Disgruntled Customer to Best Art Collector
Friday, March 20, 2015
I’ve been meaning to share this story for the longest time (or perhaps I did awhile back?) Worth retelling either way.
Once upon a time (wink) …
well over a year now maybe even two, I noticed in my shopping cart dashboard that someone had tried to buy a painting from me and cancelled it. I decided to send an email to find out what happened – took some guts, I could have just said oh well and stopped there – not to pressure her in any way to buy, but just to see if she had any concerns or my cart had glitched on her. Well, I heard back alright, full on cantankerous, and she kvetched about how she wanted to buy a painting from me but my site didn’t make it easy or even possible and if I wanted to sell paintings then I doggone better make it easy for her to do so.
Well, I listened, I GOT IT. She was so totally right and I told her so. And the Lemons Into Lemonade, is that she did buy a painting. And then another and another over time and I’ve seriously lost count. She’s become one of my biggest fans and benefactors. And most significantly of all, she’s become my friend. We share stories back and forth (she’s an amazing writer and storyteller to boot) and we check in via email at least a couple of times a week, sharing our favorite tv shows, world news, local politics, all things feline, and just life stuff.
At one time she bought quite a large painting as well as a few small ones, and since she resides within two hours of me, I ventured to ask her how she felt about me hand delivering them. Well that turned into a super fun visit…and I got to see all my other paintings in her house, along with a nice collection of other artists work, and we had a hoot of a visit. This woman is a character of the most delightful sort. Hats off to you, Shirls!
So there you go folks, it furthers one to reach out, listen carefully, admit when you are in the wrong, and pursue happy solutions. Lemons into Lemonades. I got blessed with a collector, encourager, and dear friend!
Once upon a time (wink) …
well over a year now maybe even two, I noticed in my shopping cart dashboard that someone had tried to buy a painting from me and cancelled it. I decided to send an email to find out what happened – took some guts, I could have just said oh well and stopped there – not to pressure her in any way to buy, but just to see if she had any concerns or my cart had glitched on her. Well, I heard back alright, full on cantankerous, and she kvetched about how she wanted to buy a painting from me but my site didn’t make it easy or even possible and if I wanted to sell paintings then I doggone better make it easy for her to do so.
Well, I listened, I GOT IT. She was so totally right and I told her so. And the Lemons Into Lemonade, is that she did buy a painting. And then another and another over time and I’ve seriously lost count. She’s become one of my biggest fans and benefactors. And most significantly of all, she’s become my friend. We share stories back and forth (she’s an amazing writer and storyteller to boot) and we check in via email at least a couple of times a week, sharing our favorite tv shows, world news, local politics, all things feline, and just life stuff.
At one time she bought quite a large painting as well as a few small ones, and since she resides within two hours of me, I ventured to ask her how she felt about me hand delivering them. Well that turned into a super fun visit…and I got to see all my other paintings in her house, along with a nice collection of other artists work, and we had a hoot of a visit. This woman is a character of the most delightful sort. Hats off to you, Shirls!
So there you go folks, it furthers one to reach out, listen carefully, admit when you are in the wrong, and pursue happy solutions. Lemons into Lemonades. I got blessed with a collector, encourager, and dear friend!