A Spoonful of Buyer’s Karma?

Well, it’s a first here at the Corn Compound. I’m actually so taken aback by it, that my first thought was to let you all know what happened.

So I’m working on this project that has cross-media components and I’m doing my thing—sending emails to vendors to schedule calls to review the project’s scope. I provided very basic info, and said I would like to discuss the job this week if they had some time. I received immediate and helpful responses from the print people; the digital people, not so much.

Of the four emails I sent out to the digitals last week, two haven’t responded. One sent me a recap of our conversation the next day for my review so they can begin a proposal. The other basically refused to have a phone call unless I provided enough detail in an email for the company to decide if the project was the right fit to HAVE A PHONE CALL.

As a buyer, I rarely encounter such a thing. Add to that my 45,000-member LinkedIn Group, and 99 percent of the time people want to talk to me, especially if I am soliciting their help. Putting aside my pride, in WHAT WORLD do service providers treat customers and potential ones like that?

This isn’t my first encounter with a customer-service-less digital provider. In their world, it’s a sellers market and they basically do whatever they want to do, when they want to do it. In my experience they barely communicate, frequently miss deadlines, and would charge you by the minute if they had their way. They may be the cool new kid on the block, but they are seriously lacking in old-school print professionalism.

Sometimes it takes a frying pan to the head to realize how good you have it. I am 100-percent guilty of taking the customer-service standards set by the print industry for granted. But no longer!

As Thanksgiving approaches, I plan to reach out to the printers that have provided me with stellar customer service throughout the years and say, THANKS! I will be more open minded about cold calls, emails and pitches in 2013, and I will continue to do my best to promote the print industry and be an active participant in as many ways as I can. I hope anyone reading this will do all or some of the same!

Oh, and if you happen to know a reliable Word Press developer, please pass their information along. At least I know I can trust the source!

Have a wonderful holiday!