[KaceMN]

I'm always dealing with the dreaded call-back for 1 or 2 extra shirts, RIGHT after I reclaimed the screens for an order...and the customer always expects to pay the same price they paid (per shirt) for their initial order....because, after all, all you have to do is grab a few shirts and print 'em quick...right???

There's nothing I hate more than making a whopping total of $15 on three shirts that took me 90 minutes to make.

Does anyone have a good method of dealing with this?? You can't really offer them at the same price as the initial batch, can you? How do you go about pricing reorders and explaining the reorder process to customers??

 

[JeridHill]

Usually I would ask if they plan on needing more. If they said there's a possibility, I tell them I would hold the screens for 2 weeks. If after that, they would need to pay a reduced price for new screens.

 

[KaceMN]

Usually I would ask if they plan on needing more. If they said there's a possibility, I tell them I would hold the screens for 2 weeks. If after that, they would need to pay a reduced price for new screens.

So you still give them the initial price inside of two weeks??? Even if it's a multi-color order that will require a good bit of time just to re-align screens??

I was thinking of telling customers that I would charge them an additional re-setup fee of $5 per color, per location inside of two weeks. Outside of two weeks would be treated as a completely independent order.

 

[JeridHill]

I've been always under the guise of repeat business. Sometimes it's out of their control and almost always they feel terrible about it. Depending on the complexity of the registration, I would say the same price but there would be a registration fee. I would sell screens at $25 per color and if it was a reorder, those dropped to $15.

 

[Jsaladin]

Depending on what I am making the shirts for. I keep all my screens for 2 weeks minimum. I also have on my pricesheet that there is a setup fee on any reorder of 5 shirts or less and there is an option of having a rush order for 30% more (emergencys happen). I feel its always better to let the customer know upfront vs. telling them when they call about getting more shirts. A couple weeks ago I did an order for a church and the lady called on the day of their event and asked if I could make 15 more shirts. It happened to be a saturday and my suplier was closed. I told her that I could make some calls and see if I could find some shirts for her from any of my friends that are in the business as well. Long story short (its long already) I printed the 15 shirts and she didnt have a problem paying the rush fee because she knew about it ahead of time.

 

[VBGrafx]

We keep the screens for a while, if it is an event. Some screens we have stored for years. We charge a Re-setup fee of $20.00 per color. That way they will think twice before comming in for 1 shirt. But, if they want to spend the setup fee we will do it for them.

I ALWAYS let them know that there is a 12 shirt minimum, no matter what. Most of the time I give them the shirts for around the same price. But, if they come back months or a year later, the price reflects the amount of (new) shirts they order.

Repeat customers generaly will get a discounted price anyway. On the bill it shows Reg. price and then their discounted price. So, I wouldn't worry so much about them getting mad. I am totally upfront on all my charges, so no shock when they come back.

I'll tell you this, the longer I have been in business the less the 1 shirt thing happens. I stress for the client to order more shirts than they need. The extra shirts never go to waste.

 

[Texsource Scott]

I'm always dealing with the dreaded call-back for 1 or 2 extra shirts, RIGHT after I reclaimed the screens for an order...and the customer always expects to pay the same price they paid (per shirt) for their initial order....because, after all, all you have to do is grab a few shirts and print 'em quick...right???

There's nothing I hate more than making a whopping total of $15 on three shirts that took me 90 minutes to make.

Does anyone have a good method of dealing with this?? You can't really offer them at the same price as the initial batch, can you? How do you go about pricing reorders and explaining the reorder process to customers??

Every screen printer out there has faced this dilemma at least once. I agree with some of the suggestions below. You really have to know your customer and the local market. Will the local market allow you to charge for setting up for 2 shirts. I know printers that battle with being able to charge their customers for a setup charge on a 100-200 piece run nevertheless a 2 piece run. Also, does the potential repeat business outweigh the hassle that may arise if you try to slap a steep registration/setup charge on them. This is one of those clear questions with an unclear answer.

 

[KaceMN]

Every screen printer out there has faced this dilemma at least once. I agree with some of the suggestions below. You really have to know your customer and the local market. Will the local market allow you to charge for setting up for 2 shirts. I know printers that battle with being able to charge their customers for a setup charge on a 100-200 piece run nevertheless a 2 piece run. Also, does the potential repeat business outweigh the hassle that may arise if you try to slap a steep registration/setup charge on them. This is one of those clear questions with an unclear answer.

I agree...it really puts us in a pickle--do we go above and beyond for our customers to get them a good deal...or do we make sure we're not GIVING our valuable time away for nothing??

It seems like it's impossible to do both...so I guess the best thing to do is just to be very up front with customers about reorder policies and charges. But then it seems that they think you're just being difficult and trying to take their money...most customers don't understand how in-depth the setup process is. I like to tell customers that it takes me about an hour to print the first shirt, and an hour and a quarter to print 25...there's the reasoning for the relationship between price and quantity.

 

[JeridHill]

From my experience, if you clearly spell things out up front, then they are more apt to order within your guidelines to save them money.

I had one lady I worked with years ago who I was doing logo design for. I didn't clearly make all of my prices fully known to her. She wanted the logo digitized after I designed it. After it was digitized, I made everything and billed her. She freaked out because I charged her $300 for logo design. She thought the logo design was included in a $75 digitized image. I went round about with her and explained how it's impossible to do all of that for a digitized fee. I told her up front there were costs involved with the design, but because I didn't have it on the wall in my office for her to see immediately, she decided she didn't want to pay me.

In the end, I forgave her of the debt and learned a big lesson. If you tell someone up front the costs and they walk away, then they never "valued" your abilities and business. I have one customer who insisted on my charging for my design time whatever I wanted to him. I upped my price from $35 an hour to $75 an hour and he didn't blink. That was probably 5 years ago. To this date, he is still a good customer. If you lay out the details up front and they value you, they will be back. If they don't, they won't. In my experience, the ones that don't value what you have to offer, are the very ones that will be problematic when paying the bill.

 

[Dynamic J]

I really think anything like this should be looked at on a case-by-case basis. There are too many imponderable's. Most of the time even making a tiny margin on the work is worth your customers satisfaction. Most of them know when you are doing them a favour and are thankful. If you're making $15 but are likely to have the order repeated and gain a loyal customer, go for it.

And like some of the other members have said, if you advise them before they place the order to buy more than they need, they'll learn! Customers always think they know best, it's up to us to gently nudge them in the right direction but still let them believe they're making all the decisions