missing shirts?

[alan802]

This happens all the time, and we count the job 3 times before it leaves our doors.  It's frustrating as hell but we always take care of the customer.  I can't stand it because I know it's the customer's fault.  They didn't order enough of a certain size, or someone got into the box and took shirts that didn't belong, or it's some other reason that has nothing to do with us not delivering what we were supposed to.

[Screened Gear]

That’s it I am going to put a tracking device on all shirts I send out. I will find the missing shirts and charge the person that took them with robbery. Really what can we do. Have every customer count the shirts before they leave. If you ship them out they have to call you to get the combination to the box that you put a padlock on. Then you stay on the phone as they count the shirts.

Alan if this happens all the time your losing tons of time resetting up jobs to print a few shirts for free. That sucks.

[Fluid]

That’s it I am going to put a tracking device on all shirts I send out. I will find the missing shirts and charge the person that took them with robbery. Really what can we do. Have every customer count the shirts before they leave. If you ship them out they have to call you to get the combination to the box that you put a padlock on. Then you stay on the phone as they count the shirts.

Alan if this happens all the time your losing tons of time resetting up jobs to print a few shirts for free. That sucks.

Not only that you are loosing valuable time that could be spent somewhere else that is needed and making your company money.   Customer Service on issues like this cost more than you think. Too many small business owners never account for their own personal wage. You should be making somewhat around at least $100 per hour personally. It took you 2 hours to deal with the customer and issue. Not only did you have to spend $200 on good, you have the cost of screens, set up time, press time and your wages of $200. That issue cost you more than you think.

Hate it yet like mentioned before, you now have a happy customer and most likely a repeat customer and some possible referrals.

[Homer]

200.00 gone -for now- but over the lifetime of this customer, you'll make it back no problem. sometimes, we toss a extra hour of design time on the next order or two, just to make up that lost 200.00, if you know what I mean. . .

Thats not honest but I guess they started that game. I could never do that but I made enough on the job that $200 is not that big of a deal.

oh but it is, we give out discounted art all the time. drive me nuts, next time you get slapped with full price.. plain and simple. We had a bad case of the shortages about 6-8 months back, couldn't figure it out. We count everything when it comes in, count while being printed and count out with a packing list and signatures of who packed it -tape it on the box. Some of them I did myself. We can always fall back on the misprint clause, but it still leaves a PO'd customer. So I guess the best thing to do is put a buffer in your pricing program, nothing huge -just enough to account for errors.  sometimes you can tell when someone is blowing smoke up your butt, so nail'em twice. . .if we did make the mistake, we fix it 100% and more. . .

[Northland]

I send extra shirts in every order..... and I MAKE SURE the customer knows that.
I've never had a call about missing shirts.
I build the cost into my price structure. The true price is between $10-$20 per order, but the customer perceives it to be a value of $30-$50. So, I think it breeds repeat business.
Many times the person placing the order is a front man for a group... the last thing I want is for it to turn into a big hassle for him/her.
A couple extra shirts solves:
--- the guy who ordered the wrong size
--- a bad seam or pinhole
--- the person that turned in their request too late.
--- etc.

The $10-$20 hit in profit is covered in increased productivity (no reprints) and in marketing (good will).

[sweetts]

yep the shirts for spoilage get sent if there is no spoilage, they paid for them anyway just no markup

Sent  from samsung gem(the worst smart phone ever)

[alan802]

That’s it I am going to put a tracking device on all shirts I send out. I will find the missing shirts and charge the person that took them with robbery. Really what can we do. Have every customer count the shirts before they leave. If you ship them out they have to call you to get the combination to the box that you put a padlock on. Then you stay on the phone as they count the shirts.

Alan if this happens all the time your losing tons of time resetting up jobs to print a few shirts for free. That sucks.

It happens with one customer every time they order, and it's a 6/5 on darks with 6 different copies on the back, and the sales person will not take care of the issue.  I'm going to take care of it for him if he doesn't do it the next time it happens.  Sucks for him because they are friends of his, but we can't run a business like this.

By all the time I mean once a month, maybe we'll go a quarter without it happening, but it's 10+times a year.

[screenxpress]

I send extra shirts in every order..... and I MAKE SURE the customer knows that.
I've never had a call about missing shirts.
I build the cost into my price structure. The true price is between $10-$20 per order, but the customer perceives it to be a value of $30-$50. So, I think it breeds repeat business.
Many times the person placing the order is a front man for a group... the last thing I want is for it to turn into a big hassle for him/her.
A couple extra shirts solves:
--- the guy who ordered the wrong size
--- a bad seam or pinhole
--- the person that turned in their request too late.
--- etc.

The $10-$20 hit in profit is covered in increased productivity (no reprints) and in marketing (good will).

I have always done that and made sure the customer knows it.  I'm not a big printer, but I've never had a "short" order complaint.

[prozyan]

I send extra shirts in every order

Anytime I ship, I send extras as well.

For pickup orders, we offer to do a count with the customer.  Whether they accept to do the count or not, they sign for the items when they pick up and we state and have in writing that their signature indicates the order is complete and the count is correct.

[mk162]

I had a customer that did this every time they ordered.  The last order was counted 4 times and they still claimed shirts were missing.

Last year they said shirts were missing that were never ordered.  I politely called her a liar and they informed me they are looking for a new screen printer.  Works for me, they were not a customer I was concerned about keeping.  the profit in the job was eaten up by them needing more shirts every year.

[Scobey Peterman]

For big runs we label ever box and these firgues need to match the order sheet. We tell the customer we have labeled the boxes so if there is a problem they can add the numbers up to see if they match.

I'm not saying we do not miss something, because we do.  But this helps to keep our numbers straight.

[jsheridan]

"NO you are not missing shirts, either you can't count or someone you know is stealing shirts from you"

This is my normal response for 'those' calls.

Count sheets verified 3 times with a count sheet in the box allow me to call any customer a liar who says they are missing shirts.

Custy's who lie to me for free shirts are not custy's that I want to keep anyway.

[Frog]

"NO you are not missing shirts, either you can't count or someone you know is stealing shirts from you"

This is my normal response for 'those' calls.

Count sheets verified 3 times with a count sheet in the box allow me to call any customer a liar who says they are missing shirts.

Custy's who lie to me for free shirts are not custy's that I want to keep anyway.

I agree with the sentiment, but as I and others point out, it's often not the actual customer lying, but rather their people stealing. True, after delivery, the customer is the legal victim, but some here have just figured out a way to help a customer they value.
Just not repeatedly!

[jsheridan]

but some here have just figured out a way to help a customer they value.
Just not repeatedly!

It's amazing the things people will do for a custy they 'value'

[Frog]

Yep, and some of these customers are well worth it as long as the problem is not ongoing, and a few dollars fixes it.

Great service like this can help the bottom line, though each case needs to be handled  (or not) on its own merits.
The tips I received just in the last two days show how much some folks appreciate the extra service I sometimes give.