decor8 disappeared off face of earth gurnee, Illinois

We had no contact with this client, as we were waiting for her upholstery fabric to come in prior to picking up her single piece.  She initiated a chargeback on her credit card - an immediate red flag(see her comment on her fear in placing an order with a deposit - all custom companies charge deposits, some like COSTCO ask for 100% up front, our std. is half) and cancellation if possible on our part.  We simply canceled her order and disposed of her file.

We have completed more than 5000 homes around Chicagoland.  We work for numerous high end designers around Chicagoland - all with fabulous results.  Once a year or so, we get an inexperienced custom client that doesn't understand how it works.  We wait for the fabric to come in and then begin production.  Calling, panicking, and canceling the deposit is simply wasting everyones time.  In this instance we would normally send an invoice for our wasted time, but in our opinion the client just couldn't afford the product and wanted to find a way out. Her complaint speaks for itself, she obviously is not a custom client.  The real warning here is for any and all custom companies to avoid wasting their time.

This exchange illustrates the importance of proper communication and the perils of assuming someone's experience and socioeconomic status. Everyone knows the common phraseology about assumptions, and that phraseology resonates here. Mr Ginsberg's comments were inappropriate and more importantly, inaccurate. The accusations Mr. Ginsberg placed forth can only be perceived as compensation for lack of due diligence.  

My husband and I fully understood that a deposit was expected upfront, that this was common practice. Yet,  I was hesitant for an unspecified reason about working with decor8.  I could not put my finger on the reason, and still cannot to this day. What is clear is that my spouse and I, both educated at the doctoral levels and earning six figures, did have more than sufficient funds to purchase services, and a decent bit of experience with custom design. My husband's mother in the northeast was a custom designer for 15 years. She advised us to find a new company to work with when phone calls were not returned.  Never judge a book by it's cover.

Yes, I was a pregnant and anxious wife who wanted to surprise her family with the newly upholstered couch, a family heirloom. Yes, I was on a timeline for this couch to be completed by spring, a timeline I was told was reasonable when we ordered the upholstery. Yes, I was probably "one of those" picky clients who expected at least a courtesy call returned when I asked about the status of the order. what we were not prepared for, by a "high end" service, was lack of follow through.

I have come to expect follow through, especially when dealing with our favorite shopping places, including Peapod, Nordstrom, and Costco. The aforementioned have always followed through in a timely manner, even if there was nothing they could do to expedite an order. The only reason I suspect the same was not done in this situation was the lack of initial monetary initiative. This is a shame, as we had more project slated for later times in the near future, ones that decor8 may have found worth their financial while. Next time Mr Ginsberg, try to communicate before you judge a book by the cover.