A followup on OvernightPrints.com…
Looks like my previous post, “Small Biz Warning: OvernightPrints.com” got some attention on the Web, lol. Apparently, Dan, OP’s customer relations manager, came across a link to my blog and reached out to me via email to apologize for what went down.
I basically told him that I appreciated the reach-out–but if OP really wanted to rectify things, I requested that they immediadtely re-send me the cards I’d originally ordered, free of charge (I’d already gotten a refund after my complaint), including shipping. (I’d never received them after they got sent to the wrong address and a rep told the recipient they’d “handle it” and to just throw them out). Dan did agree to re-send the cards; I received them a few days later.
My verdict: After all was said and done, the cards did come out very nice, and I’m satisfied with the end result. But in no way was it worth all the hassle! Also, although they did reach out to apologize to me, I was the one who had to bring up the free re-shipping of the business cards–IMO, they should have offered this themselves (or at least another free replacement order). So, no–I definitely won’t be dealing with OP anymore, regardless. My advice to OP–although your efforts to resolve this complaint was appreciated, like the saying goes–an ounce of prevention (i.e. streamlining your process & staying on top of customer satisfaction in the first place) is worth a pound of cure (i.e. placating pissed-off customers!)
Small Biz Warning: OvernightPrints.com
OvernightPrints.com is on my you-know-what list! I have no problems shouting out great service & products, but if you’re providing the opposite—believe me, I’m coming for you just as hard!
Here’s the deal: A trusted friend & colleague referred OP to me, to print my new business card design. (She'd had no problems with them the one time she used them, so she wouldn't have known.) Checked out the site, and I was liking what I saw in terms of pricing, services, usability, etc. I modified my card design according to their specs, uploaded it to see a preview (their instructions were pretty user-friendly), and being satisfied, I placed my order for 100 double-sided business cards (the total was $24.61).
That was on Sunday, March 19.
Fast forward to like, nearly three weeks later—still no business cards. After a combination of sometime forgetting they hadn’t arrived and giving them the benefit of the doubt (shipping delays, etc. that could happen), I was finally like, “Hold up—where are my cards?” Usually, a company will email you with a “your product has been shipped” notification, but I'd gotten no such thing from good ol’ Overnight Prints. I pulled up my order on their website, and with the tracking number, found that my business cards—get this—had indeed been delivered on March 31—to an address in Wheeling, Illinois! (Mind you, I’m waay over here in Connecticut.) Signed for by some person I’d never heard of.
Of course, I was heated by then, and initially not sure who dropped the ball—OP, or UPS. After complaining to the UPS representative (I thought it was their fault at first), I got the name of the company at that address. I then Googled the company, found the website & contact info, called & left a message. The next day, I got a call back from a woman there who said she was the one who’d signed for my cards when they arrived. She said that she’d ordered business cards herself from Overnight Prints about two weeks prior—they basically screwed up her order and sent her my cards, instead! After opening the package and seeing my cards instead of hers, she called OP to complain and ask what she should do with my cards. Know what she said they told her? “Oh, you can go ahead and just throw those out—we’ll handle that order from our end.”
Excuse me?
You can’t imagine how livid I was with OP on that. First of all, how do you just instruct someone to just disregard & chuck the order that I’ve been waiting on for nearly three weeks? Furthermore, they didn’t “handle” anything—nobody called me to inform me of what happened. Nope, I had to piece all this together by calling all over the place and getting my “mini-detective” on, lol.
So, that was over the weekend—on Monday morning, I called OP and (of course), all their representatives were “busy” & I was prompted to leave a message, which I did. I then sent them an email stating what had happened, and a demand for a response in 24 hours or less agreeing to either free, immediate, overnight delivery of my cards, or an immediate refund of my money. So far, I’ve gotten no response from them yet. Go figure.
I’ve heard tons of people talk about how they were on hold with OP for up to an hour at a time—oh, I so don’t have time for that! Either way, I’m getting my money back, so although I’m pissed & inconvenienced, I’m not worried. One of the benefits of paying via credit card is that consumers do have recourse through their credit card companies, by filing for a charge dispute if you’ve been wronged. (It works every time, and if a company gets enough complaints, their merchant status can eventually be dropped from the credit card company.) Also, don’t forget to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau (with which Overnight Prints happens to have an “F” rating).
Well, kids—this experience has reminded me of two things: One, it’s good to check out what people are saying about a company before you do business with them (also by simply Googling the company’s name+complaints)—which is something I admittedly failed to do this time, lol. Secondly, the old saying still rings true—you do get what you pay for!
See other feedback and information about OvernightPrints.com:
Better Business Bureau company report on OvernightPrints.com
The teleclasses are here!
It’s a great new day at The Small Biz Helper & Right Hand Concepts. Why? Because yesterday, I gave one of my first teleclasses, “”Start Up, Not Screw Up: The Top 5 Mistakes Made By New Small Business Owners—and How to Avoid Them.” It was a free, 30-minute teleclass that I’ll be giving again probably sometime next month, so don’t be upset if you missed it, lol. (A teleclass is basically a class or seminar that’s given over the phone, like a conference call.)
As I discovered, teleclasses (whether free or fee-based) are a great way to spread your expertise to potential clients and get your name out there. I always love to pass on small business resources–if you’re thinking of holding your own teleclass, MyFreeTeleconference.com offers free teleclass bridges, and even lets you record your seminar (in case you want it available for clients to listen to later).
Also, SurveyShare.com is a free service that allows you to set surveys for your clients to take–great after providing a service or teleclass to them (feedback is always nice!)
I’ll be giving more teleclasses on various subjects in the near future (I’m on a roll, now!). If you’d like to be notified for upcoming ones, sign up at http://www.thesmallbizhelper.com/newsletter.htm. With your signup, you’ll receive my free e-booklet, The Small Biz Helper’s Guide to 11 Legit Home-Based Businesses.
Entrepreneurally yours,
Vonetta Booker-Brown (The Small Biz Helper)
Hello world!
Hi, all:
I’d like to welcome you to the new & improved blog for both The Small Biz Helper and Right Hand Concepts. Many of you may already know me through Right Hand Concepts, which is my virtual assistance practice–but since I’m all about helping entrepreneurs really do their thing, The Small Biz Helper is my “new baby,” in place to help entrepreneurs’ businesses really take off through great resources, teleclasses, workshops, tips and more.
In this blog, I’ll be posting lots of tips and articles on marketing, business plans, etc.–because we could all use information on how to get more clients, right? So, stay tuned!
Entrepreneurially Yours,
Vonetta Booker-Brown (The Small Biz Helper)
