Good customer service is key in this economy

Times are tough. So why did two printing companies allow print jobs to slip through their fingers all due to bad customer service?

My firm had retained one printing company, The Marsid-M&M Group, for almost a year. The quality was good as was the customer service. If they made a mistake, they took care of it quickly and managed to keep us happy. Until last month.

Our department had a large print and mail fulfillment job that Marsid messed up at least three times---on top of a quote we approved that didn't include the postage. So when we received the invoice, we were flabbergasted. "Mail fulfillment" means mailing the items. So how were they going to quote mail fulfillment without the postage cost? If that charge is going to be separate, make it clear! There was absolutely no language suggesting that the postage wasn't included in the other costs.

After much argument, Marsid agreed to absorb part of the postage cost for their communication failure. It was our first and what I hope will be our worst mail fulfillment experience. We no longer use them for this service and are seeking new print companies altogether.

After doing some research, we found another company, DPI of Rochester Commercial Printing. Our first print job was successful, so we decided to get a quote for a reprint of our marketing materials. I sent an email to our DPI contact on Wednesday. This is where it gets absurdly unprofessional. When I called to leave a followup voicemail the next morning, I dialed his extension and got someone else's mailbox. The dude is also not listed in his companies directory.

So after speaking with the receptionist (who said that someone else had that mailbox before him and he must just "not know how to change it"), I left a voicemail anyway, making sure to clarify who the message was for. I waited til 2pm, gave up and called the other print company (the poor mail fulfillment services one). They were more than happy to do the $3600 job.

So Friday afternoon, the DPI sales rep called and sent an email. He said that he had been working remotely on Thursday and didn't have access to his email. And you didn't read my email on Wednesday? Or check your voicemail when you're working remotely? People in sales these days are fighting for business, and you wait 48 hours to get back to me? What an idiot.

If anyone knows any good print companies, please let me know. It's becoming painful dealing with vendors who clearly aren't concerned about retaining business.