Wrong Colours!!

[Neil Kelly]

Good luck Phill

Neil…

[Tim Painter]

Sounds like the print trade.

Just because the artwork uses a particular Pantone on screen don’t take it as being correct. (hot)

Atleast Sign writing has less variables I think, unlike litho print different paper stock etc etc etc….effecting Joe Bloggs business card who isn’t happy because it doesn’t look like his last one Fred printed, but Fred sold it as litho and really is was a colour copier but Joe don’t care he just wants it the same….

The customer is always correct…………rotflmao…yeh right!

OK just de-stressed….Thanks 🙄

[jon vital]

I would never go by the colours on the screen as they can vary from one monitor to another.

We will always show the customer the vinyl swatch so they can choose the nearest colour.

[Phill Fenton]

That’s very good advice John. I normally do just that. 😀

In this case I was sure I had a very good match, but I obviously left myself wide open to what happened (another lesson learned).

This is a mistake I won’t make again, and hopefully others reading this will not fall into the same trap 😀

[Fat Bob]

Hi Phil I read your post with interest.
I Know that life can some time be a bitch but dont sink every time have to swim. Check the customers card against a pantone chart and see if its as right as he thinks it is.
Explain the mistake that you both made. Rather than lose a customer plus all the ill that will be generated if talked about to other customers. call him up and offer him a proposition that might benefit you both. offer to redo the van to his satisfaction at the original price
Then suggest that being your been reasonable the least he could do is pay for the materials at cost. if he refuses. just take it on the chin and smile admit defeat then hit up in the air next time you do some work for him. At the very least he wont be going around telling every body that your crap. 😆 This way you only lose time and a bit of vinyl.

if he digs his heals in and doesnt pay.
You lose your time, your viny,l your money
and most of all you lose your name. and there is NO price on that

Love you and leave you……….FB

[Phill Fenton]

To be honest with you Bob, I have absolutely no desire to waste any more of my time doing any more work for this company until I get paid for my work so far.

Of course – reputation is important to me – but equally I do not wish to get a reputation as a push over or soft touch.

I’ve sent an invoice out which I am now waiting for a response from. I am drawing a line under this and making it clear that no further work will be carried out until this is paid.

I have more enquiries than I can cope with most of the time, so I am not afraid to turn down work or walk away from unprofitable jobs.

The bottom line is I was given wrongly coloured artwork to work from in the first place. I suspect that my customer will also realise this.

I don’t bear any grudges – once the bill is paid I will do the van again if he so wishes (providing we first agree the colours of course 😆 )

If the bill is not paid I will post details in the bad debts and problem customers forum 😉

[jon vital]

How close were the colours on your artwork to the colours of vinyl you used? If they were the same then they can’t really argue.

I also put a disclaimer on the artwork that says “Please check all spellings and numbers”.

[Martin Pearson]

I heard a similar story from someone else some time ago now, since then I have been a bit parenoid about things like this. We print off a visual for the customer to aprove, proof read and sign before we carry out the work, I always explain to customers that the colours on the screen the colours printed and the vinyl colours may vary a little but as a belt and braces measure I stick a small piece of each vinyl colour on the visual with a note that says these are the colours used.
This way if the customer does complain I have my own records I can use to show the colours are correct.

[Mike Grant]

And off course there is allways the joker who will complain at anything hoping you will back down and offer a substantial discount. You done the right thing there “called his bluff” by removing the signage, so at least he doesn’t have the benefit of your hard work.

I had a customer who I threatened to take to court after 1/2 doz letters and 6 months down the line, so I went to his cafe and as he “wasn’t happy” with the lettering I went to take the lettering off in front of his customers, he stopped me doing that and I got my cheque there and then…………….BARSTEWARD! (:)

[Linda]

To add my bit:

If you feel you are correct, stick to your guns.

We have the (very) occasional complaint oubout colours with fine art prints, & in our case colour is always subjective. After a good few years experience we now are just polite & point out the relevent facts from our point of view, & leave the customer to simmer down.

Seems to solve the problems, but I must say, we don’t back down to keep the customer.

Some think we are taking a tough line, but we have built up a good business through being fair to the customer…and to ourselves!!

Linda

[Phill Fenton]

Thanks for the sympathetic replies. 😀

This has been a lesson for me to ensure my customer shares my understanding of the work we are doing. It could so easily have been avoided if I had sent actual vinyl samples to the customer for approval which on this occasion I had failed to do.

I haven’t offered to do anything else to the van – I am waiting to see if there is any response to the bill I have sent out.

[Kevin.Beck]

On a similar note.

What do you do when the customer spots a mistake, after you have applied the graphics. Having already approved the artwork.

I`ve just had the customer on the phone.

Yep I`ve dropped a gooley, put 2 phone number digits the wrong way round. Easly solved in 2 minutes.

But it annoyed me when he gave me a light hearted b*ll*cking. He wouldn`t have it, that he had approved the job before I started. He still insisted it was all my fault.

How would I have stood, if it was a much bigger/costley mistake, but he had approved the artwork?

[keith]

What is going on with customers?
We had one this week who had wanted a wheelcover and told us to order it to speed up the process. Mistake number one NO DEPOSIT!The artwork they supplied consisted of a business card with a photo of two dogs side by side. One had to be removed and placed on the wheel cover with text going round the outside.
My son duly did this and the artwork was sent.
In breezed the customer a couple of days later with a few minor changes.
He now wanted the dog placed on a mountain scene. MISTAKE NUMBER 2, STILL NO DEPOSIT AND NO EXTRA CHARGE FOR THE ARTWORK!
A couple of days later he wanted the mountain scene enlarged to almost fit the entire wheelcover and could we refine the outline of the dog a bit more.
Yes still no deposit, but we did say the price had risen due to the extra cost of artwork and printing.
The cheeky B**t**d then came in, accused us of butchering his precious dog and he was going to leave it!!! (:)
When I presented him with a bill his reply was
“It’s only a wheel cover you’ll soon get rid of it”.
You can guess pretty much what was said in reply but i don’t want to sully the page 👿

[johnf]

I’d raise an invoice for the wheel cover and send the cover and the invoice to him, recorded delivery, stating that unless payment is recieved by return you will start recovery proceedings through the small claims court.

They will look at the evidence:

You had no reason to buy it in.
He ordered the cover.
You bought it because he placed a verbal contract with you to obtain it.

You’ll win.

Well thats my opinion

[Phill Fenton]

Well this one has resolved itself today.

The position was I had sent out an invoice and my customer had responded to this with a letter saying he would not pay for faulty goods or services. I had written back stating my belief that I had been given the wrong colour information therefore the fault was his and I would carry out no further work until this had been paid for in full. That was about two weeks ago.

Today I received a telephone call from the customer asking if we could resolve this situation.

We have been asked to re-do the van in the new agreed colours. I have agreed to do this at half the original price on the understanding that the original bill would be paid. In other words the total cost would be 1.5 times the original quote (but we will have effectively done the van twice).

I felt this was a fair resolution.

I have also been asked to continue with a number of other signs which I had already quoted for and been given the go ahead (but had subsequently shelved).

This has been a valuable lesson for me to check the clients understanding of the work we are doing. When things go wrong (as they did in this case) try and find an amicable solution that is fair to both sides. In this instance we were both firmly entrenched in our beliefs that we had been wronged.

I hold my hand up and respect my customer for electing to call me back today which has resulted in a solution to the problem.

I’m also pleased to have re-gained a customer I thought I had lost 😀

[Lorraine Buchan]

Glad to see you have the situation sorted Phil, and I’m sure your customer will respect you for standing your ground.

I am gald you did give a bit and do it the second time around for half the price, as this has allowed you to hold on to your customer and work, yet both parties have acepted responsibility for their part and i think you’ve both learned a valuble lesson. I thank you for the lesson too!

[keith]

Glad you heve got it sorted out Phil.

The wheelcover saga was sorted today also. the guy simply came in with his cash and paid. No fuss and even pleasantries were exchanged. It obviously didn’t cover the cost of the designing but that’s another lesson to be learned.

Another lesson of human nature happened today. The unit had to be locked while we went to survey and when we got back there was a cheque laying on the floor.
It was from a builder who had asked for a few T shirts to be done. This was the other day and as he left promising to return with the deposit I looked at my wife and we both said
“that’s the last we will see of him”.

Just goes to show doesn’t it?

keith

[Mike Brown]

Nice one Phil! 😎 – you ‘ol diplomat you eh!

great to hear such things coming right for everyone involved. Nasty stuff leaves such a tate and just makes ya’ bitter.

good news for Keith too!

blimey, anyone ‘ud think it’s nearly christmas!

more soon

mikethesign

[keith]

What it did show us is not to judge a book by its cover and people who are serious about buying expect to pay a deposit just as much as we who (now) expect it.

Keith

[Martin Pearson]

Glad to hear you got things sorted Phil, no chance of me picking up a new customer then !!!
As for Kevins question about the phone numbers as I said in a previous post we get the customers to sign the visuals after they have proof read them so there can be no doubt about whose to blame if mistakes are made.
Having said that if it was a simple error like two numbers being round the wrong way we probably wouldn’t charge the customer but we would make sure he understood that it was not our fault.