njquiltergirl Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 Hi. Would you ever consider charging for a l o n g consultation that provided a wealth of information & a complete plan for the customer, yet no quilt work for you to do? After a nearly two hour customer meeting, I have no work as a result. The customer loved the plan and may now do it herself. This was a few weeks ago and it is still puzzling me! Two hours is a lot to waste this time of year, I should have been working not chatting. What would you do? How do you handle working out a plan without giving it away? Thanks for letting me vent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 Wow Lisa I've never had that happen. I have had some long intakes but that sometimes go with the territory and you can always increase your rate a little. If she just wanted a consultation next time I'd charge her by the hour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primitive1 Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 I think that one is a goner, but in the future, if it isn't just do this, or what you think would look best, let them know you will be charging an hourly consultation fee..(that is credited when you complete their quilt)..in my opinion, she took advantage of you, and that wasn't nice.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustSewSimple Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 Yelp, she found out what to do to her quilt with your ideas!!! That's not nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibbyG Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 I like Vicki's idea of charging, but then giving it as credit. If they aren't planning on letting you dothe work, they won't take as much as your time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 Hey maybe you should make a "follow up" call to the customer and just do a follow up check on her status of the quilt? Perhaps in the conversation you can mention on the phone about spending the time consulting with her and you are hoping that your ideas might be put to use on the quilt? And then you can "slide" in this comment that you're still very interested in finishing the quilt and executing some (or all) of the idea? It wouldn't hurt to circle back and follow up. Maybe she's still sitting on it and simmering the ideas on the back burner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 As usual, Shana gives kind and logical advice. Here is another thing to consider--call her back because SHE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO QUILT YOUR DESIGNS SATISFACTORILY ON HER QUILT. No matter how much she wishes and hopes, it won't turn out the way she thinks it will. As we all know, it's harder than it looks to "professionally" quilt! My other thought was to send her an email or call her and let her know how much you enjoyed the "consultation" and because she didn't leave the quilt with you to be quilted you will be billing her for your standard design fee--$20 per hour. Even if she sputters and declines, she will know you don't give away either your time or your talent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newmillie2010 Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 i've had this happen...twice. Thought I was being professional by giving my thoughts/ideas as to how I thought the quilt should be quilted. Out the door and gone. First customer let me know she could do this on her DSM. Red Flag. So I'm glad that I haven't heard from her. Red Flag tells me she would never be satisfied with what I did. Good-bye. 2nd customer came and spent 3 hours chatting about her soon-to-be finished extraordinary paper pieced fabulous quilt. I showed her via drawings/stencils/computer what I would suggest. And she liked the ideas. not a word back and it's been 2 months. But I don't worry about it. It will happen if it's meant to happen. I figure that good karma will come back to me in some form or other. Plus I have more than enough work to do. Part of doing business. I can walk into a clothing store and spend an hour with a sales clerk bringing me outfits to try on, and I might not spend a dime. Part of doing business. You win some, you lose some. Karma karma karma. Don't let it ruin your day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraJ Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 Just happened to me. 1.5 - 2 hour consultation. The person didn't know what to do with her quilt to "fix" it (I thought there was nothing wrong with it.) We talked, she liked my ideas, etc. Was charging her $.03 spi and she seemed shocked at the total. Told her that a pantograph would be less. She said she'd have the borders and stuff done by November. Saw her last week at LQS, asked how the quilt was going - she told me she wasn't doing all the changes we discussed, but redoing her applique and someone else was going to quilt it. She was very impressed by the quilt my other customer showed that I had just finished, and asked how much I charged for the quilting. Said $.03 spi but my prices were going up for such extensive custom work. She pointed her finger at me and said, "Remember - I met you when you were charging $.03 spi!!" Suffice to say, no more consultations and won't do any of her quilts. From now on someone asks me for a consultation and not an intake appointment, I will be charging $25.00 per hour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Linda S Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 Other than calling and checking with her as Shana suggests, there probably isn't anything you can do. You might want to put a little blurb in your fees that states if you provide quilting designs to a customer and they do not give you the quilt to do, you have a minimum charge of $50 for the consultation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyLake Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 I would not give out any negative feelings from this encounter. In the long run, quilters are going to find out that you know a lot about quilting and have really great ideas. Most are not going to want to do it themselves, they will want you to do it. I think part of the tradeoff for becoming an experienced quilter, is being asked frequently for information and consultation. It is just part of the deal. Many people will pay you back in other ways. It is part of being in the quilting community. However, if this same quilter wanted your help again, I'd let her know how busy you are and make her wait. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kueser Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 Watch out for the ones that bring a friend along while you do the consultation. My experience, the more friends come, the less chance they will be back. There is always someone in the crowd who wants to pick your brain so they can start their own quilting buisness. Besides, there are enough quilts to do without worrying about the one that got away. Those ladies that are cheap should spend some time behind the machine and they will get an appreciation for the amount of time it takes to complete a quilt. Recently I "helped" one of my friends who was itching to quilt do a small wall hanging. By the time she finished, she said she was done quilting; she will leave the quilting to me in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparkle Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 My only conclusion---Some people have a lot of nerve! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrandmaLKB Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 My DH had something similar happen to him. He makes bluebird boxes for bluebirds to nest in.........anyway this lady called and asked about the boxes and wanted 12 of them. DH shot her a price and she asked if she could bring her neighbor to look at them to make sure that's what she needed............Well, they looked and looked and then we were told the Neighbor would make them for her - FREE..............So, they came here, took up DHs time, stole his plan and went home! This lady could well afford the price he quoted, too. As Angie says............"some people have a lot of nerve!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 Ditto, Joan. That is just it, be wise like the serpent and harmless like dove (learned that from the good book). So much time and resources invested by experienced LONGARMER. This is an excellent, informative thread. Corey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustSewSimple Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 Perhaps we should change our language here. Instead of calling it a consult (strike that word) and call in only an INTAKE. So, when asked if someone can come for a consult just say no I only do INTAKE. When you are ready to drop it off I will hear what you'd like. Wouldn't that clear things up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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