How NOT to attract new business *WARNING RANT*

[bigdave]

I've been talking to the Customer Service Manager of a local digital print firm who's promised great prices on short run work with a fast turn around.

I requested a sample pack on Friday last week but instead of a sample pack I got a card from the royal mail informing me the sender has under paid the postage by 34p so I would have to collect the letter and pay the 34p along with a £1 handling fee! Now, is it just me or is this massively unprofessional!? A substantial part of of their business is going to be delivering print to customers, do they really expect me to give them my business when they can't even get an envelope from them to me?

To add to this, I requested a quote for some posters at 9am on Monday. I didn't get a response until almost 5pm yesterday! I know sometimes we all get a bit busy but ffs, 3 days!?! Even a little note confirming receipt of the email would do but to just leaving me hanging!..


The moral of this story...

• Don't leave perspective clients hanging on for 3 days before you even acknowledge them. They will go elsewhere and wont come back!

• Make sure your freebies / services don't cost the client unnecessarily! It's irritating to say the least and they might just name and shame you on the internet! (Not that I'd do that as it would be unprofessional of me.)

• When a perspective client emails you to tell you that you need to look at how you're posting samples as it's cost them money unnecessarily, email them back as a matter of urgency!

[Dave L]

(prospective).

[djb]

(Royal Mail).

[printbar]

(Pedantry)

You know, funny, but still pedantry.

[bigdave]

Ok ok, so I rely on my spell checker to pick up my mistakes and some times it makes them worse!

I did warn you this was a rant so you should assume some level of haste, otherwise I'd have titled it *Considered Musings*

Oh, and does it really matter if royal mail doesn't have capital letters? This is a post on an internet forum not a formal letter to the queen (yes I know it's Queen).

[djb]

Only joking Dave, keep your hair on

I’m presuming the printers were absolutely mortified about the samples cock up? If not, run a mile.

I got a beautiful samples pack from Solopress the other day. Arrived the day after I requested it and was followed up by a very polite email from their sales chap (and just the one email too, they haven’t been hounding me). Top marks to them.

[bigdave]

The reason I was cross with them is because they contacted me promising me the moon on a stick but couldn't even deliver the stick! (I think this is why they're pestering people on twitter.)

I did get an email from them eventually just said, "oopsy how silly of me. Glad you got it ok".

The samples were of varying quality. Commercial stuff they did in 2008 is brilliant quality but samples dated 2010 are quite poor!.. dont think I'll risk using them.

[JohnRoss]

informing me the sender has under paid the postage by 34p so I would have to collect the letter and pay the 34p along with a £1 handling fee! Now, is it just me or is this massively unprofessional!?

I did that many years ago when I was setting up as a freelancer: sent out fifty or sixty cvs on spec, with an extra page of self-advertising blurb, without realizing it was a few grams overweight for an ordinary letter. Surprisingly, it wasn't a disaster at all. Only about a third of them were returned, in most cases not because they refused to accept the letter, but because the business had closed down or whatever, and quite a few people were even kind enough to ring me up and tell me what had happened.

[printbar]

The reason I was cross with them is because they contacted me promising me the moon on a stick but couldn't even deliver the stick! (I think this is why they're pestering people on twitter.)

I did get an email from them eventually just said, "oopsy how silly of me. Glad you got it ok".

The samples were of varying quality. Commercial stuff they did in 2008 is brilliant quality but samples dated 2010 are quite poor!.. dont think I'll risk using them.

I think we can all agree that the moral of the story here is to only print through me, boss or Peter....

[Artyfart]

Err BigDave you do make me laugh! lol Sorry but you do! You need to go here *shameless plug alert* URL REMOVED.

Boss Hog: Soz dude, Dave does use us on occasion, thanks though.