Song Zhu Mei Gallery

WARNING: what you are about to read is a huge (and much needed) rant. if you’d rather pass on my tirade, please skip down to the last paragraph! thank you.
i came in may 29 to have a 34″ x 14.75″ piece framed. my boyfriend also wanted a much larger frame built. johnny, the owner and framer, was very gracious and gave us a great deal. mine would cost $ 55 and would be due on saturday. my boyfriend’s massive 55″ piece would cost about $ 160 and would be due on monday. he asked for a $ 35 deposit and we gave him $ 40, happy that we found a cheap and seemingly professional place to have our frames built.
i was out of town on saturday, so i couldn’t pick it up. my boyfriend went in on monday to pick up our frames but none of them were finished. my boyfriend needed it asap, and was told he could pick it up on friday. when he went back, his frame was done, but mine wasn’t. johnny explained that he needed to order the plexiglass for it, which was the cause of the delay.
i called him the following monday, but he hurriedly stated that it wasn’t finished and hung up on me. my boyfriend went in on tuesday and was told that it wasn’t finished yet but johnny offered to deliver. «perfect!» we thought, even though i didn’t remember giving him my address.
i happened to leave my phone at home for half an hour on wednesday, and returned to find a missed call from johnny. he left me a voicemail stating that he was in orange county and would deliver the frame at a later hour. it was already 9 pm. i called him back, confused because i was certain i didn’t give him my address and feared he mistook me for someone else. he didn’t pick up his phone.
he called me at 8 am on thursday morning. i had work so i didn’t call him until the afternoon. he explained that i wasn’t home so he couldn’t drop off the frame! at the time, my boyfriend offered to pick it up on friday, so we left it at that.
friday (today), my boyfriend decided that i shouldn’t have to pay him the remaining $ 16 because the frame was 3 weeks overdue. he called up johnny to reason with him. it was difficult because of the language barrier (johnny can speak english but he prefers to negotiate in chinese), but johnny agreed that i didn’t have to pay. however, johnny called me back twice: first to explain to me why it was so late and insisted on apologizing to my boyfriend. when my bf didn’t want to speak to him, he called two more times to apologize before giving up.
we arrived at the «gallery» 15 minutes later. i went in by myself. johnny apologized for everything and handed me the frame, but before he gave it to me, he said, «you haven’t finished paying yet.» i told him that he told my bf i didn’t have to pay. johnny then said, «wow, i didn’t expect for you to be like him. we work really hard here but if that $ 16 means so much to him, he can have it.» i felt like crap, but apologized for the inconvenience and left.
despite the fact that he guilt-​tripped me (which i don’t appreciate), i don’t regret what i did. first off, i was the one calling him multiple times inquiring about my frame. i would have no problem with it being late (though 3 weeks for a simple frame like that is a bit much,) if HE had called ME to tell me it would be late and explain why. he didn’t do any of that until he became desperate.
also, it seems pretty ridiculous that it would take 3 weeks to acquire a piece of plexiglass. i would assume that if you were running a professional business, you would be in better contact with your supplier. plus all he does is make frames, so how can he be in short supply for three weeks?
IN CONCLUSION: he’s not professional to deal with, and the overall experience has been frustrating. both parties left upset. from now on, i’d rather pay a little more for better service. johnny can churn out some good deals, but the quality and service comes at a price: cheap. in the end, the frame looks great, but it’s mounted with foam board. not worth it.