Frustrating Business Card Printing Experience

[dogememe]

As a small business owner, I always try to support small businesses. But today I got so frustrated trying to get something simple done that I went with a big corporate company.

• Local print shop 1: Horribly rude owner last time I went there so I'll never even consider going there again.
• Local print shop 2: I went on a weekday afternoon and they were closed although their own website, Yelp, and Google profile all state they're open M-F 9-5. Checking Yelp and Google reviews shows that this is a frequent occurrence and that one person had to go multiple times across multiple weeks to get in touch with someone to pick up their order.
• Local print shop 3: Submitted request for quote on contact form on their website weeks ago and never got a response.
• Local print shop 4: Was very friendly and responsive but minimum quantity for a business card order was 1000, which was overkill for my current needs. But they seemed very pleasant and professional so I might try them in the future.

So anyway, I finally just gave up, ordered on Staples website around 10AM today (a Saturday). Uploading my files and ordering took less than 5 minutes and was super easy. It said it would be ready at 5PM, but I just got an email and phone call they're ready and it's not even 1PM. It was $36.

Anyone else frustrated by this type of stuff?

It's the same thing across all sorts of industries. Many people I know take their car to the dealership and nowhere else, simply because of how many bad experiences they've had with local shops.

But, of course, there are plenty of AWESOME small/local businesses. But when you find them, please do recommend them to other people, leave them a nice Yelp or Google, and be sure to keep going there, because it does mean a lot to them. /endrant.

 

[SC Maintenance]

I am actually shocked to learn local print shops still exist.

I think Vistaprint has the business card market cornered.

 

[dogememe]

I am actually shocked to learn local print shops still exist.

I think Vistaprint has the business card market cornered.

Yeah, I've used Vistaprint before. They're OK, but unless you spend enough to get free shipping you may as well just buy it locally.

 

[Boomer]

Some years ago my wife and I stopped in a small town in NE PA, very close to the NY border to shop in the antique stores there. There were about five and all had signs saying they opened at 9 AM. We waited until 9:30 with about 50 other people and none of them opened. Everyone left and went on their way. What a stupid way to run a business.

Near us today is a closed forever quilt shop. They did quite well until the new owner said she did not like people just walking in to shop. She required that you set an appointment and not stay more than 30 minutes. Needless to say, she went out of business very quickly.

 

[levi]

Near us today is a closed forever quilt shop. They did quite well until the new owner said she did not like people just walking in to shop. She required that you set an appointment and not stay more than 30 minutes. Needless to say, she went out of business very quickly.

What a control freak. This person had no business being in business.

 

[researcher]

As a small business owner, I always try to support small businesses. But today I got so frustrated trying to get something simple done that I went with a big corporate company.

• Local print shop 1: Horribly rude owner last time I went there so I'll never even consider going there again.
• Local print shop 2: I went on a weekday afternoon and they were closed although their own website, Yelp, and Google profile all state they're open M-F 9-5. Checking Yelp and Google reviews shows that this is a frequent occurrence and that one person had to go multiple times across multiple weeks to get in touch with someone to pick up their order.
• Local print shop 3: Submitted request for quote on contact form on their website weeks ago and never got a response.
• Local print shop 4: Was very friendly and responsive but minimum quantity for a business card order was 1000, which was overkill for my current needs. But they seemed very pleasant and professional so I might try them in the future.

So anyway, I finally just gave up, ordered on Staples website around 10AM today (a Saturday). Uploading my files and ordering took less than 5 minutes and was super easy. It said it would be ready at 5PM, but I just got an email and phone call they're ready and it's not even 1PM. It was $36.

Anyone else frustrated by this type of stuff?

It's the same thing across all sorts of industries. Many people I know take their car to the dealership and nowhere else, simply because of how many bad experiences they've had with local shops.

But, of course, there are plenty of AWESOME small/local businesses. But when you find them, please do recommend them to other people, leave them a nice Yelp or Google, and be sure to keep going there, because it does mean a lot to them. /endrant.

and the crazy part is when those small business owners go out of business for their lack of any kind of customer service, they'll blame the big corporate "BAD GUY" for putting them out of business. It's always easier to blame someone else NOT the fact that THEY did it to themselves!

 

[JunkdrawerDog]

A lot of these kind of small businesses are run by people who, more or less, use it as a hobby. That's ok. They can do as they please. It sure makes it hard to do business with though.

 

[The_Jeff]

I always thought business card printing was a loss leader so they could sell your info to B2B directories, and market other cool stuff with your logo on it to you.

 

[PF52]

I think Vistaprint was the place I used also. I'll have to double-check the box. I don't look at it often.

Turnaround time was super fast, and they let me design my own card, upload my own photo JPG, etc. The local place here couldn't do any of that.

 

[2005jettatdi]

My last, and final, batch of business cards came from Costco.

 

[VWRand]

I use an online vendor called 123Print. Had a really nice template I liked and easy to customize

 

[grasscutter]

Can I ask you guys how you go about designing a business card?

 

[dogememe]

Can I ask you guys how you go about designing a business card?

You could use a template but I prefer to either hire a professional designer or do it myself.

 

[fantastic]

Retired small business owner myself. I will point out that my communication & refund policy was spot on. There are folks that run a business that have no business skills. I had none but common sense. I talked to every customer with a concern like I was there for them fully & responsibly. If things didn't go as planned or they asked for a refund it would be done same-day. Not intended to be a self promotion it just still shocks me just how bad Customer Service can be run.

 

[D60]

Anyone else frustrated by this type of stuff?

It's the same thing across all sorts of industries. Many people I know take their car to the dealership and nowhere else, simply because of how many bad experiences they've had with local shops.

But, of course, there are plenty of AWESOME small/local businesses. But when you find them, please do recommend them to other people, leave them a nice Yelp or Google, and be sure to keep going there, because it does mean a lot to them. /endrant.

A: YES

My county started a "Look Local First" campaign, which just causes me to chuckle.

I gave up on such long before they even had the campaign. I can order online and have stuff shipped to my door. It's about convenience and time saving.

Much of this is just refusing to accept the way things are moving, like buggy makers shaking their fists at those infernal new cars. Small business owners will have to adapt -- or at the very least set themselves apart with SUPERIOR service, and very few understand this as you learned.

 

[JustinH]

I use fiverr to pay a designer in Bangladesh for a business card design, about $20. I upload the PDF to any of the online print shops and have the card delivered within a week.