Advice wanted: what to do if a commissioner gives you obviously wrong details

[blackkrystal.livejournal.com]

My friend brought this up recently and I realised I'd have no idea what to do in this situation and neither does she, so if anyone could throw some ideas out there it'd be really appreciated.

What would you do if (specifically) in a fursuit commission you were given obviously wrong measurements? Say if someone measured their head circumference and got 29" or something? It seems harsh to just turn round and say 'those measurements don't make sense, you've done them wrong so do it again' but I'm kind of struggling to see any other way about it. Anyone have any ideas on how to handle something like this?

Comments

[drakonicknight.livejournal.com]

I would just be upfront about it and say that 29 is an odd number for a head size, and 25 or 26 is the highest. While there is some variation that you're skeptical of that measurement and want to ensure best fit. I'd ask them how they're measuring and suggest another way and ask them to try again.

[tealmoonxiv.livejournal.com]

My head is 28" so it happens.

[shukivengeance.livejournal.com]

There is a chance they may be taking the measurements wrong, ask for them to double check them for you and ask how they were taking them, and explain your method.

You have your customer's best interests at heart here instead of taking odd figures and making the product anyway. That's what counts so as long as you're polite there should be no problem.

[zaulankris.livejournal.com]

I've had that happen before, once with a head and once with a foot. I just explained something along the lines of "I've never been given a measurement like that before, the average is usually X-Y. Can you remeasure exactly like [link] to confirm?"

The foot case was particularly useful to me, it taught me that some people have REALLY wide feet xD

[kerstin-orion.livejournal.com]

I had that happen when I measured my friends for bridesmaid dresses, which my coworker was going to make (she's a seamstress on the side). I messed up one measurement, and even though it was OBVIOUSLY wrong, as in "impossible for a human to be shaped that way", my coworker went ahead and made that dress to that measurement, anyway.

My friend had to take the dress to a tailor in her town and pay to have it fixed (thank goodness it was measured too large, not too small).

I would much rather my coworker had called me beforehand to have those measurements double-checked. It would've taken just a few minutes, and saved a bunch of money, for me to call my friend and have someone measure her again.

Long story short: measure twice, cut once.

[flyingfluff.livejournal.com]

They are coming to you for a suit and so they see you as the "expert". You have a lot more experience with taking measurements. It would not be insulting or out of place for you to question the measurement they gave you and I'm sure they would actually thank you in the long run.

[oceandezignz.livejournal.com]

If you've ever checked out ebay for the custom costumes that Hong Kong/Singapore/Thai based tailors offer, you'll notice they all usually have some sort sizing diagram demonstrating what areas of measurement they need and how you take it.

If you don't have one, I'd strongly suggest you develop one because words are good, pictures better. That way when you get an obviously OFF measurement, you can go "Hey, this size is kind of funny. To ensure I give you the best product, could you remeasure X for me? Follow this diagram to ensure you get the best result!"

[crazy-onna.livejournal.com]

I agree. Pictures can help a lot.

Maybe even a video that explains how to measure yourself? There does not seem to be one for fursuits that I can find on youtube. I did find one on how to measure yourself for historical costumes (http://youtu.be/rsPelat7vlc?t=49s).

[eenyuwolf.livejournal.com]

I commissioned a full suit and got confused on some measurements, so the suit maker sent me a message saying just that; "Hey these measurements don't make sense, could you double check for me I'd rather be sure about the numbers instead of making a mistake!" They then gave me another explanation of what they were looking for and I remeasured.

I was very thankful!! The suit I received fits me amazingly and I would rather go through the hassle of multiple measurement checks and double checks then get something I can't use because of a poor fit; especially with suits which can be big investments. Better to get it right the first time then the possibility of going through the trouble of fixing mistakes which could have been avoided.

[kadaria.livejournal.com]

I don't see a problem with questioning a measurement. I was asking my husband for his measurements to buy a leather jacket and he tried to tell me that his neck was 6" not realizing that I meant the circumference...
When I worked for an equestrian store, I had a few diagrams on our site in the blanket section from the manufacturers that explained how to measure your horse to the brand since they are hard items to return. Maybe for the future you could make a reference like this to avoid off measurements? Maybe recommend a kind of tape measure or to have a friend help?

[clockmagic.livejournal.com]

One time my friend wanted to commission someone for a head and she measured her head at 27". I was confused when she gave me this but she explained because she has so much hair she measured around that as well as her head (if that makes sense). Maybe the customer did the same?

Anyway, I see nothing wrong with doing the things the people above suggested.

[onesteptwo.livejournal.com]

A friend of mine was told to remeasure because her measurements were unrealistic. (Granted ... she has HUMONGOUS breasts, so those were actually accurate ...) You can just flat out say "I'm sorry, that doesn't sound right. Could you remeasure, just to make sure?"

[growly.livejournal.com]

Depends on the situation... I once got a wrong set of hand and feet measurements from someone, so everything turned out too small. Because the parts were generic and resalable, I went ahead and remake the set for free and took back the too-small set and sold it to another person. Basically if it doesn't hurt you to fix stuff like that, might as well, even if it was the customer's fault.

But if it is inconvenient or costly to redo, you should charge extra to redo things, since it was the customer's responsibility to give you the correct measurements in the first place.
Definitely check over the measurements before you start and if something sounds off, don't be afraid to ask them to double-check it or take a photo of themselves with measuring tape.

[crssafox.livejournal.com]

I agree with this. In one case, a fabric I used had a pretty stiff backing, resulting in the paws I made for a partial being a little bit too small for the commissioner. I took them back (they were just generic black hand paws) and made a new set with a different type of fabric, and sent them off to the commissioner. The smaller pair I just put into my bin of "bring to conventions and put out on the table in case anyone wants it" and sold them almost right away at the next con I worked at. No harm done.
In another instance, I was doing a body suit for someone internationally and working from measurements, the waist sounded WAAAAAY too small, and so I asked him to double-check and sure enough, he'd written down the wrong number.

If a measurement sounds "off," definitely double check it with the commissioner. If their second measuring gives the same results, go forward with those results. If, after everything is done, the measurement was indeed incorrect, the commissioner should have to pay to have things fixed since you were going by the information provided. Also, if your head measurement seems too large, it's better to have it made too big than too small, since that is an easier fix, by just adding more padding.

[marblestheskunk.livejournal.com]

LOL I'm the one who bought those, they were a life saver for that con XD

[toscaterrier.livejournal.com]

Agreeing with what's already been said, but if you're concerned about tact or the like you could word it as something along the lines of "Hey, I'm just going to double-check here to make sure I have the correct measurements--can you please make sure the information you've sent me is correct and you've measured correctly? It'll help to make sure the end product fits you!". And then link them to your descriptions on how to measure. It could save time in the long run, I'm sure, because that way they might catch any errors made the first time around.

[knownsome.livejournal.com]

I am a seamstress/costumer/mascot builder. I have to ask people that all of the time. I can't say I've ever had someone take offense to it!
A few days ago someone gave me a series of girls' measurements and one of them measured as 43" from nape to floor, I just responded in email "xxxx's nape to floor measurement reads that she would be about 4' tall, does this sound correct?" and it was quickly sorted out.

[poizenkat.livejournal.com]

It's a good idea I'd say. As long as you don't assume they're wrong and change it on your own. This happened to me before and my measurements were accurate...I'm just much smaller than expected.

[goatparty.livejournal.com]

I think if you explain that you're double-checking to make sure the finished suit fits properly, you'd be pretty unlikely to upset a commissioner.

[candychic125.livejournal.com]

I'm not disagreeing that you should ask for a second measurement to be sure... I just wanted to throw it out there that I have really big and poofy hair, and when I measure my dome I have to sometimes take that into consideration or else I can't get the fursuit head over the fluff lol ;p It could be that the customer just doesn't get it, but it's a fun what-if scenario... epicly fluffy hair...

[clockworkshadow.livejournal.com]

I think asking them to double-check is fair, and ask if they wear glasses or have thick hair. [I accidentally measured my head once while i had a ponytail in. Whoops. XD]

I agree with oceandezignz, check out sizing charts to see what kind of measurements you can ask them for as well, for the future.

[marblestheskunk.livejournal.com]

I actually have done the same thing once when measuring my head [it was supposed to be like a vertical measurement around my face but the maker said 'forehead to chin' so I took it very literally XD] I'm glad one of my friends who is a fursuit maker corrected me so now I know what that measurement is [ended up not being able to finish the commission for personal reasons]

So beware of people taking things too literally.

I don't think its the least bit rude to ask twice

[faye wahaneta marie cover (from livejournal.com)]

I have taken a metric butt ton of measurements for armor commissions.
I made this page specifically for measurements http://plus3defense.webs.com/measurementinstructions.htm

I have had a few instances where some measurements were obviously off.
You don't have to say anything other than "Hey can you remeasure blah blah blah for me? Thanks!"
I find you don't want to say anything like the measurements are funny or weird because some people just do have big heads or big feet and might find it very insulting. ^^;
Keep it short and sweet and if they ask for an explanation just say the measurements seemed a bit off and you just want to make their commission perfect for them