Working With Customer's Own Material (COM)

Which side to use?

When a client has purchased her own fabric, ask her which side of the fabric she wants to use. Sometimes there is an obvious front side of the fabric, and an obvious back side, such as when the fabric has a glue backing. Sometimes there is a type of fabric that could be used either side up. How does the upholsterer tell which side to use?

When an upholsterer purchases fabric from the wholes sale company, the fabric is routinely rolled and shipped on a roller with the face side of the fabric rolled on the inside of the roll. Very rarely, if ever, will a fabric supplier ship the fabric with the face side on the outside. There are several reasons why the fabric supplier rolls the fabric in this manner

1. The rolling machines are set up to roll it with the inside facing toward the inside. When the fabric is rolled, the worker can inspect the fabric as it is rolled and measured. When the upholsterer receives the fabric, he can then run it face up through his measuring device so he can inspect the fabric as he measures it.
2. During shipment the outside of the fabric package often times takes quite a beating. If the face of the fabric was rolled on the outside of the roll, the first layer on the outside of the  roll might get damaged during shipment. But, since the face of the fabric is rolled towards the inside of the roll, only the back side takes the beating; the front side is protected from most damage.

Client's Material Bought in stores.

Many fabric stores display their fabric rolled on tubes with the face side on the outside of the fabric. This enables the potential customer to see much more of the true color and and design of the fabric while it is still hanging on the floor.

It also makes it easier for the sale staff in that they hold have to keep rerolling the fabric that clients may have pull out to get a better look.

The Problem: Different Perspectives.

This difference in the way the upholsterer and the client sees the fabric can cause problems. When the upholsterers orders the fabric from a fabric wholesaler, the Upholsterer mainly sees the fabric which is shipped to him with the face side of the fabric in the inside of the roll. To the upholsterer, it is just natural to assume that the inside of the roll is the face of the fabric. That is just the way that it is done. When he lays the roll of fabric on the table and rolls it out he is used to the inside of the fabric, which faces upward on the table after he rolls out the fabric  (see top picture above), being the top (face) of the fabric

The Client, on the other had, has only seen the fabric on the roller, rolled with the face of the fabric showing on the outside of the roller (see second picture above). She has no reason to assume that there is anything unusual about the way the fabric is rolled. When she takes the fabric to the upholsterer, she naturally assumes that the outside of the fabric is the correct side. That is the wayt that she bought the fabric.

The problem comes in when the fabric is made in such as what that either side could be used as the front. If the client doesn't tell the upholsterer which side she wants up, and if the upholsterer doesn't think to ask which side the client wants up, this can spell big trouble.

What To Do?

After the job has been completed by the upholsterer, and the fabric is put the opposite side of from what the client wanted, both the client and the upholsterer can both feel they are right. (I've been there, and I know how it feels). No matter how much the upholsterer trys to explain or convince the client that it was done correctly, the client only seems to see the job as done incorrectly. In fact, if the upholsterer trys to prove that he did the job correctly, he will loose that client for any jobs in the future.

What to do? Two things, one after the fact, and one to minimize the chances of this happening again.

1. Once the job is finished, it does no good to try to convince the client that you are right. The client will see herself as right; she knows the fabric that she chose and how she wanted it on the furniture. Bite the bullet; promptly redo the furniture and apologize for the misunderstanding. It doesn't matter who was right and who was wrong. This is one of those cases that trying to prove yourself right will make you a big time looser. The quicker you can fix it, with a good attitude, (SMILE) the more likely the client will have more work for you in the future.
2. Be proactive, set up policies and practices to lessen the chances of this happening again. For example, a.) change your work order to have a check box stating if the fabric is the front or the back. b.) Have stickers made saying "Face of fabric". At the time you are writing up the work order, go over the fabric and have her chose the face, then put the lable on it. c.) Perhaps put up signs, where the client can see them, that ask the client to remind you what side of the fabric they want to use.