Artists Frame Service

If you’ve never worked in a frame shop you wouldn’t believe all the different kinds of things that people come in with to get framed. Granted, a lot of people bring in family photographs, posters and art they bought at an art fair, and that would be expected. But let me tell you about something you couldn’t make up in a million years:

An older woman comes in and pulls a finely folded napkin out of her purse and opens it on the sales desk as if it holds a million dollar gem. It doesn’t. It holds a tea bag. You couldn’t help but think…why in the world would someone be wanting to frame a tea bag? Or was she planning on making tea for me? For both of us? She proceeds to tell the story of the tea bag – because you know, there has to be an interesting story!

She has an old childhood friend she grew up with in the South. It’s now 50 or 60 years later and she has just had a reunion with this friend. Her friend’s family owned a tea bag factory for generations that the two girls used to play in as children. Now the factory has been closed for over 40 years and these women are approaching their golden age. During the reunion, the friend decided it was time to break out one of the last tea bags she had put away from her father’s factory, like that bottle of wine you are saving for a special occasion. Our customer was so touched that the friend shared the relic tea, that she realized it was a momentous occasion. She kept the tea bag and knew she would do something special with it.

We gave no less attention to this project than we would have given to a Picasso original. She picked out a beautiful background, a vintage-style frame, and sent it to
her friend.

This is why I love framing.

I don’t interview that much because our turnover is so low, but I happen to be looking for a few people at the moment, so I’m “back in the game”. It seems to me that many people put more energy into buying a car or choosing a vacation spot than they do into looking for a job.

When you think about it, many people either don’t like their job or don’t like their job enough. The same holds true as to how bosses feel about their employees. The reality is, people get what they settle for.

We offered a job to two different people. One of them accepted immediately and is very excited. The other one needs “to think about it”. He’s already working and has changed jobs a couple of times recently so he doesn’t want to take a chance of being a “job hopper” if this doesn’t work out. He wanted to think about it over the weekend. I can understand that, but I also know that probably isn’t the greatest idea. If he’s not sure about taking the job, he should call and talk to me about it more. I can’t tell you how many people have come back to me after talking to their parents or friends for advice. Every job is different. Every situation is different. Their advisors can only give limited insight into the decision since they weren’t on the interview. How about getting more information that is actually meaningful? Insightful? Revealing?

Here’s some questions I’d like to know the answers to if I were applying:

• How long was the last person in this or similar jobs?
• What’s your turnover?
• When people quit, why do they quit?
• When people get fired, why do they get fired?
• What are the possibilities for advancement?
• What is the chain of command?
• If you are interested in hiring me, why?
• If there are things that concern you about me, what are they?
• What are your plans for the company?
• Do you mind if I talk to other people in the company?

If you asked all of these questions on an interview, I think you would have a much better idea if this were a good opportunity for you. It’s not just the answers; it’s whether they are being candid. If they are not being candid about this, are they being candid about other things they told you?

In both hiring and looking for a job, there is too much left up to chance. People and companies have histories and references. There’s no reason not to get as much information as you reasonably can.

There is no perfect process but you can improve your odds.

For about the five-hundredth time, I went into a store and knew more about the product than the person working there. It makes you wonder how customer service in America has gotten so bad. After thinking about it, I realized it’s because companies try to avoid hiring full-time people so they don’t have to pay health insurance. Another problem, which is related, is employee turnover. No matter how good a training program is (and they are usually not) there’s nothing like experience when it comes to being able to offer competent advice or service. In some stores, the employee turnover is every six months. When I first started my business, my turnover was just as bad. Now, the average sales consultant has been here eight years. It made me think: why the dramatic difference?

Part of it is clearly money. You have to pay people more than entry level wages if you expect to keep them. But that’s just part of it. You have to offer a good health insurance program and 401(k) plan. That’s the hard costs. On the people side of things, it’s about respect, direction, support, education, stability and opportunity. If the company “does things right”, there’s no reason why people shouldn’t want to stick with them long term. From interviewing prospective employees, I’ve heard many reasons why people leave their jobs: being screamed at by the boss, not getting regular raises, not getting the support needed to do their job, working with nasty coworkers, unsafe work conditions, or simply not feeling appreciated – just to name a few.

When you hire the right people and there’s mutual respect, you end up with happy employees, happy management, and as a result, happy customers. It’s a beautiful thing.