Wanda's Upholstery & top Shop

Please avoid this place like the plague, it's located at corner of Rt. 28 and Rt. 48 (Oakland Road). I stopped in there last week to get a quote on regluing some door upholstery on my '06 Mustang. I was quoted $160. I didn't think it would be quite that much and I just said, "Wow". He asked why and I said I was surprised it would be that much and I asked when he could do it and he said any day this week. I stopped back today and asked if he could do it Wednesday. At first he said OK, Wed. would be OK, then this first class prick said, "I am going to pass, you questioned my price so I'm not interested in the job". I just hope passing along this story will cost him some business. What an A hole. :mad:

I dunno, I think $80 to redo each door is not a crazy high price. I'm sure you can find someone online who had it done for $40 a door, but damn dude- in the grand scheme of things, he's running a business and trying to make some profit.

I think I'd tell you the same thing if I was in his shoes. People who are already "confrontational" when talking price are going to be a PITA on down the line. I see it with our clients. If someone is trying to beat you down on price right off the bat- it's better to not deal with them at all. There are plenty of clients who aren't that way. They pay what we charge, because we do a good job. Case in point for him telling you to just leave- you paid him nothing, and he did no work for you, yet here you are bashing him and trying to keep future customers away. I can only imagine what drama there'd be if he'd done the work for you are you weren't happy with it.

It's abundantly apparent to me by your description of the conversation that the man didn't want to do the job to begin with. He should have just said so. This thread would have not existed had his yes simply been yes and his no, no. You weren't worth his time from his perspective. He high balled you (IMO) hoping you would not take the bait, but then when the you did he backed out on a technicality, like a snake oil salesman. Looking at their FB page most work is larger scale and not small work like door panels which further fuels my theory. As a competent business man if he really wanted your business he would have justified his price when you commented in order to gain your trust. Competent business people will take the 5 minutes extra to do that.

Arrogance stenches the air in your story. And arrogance is not a good thing to deal with when seeking someone to do work for you. Chances are they will do subpar work, and you won't be happy. His lack of taking the time to justify his price in the initial meeting after your comment tells it all IMO. That should have been a red 'BUYER BEWARE' flag. You are better off not dealing with a person like that. They only seek big jobs that they can post on a FB page, thump their chests, and show the world what great work they do. And they may do good work in situations where it is going to get high visibility for their company. But they may likely do half ass work on the small jobs knowing they can do so because the big paying jobs they put the effort into will shadow any negative comment you may wish to share if they choose to do them at all.

Case and point. Some time back I got a quote from a gut to paint the exterior trim on my house. It was an amazing quote. I jumped on it. After a year of calls he never showed up even after scheduling three times and telling me I was "next on his list". I even offered a $100 bonus to each man on the job at the end of the work the last time I spoke to him and still he never showed. So I called a guy who had done excellent interior work for me to see if he was interested. Garry does mostly larger work in Indian Hill, Hyde Park, Amberley Village, and higher scale homes of that sort, and his price compared to the first quote I got was WOW! POING! WHOA! I expected it to be higher because he is a higher end contractor, but man it sticker shocked the crap out of me. I called him and told him I was not expecting this kind of price explaining to him the quote from the other guy I got. He then explained and justified his price. I then understood why he was charging that much and while it was way more than I had budgeted for I knew it was going to be done right and he would complete the job, and back his work, as well as be trusted with the house while I was away on vacation.

Moral of this story? Garry is darn good at what he does. He isn't cheap, but he took the time to justify his quote, he showed up when he said he would, and he completed his work. He backed his work as well. And because of this I keep him on speed dial. He is confident but not arrogant. At the same time if the job would not have been worth his time he would have said so and given a recommendation of someone equally as good. I've yet to have him do that, but like other good practicing businessmen seeking to make a living at their job, he knows his limits and knows what will make or break him. His yes is yes, and his no is no.

Just because a man questions or responds negative to a price doesn't mean he will be confrontational. But it does mean if he excepts the quote in spite of having lower offers, he will scrutinize it and expect it to be perfect or made so because he is paying more for what he has discerned as the better quality work, and service after the sale.

I was just kind of shocked at how rude the man was. I did not say I thought the quote was exorbitant, or argue or try to get him to lower it-all I said was Wow. I just thought they would spray some adhesive on the back of the piece and push it back into place. Once he explained it was more involved than that, I could see the quote was probably OK. I agreed and asked him when he could do it.
I read one of the reviews from another person that dealt with him and it was pretty much similar, the guy told the person that wanted to have a job done that he was in the business of selling cars and that the trim shop part of his business was costing him $25,000 a year and he really didn't want his business.
I'm sorry, but this guy has a problem and shouldn't have a business where he deals with the public. As I turned and left the shop, I simply said, "Go to hell"-I don't know if he heard me, but I don't care if he did. This kind of customer relations is unacceptable.

Hell, if it's losing him money, why run it at all? There's no point running a business that loses money, other than to maybe employ someone (ie family) who needs the money and use the losses as a write off for a much more successful business.

Here's a little follow up on my situation. I took my car to Earl's Auto Upholstery in Blue Ash today. What a difference. The people there were super friendly and seemed to actually want my business. The gentleman came out and looked at my car and said, yes, we've seen several of these. He said he would do both sides for $100. I am taking it in next Wednesday and they said they would do it while I wait. Oh, I looked on the reviews for Earl's and they were all 5 stars. Looks like the bastard at Wanda's was a blessing in disguise.
By the way, if you think I was over reacting, go to Google and read the reviews on Wanda's. I'm not the only one that had a problem with this guy. I can't believe he is staying in business. What a prick.

By the way, it wasn't 25,000 a year he said the trim shop lost for him, it was $250,000. Must be a real dumb ass to keep a looser like that open, unless like somebody else suggested, he's using it a s a tax write off. A real business tycoon.

You should hit up Taylor's Upholstery over in Beechmont. He's good.

^ Thanks for the suggestion, but I already have an appointment with Earl's, but I will keep Taylor's in mind for the future. ^

Post Script:

Got my car back today from Earl's Auto Upholstery In Blue Ash. Wow, they did a fantastic job. Doors look as good as new and for the price they quoted, $100 for both doors. These people really do great work. I give them two big thumbs up.

Big surprise-NOT. Drove by Wanda's Auto Upholstery today. Big sign on the building "FOR LEASE". I don't think anybody will miss them-I won't. Karma?