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I received this e-mail from a customer ref a commissioned bear that I made for her. She picked out the fabric and the pattern and I told her that the pattern was approx 15 - 16" tall - NOT 18".
I really just want to get the bear back as she is not satisfied but how do I answer her e-mail below. What I was thinking of offering her was her payment less the non-refundable deposit and paying for her to send the bear back to me - what do you think???
This is her e-mail. She has also in other e-mail said that she will 'Learn to LOVE her' - that was when she just saw the pics of her and I told her then not to purchase her that I would make her another bear but she paid me and I felt like I had to send her.
I picked her up this afternoon - she's NOT nearly as pink as I thought she was going to be!! She doesn't look like Pepto bismal at all!! I LOVE beautiful pink. I thought she was going to be 18 inches tall, she's only 15 - what happened?
She's cute - but she's definitely NOT a cuddly bear - I wanted a hugging bear that was soft and cuddly!! I also, thought we were going to make her be 18" - I'm definitely NOT critizing - you did the best you could with what I told you!! Do you make cuddly bears? :o)
The part that really upset me in her e-mail and I don't know if I'm just being to sensitive but when she says you did the best you could with what I told you and what does cuddly mean. The bears are collector bears and she sought me out on the internet.
Some advice on what to write back to her would be appreciated.
Here is a pic of the bear:
Little Bear GuyHmmmm Jane well I thought the colouring was very much like Pepto bismal. I mean it is difficult to choose the fabric colour over the internet as every monitor is so different. I mean you told her that it would only be 15-16" tall and you gave her the opportunity for an out when you told her not to purchase her but this collector went ahead anyway with the purchase. I would not be upset over her comment "you did the best you could with what I told you". She is correct you did what you thought she wanted with the fabric she choose and the pattern she choose. I don't think she was trying to be rude or to hurt your feelings, she was just stating a fact. It is because of these problems that so many artist have stopped doing custom work. We did one large order of 13 bears for a lady the one time and it took us almost a yr to complete the order. We did everything she wanted and asked of us, and she still complained and then wanted a discount on the bears, we had already given her a discount to begin with because of the size of the order. We will still do custom work but we show them previous works but advise them they won't look identical but will be just as cute.
I would almost leave it alone, as I said before you gave her an out and she didn't take it. If you really want the bear back I would give her back the money but keep the deposit and I would make her pay for the shipping back to you ( again you told her not to purchase it but she did anyway so why should you pay for shipping to send the bear back to you )
big hugs
Shane
She looks very Peptol Bismal in color to me, too. Looks cuddly as well!
This kind of thing is what I cringe over with custom orders.....thank goodness things like this don't happen often. It sounds like you gave her every opportunity to refuse the bear, and she chose to take her anyway. Do you have past emails regarding the size of the bear ordered? All in all though, I agree with Shane.....might be best to leave this one alone. 
You certainly should not have to pay return postage....
TeenytinyteddybearsWell I think the bear is wonderful and PINK. You had explained the size. And I agree that a collector bear is not a cuddly toy. So yes with Shane and Tracy. I would leave it alone. It is difficult to order online. I think you did a stunning job. Dont take the comments personally. Maybe she just had a bad day. :hug:
Back Road BearsShe is so close to the color of pepto bismal that I can taste it!!!! 
I have yet to figure out how to make a 'cuddly' artist bear!!!
Thing is, as has been said, doing business over the internet is scary. There is so much room for individual interpretation, I don't care how specific anyone is! And then there is the old "you can't please everyone" thing.
I'd just aologize for misunderstanding her requests and cheerfully offer to refund her money once you receive the bear back. Its up to you if you want to offer to try to make another bear for her (but don't send it 'til you get this one back!!) but chances are this first experience will put a cloud on any further efforts. Better to just move on!
She does seem to be as pleasant as possible about it all... you are fortunate... I've heard of some very ugly experiences with internet orders!
Bear Bottom Heirloom BearsWhy is she quibbling over a couple of inches?? That little bear is about as cute and cuddly as you can get with an artist bear. I would just forget it and once you get the "bad taste" out of your mouth, move on. Your next customer will probably more than make up for this one. I can't even imagine ordering on line, then complaining especially when you spelled it out so clearly. There's just no pleasing some people. She clearly doesn't "hate" it. and why she is laying a guilt trip on you is anyones guess... I think the advice given earlier to just move on and forget about it...is sound...
Be proud of what you did...It's a great piece of art.
Hugs
Gail G
Strange BearsI can only echo what all the others have said.......everyone has a vision in their head and unless you have access to that vision you will never know exactly what they want and what colour they see. I honestly don't think she meant to hurt you with those words but I actually think the opposite. I feel sorry for the bear itself as it will never get the cuddles a lovely beear deserves......it is a pity that she won't send her back!!
Thank you so much for all your advice - I'm actually starting to calm down now :dance: :dance: :dance:
I will e-mail her tonight and explain that she is about as cuddly as I make and that she does have the option of sending her back. I just think she won't get the loving that she really deserves. When I told her the color was Pepto Bismal pink she said she LOVED that pink and then when she said it was TO pink I was surprised! Anyway I just hope either she will give her the love she deserves or she will send her back so that someone else can love her.
When I made her I wasn't sure I was going to like her but I liked her sooooooooooo much that I made another one out of different pink fabric and a little smaller :crackup: :crackup: :crackup: I'll show pics later!
Again thanks for all the advice its making me feel much much better :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug:
Jellybelly BearsOh dear me.....that isn't very nice is it....I was a tad upset the other night over a custom order that I made up and she chose not to adopt even though I followed her instructions, but she was nice and sorry for the inconvenience etc so it made it bearable...there isn't reason to be mean...its so hard with commissions...all I can do is offer you hugs, and time....it feels better once the anger settles and you can think clearly.....hugs!
Past Time Bears:hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug:
it's a very cute bear - and very pink, I couldn't imagine pinker! but I'm still puzzling over the 'cuddly' part, too. is it possible she likes her bears stuffed softer? jointed looser? what did you use for stuffing? woodwool? poly? plastic pellets? would she be happy if you were able to 'fix' it somehow? everybody is right, logic says leave it alone, but the perfectionist in me agrees with you, I'd like to be able to pinpoint the problem and fix it.
PennsylvaniaGive the customer her options and let her decide.
She can keep the Bear. She can send the Bear back.
Be sure to let her know your terms. (i.e. Non-refuldable deposit, shipping charges, etc.)
Just be polite, make it clear and draw your line in the sand, so to speak.
You've done what you promised. You should be in the clear. It's not your fault if she can't make up her mind.
I know it feels bad but sometimes you just have to just put your foot down.
Little Bear GuyWell our bears aren't cuddly soft they are very firmly stuffed. I think this lady was likely after something that was softly stuffed with a squishy belly, something that I can't do. I want my bears to last for many many yrs and I find if they are to softly stuffed then the stuffing starts to slid and move around and then you have a bear where there is no stuffing around the joints or you wind up with breaks in the arms and legs.
I say let sleeping dogs lie, I am a perfectionist as well but sometimes it doesn't matter what you do some people will just never be happy.
We had a lady at TBAI who loved our bears but she was looking for squishy cuddly bears, I thanked her for her compliment and told her that squishy was something that we just couldn't do. 
hugs
Shane
Laurie Lou BearsI am never very keen on commissions as it is so hard to try and make a bear that someone has asked for and has a mental picture of what it should look like.You can do everything that is asked for but you just cannot match what most peoples visions are regarding that bear.
Do what you think is best but my guess is that she won't want to return her as she wouldn't have bought her in the first place and she just needs to sound off a little as she didn't get exactly what she asked for.You could try and make more bears for her but none would match up to what she wants and you will drive yourself mad trying to do so.
Laurie :hug:
I stuffed her with polyfil so she is soft and I do have the e-mail where I mentioned the size of the pattern.
So I e-mailed her tonight offering her money back without the non-refundable deposit and I offered to pay to have her shipped back to me. I also explained that she is about as soft and cuddly as I can make as I don't stuff really hard.
So I will wait out. I apologized for the bear not being what she expected and told her that I didn't want an unsatisfied customer - so the ball is in her court and I wait out. I guess it doesn't really matter which way it turns out at this moment so I will keep you posted.
Thanks for all the tips in dealing with this I really appreciate all the advice. :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug:
Lol, sheesh, well you are not the only one.. I had a fellow buy a cat last year and then get it and say it was not squishy enough.. lol. I don't make squishy bears.. so I just told him he could send it back and I would give him a refund... which he did. I ended up putting her up on ebay and got more for her on there.. lol... and to a Collector who loved her. You can't always tell what something is going to feel like from a photo.
I don't take custom orders anymore. Most that I did went very well.. but I had one flake that ruined it for me. It just went from bad to worse and she wanted me to do things just not possible with mohair. So I still have this poor thing almost 10 years later.. lol.
Hope it works out!
Hugs,
Melanie
