Once you get a following, you’ll soon discover that you’ll have some customers that will have a habit of trashing their jewelry. I had one very good customer (even own a boutique and bought regularly from me for it) who I had made a
triple strand bracelet for one time. I ended up restringing that thing three or four times, and then finally, I had to find out what the heck she was doing to break this. I was worried that some how my design was flawed. She confessed that she was actually wearing it two times around her ankle and at the beach and going in the water with it to boot! Well, duh! No wonder this sucker was breaking all the time!
So, what do you do when your customer keeps breaking the same piece of jewelry over and over again?
Find out what they are doing with it. How are they wearing it? Where are they wearing it? Do they wear it in the shower? Do they wear it all the time? If so, then explain to them that they are damaging the piece, and while you don’t mind restringing it for them, you will have to charge them for this service in the future.
If you discover that it may not be the customer’s fault, then it’s time to rethink the design. Wear it around yourself and give it a thorough test drive.
