In my last blog entry Credit is Our Lifeblood, Usury is Our Deathbed I criticized the banking and financial industries for passing off PR statements as a  Customer’s Bill of Rights. I suggested some rights that I would like to see instead.  That got me thinking about my own business. What promises am I willing to make to my customers, and what should they be able to expect from me as a printing broker?

Bill Ruesch Print Broker’s Customer’s Bill of Rights

Whereas the customer and Bill Ruesch Print Broker are entering into an agreement to produce a printed product for the customer, the customer can expect the following:

• The Right to be Heard.  The Customer shall be treated at all times with respect and cordiality. All concerns and questions shall be answered promptly to the best of the Print Broker’s ability.
• The Right to Expert Assistance. The Print Broker will advise, consult, and assist the Customer in all aspects of the printing and mailing arrangements, using his experience, wisdom and common sense to place jobs with Vendors best suited to produce the work with proficiency, reasonable cost, and in a timely manner.
• The Right to Free Consultation. The Print Broker will draw on his experience and the knowledge of other professionals to make recommendations  toward improving quality, decreasing costs, and saving time. The Customer is not bound to act on any of  suggestions.
• The Right to be Fully Informed. A bid specification sheet will be prepared by the print broker for every job. The bid sheet forms the blueprint for the job and informs all parties to the scope of the work. It is the Customer’s responsibility to review said specs and make corrections, preferably in writing to keep the job on track and prevent misunderstandings.
• The Right of Mediation. The Print Broker serves as an intermediary between the Customer and the Vendors. While not responsible for the Customer’s debt, the Print Broker will work in behalf of the two parties to assure smooth financial transactions. In the event a problem occurs with quality, timeliness, delivery or any other Customer concern, the Print Broker  shall be available to mediate and mitigate the issue to find an solution acceptable to all parties.
• The Right to have Expert Access. The Print Broker is primarily invested in getting the Customer’s job done right, on time, and at a reasonable cost. At any point in the production or estimating process that the Print Broker sees a need to have the Customer interact directly with the Vendor or other sources of specialized expertise, acting immediately connect said parties.
• The Right of Friendly Support. The Customer has the right to assume that the Print Broker is working in the Customer’s best interest, and will continue to do so as long as the Customer’s demands are moral, ethical, and legal.
• No Surprise Fees. It is understood by the Print Broker and Customer that bid prices are subject to change. Any changes from bid specification sheet that become necessary in the process of the job will require adjustments. The Print Broker guarantees that all fees for his services will be included in bids, and charges for changes. The Print Broker is committed to a no surprise policy.
• No Long-Term Contracts. Unless otherwise agreed, Bill Ruesch serves the Customer on a project-by-project basis. The Customer is not obligated to hire him for future jobs unless it suits the Customer to do so.

The above nine rights are flexible, in that if any of the readers have suggestions or recommendations for changes I would like to hear them. When my Bill of Rights solidifies I will keep it on my website as a continual promise. And that’s a promise.

Yesterday I wrote about what a self-publishing book author needs to know to get an accurate printing bid. It got me to thinking that I should show you how to keep yourself organized and get apple-to-apples bids. There’s no shame in having a list or a check-off form of some sort. The one you see here I’ve used for twenty-five years or so. Even today when seeking a bid I write down the specs and either email or fax it to the printers. That way I know that they are all bidding on the same thing.

When I was younger and just learning the printing sales game, I was told that I should never bid the job exactly as specified. I don’t believe in that approach. True, veering away from the specs might set you apart, but if you aren’t upfront about it, you’ll lose all credibility. The better way is to bid the job exactly as specified, but offer suggestions and alternatives that will cut the cost. This way you are doing the customer a genuine service and not just trying to get the order by any means necessary.

Buyer beware: be thorough when you get the bids back. Make sure to compare their specs with the ones you gave them. There can be misunderstandings, or transpositions, or any number of communication errors that you’ll want to clear up before accepting the price on something that seems out-of-whack.

Most of these miscommunications are innocent, but there are those who will try and take advantage by substituting a a paper, or something else, without calling attention to the substitution.  For example, when the Winter Olympics was here in Utah, I was hired by an advertising agency to get some postcards printed. The post office had recently changed their requirements for minimum paper thicknesses to 9 point. When I showed up at the press check, the printer had substituted a thinner 7 point sheet that used to be the mailable standard, but not anymore. I’m sure that they thought they could convince me to take the substitution since the job was due the next day. No way, I insisted that they had to honor the original specifications and since it was after regular business hours, the manager for the local paper merchant had to be called at home. He went back to the office, opened the warehouse, and allowed the printer to pickup the right paper. We made the deadline, and the post office didn’t reject or add back end costs to the mailing. A win for me and my customer, but not so much for the printer.

Here’s a warning to printers, don’t try to pull the wool over the eyes of a customer who knows the difference. It won’t work. And it will cost you more than just the financial difference.