Free PrePress

[minch]

Just thought this recent experience maybe helpful.
I do holiday and sickness cover for prepress & finishing at several different print shops and when they are overloaded with work.
A long time client got a job in from a local authority here in the U.K.
Unfortunately it needed a bit of prepress work which the printer did free of charge because they thought it would help them get some more work from this client.
This practice continued and more work came in.
The prepress department grew to four people (not including me).
The printer has just gone into bankruptcy.
It appears that the substantial increase in work took up so much prepress effort that other clients were let down, but the owner didn't care because he had shed loads of work coming in from this local authority.
It turns out that this local authority know what they are doing and have already bankrupted three other printers over the last 10 years.
Their attitude appears to be that they know, but don't care.
They just move on and search for another printer (sucker) who they bamboozle into doing free prepress.
Do you get this sort of thing in the U.S. ?

 

[Slammer]

I don´t think (or hope) that this kind of thing is common, the big mistake is to let dodgy customers know that you are willing do work for free, give a little finger and you can wait and watch until they take your hand, one of the last companies I worked for did all the service and support for free and it did not take long for customers to expect free service, the company is now long out of business mind you but I got into trouble from both the customer and my boss at the time for having the audacity to suggest that service should not be for free.

 

[wonderings]

We do certain things for customers, but if it is to much work or effort to sort out what their problem is we send back saying the file is no good. A few good clients we will do extra for and make things happen, but never to the point of losing money.

 

[dabob]

I have seen shops that don't line item "prepress" going back to the 70-80's . . . its not like they didn't charge for it . .. but they would bury the charges in the original estimate - mostly IMHO because people don't see prepress as a cost they are willing to pay for . . . as long as the shops can afford to pay their people its all good . . . but when a businessman makes inappropriate decisions . . well . . . then it would be time to start looking for another job . . . .

 

[MailGuru]

We always charge for pre-press, the customer just doesn't know it (we don't itemize it).

When I do my quotes, I add in "x" number of hours (depending on the complexity of the job) times our hourly rate for pre-press. Then add that to their per-piece price.

 

[AP90]

I guess my thinking is that these companies that have been bankrupted have some pretty poor management too. I get that when gig have a cash cow you want to milk it for all its worth, but the management has to recover cost some place else. Looking back I'm sure it woulda been a lot easier to eat the cost of another prepress worker to handle the clients that they casted aside. Or ran another shift. It doesn't sound like this local authority knows what they're doing, but rather a bunch of management personnel in the area that don't know what they're doing.

 

[davarino]

If it's truly free of charge and routine, it's probably bad business. The only excuse would be if the other charges made would more than make up for the "lagniappe".

"Free" pre-press (or bindery or mailing) is a warning sign that making and holding on to money might not be the primary focus of management. It's not proof, but giving work away is not a normal practice of successful businesses.

My usual way of looking at free is whether it is being offered by an "employee" or by an "entrepreneur". Employees are usually trying to get their numbers up; entrepreneurs do it because they have considered (at least so I hope) that the "free" will pay back.

 

[Qbot]

entrepreneurs do it because they have considered (at least so I hope) that the "free" will pay back.

Around here the entrepreneurs (sales people) are constantly asking for one off's. I guess there trying to impress their customer with samples that they can compare against what they are already getting from their current source. Problem is these fly by night samples we produce never seem to turn into an order. I'm a prepress guy, I need orders (the bigger the better). Nothing I like better than a download with twenty or so versions.

 

[davarino]

Qbot: Around here the entrepreneurs (sales people) are constantly asking for one off's.

I consider no one an entrepreneur unless he/she has money to lose on an action as well as money to gain.

By this definition, most salespeople are not entrepreneurs. Most don't pay for their one-off gambles in any direct fashion.

They may not look intelligent because of a mistake, they may indeed lose income, but they rarely finance their own disasters. That's an employee the way I reckon it.

Not so the Boss. The Boss always has to pay, and is rewarded with profit if things pay off.

(Of course others may have different ways of looking at this distinction.)