It was a disastrous situation. A distributor had an order of 500 very expensive leather jackets for a special event. The paperwork was correct and had been approved by the client. Somewhere in the process however, the decorator embroidered all the jackets with the cross embroidered in red. That would make sense, really. We all are very familiar with the widely recognized Red Cross logo. The only problem was that this order was for another well-known organization, Blue Cross. Ouch! A mistake like that hurts.
Our business is based on effective communication skills and being able to handle details. Despite our best efforts however, things happen.
I like to say that we may make only one mistake; it’s just repeated 500 times! This recently happened to me. The client wanted to add a web address to an order we do annually for an event. It was a simple typesetting change. The paperwork was properly prepared and signed off on. A proof was sent and approved by the client. One small problem—the proof was wrong. The web address said .com, NOT .net.
Obviously, the client proofed the order without carefully looking at it. That never happens! I’m kidding of course, but I also am at fault because I didn’t carefully look at the proof either! I was counting on the client to do that, and for the supplier to set it up correctly in the first place. This is why I’m always offended by a charge for a proof, but that’s a topic for another rant. This is a classic case of one simple mistake repeated 500 times (literally).
Complicating the situation is the item is for our client’s client who is out of the country. The mistake was discovered when the items arrived in South Africa.
In this classic, real-world situation, the communication challenges continued. I’m affiliated with a great distributor company with strong supplier relationships. So when my company’s CSR brought this to the supplier’s attention, we were told they would look into what happened. We were very pleasantly surprised that they came back to us and agreed to redo the order.
The drama continued however. Just like our client (and myself) overlooked carefully approving the proof, someone at the supplier company overlooked that the client had agreed to the proof in the first place. So the no-cost remake order had come before understanding others were at fault in the process also.
Although the remake scenarios they then presented when all of us were to blame were quite acceptable for the circumstances, there was a problem when the supplier came back and wanted to then charge for the redo. This was bad, since the supplier already agreed to redo the product, and I had already been in communication with my client regarding the resolution. It was important that the supplier continued to honor their agreement to redo the order at no cost.
Our goal is to maintain the integrity of our company and our commitment to serve the client. Mistakes can and do happen. How these things are resolved determines the character of the company. Especially in light of what I recently experienced with the “mug supplier from hell” I was thrilled to confirm my thoughts that in this case, I was dealing with a reputable, honest supplier.
If you missed the mug supplier story, it can be found here.
The supplier in this situation that did the right thing was NUMO Manufacturing. For their commitment to doing the right thing, standing behind their product and being fabulous to work with, they get the “FreePromoTips Gold Star of Integrity Award!” We can’t say enough positive things about NUMO and encourage you to consider them for your next promotion.
Lately I have had a series of “interesting” experiences with suppliers. I’ve learned from each of them. On one end of the spectrum there was the supplier who wouldn’t stand behind their crooked imprints on mugs, and another who agreed to send me samples in exchange for a plug in FreePromoTips, and didn’t do it. Then the pendulum swings and I have this amazingly, positive experience with NUMO, a supplier who in my opinion truly gets “it.” They care about taking care of their customers and have the character to stand behind their word.
More business deals obviously go more right than wrong, but it is important that we all be mindful of how important communication and an eye for detail is. After all, we are in the CUSTOM IMPRINTED PRODUCTS business. That ONE mistake repeated multiple times can ruin our day.
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