Issue with contractor I hired to engrave/ etc

[Bonsai]

I hired what appears to be a very good and very busy engraver to engrave a piece of Tiffany jewelry I have with something personal. I'd like your thoughts on this.

I initiated contact on 12/14 and paid a deposit on 12/14 based on a quoted price after discussion via web.

On 2/11 I received an email with a working proof that the deposit went towards. This really wasn't too necessary as I had a vector image of the design but ok anyway. It was also late and due mid-late Jan but whatever.

On 2/18 she received the item (Friday). She stated she'd get back to me Monday.

On Feb 28 as I had still not heard anything and I just got tired of it. I emailed I decided to hold off and asked the item be returned and the deposit refunded.
She stated she won't refund the deposit but can return the piece.

Many many reasons she's "behind", "busy".

She gives me the quote I've been waiting for that is a bit higher than the quote I was given when I paid the $75. She swears she will "start working on it that week".
I pay the deposit on 3/9 based on her promise to start working immediately.

In the mean time they are spitting stuff out Left and Right on IG so I sit and wait... and wait...

Last week comes and she has a "story" up that she's been quite that she's pregnant and due in less than 2 weeks and rushing to get orders out. I contact her ask how things are going. She says on 4/21 that she hopes to have it finished tomorrow (Friday 4/22) and shipped next week.

On 4/22 she states she'll have it done next week.

On 4/26 I follow up again. More sickness, more this and that. They're busy and it's "about done".

4/27 I receive an invoice for the balance telling me to pay and she'll ship.

I have not received any pics, etc to date.

I send an email today that I would like to see how it looks.

This is a big project almost $1000. I'm really concerned b/c its just delay after delay. Am I right to be pushing this? There was never any dates set in stone but she continually misses deadlines. Over and over and over.

On one hand I'm not trying to be a jerk pushing while she's pregnant on the other I cant seem to get any hard info, and they are spitting out custom work left and right on IG and I feel as though I'm getting a perpetual run round.

To make matters worse I sent her 2 blank pieces an told her to do the work on the one she thought would work better. So they are actually sitting on 2 pieces of my stuff, with no ETA. Im concerned about her rushing and I'm also concerned about her putting it off b/c if she has this baby (which in her last email she mentioned labor pains) It's going to be even longer.

Any thoughts? I'm over $500 in at this point.

 

[Lookinagain]

Yikes. The time certainly seems excessive if she has had the items since February. If I'm understanding correctly you've already paid $500 so you are in fairly deep. You don't say what the engraving is or how intricate it is, but regardless, it does seem like she is stalling and has taken on more than she can handle. I'm not sure what you can do at this point though since I'm assuming now that the work has been done since she sent an invoice and told you she would ship when you paid. I guess my question is this a reputable person? Do you feel comfortable that you will get your items when you pay? I think I'd insist on photos to make sure the work was actually done before I sent more money.

 

[autumngems]

Why in the word would you take on so much if your that long into your pregnancy, not to mention after she has the baby she most likely wont work for a while. Hopefully at least one of your projects is done. I would insist on photos.

 

[qubitasaurus]

I think if possible call her, ask to see how it looks. She hasn't had a chance yet to reply to your message from today asking for photos. But she seems like she is ready to ship, so presumably she is ready to show you.

If she's that busy, I doubt she is trying to hoodwink you into paying the ballance for work she isn't going to do (theres plenty of other ways for her to make cash if she has that kind of backlog). But at the same time given the history it's more than reasonable (actually only sane position) for you to want to see the pictures before sending through the balance.

I think going into the birth of my kids I had no idea how badly I needed to scale things back. I had stuff going on left right and center. And was absolutely oblivious to the fact that I was about to hit a brick wall when they arrived.

 

[Bonsai]

Thanks all. Yeah I had a c section at 36 and it was a pretty long come back even though I kept working (self employed). They already have 1 kid it looks so maybe they should have some expectation as to what its about to be like already. But still no pics. I asked yesterday and by noon today no response.... I def won't be paying for a completed piece without seeing it. I dont really get what's going on here. I'm almost wondering if it got F up and they want me to pay and send it and deal with it later. IDK but I'm really starting to wonder.

 

[Lookinagain]

Many of us have had babies and still worked. Assuming she is self employed and was able to scale back, then she should have. Those who work for others don't have that ability if they are keeping their jobs up to the birth. So as one who worked through my entire pregnancy up to the very end, I don't see that being pregnant is any excuse. Especially if she is self employed so has more options than most people do to slow down. Sorry, but I'm not giving her a pass because she is pregnant. You are either running a business or you aren't. She's been giving excuses for months.