Shortly thereafter we received an emailed logo (still without a submission form). Unfortunately, the logo was not submitted as a transparent .gif, so we had to mask and convert it. Still, we try to accommodate our customers whenever possible, and we didn't charge for this service, or even mention it.
We noticed that the logo supplied was a bit rough with a lot of fuzz and artifacts, so we bumped it up to 1200 dpi, cleaned up the edges a little, and gave it a slight bevel. No charge. No mention. It just seemed like a nice thing to do.
original above
cleaned up, below
A short while later the data submission form arrived. Since this was a rush, Next Day Air order, and since we only had a few hours in which to make the templates and print the checks, we hurried to rush the order through the system. We began setting up the template exactly as specified by the customer. This was a bother, because much had to be rearranged to fit a logo to the right hand side of a check. Shortly after that, yet another email arrived, as follows:
I screwed up... I meant "top left corner" of the check for the logo, address, etc. No name, just 6300 Legacy Drive, Plano, Texas 75024
Laura Fair
ERICSSON
We sighed, and went diligently to work moving the logo back to its original position on the left side of the check. Shortly after that, we received yet another email from the customer, as follows:
Here is my logo, not sure if it went thru or not.
This email contained another logo. A comparison showed it to be the same logo as uploaded twice before, so no action was needed. We continued with our work. Yet another email arrived from the customer, so work was stopped while we addressed her request:
Do you do Saturday delivery? If I give you my fed ex number can you deliver this to my home?
Before we could reply, however, yet another email arrived from this customer, as follows:
Message: If I give you my federal express account number, can you do Saturday delivery to my house if I placed the order today? Can I get a human to call me? XXX-XXX-XXXX
We replied as follows, trying to stay upbeat in the face of what was surely to become a "problem order":
"Sorry, no humans here. Yes, we can do a Saturday delivery via UPS. The extra cost is $13.91. If you want this, please reply with your "OK". We "should" be able to print and get these out today for a Saturday delivery. You have included many emails with changes and corrections and we will need to try to sift through those. Since there are so many discrepancies in this order, we will do the layout and email you a proof for your approval before printing. Please (PLEASE!) check your email frequently over the next few hours. If we have a question and cannot get a reply, we will be unable to print. Per our CONTACT page, we do not ever transact business by phone. We require every interaction in writing, to minimize mistakes. It is 11 a.m. our time. We will need to ship this order by 3:30 p.m. our time. We hope to have a proof of the layout to you by noon our time. Again, please check your email."
Yet another email from the customer:
Will do! I feel much better now. Thank you soooo much!
And yet another, separate email from the customer a little while later:
OK, please send UPS for Saturday deliver to XXXX XXXXXXX, PLANO, TEXAS 75074. I will await the proof. I understand there will be an additional charge of $13.91.
Shortly thereafter we finished the template, converted it to a small jpg, and emailed the proof to the customer at approximately 11:45 a.m., as follows:
"A proof is attached as a small jpg image. Please let us know if this layout will fly. Please check it VERY carefully. The moment we receive your OK we'll begin printing."
As the seconds and minutes ticked off, we received no reply.
Finally, receiving no response, we sent the following email:
"We sent the second proof (containing the proper image) nearly a half hour ago. Please let us know if you did not receive that. We are really scrambling for time here."
We received the following reply:
Okay, can we do this on the white check with black print, this blue background makes the print look blurry. Also can we drop the “ERICSSON, Inc.” and just use the logo with the address underneath like I put on this powerpoint. Can you make the Ericsson logo bigger by putting the “Pay to the Order Of” line and the “________dollars” line closer together. Move the “_________date” line over closer to the check number. Please let me know if these changes are possible. Please send another proof. Thanks.
This new order would require a complete redo of the template. Unfortunately, we were unable to view either of the files she sent, as one was a .gif file that contained no viewable data, and the other was a .MSO file which refused to open using any MS Office program we have, including Powerpoint.
Note: In the days following this event we've found that the supplied .gif file could be opened by Graphics Workshop using its "mystery fle" option, but by no other program. This is the .gif file that was supplied (enlarged from about 1/4 inch square). The 3.8 megabyte .MSO file cannot be opened by any means to date.
At this point it was clear we could make no profit on this order. We had already expended far more time than should have ever been required to fill a simple order, and now the customer wanted a complete redo of the project. Still, we were determined to see the project through, at no additional charge. We replied as follows:
"You attached two files with this email. One is a gif that is not really a gif and cannot be opened. The other is a ".MSO" file. We have no idea what a MSO file is and cannot open it. Please re-send your changes/suggestions as a standard jpg image. Also, please be advised that you did specify a blue background on the data submission form. You have now changed that to a white background, which means we must re-make the template from scratch using the white template. Please do not make any more major changes. We are awaiting your JPG file showing what you want. Please understand that time is quickly running out."
When we didn't receive an immediate reply, we felt time was simply running out, so we created an entirely new template based on what we thought the customer "might" want and sent it for the customer's OK, as follows:
"We've attached another proof with a white background. Please reply as quickly as possible."
This email was sent with roughly two and a half hours remaining in which to print and ship (plenty of time to print and ship half a dozen sets).
emailed proof above
Within minutes of sending this email, we received the following email:
Please cancel Laura Fair's order for a giant check. Thank you,
Kelly Gormley, External Marketing MU North America
A few minutes later we received yet another email, which included the following line:
Unfortunately we have a very limited time line to work with and our business dealings with your company have been unacceptable. We have taken our business elsewhere.
Kelly Gormley
Indeed, this is the type of customer we want our competitors to have... We can't help but wonder if this company used our proof to show their new supplier what they wanted.
Bottom line:
If our existing Giant Checks templates won't work for your circumstances, we are almost certainly unwilling to perform custom work for you, due almost entirely to this experience. We have in the past worked with professional graphics artists who were able to communicate smoothly, professionally and competently to provide us with instructions regarding their customized Giant Checks orders. Unfortunately, there is no way to ascertain whether or not a customer can communicate efficiently and/or is a professional until some time has been invested in a given project. Since we are no longer willing to invest our time in fiascos like the above, we will no longer even entertain the prospect of deviating from our posted designs.
We apologize to those professionals who would have otherwise liked to have made use of our services. We are simply not willing to endure one more experience like the above.
TrixiePixGraphics
SONY-ERICSSON INC.
NORTH AMERICAN HEADQUARTERS
6300 LEGACY DR
PLANO, TX 75024-3607
Registered: 2103 8555 7490 2883 3429
ATTN: Carl-Henric Svanberg
This document will serve as legal notice that no employee or representative of Sony-Ericsson Inc., all inclusively, may contact us or order from us, TrixiePixGraphics.com, for any reason, at any time.
Cease and desist.
Our explanation may be viewed at the following URL:
http://www.trixiepixgraphics.com/ericsson.html
A print-out of the web page is attached.
Good day,
TrixiePixGraphics.com
9-5-04
CC: Attorney
BCC:
Encl: Website
