How do you deal with a customer who changes their mind after printing?
 

Hi There

I wanted some advice from the pros! I've just started taking portraits on a commission basis, and recently did some portraits of a group of girls. As I took the group all together I only charged one booking fee and split it between the three mothers. I then charged for whatever prints they wanted, which they ordered after viewing contact sheets.

One of the mothers wanted a reprint on one of her pics because she wasn't happy with the way the colour on her daughter's dress came out. Obviously I wanted to make sure that she was happy, so went away, did some work on it, and send it off to the printers again. When it came back, she still wasn't happy, so I went off again to try to sort it out. When the prints came back again, I knew that she wasn't going to be pleased, as it looked like no change had been made.

I contacted the printing company and explained that I had made several changes, uploaded the correct picture each time, but still they seemed to be applying a correction to the picture that I wasn't happy with. They have now done a reprint of the picture free of charge, and I received it on Friday - and thankfully the colours are now improved as I wanted.

However, this morning I received an email from the mother saying that she was returning the original prints, she doesn't want the new ones and she is paying me only for the prints she has kept. So now I am out of pocket as a result of the reprinting I have done for her. I have paid for 3 sets of 2 large print , and even though I now have a set to give her she is only paying for about 5 much smaller prints. I have previously offered her discounts on the reprints as she has been put to such inconvenience, which was going to bring the entire job to cost-price.

I appreciate customer service is an absolute must in this situation, which is why I have continually kept the customer up to date on the process, as well as offering her discounts for the reprints, which she accepted.

Has this happened to anyone else? Is there anything that can be done at this stage, or is this part of the job and something I have to take in my stride? I want an outcome that everyone is happy with, obviously, not only because I need to build a good reputation which comes by word of mouth, but also because the customer is a friend of a work colleague.

Any help or advice would be very much appreciated!

If the prints were much different to what was displayed on screen to her then she's within her rights to reject them as she had done. However if she's agreed to you getting corrected reprints and then changed her mind before receiving them then I'd likely invoice for them. It just depends on what terms you have in place - do they cover this kind of thing? If not then you'll need to absorb this one and update your terms to protect yourself in future.

Thank ap4a

Unfortunately, as this was a job for a friend of a friend, there were no terms and conditions set. She did fill in an order form, and agreements were made via email where she asked me to go ahead with the reprints, but no contract was signed.

It's a shame but jobs for friends and friends of friends tend to turn out worse than with strangers as they feel that they should be getting everything for nothing and don't value the work that you do.

As she specifically asked you to arrange for reprints then you could still invoice her for them. Rejecting them unseen places her in a weaker position legally as she has cost you money. I wouldn't worry too much about losing your reputation if you do, every business has bad clients and every business has to chase payment at some time or another and it's better to not get a reputation for being a pushover. It can be a hassle though, and only you can decide if chasing the payment is worth your while (balance the value of the prints against the stress of chasing payment and potentially having to go to the small claims court).

Either way, I wouldn't have anything to do with that person again, and I'd ensure that every job was subject to terms that protected me financially, including jobs for friends of friends.

To answer a question in your original post, yes similar things have happened to me, however with regards to web development not photography. To combat this we take a deposit of between 30 and 50% depending on the type of job. This covers our costs if the client cancels part way in. We also work on a 3 stage basis - design, development, completion. The deposit is taken before a design is created, then after the design is signed off we take a payment of 50% of the balance before commencing the development phase, and the balance is taken on completion. Our terms cover us for the payments at each of those stages and we have insurance to further protect us. In a way this is similar to how you have worked with your client agreeing to order photos that she saw, however rather than taking payment at this point you waited until afterwards. If you can take a deposit during the order process (or full payment) in future then I would recommend that you do. You can then deal with ensuring that the provided prints match what was ordered as a part of the service process and absorb the cost of reprints if necessary.

Always, whenever possible, get paid up front ;)

It's a shame when people change their mind especially when you've gone to a lot of trouble to try and rectify the issue - and it always seems to be for friends or friends of friends!

I guess we live in the age where people just change their minds and return purchases for no good reason - the high street 'no problem, return it and we'll refund you no question' mentality has spread across all sectors and people dont feel as obliged to go through with purchases as they used to a few years ago (am I starting to sound old here!).

Perhaps in future the actual shoot has a higher price tag and you take a fat deposit upfront. And maybe invest in some monitor calibration tools. That way, you make more money up front, sort the casual purchaser from a seriously interested party, and your contact sheet will always be correct in colour and anything that comes back from the lab looking wrong is not your problem and they should reprint foc as you've supplied a 'correct' image? Or talk to the lab about colour profiles - although any decent printer should be able to make a good print from an sRGB or RGB1998 profile image (sorry, dipping in to my day job there!).

Or, and this is my route, by your own printer so you know that what you see on screen is exactly what comes out the printer. I have a HP Photosmart A3+ printer which gives great results and was under £300. I've also got a mount board cutter so I can buy frames, cut my own mount to the correct size to suit the print and stick my own print in. You'd be surprised how low cost a framed A3 print can actually be...and you dont drop your prices just because you've framed it yourself...

[QUOTE=Vickstar79;18684]Unfortunately, as this was a job for a friend of a friend, there were no terms and conditions set. She did fill in an order form, and agreements were made via email where she asked me to go ahead with the reprints, but no contract was signed.[/QUOTE]

Always apply 'terms and conditions' (including rights and disclaimers where required) included [B]within[/B] the actual order form the customer signs, as well as having them on your invoices.

Where possible use the same printer for both contact / preview sheets, and the final prints (insuring as much continuity as possible on your part). And where you are using a third party for printing; if there is a time lapse between preview and final prints / reprints, ensure that the printing company maintain records of printing profiles (insuring as much continuity as possible on their part).

If customers are ordering by viewing online, they will need to be made aware that there is a difference between back lit displays and printed formats.

Only to add, as you mention most businesses rely and grow on word of mouth, so always strive to ensure that the customer is happy to recommend you to others. I hope you find a route to resolve the situation to benefit you both.

I think you have learnt the first lesson in dealing with the public. You have got two choices here: 1) appologise for any inconvenience you have caused her, tell her there will be no charge, and make a friend of her - and possibly a good advert when she tells others how understanding you have been. The cost will be minimal to you by doing that. 2) explain that inks, or the process of getting digital prints cannot possibly produce identical colouration to fabric prints and that you are not the one in the wrong. You could make an even more disgruntled enemy of her and lose future clients if she slates you off to all and sundry. In short, you can use this situation to your benefit, or you can get ulcers from it every time a client is dissatisfied...Good luck.

You really need to spell out the terms and conditions for sale of prints. I believe this is a legal requirement. My webmanager says so any way.