How Rude!!!

[Betoun the Brewster]

So we're sitting there at Tewkesbury enjoying the Sunday sunshine (nursing our hangovers), when two re-enactors come to a halt at the front of the stall and just randomly start abusing the goods and the prices. We're both so obviously sitting there, and they were being so loud and offensive... it was so uncalled for that we were both really taken aback. I wouldn't have minded but they were dragging along a completely unauthentic imported chest that they'd just bought - machine made in China/India, can be used for firewood when it falls apart in a year... you know the kind...which is absolutely fine if that's what they like, but you can't compare our stuff to that! Of course it was cheaper - it was made in China/India on a mechanised production line by exploited workers.

I pointed out cheerily that our furniture is all handmade by a craftsman, hardwood, British, will last a lifetime and even has a re-sale value. The only person exploited in the making of our furniture is a Yorkshireman... and he certainly isn't malnourished!

So what's the rudest/most offensive/ill-informed thing a re-enactor/MOP has ever said to you about your lovingly handmade goods?!

[houseoffreyja]

When I'd just started making a cloak with pewter buttons fastenings,(which I had extensively researched), a re enactor came into the tent and said that the buttons were wrong cos they were aluminium not pewter. He argued the point for quite a while. Then said " Anyway, my wife's made me a cloak like that" and went.
Why do that?
Elaine

[Lady Cecily]

Boiling a ham for dinner at one event (not the most attractive thing I know) but a MOP pulling a face and saying yuk with a decidedly "Oh my God how can they be eating such rubbish" subtext.

[Martin]

At a show a couple of years ago I had a customer who just picked the wrong time, a rather large women was looking at my stall, here is how the conversation went
me " would you like a sample ?"
she didnt reply, just looked sneeringly at my products shaking her head in a disgusted way ( I must point out I get slightly defensive about things Ive put time and effort into )
Me " We make everything ourselves its all made of fresh ingredients, naturally air dried with no preservatives etc"
Her " Oh no, Im very picky about what I eat" ( still sneering but with a disgusted look on her fizog)
Me, looking her up and down " Really ? are you ? you dont look it "
then gave her massive cheery smile, desperately hoping she would ask to speak to the manager

[steven pole]

I've been told I'm cruel and evil for having a stuffed rabbit hanging from my trading backpack. I usually say it hung there for three hours before it died. That usually sends them away or over the edge.

[J.Watson / Anmod Dracan]

At a show a couple of years ago I had a customer who just picked the wrong time, a rather large women was looking at my stall, here is how the conversation went
me " would you like a sample ?"
she didnt reply, just looked sneeringly at my products shaking her head in a disgusted way ( I must point out I get slightly defensive about things Ive put time and effort into )
Me " We make everything ourselves its all made of fresh ingredients, naturally air dried with no preservatives etc"
Her " Oh no, Im very picky about what I eat" ( still sneering but with a disgusted look on her fizog)
Me, looking her up and down " Really ? are you ? you dont look it "
then gave her massive cheery smile, desperately hoping she would ask to speak to the manager

[Martin]

a similar situation , we were at a bike rally, The Rock and Blues, and there was a HUGE bald bearded bloke standing in front of the stall, I hadn't slept for 2 day ( we had back stage passes and had been partying with our m8's band ) it was v/hot and I simply wasn't in the mood for rudeness
Me " would you like a sample of jerky or fruit leather "
Him, looking down at our stuff, sneered and shook his head
I thought o myself "oh why dont you F*ck off !
his head whipped up, Suzie looked at me, Mark looked at me, I looked at the biker, then had a sickening thought
Me " Did I just telly uo to F*ck off ?"
Him "yep"
" Me " you'll have to excuse me, Im knackered, been up partying all night "
Him " ah that's OK "
he then ambled off chuckling to himself, I honestly though that the table was going to come flying over me and I was in for a telling off, Suzie banned me from the stall for the rest of the day, I had to have a lie down lol

[Midland Spinner]

a similar situation , we were at a bike rally, The Rock and Blues, and there was a HUGE bald bearded bloke standing in front of the stall, I hadn't slept for 2 day ( we had back stage passes and had been partying with our m8's band ) it was v/hot and I simply wasn't in the mood for rudeness
Me " would you like a sample of jerky or fruit leather "
Him, looking down at our stuff, sneered and shook his head
I thought o myself "oh why dont you F*ck off !
his head whipped up, Suzie looked at me, Mark looked at me, I looked at the biker, then had a sickening thought
Me " Did I just telly uo to F*ck off ?"
Him "yep"
" Me " you'll have to excuse me, Im knackered, been up partying all night "
Him " ah that's OK "
he then ambled off chuckling to himself, I honestly though that the table was going to come flying over me and I was in for a telling off, Suzie banned me from the stall for the rest of the day, I had to have a lie down lol

[Dilligaf]

Doing a cooking demonstration at a craft fair.
Preparing venison and beef for the pot when someone asks if its real meat!
Then they want to know if we are really going to eat it.
An hour later as they walk past us with their scabby looking burger, we are sitting down to a four course medieval banquet and getting paid for it.
I love it when it takes no effort to slap someones ego.

[boblad]

A couple of times i have had to bite my lip.

A middle 20s lady was on the stall and then she took out her phone and started photographing some of my stock wrought ironwork. I asked if i could help, no she replied my boyfriend is into metalwork and he could make her some of these!
One very sore bitten lip!

Secondly a couple of old dears walked in `Ooh i do like these how much is that candlestick` £35 i replied showing the same model with a price on, `will you take £20 for it then`. No i made all these with my hands and the price asked is what its worth.
Second sore lip!

Cloaks, re-enactor walked in and looked at a very nice cloak priced at £120, linen lined and Hainsworths wool. Can i try it on he asked, yes of course, his mate came in and looked at the price ticket and said `£120 thats expensive i could make one cheaper than that` . He probably could if he bought 6 metres of wool and the same in linen didnt charge for make up and didnt pay for a pitch fee or the fuel to get there or a Van to transport hem or a large tent to show them of in.
Wife sore lip!

[Betoun the Brewster]

Oh we constantly get the garden-shed woodworking brigade taking photos then commenting loudly that 'I/dad/grandad could make that for half the price'. Really? Does he has the time (and the inclination), and the contacts to buy quality oak, handmade nails and hand-forged iron work to complete the look. Can he buy in bulk the way we do to keep the price down? It's the people who don't even acknowledge you while they're taking photos then just walk out - no word, no eye contact, nothing. They open chests and photograph the joints and the interiors, all the while discussing the build, then proclaim the I/dad/grandad line...

A bloke stomped in at Tewkesbury to ask if we had any 'cheap nails' because 'the man down the way' was selling his at 50p a pop which he thought was 'totally outrageous'. We just said, well yes, they're hand made! You know, made by hand?!!! Painstakingly, individually and one by one?!! Not on a machine?!!! 'Well, I'll just go to B&Q then'... Please do, and GO NOW.

We've also had the 'I'm going to be really cheeky and ask if you'll take £20 for this £45 box' routine... you've got to admire their audacity!

Teagirl was telling me about a woman who haggled mercilessly over the price of a set of beads, then reluctantly put down 50p. They were £48!!!

[Cap-a-pie]

i had someone say "I want to buy this for a present but don't want to spend that much" he did though

[Teagirl]

We've also had the 'I'm going to be really cheeky and ask if you'll take £20 for this £45 box' routine... you've got to admire their audacity!

Teagirl was telling me about a woman who haggled mercilessly over the price of a set of beads, then reluctantly put down 50p. They were £48!!!

I didn't sink so low as to offer £20 for a box, I offered you LOTS of beads for 'my' chair. Eventually, you'll weaken......

[Hinny Annie]

At Kelmarsh I had some cheeky git taking pictures of the Tewksbury book, because 'the pictures are fantastic' then he started argueing with me when I told him to delete them, he did in the end though

[Gagglewrangler]

ive had a bloke complain that our group should have better mannered children, this was after my 2yo had smacked his big doberman across the snout for going to steal her chunk of ham sandwich its lucky he only got the wrath of me for letting said dog lunge at a toddler & not our "little" white lady cos if she defends HER kids your in trouble (& those that know Nhala know had docile she is untill she is required)

[Baldurgrimm]

a similar situation , we were at a bike rally, The Rock and Blues, and there was a HUGE bald bearded bloke standing in front of the stall, I hadn't slept for 2 day ( we had back stage passes and had been partying with our m8's band ) it was v/hot and I simply wasn't in the mood for rudeness
Me " would you like a sample of jerky or fruit leather "
Him, looking down at our stuff, sneered and shook his head
I thought o myself "oh why dont you F*ck off !
his head whipped up, Suzie looked at me, Mark looked at me, I looked at the biker, then had a sickening thought
Me " Did I just telly uo to F*ck off ?"
Him "yep"
" Me " you'll have to excuse me, Im knackered, been up partying all night "
Him " ah that's OK "
he then ambled off chuckling to himself, I honestly though that the table was going to come flying over me and I was in for a telling off, Suzie banned me from the stall for the rest of the day, I had to have a lie down lol

This made me laugh so much

[Skevmeister]

I would put signs up at the tent clearly stating no photo's allowed. And anybody reaches for a camera to "b**ger off". If you want to make one do the bloody research, waste the material trying to get it right, and spend the bloody time doing it. I am glad I am not a trader, I'd end up knocking so tosser out I just know it. I am like Martin this way I would just be way too defensive

[houseoffreyja]

We ask people to stop if they are photographing our stock close up. We often get women asking, in great detail how, I make the cloaks and then say "I sew and fancied making a cloak." I start off by saying that I've been sewing for 40 years, that often puts them off. Tony always tells them to bring the cloak to show us next year. No-one has yet.
The worst was a woman who tried every cloak on, then said did I do dresses? She wanted a robe like Prof. Macgonigal in the Harry Potter films. I said I could make it and she said........Well, when you do can I buy the pattern!

[J.Watson / Anmod Dracan]

There's hardly a trade fare goes by without someone asking me how I get the curve in the shields, how do I do this, how do I do that, where do I get my raw materials from etc etc.

I just tell them "trade secret!"

[busy mole]

Tewkesbury a couple of years ago.
"Everything on this stall is far too expensive, and I could make it all for far less"
She will be quite a crafts person then......when she grows up.

[Teagirl]

Tewkesbury this year:

Idiot: This is a lovely necklace, I think the work is beautiful but I'm simply not prepared to pay that price.
Me: Ok. (thinking to myself 'Put it down, get OUT of my tent before I smack some manners into you')

People treat traders (and, I'm sure, re-enactors and LH) as if they were waxworks or as if they have no feelings. It's the part of trading that I dislike intensely.

[Fox]

As a non-trader [I don't think my tent peg empire really counts], but who's "married" to a trader I find this conversation fascinating.

I see many parallels with "big business", but it's notable how personally many of you feel about it.
I suppose this is not suprising, since the USP for most of your products is your personal involvement with and craftsmanship in the creation of the stock.
But it is what many industries would simply see as the price of doing business.

It's unsurprising that all business try to protect their intellectual property;through patents, copyrights and obfiscation (i.e. stopping people working out how you do it).
But almost every industry accepts that someone, somewhere, will make a copy of what they are doing; how quickly does a cheap copy of most electronic devices appear from the Far East?
The response to this is usually to compete on one aspect or another; for the originators of ideas this is usually brand, quality or originality; which is what most of you are doing, but what's unusual in this context is that the copiest is often the potential customer.

The biggest problem in terms of protecting your intellectual property is that while you might easily be able to throw the camera off stall, it's almost impossible to stop someone getting enough information to produce a copy, and the "copyright" of each object is difficult to enforce because these are often replicas of hsitorical items, and even if you could enforce it, it wouldn't be practical and sensible (not least because the copiest is the customer, see above, so no sale is involved).
And worst of all, any attempt to stop people is likely lead to the customer become alienated, rather than them returning to purchase when they fail to reproduce the item they desire.

As for the rude comments, consider them to be honest customer feedback, which most business would give there eye-teeth for.
For instance:

Idiot: This is a lovely necklace, I think the work is beautiful but I'm simply not prepared to pay that price.

....tells you that there is a potential market for the product in a simpler and cheaper form.
Now, that might not fit the business model, or be a route you want to explore, but it is, nevertheless, good, honest information.

[Nigel]

At an event is this item based on research

Debs yes

Person where is that then

minutes pass with eprson trying to crowbar details from Debs

Debs not telling you I did it why should I do your research for you for free

best one was the other trader who once bought a particualr garment off Debs when she was starting off and was a bit trusting and then copied it

[Teagirl]

As for the rude comments, consider them to be honest customer feedback, which most business would give there eye-teeth for.
For instance:

Idiot: This is a lovely necklace, I think the work is beautiful but I'm simply not prepared to pay that price.

....tells you that there is a potential market for the product in a simpler and cheaper form.
Now, that might not fit the business model, or be a route you want to explore, but it is, nevertheless, good, honest information.

There is a difference between mass-produced items, and individually created one-off items.
I will never give my eye teeth for a comment that is made as a disparagement of my work or pricing. If she had said (as I do to other artisans), 'This is a lovely piece, but I simply cannot afford it, although I wish I could', then that's fine. Her tone of voice which was not conveyed through text was demeaning and complaining that I would have the nerve to charge a reasonable price for my work. It's not good, honest information when someone does that, it's personal and petty. There were 20 different necklaces, of which at least 2/3 were priced somewhere around half the price of the one necklace she wanted. It was more along the lines of the whingey vegan who wanted vegan food at HIS price, not the prices charged. She was more than welcome to ask me about making something to her budget, but she simply wanted to have a whine and see if I'd drop the price for her.

No.

[Fox]

There is a difference between mass-produced items, and individually created one-off items.

Really?
Tell that to the designer of a mass-produced item.

As software engineer, I regularly have to deal with customers who doing the equivelent of blaming me for an accident because they crashed a car, when they hadn't even taken the first driving lesson, let alone passed a test.
Or tell you something is terrible, simply because they don't "get it".

[Tod]

Touching my nose and pointing at Fox.

[Teagirl]

There is a difference between mass-produced items, and individually created one-off items.

Really?
Tell that to the designer of a mass-produced item.

Hand-sewn kirtle is the same as Primark?

[paul bennett]

Oh we constantly get the garden-shed woodworking brigade taking photos then commenting loudly that 'I/dad/grandad could make that for half the price'. Really? Does he has the time (and the inclination), and the contacts to buy quality oak, handmade nails and hand-forged iron work to complete the look. Can he buy in bulk the way we do to keep the price down? It's the people who don't even acknowledge you while they're taking photos then just walk out - no word, no eye contact, nothing. They open chests and photograph the joints and the interiors, all the while discussing the build, then proclaim the I/dad/grandad line...

A bloke stomped in at Tewkesbury to ask if we had any 'cheap nails' because 'the man down the way' was selling his at 50p a pop which he thought was 'totally outrageous'. We just said, well yes, they're hand made! You know, made by hand?!!! Painstakingly, individually and one by one?!! Not on a machine?!!! 'Well, I'll just go to B&Q then'... Please do, and GO NOW.

We've also had the 'I'm going to be really cheeky and ask if you'll take £20 for this £45 box' routine... you've got to admire their audacity!

Teagirl was telling me about a woman who haggled mercilessly over the price of a set of beads, then reluctantly put down 50p. They were £48!!!

I dont get too many rude people, but the "grandad" line comes out all the time. Usually as a way of getting kids away from the wooden swords till they forget about it.

Generally I dont get people haggling, but then I have a really wide range of stuff at each show, so you get a good idea of why a thing is the price it is. If anyone does complain about the prices, I tell them Im ready to haggle, but that they should be prepared for the fact that I have dozens of starving kids

I have made a concious effort not to be drawn in to taking things too personally. It makes no difference at the end of the day, except to your own stress level.

[Fox]

There is a difference between mass-produced items, and individually created one-off items.

Really?
Tell that to the designer of a mass-produced item.

Hand-sewn kirtle is the same as Primark?

No.
But nor is a badly-made, inaccurately-patterned hand-sewn kirtle in bad wool-mix [and I've seen some of those for sale] the same as stylish-cut, fashionable, high quality, off-the-rack suit.

To ask if it's "mass produced" is a categorisation error.

[acecat999]

Oh we constantly get the garden-shed woodworking brigade taking photos then commenting loudly that 'I/dad/grandad could make that for half the price'.

i often think that then before opening my gob remember that i would make a complete hash up and probably take 5 years to finish the job.

the price premium is turning the dream into an object?