What would your boss do?

I don't normally rant, but today I must.  I need to get this off my chest.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, I made a beautiful applique quilt top.  I knew that my machine quilting skills were not anywhere near the level needed for this quilt.  Now my most wonderful local machine quilter and I are on the same page when it comes to design and the amount of custom quilting that should be on a quilt.  But I know it's alot of hours and she can make way more doing the all-overs, so I didn't want to ask her to do this quilt.

So I searched the web and found someone who I really liked her style.  I saw her quilts in person at a show and loved them!  She's won many awards at big shows and to my eys, the quilting was perfect.  So I reached out to her and she agreed to take my quilt and work her magic on it.  Over the next ELEVEN months, each time I would send her a note asking when I could expect my quilt, each time the answer was "there are just a few ahead of you".  Finally after nearly a year, I asked her to send the quilt back.

She was apologetic of course and explained that there were family issues.  Now why couldn't she tell me that, instead of "there are just a few ahead of you"??

So my search began again.  I had a handful of quilters I thought were wonderful and contacted them.  2 of them said they could not take my quilt because of other committment.  Ok, I can understand that, they were being honest.

One of them said she could do it.  This was November of last year.  She said she would have by April 15th. So off my quilt goes. April came and went and no quilt comes back.  She says "I'm way behind schedule".  She says July but more likely August.

What's today?  nearly the end of September?   Now she tells me maybe December or  January.  She is very busy doing quilts for someone with a pattern company, fabric line, etc. and everyone else gets pushed to the back of the line. Nice...is that how you treat people? Is that a lesson you'd want to teach your kid?

Now I ask you, what would your boss do if you made a committment and then missed it by a year?  would she say, oh that's ok?  Would your kid's teacher accept homework a year late because some other more important teacher pre-empted them ?  What ever happened to making a committment and sticking to it?

Professional Machine quilters are mostly very talented, very professional people, but clearly, there are those who don't value their customers.   Now I will not name either of the two ladies above, but I hope you never run into them.

Sad and disappointed and wondering what I should have done differently....

Megan 

Comments

[erin]

I'm sorry that happened. I to has similar issuses. I was lucky to be given a long arm from a family friend who was cleaning out their estate, but had I not been, I'd be in a pickle. The only issue I have is learning the darn machine and wading through my pile of UFO's now.

What about going back to your friend since you have tried other ways?

[Mary on Lake Pulaski]

Lucky for me, I only have people quilt for me that I can talk to eye to eye and show up at their door to retrieve my quilt if a deadline wasn't met. So sorry you ran into this issue TWICE. No, that is not acceptable. Email me if you would like the name of someone you can use that will meet deadlines.

[Taryn]

I can feel your disappointment. I am sure both ladies had the best of intentions and were trying not to disappoint you but that's exactly what happened. It is so difficult for someone working with their hands to admit they've taken on too much so the two that declined are the best businesswomen. I also know a very talented machine quilter I can recommend. I know she is busy but she'll be quite upfront about whether or not she can take on your project.

[LoriD]

Personally I'd let everyone know who they are so nobody else falls into the same trap! I'm not saying I'd announce it on my blog, but I would tell my friends.

With that said, I'd be pissed!
I have a good friend in Ohio that does most of the quilts I send out. She recently lost her husband unexpectedly and would love the "work".

[deb]

I have many go to LAQ`s and a couple of friends that also LAQ.
First I would have taken the quilt in hand after 2 months delay that is way to long to have your top sitting at another persons house.
You were lucky that is was still in good condition, that nothing happened to it.
My LAQ`s tell me an estimated time of completion, if it is a long wait I will go to my next go to LAQer. I don`t rely on one but a couple, this way you have options.
I am sorry that you were given the run around for so long a period. Next time name a deadline if it is not ready pick it up and to the next one. It is also wise to have more than one due to technique, some are better Machine quilters on pieced quilts, some are more confident with applique, variety is better for you. (you are in many differnt quilting techniques and all fabulous!)
The other 2 owe you money for the time and aggrevation, plus the break of contract!
Please post your completed quilt we are all waiting in anticipation for the end result!

[Carmen]

I find so much inspiration on the internet - especially quilt blogs. I can't believe the personal time, commitment and dedication some lovely ladies invest just to keep the love of quilting going! However, when I read posts like this one, and the responses that came about as a result, my heart breaks a little. I completely realize it's your blog, and you have every right to post whatever moves you. But it appears that the quilter you have "called out" without saying her name read your post and felt compelled to apologize and take ownership for her admitted short coming. I feel there is so much responsibility attached with social media - whether it be blogging, Facebook, Twitter - you name it. I feel sad that this happened to you....and to her....and that it was something that had to be laid down in print.

[Wendy]

Very well said Carmen. People are human and make mistakes, no need to rake them over the coals.

[Joanne]

Megan,
A few years ago, I sent a message to a well known quilt author who mainly quilted at the time. She gsve me a date, several months out. I sent my quilt...and waited. For over 7 months. She has a popular blog, and is really personable. But the final result is. She knew she was moving when she told me to send the quilt! People are human - but just be honest. I finally gt the quilt back and had a local artist work her magic. I guess I think that too many quilters say yes, even though the best answervfor them might be sorry - cant just now,

[Nancy]

Okay, I don't normally get into these things...well, never have actually, but as a Long Arm customer who has been hugely disappointed several times, but did not say anything about it...I just handed over all that $$ (and those of us who pay to have our quilts done, know it is a very large chunk of change) and then I pouted. Really stupid I know, especially for someone of my vintage, just suffice to say I'm old enough to know I should stand up for my hard earned dollars. However, I am also the Sis in Law of a very talented Long Arm Quilter, and I know she over extends herself a LOT. Even going so far as to unpick and entire king-sized quilt she is not satisfied with her work on and starting over. My point is, since I am so close to both side of this sad experience you are having, I can see that both of you are suffering horribly. That hurts my heart. All the same, it is your blog and I believe you have every right to rant if you want too, I know I certainly would over such a huge disappointment and frustration. I also give you BIG points for not naming the offending quilters, which proves that you truly did just want to rant, not cause trouble for them. You needed to get this off your chest, and who better to share it with than fellow quilters who should be understanding and sympathetic, but not hurtful. So to you Meghan, I send a big cyber hug and say, rant away when you need to. I also pray that when you get your quilt back, it surpasses all your expectations in both the quilting and what ever the cost to you is, if any. Also, please, please, please, Take nothing to heart that anyone has said or may say later, here on this post, that may hurt your feelings. We all have opinions and you know what they say about them...if you don't, email me and I'll tell you! Also, as it has already been pointed out, one of the quilters involved in your sadness owned the blame on her blog so I send out kudos to her for speaking up and making no excuses.

**You know Meghan, your rant, may have been the wake up call that many folks need to read.

Anyway, I'll step off the soapbox now and just say "Big Hugs comin at ya", and please do post photos of your quilt when you do finally get it back. That way you make something good come from all of your heartache, anger and frustration.

[QuiltNut Creations]

I am a longarm quilter and I don't understand how LAQ's can put themselves in situations like that. Granted, most of my customers want all over patterns but when a custom quilt comes in, my turn around time has never been longer than 8 weeks.

I'm sorry this happened to you.

[Ellen in Oregon]

I can understand your disapppointment, but you are an adult and instead of getting all bent out of shape, maybe you should also look at how you alsso contributed to the very situation you are angry about. The saying goes "You can't control others, but you can control how you react to a situation". The 1st time the quilter did not meet the deadline, it might have been reasonable to talk about giving a second opportunity to the quilter to meet a tight deadline. When a 2nd chance is not met, then you should have taken charge and asked for the quilt to be returned and that the LAQ pay for the postage you spent since the quilter was not meeting your expectations. When 2 people enter into a business agreement it is best to put expectations into a written agreement so both are clear on the service & timeframe for completion. LAQ are private businesses and the quilter is usually self-employed so you can't compare your relationship to a boss/employee relationship. You can't fire them, but you can decide not to give them your business. Instead, so you are publicly outing them. No, you did not use their name' but it is not hard to figure it out. You had a business transaction that did not pan out, not a friendship that broke-up. As the customer you should have asked for a written agreement. After all, you put a lot of work into that quilt and anything could happen to it while it is not in your possession. Did you think to insure the quilt in case of any damage that might have occured to it at the LAQ residence? Personally, I think it sounds very casual to just send the quilt off in the mail and not make inquiries about a written business agreement and before that I would have asked for references. You could have called her references and specifically asked about meeting completion dates. I am not saying that the quilter bears no responsibility in not meeting your expectations. Rather than getting angry on the WEB where you can never take anything you say back, you would have better served yourself by taking a lesson learned from this experience. Don't complain about not meeting a deadline when no finite deadline was ever established by you and you allowed it to remain vague. You let the 1st delivery date slide without asking for a definitive date and then let the quilter keep your quilt without making any additional demands or specifics about a new date. When a situation makes you mad, it might be best to sit on it for a few days, until you can get some perspective on the matter. You can never take your words back and they won't get quilt finished. Learn & Move on.

[margaret]

Wow, my first thought is shock. As a longarm quilter myself, I know first hand the importance of the customer relationship. We rely on getting the referrals, and the return clients. Honesty definitely goes everywhere in this business. I cannot relate whatsoever to those quilters that keep unrealistic backlogs. It is completely absurd, and goes 180 degrees from what is required to maintaining the relationship, unless the client is aware up front that it will be many months wait. I am an award-winning quilter and have never had more than 4-6 weeks wait. There really is no point to stockpile more quilts than you can possibly quilt in a reasonable amount of time. As for your previous potential quilters, Sorry to hear that others in my trade are not being forthright with you. Being a good quilter is not enough in this business to keep clients coming back. Greed from other adventures (books, magazine articles, working with fabric manufacturers) is driving too many quilters to neglect the single largest reason they do the job they chose: clients with quilts. Have a look at my work sometime. I'd quilt for you. And you'd get it when it is promised.

[Judy]

I am so sorry about your experience. I hope you can get your top quilted soon. I would be happy to work on it for you.

[Pieceful]

As a LA'er, I feel the need the to chime in here. I too, have taken on at times more than I can chew, but I have never gotten behind like that. If I was given a date that it needed to be done by, I got it done. My main concern with this issue comes from your local longarmer. Are pantos and all-overs our bread and butter? Of course! We do make more money with those quilts, BUT...if we could get people to pay us what they will pay the ladies with BIG blog followings, then it would be worth it to do your custom quilts. These ladies spend 20-80 hours on these custom quilts, but they are also making $700-$3,500 on them! I am so disappointed that quilters are willing to pay these ladies this kind of money, but they won't pay it to their local longarmers because they don't have such a huge following! How are these ladies going to get well-known if all you bring them are quilts that need an all-over? Trust me, each quilter has their own area of expertise, some are great at feathers and heirloom, where others have a more modern flare, but if everyone around the country (and now world) uses only those they can find on the internet to do their custom quilting, then you are going to be waiting a LONG time! Plus, your local longarmers can't get better if you only bring them all-over stuff. I do have a blog, too, but like the last commenter stated, "we rely on getting referals and the return clients". There is no way I can do all the quilts I am asked to do. And I have no problem giving out at least three other names of local LAquilters when I can't get their quilt to fit into my schedule. It can be scary to do this at first, but it is much better on your reputation, then not getting the quilt done! Trust me, if we are as good as we think we are, we should be confident enough to say "no" this time, and then TRUST me, once you have taught them that they can't bring you something after Thanksgiving to be quilted by Christmas, THEN, next year, they will have them done by Aug! Happens all the time! They will come back, don't be greedy, but PLEASE, don't just give your local LAer the chance, pay her what she is worth so she doens't have to feel like she is taking a cut and missing out on a "good" paying job. Chances are...she's more busy quilting quilts than making her blog grow! I would love to quilt for you sometime, too, but I would love even more for you to pay your local longarmer what she is worth to have her do a great custom job for you...(you would pay it to these other WELL-KNOWN LAers) AND I bet she gets it to you alot faster than 11 months!!! Just food for thought.

[Stephanie in MI]

People make mistakes. I've made plenty myself. Some people have been awfully gracious to me when I've made mistakes, and it's taught me a lesson about the value of being forgiving and gracious myself. I know when I've made mistakes, I've beaten myself up for it plenty. When I was shown grace, it meant a lot to me, especially when I knew they had every right to be unforgiving and upset about it. Just something to consider. Try to keep it in perspective in terms of what's important in life.

I don't know you, and I do my best not to leave negative comments. I do not intend for this to be a negative comment, and I hope it is not perceived that way. I only wish to offer another perspective.

[Tammy]

I can't believe it. You are totally entitled to be furious--TWICE. I'm surprised you as calm in your words as you were. There is no excuse, none, for a longarmer to have a quilt over a year. That is not right whatsoever. This is not simply about someone forgetting once or twice, they continued to make excuse after excuse. They should have "owned it" and just simply said they were sorry they could not in the end get your quilt completed. It seems all too often these days people do not take responsibility for their actions. They think only of themselves. Woe is me.

[Jeanne]

I'm sorry you had such a negative experience and hope you will have your top quilted soon.

[Mary]

HI, I would talk to your local longarmer, and at least see what she says about doing it for you. Most have different rates for all over, a little special, custom design. At this point it couldn't hurt.

I also had a similar experience with a local longarmer here in town, put it off over & over again, and then charged more than she quoted and it was a pantograph. I will not ever use her again.