Return of the Lion.

[spark]

Mr. Passive-aggressive Lion boy from this post has finally gotten his finished costume. "Finally" is how he put it, even though I completed it well before his deadline and he did not pay for expedited shipping.

And he has "inspected" it now (ugh) and just can't understand how it's not what he expected. He had thought that surely a professional like myself couldn't have made so many mistakes, and yet nothing at all is right!

Yeah. I got another really passive-aggressive e-mail detailing all the little ways in which I did it wrong. Never mind that it looks exactly like the artwork he provided me, I failed to exactly capture some of the dozens of details he had given me.

A couple of them were my fault. Most of them? Not so much. Particularly the bit where he explains that he lost weight, but is still unhappy with the fact that it's baggy on him. How the FLIP can that possibly be my fault?

I think I give up. I'm giving him a refund and telling him to go away.

[gremcint]

Only give him a refund if he returns the costume. Even if you are unable to sell it he should not get it for free.

[iradney]

Reply to him and point out that:
a) the costume is identical to the picture he gave to you
b) he never gave you the details of the faults that he is now bitching about
c) you finished it ahead of schedule
d) as he didn't pay for expedited shipping, he can consider that his discount.

Then tell all the other costume makers you know about him, so that he'll not be able to pull the same stuff on other people.

[Eireann]

If you give him a refund, you're just rewarding him for his crappy behavior, and he'll pull it again and again. He doesn't deserve a refund, and he shouldn't get one.

[LillFilly]

No way! Don't give him a cent. It's probably his way of getting money back by griping. If you do refund him, take the costume back! Oh! Tell him if he knows better than you to make his own dang costume!!!

[bainsidhe]

He was passive-aggressive, but did he actually ASK for a refund? Then don't do it. If you really feel one or two minor details were your fault, you can possibly offer a small piddly discount, but I wouldn't do more than that. I'm not in your business, but I bet you'll be seeing more customers just like this. So many people nowadays don't want to pay what they owe, and a costume is a very personal thing. Art is subjective, don't let him guilt you into a refund because he has buyer's remorse.

[MaggieTheCat]

I agree with everyone else, don't give him a full refund. Maybe 5-10% back for the small errors if you think they were something you missed/screwed up on. Definitely tell him that you followed his design to the best of your ability and that everything else he thinks is "wrong" (especially the weight loss bit) we completely left out so there was no way for you to know to change the costume. Good luck!

[AdamaGeist]

Not normaly one to talk, more likely to lurk, but this one brings me out, even if everyone else has already said what I'm about to.

Don't give him a dime. Not a single cent. You made a custom-ordered suit for this guy, changed it for every little complaint he's had, and he still can't accept his errors or the fact that it doesn't match his personal perfect mental image. Well, tough. He got what he ASKED for, and you can't do anything more than that. Giving in to him now is just rewarding his constant passive-agressive patter.

Personaly, I say this. If you have notes and images from all the things you've done, and the emails... Well, if you have any sort of a website of your work, load all that up there with a big note reading: 'How NOT to treat the person making your suit.'

Omit his name and Email, of course. But otherwise, hide nothing. Nice little quiet revenge.

[tamezin]

I think I give up. I'm giving him a refund and telling him to go away.

Don't do it, that is exactly what he wants. If he wants to return the suit then that is certainly his perogative within a certain time frame, the material cannot be visibly used (uck) and he pays shipping. Once you have received your merchandise then you refund him if the merchandise is in returnable condition.

I think this guy has been setting you up from the beginning.

[tamezin]

Personaly, I say this. If you have notes and images from all the things you've done, and the emails... Well, if you have any sort of a website of your work, load all that up there with a big note reading: 'How NOT to treat the person making your suit.'

Omit his name and Email, of course. But otherwise, hide nothing. Nice little quiet revenge.

You should speak up more often....revenge so sweet....the Lion-awful belongs to a small enough niche there will almost certainly be someone who will recognize the work.

[Enjis]

Just wondering...is the suit for Anthrocon in Pittsburgh? 'Cuz I'm gonna be there, and I'd like to see what his fuss was all about.....

[VComps]

He contracted you to perform a job for him.

You performed the job for him within specifications and on time.

He pays.

If he wants to push the issue, he can take you to court, where he will lose. Badly.

That is all.

[wagegoth]

Just want to echo everyone else, do NOT refund his money. If you did make a mistake that was absolutely your fault, then offer to either have him return it and you'll change it, or give him a tiny refund. TINY. If he keeps bugging you, explain that you have a very good reputation in the community and you'll be happy to put it up against his.

Don't take the costume back. If he wants changes, he can ship it back and pay for them. Give him an itemized list. If he doesn't want to pay for it, then he's SOL.

[spark]

Yeah, it's for Anthrocon. This guy: http://www.sparkcostumes.com/gallery....php?album=122 (Doesn't fit me worth BEANS, it should be less absurdly big on the guy it's for.)

As for the refund, I meant ask for the suit back and give him his money back, not let him keep it! I'd NEVER do that. Good grief, that thing is almost an entire month's work for me, and an entire month's income! There's no way on the planet I could afford to refund him and let him keep the costume too. I'd be taking a bit of a hit because reselling it to a buyer when it wouldn't be made custom for them generally brings a lower price, but that would be better than losing the whole thing!

As is he turned down my refund offer and wants to just have me fix the problems. Which is still annoying, but eh. Could be worse. There were a couple of things that were my fault, but some of them were his. I'll fix the stuff I screwed up on, and I'll do the easy things that he goofed. I'm NOT refitting the whole thing though, he's the one who lost weight, so there's no way I'm going to do that, that's his problem and not mine.

*sigh* It's always the ones I hated building that come back to me for alterations. Never the ones I really loved working on.

[edible_hat]

Admit it, he only wanted ears but fell asleep and woke up inside the full costume.