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I was compelled after attending a recent wholesale show to voice my frustration about the way craftspeople are expected to bend over backward for buyers. (This includes politely accepting some rude behavior.)
Don't get me wrong ... I fully appreciate the need for professionalism among craftspeople, and fully recognize the kind, wonderful buyers that do exist. But being expected to endure what I consider unprofessional behavior or else lose the order is another story.
One buyer at a recent show strutted into an artist's booth, pointed to several of the pieces, barked out the number of each he would like, then said, "When would that be deliverable?" After the artist responded with a specific date, the buyer peered over his glasses and down his nose to say, "Now, you do know that the order has to be on time, right? This is real business." The artist's response was not the one I had hoped for: "No kiddin' ... I thought I could just send the stuff whenever the hell I felt like making it" -- but rather one that was professional and kind: "I am certain of my delivery date, or I would not have promised it to you," with a confident smile. After the buyer left, the artist explained to me that smart remarks have lost him a sale or two in the recent past.
My point is not to complain, but to ask that buyers recognize that craftspeople are, in the majority at least, professional and responsible. The buyers are selling our ideas, our creativity, our hard work and craftsmanship; they are selling a part of us, and we should be treated with respect.
I feel so lucky to be a part of this very professional field that like few others possesses a kind, friendly and creative side. Condescension and arrogance just don't belong.
Harold Vosenski
via e-mail
OCTOBER 1999:
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