I have been doing posters fuji pearl 20 x 30 mostly filmstrip with a key image. You get the idea. Mostly sportraits but a few action images mixed in. I do not ask for a deposit and get paid on delivery. I have never had a remake other than when I messed up a name or put a image of someone else on the poster. I deliver, get a thumbs up, get paid and am on my way.
Here lies the issue. I delivered one of a 12-13yo cheerleader yesterday spent 5 minutes looking at the poster. Got the thumbs up, got paid. Mom even offered to pay for her sons poster before delivery (I have an order open for him also). Mom and daughter walked away happy till today. Mom called and said that after they got in the car yesterday the daughter said she did not like one of the filmstrip shots. She went on to say she did not like the shot either but did not say anything to her daughter. SHe wants to mat it frame it and hang it on the wall. That why she asked me to reprint with another image.
How would you handle this. She seemed easy to deal with and just left me a message so I have not spoke directly with her yet.
Please do not flame me for not letting parents pick there on images from my website. I have tried it and I loose my patience along with the order. Once I get an order I key on that person at a game and normally deliver by the next game. Sometimes I find myself shooting 4-5 kids a game.
The cost of the print should be a very small portion of the price of the poster, so your pricing should allow room for reprints while still making a profit.
That being said, even if I lose money on the deal I would not hesitate to reprint the poster. As you said, she has already ordered another one for her son so there is potential to secure a long term relationship with this costumer. A reprint is a small price to pay for customer loyalty.
The flip side is to take the "I'm right and you're wrong" position and she takes her business elsewhere. That's a very poor business move.
X2 on what Marty said. Reprint it, make a customer happy.
I had to reproduce an order (printed CD, DVD jacket, contact sheet) because a customer didn't receive it. (interoffice mail)
I have every reason to believe my customer and I really have no idea if that is true or not, but I'm not going to risk making my customer mad. I just re-did the entire order and on Monday morning I will be delivering the order PERSONALLY to their office.
Russ Isabella wrote:
I agree: keep the customer satisfied (within reason). And I'd suggest you run a proof by her before printing her son's poster.
She offered to pay me to reprint I declined any pay but I did ask her to pick the image she wanted from my website for her daughters poster and I also asked her to give me an ok on her son's.
This was the right thing to do. I've had to do this as well. And one time when I had to do it I asked if I could have the one they did not like to keep for my portfolio, to show what a final product would look like. They agreed and we were all happy. Since then I have had more business from them as well as a whole mess of referrals.
I don't necessarily agree with what has been said. Since you got explicit approval of the final product, I don't think a free reprint is in order. If you want to give them a great deal on a reprint, at least recover your costs. I would consider that fair.
I agree that keeping a customer happy is important, but consider the customers expectations. The mother probably understands that some of the problem falls on her for approving it. A very good deal on a modified reprint is probably more than she really expects. Did she ask for it to be free?
OP already stated she offered to pay for the reprint. And as far as giving her more than she expects... that's just common good business sense. I always strive to give my customers more than they expect. Of course one thing you must do is to price your products/services high enough that covering the occasional reprint/redo does not kill you financially. It all a part of the business.
My practice is "satisfaction guaranteed." I will always reprint (getting the previous print back, of course) without hesitation even if the client had already accepted the image and just changed her mind. Essentially, doing business with me is a "no risk" deal for clients. My price does include a certain amount more to cover a small percentage of reprints, but I haven't been burned by my policy (which means it's actually making me money).
I get 'way too much business by word of mouth to work any differently.
Well it just get's better. She emailed the request for the replacement image and decided that she liked another layout for her son's poster. I had put up his poster on my website for her review/ok. She now wants a horizontal with a cutout vs the vertical I had done for her. In other words she went to the website and liked another poster I had done and her son wants it now. Originally she had requested the vertical that I had priced at a lower cost.
I saw her at a game tonight and explained to her the time I had already put in on the vertical poster and that there would be additional costs for me to change to a horizontal along with additional costs for my time.
Her husband ok'ed it and so did she. I now hope all is well but I do not think I will do anymore cheerleaders. Especially at this age because they are a real pain to deal with. Along with there mom's.
you call this pain? whats wrong that customer changes mind and even wants to pay for it?
what would you do with customers who change their mind twice at least and dont want to pay for changes?
thats weak. when i was 12, i would spend with you evenings till i would find one which would be killing boys over school, not let you go with some poster generator and forget me
disclaimer: i wasnt a cheerleader, but i wore such short skirt to school even in winter
Beau Arnold wrote:
Well it just get's better. She emailed the request for the replacement image and decided that she liked another layout for her son's poster. I had put up his poster on my website for her review/ok. She now wants a horizontal with a cutout vs the vertical I had done for her. In other words she went to the website and liked another poster I had done and her son wants it now. Originally she had requested the vertical that I had priced at a lower cost.
I saw her at a game tonight and explained to her the time I had already put in on the vertical poster and that there would be additional costs for me to change to a horizontal along with additional costs for my time.
Her husband ok'ed it and so did she. I now hope all is well but I do not think I will do anymore cheerleaders. Especially at this age because they are a real pain to deal with. Along with there mom's.
If she had approved a vertical and then decided on a horizontal maybe another charge is in order. I may be misunderstanding things but sounds like you are doing things without the client approving them and then becoming peeved when they want a H instead of a V poster.
And to ignore a large group of clients (cheerleaders) seems a little short sighted to me.
Photos are a very personal thing and its unrealistic on your part that the client will always like your choices 100% of the time. The hot button for selling photos is vanity and what they think is the most flattering might not match your choices.
I've managed publishing/printing operations for many years and its pretty much par for the course that customers will change their minds and make changes in the proof stages on things THEY have designed. Also I learned if you show a customer two proofs, they will want one in the middle, so the more different layout options you offer the greater the likelihood the client will want a different one.
I also understand the merits of your approach of making the finished product the first thing they see. My first job before getting into publication reproduction was working for Monte Zucker as an assistant in the early 1970s. He never showed proofs for weddings. He didn't even make proof prints for himself. For a 50 photo album he'd get the 120 or so negatives we'd shoot developed, examine them on a light table then have 70-80 of them custom printed in 10" x10" and matte sprayed for tipping into the finished album. Then he'd invite the client for a viewing, showing them one print at a time. In most cases he would sell every one and increase the 50 shot contract amount by 50-60%.
So I think your strategy for putting together the final product on spec. is a sound because it will generate more impulse inclination to buy the product, but you just need to accept that part of that business model is anticipating the need to make remakes in your pricing. Once you do it for one client, all others referred by word of mouth will expect it.
Thus a solution in your case would be to do what we do when estimating printing jobs; anticipate the fact there will be changes make X % of the time and include the cost as an overhead factor in pricing all the work. Over time you'll be able to get a handle on what the "X" factor is, but even taking the worst case, X= 100%, the time / cost of it inserting a new photo and making a new print shouldn't raise the overall cost very much if it accurately reflects the cost of your time and talent.
You might also take the opposite tack. Include the cost of a remake in the up-front price, then provide a discount if there are no changes. If someone wanted a change and you said "Well how about if I give you a 20% discount to take it as is?" some might take the offer and you'll avoid the reprint. It would also open the door if you do make changes to say to offer the first version at a discount to send to the grandparents rather than it winding up in the shreader. You'll wind up selling two that way and more than recoup the cost of the remake. Just mentioning the idea of sending copies to the grandparents opens the door for selling more copies than the client might have considered.
There are many opportunities to make lemonade out of the lemons here if you can just get past thinking doing a remake is a bad thing. Handled well it can open the door to sell even more
I have turned the corner on this client. You have all made some valid points here. In the end it's still my business model. I may have made a client for life with this issue just by listening to some of your advice. Thank you.
Chuck you ever thought about consulting. Your insight is refreshing.
