(I am a framer. A customer has a very, very old and tattered poster. Since she doesn’t want all of the poster framed, we talk about having it cut down in size. I always advise that customers research the value of their artwork before cutting.)
Customer: “It could be worth a lot of money.”
Me: “That’s true. We can save this order as an estimate until you can look it up and see what the value is before you cut it.”
Customer: “How do you do that?”
Me: “Since there isn’t a title, I would suggest you look it up on the internet by the band and the date on the poster.”
Customer: “Oh! I know!! I could order a copy and cut that to fit instead!”
Me: “Perhaps. It’s really very, very old but I suppose you might find possibly another copy online.”
Customer: “Okay! You go check and I’ll wait.”
Me: “I’m sorry, ma’am?”
Customer: “Can’t you look it up? Don’t you have a list of posters or something?”
Me: “But you brought this poster in. It’s not one we sell in the store.”
Customer: “But isn’t there a list?”
Me: “There isn’t a comprehensive list of all posters ever made, no.”
Customer: “But how will you order it for me?”
Me: “Unfortunately, I can’t. We’re a frame shop and do not offer poster-ordering as a service. And to be honest, this is so old that it may take you a few weeks to track down another copy, if it even exists.”
Customer: “Well, that doesn’t help me, now! Does it?!”
