Allyson DuPont Designs

This customer asked for a very small amount of custom invitations on a very low budget, which, factoring in flat design fees for a completely original design, I was only able to meet with my most basic invitation format. When I bid the job, I provided a detailed 1-page proposal with a description of each item she was getting, including specific paper brand and weight, piece sizes and quantities, printing methods, and a delivery date of the first week of September. She accepted the terms and sent a deposit, but when I sent proofs, she approved the design of the printed part, but asked for much, much more elaborate formats for the invitations with costs ranging from $5 to $28 each. Within an hour I responded to explain the cost difference between those formats and the one that she had paid for, and offered the opportunity to add additional features for the relevant upgrade costs. The customer declined these upgrades because it was not in her budget, but did opt for a single format add-on, for which I sent an updated proposal with detailed description and pricing immediately. At this time (the last week of August) I also explained that, while I had been ahead of schedule and prepared ship before the end of the week, I would need to order an additional piece from a vendor for the add-on. I further explained that this would push delivery into the holiday weekend and that her order would be shipping on Tuesday, following Labor Day (a postal holiday). The customer agreed to this timing, but then continued to email me daily throughout the remaining week and holiday weekend, demanding to know why her package hadn't shipped/when it would ship. The completed package was wrapped, packed, and postage paid for on Monday (Labor Day), so that it could be ship first thing on Tuesday as promised, and was sent by Priority Mail with a delivery time of 2-3 days. When all was said and done, the customer received her order earlier than scheduled in the original proposal, even with unexpected upgrades. Considering that she agreed to all format decisions, that she approved the proofs and revisions more than once, and that the invitations were delivered exactly as described and on time, I am at a loss for her dissatisfaction with the final product. That I would intentionally or unintentionally ruin her invitations is, frankly, a preposterous notion; I have overwhelmingly positive feedback both here and on Etsy, so I can only say that perhaps she should have purchased the offered premium features that she opted to decline, but clearly still expected.