The importance of Quality Control

[Grant Lamontagne]

Last week I ordered new business cards and I decided to splurge on some good ones.  Good card stock, full color front and back, the whole nine yards as it were.  After all, this is my business, and when you meet up with people on site the first thing everyone does is start collecting and trading cards like they were only available in select cereal boxes.  After much anticipation they arrived this morning.  I was actually sitting at the desk in the front of the house, overlooking the seat and saw the courier pull up, and I was at the door before he was!

I quickly opened the package and was excited to see a logo mouse pad (add on that I clicked on because it looked cool, and does) and the engraved steel business card holder (that I also added on in the checkout because I'm highly susceptible to impulse buying), both of which look great.  I then opened the brick of cards and my excitement immediately dropped off.

The card I had spent some time designing had a vertical line going right through my name, email address etc!



A quick look through the deck showed that this issue was pretty much through the first half of them!   

Then I noticed the other half of them.... 



They cut the cards so crooked that there is a white line at the top and my email address is cut off at the bottom!   

This looks like a home job done on your printer with the Avery punch out cards, which is maybe what I should have done, rather than pay big money for these ones.  I mean, this is glossy print on card stock thicker than a cereal box!  If you put these in the spokes of your kid's bike, he won't sound like a motorbike, he will come to a very sudden stop.

At any rate, the printer is a very big name company and I am sure they will fix this, so I won't embarrass them by publishing their name here, but it goes to show that even the biggest companies can totally drop the ball on something, and why you should never base a total opinion of a company on one product.  Everyone has an off day, and apparently I got them on theirs.

I just hope I can get replacement cards, either from them or from someone else before I head off to the next job!   

Def

[magentus]

  just 

Hope they make this better quickly boss.

[Grant Lamontagne]

just 

Hope they make this better quickly boss.

You and me both.  The next job was originally scheduled for the 25th, so the timing would have been tight but doable.... lucky for them the job has been pushed off until the 1st, so they have lots of time to sort out the problem.

Def

[Kev D]

The black part of the card looks like its rubbing off easily as well, that doesn't seem like quality either

[Etherealicer]

 

I once wanted to print a flyer that was basically blue... came back purple and they tried to blame it on me because me as an amateur should have known better than to use the default color profile, I should have switched to the one you have to download/install first...

[Grant Lamontagne]

I'm not sure how a company can get anywhere by letting such shoddy workmanship out the door.  Now it is going to cost them twice as much to fill this order.

Def

[ThePeacent]

make 'em pay!   
Even more if it's a big name company, those tend to believe that their fame and number of followers will be enough to dissuade an unhappy customer and make him not try and protest, but it's your money, time and effort so don't show mercy, but give them another opportunity to get it right. 

Good luck Boss   

[Syncop8r]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZVkW9p-cCU

[ReamerPunch]

 
I hate it when that happens. I hope their Customer Service is better than their QC.

[Joe58]

Nothing drives me more crazy than eagerly awaiting an order, finally gets there, quickly open it up, only to find it’s all jacked up. Now you have to go through hassle with the company to make it right. You have to wonder, who in the world inspected these and signed off on the order.

Hopefully it’ll all be made right!

[multiprim]

I am huge OCD about this sort of thing (pretty much like American Psycho, which I have on Blu-Ray [okay, maybe not *that* bad]). Used to be a little bit of a font nut (now, I'm just a Condensed Sans Serif-style guy).

That said, I'm also a cheap so & so (about some things).

Over the years, I've used GotPrint for all our business cards, which I put together with Business Card Composer (Mac), then transfer as a PDF. I believe only once did they screw up an order (3+ years ago). It was the one time I used their online approval method, instead of the manual via email way I'd always used. Went back to the 24-hour method, no probs since. They've been great, except for that one time.

That line issue, and then that cut-off thing, would've been a super big let down for me.

I hope they make it right for you.

[AlephZero]

FAIL!



Let's hope they will fix it soon, boss!

[Grant Lamontagne]

I sent them an email as soon as the problem was discovered on Thursday morning and I got a form response stating they would get back to me in 24 hours or less.  By mid afternoon on Friday I still hadn't heard back so I gave them a call.  Apparently no one got my email, and they don't have a record of it, so it's a good thing I called.

They were extremely apologetic about the issue and are cranking out a new batch for me, which they say I should have by next Friday at the latest.  I am content with that, and I will keep these ones as backups in case I run out of good ones sometime in the future.

This company is renowned or their customer service, so I had no doubt that they would look after it, and they did.  I have no complaints about that.  What bothers me is that these issues are painfully obvious, and could have been picked up by even the slightest amount of human intervention.  I know QC won't catch everything, but these are glaringly obvious issues, akin to Leatherman sending out a Rebar with plier heads attached at both ends of the handles, or Victorinox sending out a knife with nothing but fish scalers.   

I am a firm believer that poop happens, but in this case I think it is cost prohibitive to have to do a second run because it is cheaper than having someone man the shop and look for potential problems, especially when you have to then pay for someone to answer the phone, deal with the customer issues and re-submit the order.  Take one of those poor buggers off the phone and set them loose in the print shop and you'll save a lot more time/money.   

Def

[ToolJoe]

Glad you caught the blunders before you started giving out your cards 

[AlephZero]

I sent them an email as soon as the problem was discovered on Thursday morning and I got a form response stating they would get back to me in 24 hours or less.  By mid afternoon on Friday I still hadn't heard back so I gave them a call.  Apparently no one got my email, and they don't have a record of it, so it's a good thing I called.

They were extremely apologetic about the issue and are cranking out a new batch for me, which they say I should have by next Friday at the latest.  I am content with that, and I will keep these ones as backups in case I run out of good ones sometime in the future.

This company is renowned or their customer service, so I had no doubt that they would look after it, and they did.  I have no complaints about that.  What bothers me is that these issues are painfully obvious, and could have been picked up by even the slightest amount of human intervention.  I know QC won't catch everything, but these are glaringly obvious issues, akin to Leatherman sending out a Rebar with plier heads attached at both ends of the handles, or Victorinox sending out a knife with nothing but fish scalers.   

I am a firm believer that poop happens, but in this case I think it is cost prohibitive to have to do a second run because it is cheaper than having someone man the shop and look for potential problems, especially when you have to then pay for someone to answer the phone, deal with the customer issues and re-submit the order.  Take one of those poor buggers off the phone and set them loose in the print shop and you'll save a lot more time/money.   

Def

Fish scalers now?

Oh ye of little faith...



Syph is way ahead of Victorinox on that...



 

[Don Pablo]

I sent them an email as soon as the problem was discovered on Thursday morning and I got a form response stating they would get back to me in 24 hours or less.  By mid afternoon on Friday I still hadn't heard back so I gave them a call.  Apparently no one got my email, and they don't have a record of it, so it's a good thing I called.

They were extremely apologetic about the issue and are cranking out a new batch for me, which they say I should have by next Friday at the latest.  I am content with that, and I will keep these ones as backups in case I run out of good ones sometime in the future.

This company is renowned or their customer service, so I had no doubt that they would look after it, and they did.  I have no complaints about that.  What bothers me is that these issues are painfully obvious, and could have been picked up by even the slightest amount of human intervention.  I know QC won't catch everything, but these are glaringly obvious issues, akin to Leatherman sending out a Rebar with plier heads attached at both ends of the handles, or Victorinox sending out a knife with nothing but fish scalers.   

I am a firm believer that poop happens, but in this case I think it is cost prohibitive to have to do a second run because it is cheaper than having someone man the shop and look for potential problems, especially when you have to then pay for someone to answer the phone, deal with the customer issues and re-submit the order.  Take one of those poor buggers off the phone and set them loose in the print shop and you'll save a lot more time/money.   

Def

Fish scalers now?

Oh ye of little faith...

(Image removed from quote.)

Syph is way ahead of Victorinox on that...



 

Hehe. 
Here's my (less impessive) version:

[ThePeacent]

I sent them an email as soon as the problem was discovered on Thursday morning and I got a form response stating they would get back to me in 24 hours or less.  By mid afternoon on Friday I still hadn't heard back so I gave them a call.  Apparently no one got my email, and they don't have a record of it, so it's a good thing I called.

They were extremely apologetic about the issue and are cranking out a new batch for me, which they say I should have by next Friday at the latest.  I am content with that, and I will keep these ones as backups in case I run out of good ones sometime in the future.

This company is renowned or their customer service, so I had no doubt that they would look after it, and they did.  I have no complaints about that.  What bothers me is that these issues are painfully obvious, and could have been picked up by even the slightest amount of human intervention.  I know QC won't catch everything, but these are glaringly obvious issues, akin to Leatherman sending out a Rebar with plier heads attached at both ends of the handles, or Victorinox sending out a knife with nothing but fish scalers.   

I am a firm believer that poop happens, but in this case I think it is cost prohibitive to have to do a second run because it is cheaper than having someone man the shop and look for potential problems, especially when you have to then pay for someone to answer the phone, deal with the customer issues and re-submit the order.  Take one of those poor buggers off the phone and set them loose in the print shop and you'll save a lot more time/money.   

Def

Fish scalers now?

Oh ye of little faith...

(Image removed from quote.)

Syph is way ahead of Victorinox on that...



 

Syph's work immediately came to mind as I read Def's sentence "or Victorinox sending out a knife with nothing but fish scalers.   "

 

[AlephZero]

I sent them an email as soon as the problem was discovered on Thursday morning and I got a form response stating they would get back to me in 24 hours or less.  By mid afternoon on Friday I still hadn't heard back so I gave them a call.  Apparently no one got my email, and they don't have a record of it, so it's a good thing I called.

They were extremely apologetic about the issue and are cranking out a new batch for me, which they say I should have by next Friday at the latest.  I am content with that, and I will keep these ones as backups in case I run out of good ones sometime in the future.

This company is renowned or their customer service, so I had no doubt that they would look after it, and they did.  I have no complaints about that.  What bothers me is that these issues are painfully obvious, and could have been picked up by even the slightest amount of human intervention.  I know QC won't catch everything, but these are glaringly obvious issues, akin to Leatherman sending out a Rebar with plier heads attached at both ends of the handles, or Victorinox sending out a knife with nothing but fish scalers.   

I am a firm believer that poop happens, but in this case I think it is cost prohibitive to have to do a second run because it is cheaper than having someone man the shop and look for potential problems, especially when you have to then pay for someone to answer the phone, deal with the customer issues and re-submit the order.  Take one of those poor buggers off the phone and set them loose in the print shop and you'll save a lot more time/money.   

Def

Fish scalers now?

Oh ye of little faith...

(Image removed from quote.)

Syph is way ahead of Victorinox on that...



 

Syph's work immediately came to mind as I read Def's sentence "or Victorinox sending out a knife with nothing but fish scalers.   "

 

Allegedly, great minds think alike...

[Grant Lamontagne]

The replacement cards arrived safe and sound yesterday, and look a heck of a lot better.  I haven't gone through them all, but the spot checks I did came up a lot better this time around.





I think next time I'll go with a thinner card stock- these seem a bit too thick.  I didn't realize cards came this thick, so I felt safe maxing it out.  Now I know better, next time I'll get something a bit more reasonable, but that is at least my mistake, and I am willing to make concessions for my own errors! 

Def

Def

[ThePeacent]

The replacement cards arrived safe and sound yesterday, and look a heck of a lot better.  I haven't gone through them all, but the spot checks I did came up a lot better this time around.

(Image removed from quote.)

(Image removed from quote.)

I think next time I'll go with a thinner card stock- these seem a bit too thick.  I didn't realize cards came this thick, so I felt safe maxing it out.  Now I know better, next time I'll get something a bit more reasonable, but that is at least my mistake, and I am willing to make concessions for my own errors! 

Def

Def

that's great Boss.   
One question about your cards, it's written "Specializing in Damage Claims, [...] Food Product [...]"

what is your speSmurfpillsation/field/role in relation to food product? What do you do exactly? It's one of my favorite subjects and a field I've got much interest for, so I'm just curious. Thanks!   

[Grant Lamontagne]

In most places, food products are not considered food products until they are packaged or prepared as food products.  When they are shipped, they are just like any other product.  I used to run security for a plant that handled (packaged) sugar, and they would move the piles of refined sugar around with bulldozers and backhoes.   

As a surveyor I have handled all kinds of food products, from grain to lentils to meats, bread products and so on.  One particular job I did was a refrigerated container load of bread dough coming from either Spain or Italy- I can't recall which.  Either way, somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean the refrigeration unit died and we were called in to assess the damage.  My boss kept telling me we needed an accurate inventory for the claim.  Unfortunately it was the middle of August and 30C out, and this dough had been in the container for about a week with no refrigeration.  There was no way to get an accurate inventory, as when we opened it, it was one giant Jabba the Hutt blob of dough spilling out.

I'd handled everything from bad meat and sea food to hot chocolate power.  We have done fish inspections, crustacean mortality investigations, transfers, repackages, and at one point we handled seafood shipments for the government of the Faroe Islands.  I've arranged for the safe disposal of contaminated (or suspected contaminated) food products, while ensuring that any/all packaging is destroyed to maintain the image of the supplier/distributor.

Basically I handle cargo- whatever that cargo is, and whatever needs to be done to or with it, I do.  I've aided in the assembly and disassembly of aircraft, military and aerospace equipment, handled cars coming and going from every port on the planet and monitored cargoes valued in the millions of dollars.

Def

[ironraven]

Keep the thicker stock. The image might stand out in the mind, but the mind sees everything all the time, your card would be one more image out of hundreds of thousands in a day. A thicker card will stand out in the stack, you'll run your finger over it and have a "huh"? Trip their curiosity. Make them look at your card.

Stick out.

Be noticed.

Profit!

[AlephZero]

That is very interesting, boss!

 

[Syph007]

I sent them an email as soon as the problem was discovered on Thursday morning and I got a form response stating they would get back to me in 24 hours or less.  By mid afternoon on Friday I still hadn't heard back so I gave them a call.  Apparently no one got my email, and they don't have a record of it, so it's a good thing I called.

They were extremely apologetic about the issue and are cranking out a new batch for me, which they say I should have by next Friday at the latest.  I am content with that, and I will keep these ones as backups in case I run out of good ones sometime in the future.

This company is renowned or their customer service, so I had no doubt that they would look after it, and they did.  I have no complaints about that.  What bothers me is that these issues are painfully obvious, and could have been picked up by even the slightest amount of human intervention.  I know QC won't catch everything, but these are glaringly obvious issues, akin to Leatherman sending out a Rebar with plier heads attached at both ends of the handles, or Victorinox sending out a knife with nothing but fish scalers.   

I am a firm believer that poop happens, but in this case I think it is cost prohibitive to have to do a second run because it is cheaper than having someone man the shop and look for potential problems, especially when you have to then pay for someone to answer the phone, deal with the customer issues and re-submit the order.  Take one of those poor buggers off the phone and set them loose in the print shop and you'll save a lot more time/money.   

Def

Fish scalers now?

Oh ye of little faith...

(Image removed from quote.)

Syph is way ahead of Victorinox on that...



 

Someone ended up buying that knife from me.  Its now somewhere in the UK

[AlephZero]

I sent them an email as soon as the problem was discovered on Thursday morning and I got a form response stating they would get back to me in 24 hours or less.  By mid afternoon on Friday I still hadn't heard back so I gave them a call.  Apparently no one got my email, and they don't have a record of it, so it's a good thing I called.

They were extremely apologetic about the issue and are cranking out a new batch for me, which they say I should have by next Friday at the latest.  I am content with that, and I will keep these ones as backups in case I run out of good ones sometime in the future.

This company is renowned or their customer service, so I had no doubt that they would look after it, and they did.  I have no complaints about that.  What bothers me is that these issues are painfully obvious, and could have been picked up by even the slightest amount of human intervention.  I know QC won't catch everything, but these are glaringly obvious issues, akin to Leatherman sending out a Rebar with plier heads attached at both ends of the handles, or Victorinox sending out a knife with nothing but fish scalers.   

I am a firm believer that poop happens, but in this case I think it is cost prohibitive to have to do a second run because it is cheaper than having someone man the shop and look for potential problems, especially when you have to then pay for someone to answer the phone, deal with the customer issues and re-submit the order.  Take one of those poor buggers off the phone and set them loose in the print shop and you'll save a lot more time/money.   

Def

Fish scalers now?

Oh ye of little faith...

(Image removed from quote.)

Syph is way ahead of Victorinox on that...



 

Someone ended up buying that knife from me.  Its now somewhere in the UK

Hell, I would have bought that just for smurfs and giggles 

[ThePeacent]

In most places, food products are not considered food products until they are packaged or prepared as food products.  When they are shipped, they are just like any other product.  I used to run security for a plant that handled (packaged) sugar, and they would move the piles of refined sugar around with bulldozers and backhoes.   

As a surveyor I have handled all kinds of food products, from grain to lentils to meats, bread products and so on.  One particular job I did was a refrigerated container load of bread dough coming from either Spain or Italy- I can't recall which.  Either way, somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean the refrigeration unit died and we were called in to assess the damage.  My boss kept telling me we needed an accurate inventory for the claim.  Unfortunately it was the middle of August and 30C out, and this dough had been in the container for about a week with no refrigeration.  There was no way to get an accurate inventory, as when we opened it, it was one giant Jabba the Hutt blob of dough spilling out.

I'd handled everything from bad meat and sea food to hot chocolate power.  We have done fish inspections, crustacean mortality investigations, transfers, repackages, and at one point we handled seafood shipments for the government of the Faroe Islands.  I've arranged for the safe disposal of contaminated (or suspected contaminated) food products, while ensuring that any/all packaging is destroyed to maintain the image of the supplier/distributor.

Basically I handle cargo- whatever that cargo is, and whatever needs to be done to or with it, I do.  I've aided in the assembly and disassembly of aircraft, military and aerospace equipment, handled cars coming and going from every port on the planet and monitored cargoes valued in the millions of dollars.

Def

that's very interesting and one of those jobs that nobody thinks of but it's basic to keep things running in our society.
Food security and control is something that I've always liked and a very important and overlooked subject in today's industry and globalised world. Heck, everybody eats at least two times everyday!

Food products and their regulation sure brings lots of surprises and it can make you rethink what you eat, and how it's managed.
As a kid I was always amazed that the trail mix I liked contained Peanuts from the US, Pistachios from Israel, Dry peas from France, Hazelnuts from Germany and Brazil nuts from Equador, all in a $0.99 bag.

All of your jobs seem to be varied and full of monotony-breaking moments, I'd sure appreciate that in a job.
Thanks for the info, and have a nice day!   

[Grant Lamontagne]

No problem.  I actually really enjoy my job- or at least enjoyed it when I was properly employed!

I don't know how long I could manage a job where every day was the same thing.  At least doing survey work every day was different!

Def

[Aloha]

Keep the thicker stock. The image might stand out in the mind, but the mind sees everything all the time, your card would be one more image out of hundreds of thousands in a day. A thicker card will stand out in the stack, you'll run your finger over it and have a "huh"? Trip their curiosity. Make them look at your card.

Stick out.

Be noticed.

Profit!

This ^^

I used to get so many cards and every now and again I'd get one that really stood out.  It would be that card that I'd actually keep and read.  Glad they made it right.