This employee, who works in the housewares division of a major department store, told me that he knows of a stager who makes it a regular practice to “borrow” things from the store (he did not name this person by name and I did not ask…or necessarily want to know!). Her justification is that the bedding, linens, and other accessories she “buys” are primarily displayed in vacancies and, therefore, are not really being “used.” She is, of course, becoming known as a chronic returner and probably, at some point, the store will call her on this practice. Of course, she will undoubtedly move on to another store and repeat the method. I assured the salesperson that reputable stagers do not engage in this "buy and return" policy and that we run our businesses with honesty and integrity. Unfortunately, I have also had some clients suggest that rather than rent inventory from me, they temporarily borrow accessories from area stores to stage their homes! I told these (few) individuals that I cannot condone this.
Let’s face it, department stores are not in the rental business. If that were the case, Cort Furniture Rental or AFR would be “lending” us large pieces of furniture instead of charging our clients a three month minimum rental fee. The practice of returning items that have clearly been used will cost all of us dearly, not only in terms of eventual higher prices and lost inventory rental fees, but most importantly in reputation.
It is incumbent upon members of the staging community to strive to maintain our professionalism. There are already too many people out there who lump us in with bored housewives who like to dabble in decorating or who think all we do is move around a few pieces of furniture and declare a home “staged.” Of course, the manner in which you conduct your business is entirely up to you, but I hope all of us will examine our day-to-day procedures and take into consideration the overall reputation of our industry.
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