Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Year-End Thoughts

As 2011 is now a thing of the past, I would like to reflect on an item that perturbs me. 99.99% of our customers are dear, sweet people whom we go way out of our way to attempt to please. They are gracious, kind, and appreciative of all our work we do to present our items in a professional and attractive manner. They know we spend countless hours looking for our unique, hard-to-find, really cool items. They also know we ALWAYS offer these items at a fair and reasonable price. They appreciate the ambiance of the soothing music, the attractive displays, the fragrance of burning candles, and the warm and friendly greeting from our staff. These are the reasons why our customer base grows year after year and our loyal customers keep coming back. 
  However towards the end of this year we experienced a few people who apparently did not feel this way. Through no fault of our own, a few people who came in the shop seemed hostile and rude. I don't know if this is a result of economic stress or what, but it seems that more of these types of people seemed to surface towards the end of this year than ever before. As an example, one lady stated that "This is all I am willing to pay for this item. Here is my phone number, you can call me when your ready to sell it for this price." By the way, the price she offered us was less than half of what we paid for the item. Another lady came in and asked for a quote on my custom built farm table and benches. I was out of town but my prices are listed in my catalog. She left leaving a message for me which said she would offer me about half of what my price is. I wonder how any of you would feel if you went to work for half pay. Hmmmm. 
Good thing we are now closed as I need a well deserved break especially from this kind of treatment. Most of our customers are dear and kind people, but there are a few who just don't need to come in any more. Wondering what you might feel about this. Please leave your comments below.

Featured Item - Cantback Cupboard

This is one of our favorite pieces and near and dear to our hearts and that is because we made this piece fashioned after an 18th century Cantback Open-top Pewter Cupboard.. The hinges are original 18th century in which we have been saving for years just for this project.
Reproduction Cantback Cupboard
Open View

You just gotta love the grungy mustard milk paint. This plus all the other primitive features like the bootjack cutouts on the ends, the mousehole, the early fashioned latch, and the original early backboards make this piece a MUST HAVE!
Side View
Take a look at the detail on the following photos.
Latch
Upper Moldings
Mousehole
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