replacement or repair.

[Northmount]

I hope you have been paid for the bag. If so, I would offer to make a new bag, preferably full cost, maybe add a discount coupon he could use for a future purchase. Don't take a loss. He can resell or dispose of the first bag himself. I like the idea above about making a matching bag as Twin Oaks suggests.

If you haven't been paid for the bag, drop it and cut your losses now. Turn the bill over to a collection agency so you get at least 25 to 50% back.

Tom

[EthiopianBone]

Do not rework make new bag and charge.

I fully agree with this position. The item was made to customer's specification and delivery was complete.

To not want to get flamed online is perfectly understandable, but generally it is easily equalized with proper responding.

In the future, I suggest maybe using a disclaimer along the lines of "custom orders are made to customer specification, and are not modifiable post-production."

[mlapaglia]

Did the customer indicate that he expected the change for free? It may be that he already is prepared to pay for what he wants. I have had that happen. Customer had a holster made then decided he wanted a thumb break added. I told him how much to make a new holster and he tossed down the cash without blinking. Perhaps this customer already is expecting to pay.

[MonicaJacobson]

Good point, mlapaglia

[Leese]

All-

Happy Friday! My thanks to each of you for your feedback, I appreciate it.

Yes, I do guarantee structural work but not normal wear and tear. So I am on the right track there.

The bag was to his specs and he did pay for it. Yay, no loss or haggling.

Some of the Leatherworker members let me know that with custom work, it is best to get full payment up front.

I will let my customer know about potential issues if I try to alter the bag, and let him know he may order another one to the new specs, what the cost will be and go from there. He did not specifically write in his message that he expected the work for free, so perhaps I jumped the gun(?)

This is the first time I ran into this type of situation, so it freaked me out a bit.

Ah, a learning experience with your guidance.

Sincere thanks to each of you again.

Leese

[chiefjason]

I've told folks I charge twice as much to "re work" as I do to build, if it's possible. And it's normally someone else's work they want fixed. Usually makes the point. Although I would get clear on his expectations before I got snarky about it. And be honest. If it's going to damage the final product, make that very clear. Custom means you get what you order, even if it's unusual. It does not mean we can re work it later depending on your whims.

[terrypen]

The bag was to his specs and he did pay for it. Yay, no loss or haggling.

Some of the Leatherworker members let me know that with custom work, it is best to get full payment up front.

I will let my customer know about potential issues if I try to alter the bag, and let him know he may order another one to the new specs, what the cost will be and go from there. He did not specifically write in his message that he expected the work for free, so perhaps I jumped the gun(?)

Leese

I'm glad you got paid for it already!

I am really new to this hobby but from a business viewpoint, I would not rework the bag unless there is no chance that it might cause premature failure. A couple years down the road he could start badmouthing you and your work if it starts falling apart.If he "insists" then have him sign a statement saying that you warned him of possible issues.

Lean towards creating new "similar" bag with new features and let him sell or give it to a family member or friend.

Just my newbie thoughts!

Terry

[Neillo]

A bit of a dilemma you have there Leese, it's partly why i shy away from making one offs that i've never even prototyped before.

If I were in your situation, I'd tell the customer that it's going to be extra to modify the bag. Work out a quote and take the money for the modifications up front.

Also, there's a lot to be said for "under quote, over deliver" in this case: tell him it'll take a certain time to fix it and get it fixed and delivered a couple of days before that time, it can really surprise a customer and make both you and your work look very professional.

[Leese]

All-

Good evening

Just spoke to my customer and he was okay! Whew!

He said the color, size and quality of the bag were spot on/exactly what he asked for and he "took the blame" for the pocket choice.

I informed he he did really well, in that not too many guys I know would make the time to have something so special made their wives. (No offense here guys).

He said he fully expected to pay for any alterations too.

I explained to alter the bag was labor intensive and I would not be able to guarantee the integrity of the materials after removing and then re-stitching.

We'd basically have to start from scratch and I let him know I was open to crating something else (a companion bag as suggested) perhaps later on in the year for a special event.

So it appears we are okay and have left the door open for possible future work.

My thanks again to you guys!

Leese