Monday, February 25, 2013

Customer Service

At the heart of every printing company is the customer service staff – the people who interact every day with customers. What makes a good customer service representative (CSR)? Is it cheerfulness? A pleasant personality? The point of view that the customer is always right? Here’s our take on the question: we believe a good customer service representative has personal accountability. Personal accountability means the CSR has the ability and has been given the authority to take action when needed. A good CSR offers suggestions and alternatives, speaks up if what the customer has asked for will increase cost or turnaround time, and manages the printing project to ensure on time delivery. Personal accountability is the natural outcome when a CSR has strong communication skills and a natural tendency to be detail-oriented. A good CSR has been trained to listen closely to the customer, write up the job accurately, order any required special materials, and provide a checklist with due dates of inputs due from the customer. At BC Print and Web we provide our CSRs with a written job description clearly explaining the duties and responsibilities of the position, and we conduct an annual performance review that includes eight areas of evaluation. We provide tools and continuous training for technical skills. If you’re not experiencing top-level customer service, give us a try. You won’t be disappointed.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

One for the Environment !

Over the last few years, we have noticed a trend that we applaud: our customers are requesting recycled papers for their printing projects as part of a heightened sense of how their buying decisions might affect the environment. As printers, we have an understanding of and appreciation for paper that makes us happy to see this turn of events. At the same time, we are somewhat dismayed by the conventional wisdom that use of paper must be curtailed to protect the environment – particularly when this notion causes our customers to forego the benefits of using printed materials for sales and marketing or other purposes. Evidence exists that paper – the product of trees grown specifically to be made into paper – can be considered a beneficial, renewable resource. Please understand that we’re not advocating for wasting paper by printing things that don’t need a hard copy. But we do feel strongly that printed material, including direct mail pieces, still has an important and valuable role in helping businesses and organizations reach their target audience.