Gould Frame

Sometimes the best design I can show you isn't a visual design at all. But it is a critical part of the process of helping you display your artwork and cherished items in your home. It's a design we have worked hard to build into our business, and something we think you find more from independent, locally owned "mom and pops." It's the way we've designed our customer service to provide you with a beautiful buying experience.

By customer service, I mean a lot more than how you are treated at the cash register. I don't have to tell you how important that is- you know how you feel when you are at a big box, there's a line of people waiting and only one register open while two or three other staffers stand nearby, hammering out the details of their schedules, or whatever the manager (who is inevitably one of them) feels is more important than serving the customer first. I had this happen to me twice in the last week (no, even I can't buy everything in the kind of shops I would like to.) And it started me thinking on this topic.

We try to make sure that each of our customers knows how much we value them. We design their shopping experience such that they have our full attention, without disruption unless absolutely necessary. We listen to our customers to get an idea of what they are expecting from the finished frame design. When their ideas go against our aesthetics, we remind ourselves that it is going to hang on their wall, not ours. We educate our customers about the design process and the materials that go into their frame, so they know what they are getting and why.

I can hear some people's answer to this now:

But why is it so expensive? The little guys are so much more money! I can get it cheaper! I can get it online and have it shipped to me! So much easier and cheaper!

Don't fall for it!

The same week as my own awful shopping experiences, the following also occurred. It's a true story, of course, and is a perfect example of poor experience design.

Mr. George, whom I had not yet met, called me and stated that he had just seen my store. He had just ordered a frame and mat from an online company, and it came with a piece of cut plexiglass and backing board. But now that he had it, he realized that he didn't know how to put it all together the right way.

I told him how much I would charge him for "fitting" (that's what we call "putting it all together".) He thought it was a reasonable price and said he would be in the next day. He came in with a beautiful, commissioned piece of art. He shared with me that he had spent so much on the artwork, he wanted to save money on the framing, so he ordered it online. He had ordered a 2 inch wide black wood frame with a grey mat cut to size. There was a piece of plexiglass cut to size and a piece of foamboard also cut to size.

We started to unwrap the frame from its wrapping, and right away saw the first problem. One corner was all chewed up! It looked like a mouse had been at it, or it had been dropped right on the corner. I asked him if the box had been damaged; it hadn't. In fact, the wrapping looked fine. Which means that the company sent it looking like this. We also noticed that there were gaps in the corners where the mitred pieces of moulding meet, and they weren't flat and even. A very poor fitting job. I flipped the frame over to look at the joining method used, and we each saw something that bothered us.

I saw that the frame was joined without glue. Now, you may not know this, but wood glue is what keeps frames together at the corners. You see nails or pins in frames to keep them together while the glue is drying! No glue means the frame will be more likely to loosen up and fall apart.

Mr. George saw that the frame was not a solid piece of wood, like he thought he had ordered. It was pressed wood, or fiberboard, wrapped with a laminated paper. He was disappointed that the company hadn't been truthful about what they were selling him.

I turned my attention to the matboard. The company had given no description of that. But I was able to tell that it was what we refer to as a "paper board", as opposed to a "rag board". The difference? Paper boards are cheaper, for sure. But they are also full of acid that will damage artwork over time, yellowing the paper while turning yellow themselves. The foamboard that was sold to him was also not an acid-free material. To the company's credit, the plexiglass was fine.

Mr. George ended up returning the shipment to the company, and they refunded his money. He bought a similar frame from me, with a rag mat in the same color, an acid-free backing and plexiglass. He said he didn't mind that the frame was pressed board; he just wished they'd been more forthcoming about what they sold him.

He paid me, including the fitting, about 25% more than he'd paid them (without any fitting). However, he got a much better finished product, done correctly, with pride and befitting his commissioned artwork. He was informed exactly why these products were better for his investment in the long run. And he didn't have the hassle of being disappointed or returning anything. I think it was worth the extra money. More importantly, so did Mr. George.