Ah yes. It is the holiday season. And that has special meaning for me each year.
See, I get to be thought of as a jerk by some customers……
Over the past 3 years I’ve learned a lot about owning a small boutique print shop. And several of my own personal rules for how I operate my business have come out of the holiday season. This year I’ve got it down to a system, and some folks don’t like it. Not one bit.
Today I received a call about getting an image on canvas in time for Christmas. Can do. I still have some open slots, but they are filling fast. I suggested Thursday to the potential customer, and that didn’t work for him at all. He needed to bring it in today and I could print it at my discretion. While that’s cool, I always want customers to check out a proof with me first. See, when customers don’t proof an image and you go ahead and run a canvas…… well, 9 times out of 10 they’re not happy with the end result. And often they don’t want to pay. That leaves you stuck with a wasted canvas.
So, I do appointments year round. Not just the holidays you know. Just how I operate now. It helps customers get my full attention, and it helps streamline my workflow. Currently I’m working on 6 painting reproductions, 3 black and white restorations, and 2 very odd oval setups that don’t fit the frames that the folks want to put the pieces in. So, a little busy today.
The end result of the potential client call? I explained twice that I had open time Thursday so we could get it right. The customer? “Well, thanks for taking your valuable time to talk to me…..CLICK!”
The holidays are here. Whew!