was this an unhelpful attitude or am I being precious?

[bigmouthstrikesagain]

I have been sent a beautiful oil painting on canvas - stretched and ready to frame.

I went to a framers in nearby town yesterday - I walked to town so didn't have the painting with me but I wanted to ask about costing and get a ballpark figure for framing before I brought it in. I also wanted to have a look at the frames available get an idea of how long it would take - reasonable information for before I bring the painting in I thought.

So when I spoke to the man at the shop I was dismayed by the lack of information he would give me on costs - I asked twice 'I need a idea of costs' and I gave him an idea of size and nature of painting and the frames I would like - but he was very vague and dismissive - 'It is all bespoke, depends on the frame you need' - he seemed to think I had no idea what I wanted and it was impossible to give even a vague ballpark figure. You know just so I can decide whether to do it this month or wait a month... so I left irritated and unlikely to go back.

I think he thought he was in a branch of while I was under the impression I was a sensible person with a reasonable request. tchoch!

This has happened to me twice. First time I wanted to get a price for a fireplace. The salesman said as each fireplace was different yada yada yada he couldn't give me a price. I asked how much was the display piece. He sneered, sneered, at me and said it was irrelevant as I couldn't buy the display piece. I reckon his pricing was based on how much he could squeeze from the customer and as I was looking poor and scruffy he thought it not worth his while. I took my business elsewhere and spent shed loads of money in a different shop.
Then when I was buying a new car and asked the salesman for a price, he refused to give me a figure unless I committed to a purchase. I looked it up on the internet and went with a different supplier. Bastards.

God I hate businesses like this. I've had it sooooo many times, usually with bigger things. For instance, in the past I've had quotes for things like windows, kitchens etc where some quotes are literally 2 or 3 times other ones, for very similar specs. Given that a lot of of companies also often refuse to offer quote appointments outside of office hours, I'm reluctant to take time off work to get a quote that is going to be totally out of my budget. So I often ask for a ballpark figure. We're taking really rough, like how many zeros, or 10 grand or 20 grand? I always emphasise that I'm in no way going to hold them to it. People either tell me very accurately and very willingly, or, more often, refuse point blank even after much persuasion. To this day I have not worked out what they hope to gain by this approach, as they always lose any chance of my business.

I could highly recommend these people to do a good job. You can get an idea of prices online and if you need to talk to them they're really helpful people. Beautiful frames, too! (I had two large pictures that I couldn't afford my local picture framing shop to do.)

Though I don't tend to resurrect old threads I thought I would with this one as I can update that I never went back to the Framers. I ordered a frame on line with EEzee frame and pinned the painting in myself with z clips (surprisingly easy!) - it is now up and looks fab!

That is so beautiful! What a talented brother you have!

(Any chance he has his work online??)

Thanks Callani - he is a wonderful painter with a proud family Go Paddy

That's a lovely painting! Nice job.

Great job! (you, the framer and your brother! )

What lovely pictures he does!

Glad you got it sorted in the end. He may have just been pedantic about frames, i.e. unable to think his way around vague ideas, and only able to give an actual price once you've selected an actual frame - or he might just have been a dick, hard to say

Yes Thumbwitch - I agree our local Framer may well have a 'thing' about never making any assessment without the painting in front of him - fair enough - but he needed to communicate that to me if so... as it was he was dismissive and evasive.

Anyway - l really enjoyed choosing the frame myself and pinning in the picture very carefully and avoiding hammering my thumb or the canvas - a learning experience for me - so I am grateful to the chap now

Increasingly, I find myself in sympathy with people who refuse to do a quote for free: its so cheap and easy to get something online that will do the job.

If you are just looking for a ballpark figure, online is the way to go.

If you really need input from the framer, they will really need to see the picture and possibly at least a picture of where it is going.

hmm - I do see your point Finally - but I refer you to my earlier responses - I was looking for an indication not a quote - I never used the word quote. I was also not asking for the framers input on the frame choice - I was confident about choosing the appropriate frame from what was available - the framer was not very good at communicating any of his concerns - if he had been more open I would have listened... maybe it would have been fairer to put all the problems we had discussing the frame down to a personality clash.

Frames can be $20 or they can be $300. Unless you know what specific frame you want, they can't give you an estimate.

But he could have asked questions and let you know the prices of different ones so you could see the range. I agree with PP, take the painting next time, and try on frames and get cost estimates based on that.

RTFT. Glad you got it sorted! Nice painting! Your brother is talented.

I hate this sort of thing and I always think people who can't understand the question are a bit thick. Assume you wanted to know if it would be 60 quid, six hundred quid or six thousand quid. If he said 60 quid for a basic frame and it came to 100 because you'd chosen an expensive frame that would still be within the ballpark.

Maybe he's just used to people being difficult about the end amount (framing is always really surprisingly expensive imho)

I don't understand why he needs to see the actual picture and not just know the size.