Are we in the wrong ?

[MrKeeno]

Have to agree with everyone that said do a reprint at your cost. Its a bitter pill to swallow but you will learn from it. Imagine the bad mouthing this company will be doing right now, you not only risk losing business from this company but the many others they will be informing about your service.

Remember, bad new travels a lot faster than good.

 

[Paul11]

I work for quite a large agency and if this happened to us we would re-print at our expense. Its your fault, re-print. If you are a very small operation and not worried about reputation then dont but if it were me they would be re-printed.

if we were a large company i would guess we would reprint at our expense too, but its because we are a small operation that we cannot afford to do this. .

im still waiting for his reply and will see what he says about the 50/50 thing. we can still review it after i get his feedback

 

[OSB]

My view having read this thread is that if you can afford to re-print them without charging him do so as this could in the longer run benefit you as he tells others (hopefully). However if you cannot afford to swallow the cost mention that and say as a goodwill offer 50-50 split.

OSB

 

[singist]

Poll required:

Given the facts outlined in the OP would YOU (not the customer outlined):

a) be happy to use that company for a 100,000 print run.
b) look elsewhere

My money/order is with another company but hey! some people are happy so...

 

[big_white_dog84]

I have been on the receiving end of this exact situation. Regardless of what you do I wouldn't use your printing services again. Getting the number wrong is fundamental I'm afraid.

 

[jas72]

If it was sent to the client to be checked then they should have picked up the mistake (it's their company, their telephone number). That's the whole point of it being proofed. It's two stages isn't it: 1) you design the leaflet 2) you print it. The bit in between is where the proof it and give you the go ahead to print.

It's the ENTIRE reason for having a proof sent off to be agreed!!!!

I agree with this however I doubt if a court would.

I think it is 50/50 really.

 

[MrFunex]

tbh, the whole point of a "proof" version is to send to the client as a version to check. If they sign it off as OK, then thousands of copies get printed. It is a final chance for the customer to agree that this is something that they want.

On the other hand, as previously mentioned, it entirely depends on how much you value this customer. If they're going to put your kids through university with repeat orders, then at the very least, meet them half way...

 

[howsertrading]

Poll required:

Given the facts outlined in the OP would YOU (not the customer outlined):

a) be happy to use that company for a 100,000 print run.
b) look elsewhere

My money/order is with another company but hey! some people are happy so...

The problem seems to be that people think that another print house would handle this differently,and accept responsibility.
This just is'nt going to happen,they might swallow some of the cost if you are important to them,or they might just bill you the full amount,knowing that eventually the customer will have to pay up.

So I would definately use this company for a 100,000 print run,considering they might even offer me a discount on the reprint,even if it was my fault that the job was incorrect(as in this case).

A larger company might not offer any discount at all and just bill you the full amount,as 100,000 leaflets is small fry to a large company with large contracts.

 

[Slam62]

so the customer has to perform your quality control.

You did of course make it very clear when you gave him the proof that he was then liable.

 

[Paul11]

so the customer has to perform your quality control.

You did of course make it very clear when you gave him the proof that he was then liable.

of course, that is what a proof is...

it is the last point to make any changes at which point you accept all responsiblily for the content.

 

[Felix Da Housecat]

Their fault for not checking the proof simple as.

If they wont take this then maybe put it down to experience and take the cost on the chin.

 

[stigggeh]

but the content would have been fine if 'your company' had not have made the mistake.

i personally think your in the wrong.

 

[JBuk]

but the content would have been fine if 'your company' had not have made the mistake.

i personally think your in the wrong.

yes but the last inspection was made by the client who proofed it, therefore its down to the client as stated in the t&cs

although i still think seeing as the origional mistake was made at the printers then as a good will gesture the first batch should not be charged for and the lessons learned

 

[stigggeh]

yes but the last inspection was made by the client who proofed it, therefore its down to the client as stated in the t&cs

although i still think seeing as the origional mistake was made at the printers then as a good will gesture the first batch should not be charged for and the lessons learned

You would expect any reputable company to triple check these simple things and not make the mistake in the first place.

I know if it was me looking at the proofs it would be a quick look over at the layout & colours. I would expect the info i provided to be copied correctly, its a school boy error and the person copying the info wants a good talking too.

 

[IAmATeaf]

The longer this goes on the more likely that the customer will never come back so you really need to nip it in the bud. Could you not offer to do the re-print at cost? Or would that equate to the 50% costs already mentioned? Also how much money are we talking about?

 

[Xenoxide]

so the customer has to perform your quality control.

You did of course make it very clear when you gave him the proof that he was then liable.

That's the idea.

What would happen if you created the leaflet to the very highest quality you could produce, the client gave you the go ahead, you printed 100,000 copies, and the client then came back and said they've changed their mind and that's not what they wanted?

The point of the final proof is that it's FINAL. No more changes will be made by either side. It's the point where the client goes "Yes, we're happy with that", which must be done before going to the printing stage. Otherwise the above scenario happens.

Any client must realise the importance of this milestone, and therefore logically should check the proof thoroughly as it is essentially the point of no return. The failure to type in the content correctly was obviously the fault of the designer, however the client was given the opportunity to rectify this. And it is because they failed to realise the importance of the final proof and check the work thoroughly that both parties are in this position.

That being said, I agree with howsertrading above in that a compromise has to be made. Every client is important, as is making good impressions, and of course this has to be done without bankrupting yourself.

 

[Felix Da Housecat]

I think a lot of people are over looking the whole reason why the customer has to check the proof, it's to check the design and anything written.

If the customer missed the error how can they expect the company to take the blame.

Whats written in the terms and conditions, as your answer will be in there, but if you don't want to take the risk of losing a client then I would say take the cost of reprinting and in future double check everything before sending the proof, even if you need to get a 2nd person to check.

 

[sniffy]

If I went to a company to get a leaflet designed and printed and I was then sent a proof, I would only check the design. Why should I have to proofread content you've simply copied? Fundamental error for your line of work. I know you could compare it to building work or something; you wouldn't hand over money before checking the work but you can't expect a good reputation working like this. Let's say I came to you wanting a 100 page booklet?

You're obviously covered by your terms and conditions so it might be best to just leave it. It's unlikely he will be returning for custom unless you reprint for no charge. I would sort this out though. Get someone inside your company to proofread if you can.

 

[EffBee]

One thing that comes out of this thread is the importance of having clear terms and conditions.

Many of the responses given to this thread are from people exhibiting mind boggling simplicity at how business works. Unfortunately people like these are quite likely to be the same people in an organisation buying (printing in this case) services.

Suppliers must protect themselves from such people who are utterly ignorant and very troublesome in their misplaced righteous indignation.

 

[JBuk]

If I went to a company to get a leaflet designed and printed and I was then sent a proof, I would only check the design. Why should I have to proofread content you've simply copied?

because the whole reason for proofing work is to check every little detail , design, text, colours , material - everything really

it doesnt matter if it has simply been copied or not, the whole point of the proofing is to check that the 1st off is exactly what you want

You're obviously covered by your terms and conditions so it might be best to just leave it. It's unlikely he will be returning for custom unless you reprint for no charge. I would sort this out though. Get someone inside your company to proofread if you can.

any decent company would always check the work but mistakes do happen

thats why the proofing is left to the client