Let’s talk about lab loyalty…

In the beginning, when the ink was still fresh on my business license, I used whatever lab was running a sale. I hadn’t yet run into quality, delivery or customer service issues. I was a happy little photographer bouncing from vendor to vendor, collecting my paper samples from each and keeping up with the constant barrage of sale emails in order to make sure I was ordering from the cheapest place.

Gradually I began to learn the minute details that set each lab apart.

Some had lousy customer service, some had cheaper 8x10s, but more expensive 16x20s. Some shipped Fedex, some UPS, and some USPS which meant I had to remember what days of the week each delivered and whether or not the delivery dude had the sense to tuck my delivery in the dry area of the front porch if I wasn’t home and the weather sucked.

Keeping up with the sales became time consuming and tedious and I found myself holding onto orders if there was no sale because I knew another one would come along shortly.

I didn’t have a solid, organized system, and at the end of the year, the accounting paperwork was a nightmare. I think I used 14 different labs my first year in business. My Quickbooks program couldn’t keep track of the constantly fluctuating COGs to my satisfaction. Suddenly, all the savings from bouncing around was eaten up by the administrative time spent on tracking the sales, learning everyone’s ordering system and trying to reconcile the accounting system.

Eventually I settled on one lab. And the reason was stupid. Because they had the quickest delivery. Suddenly my work flow slowed down to where I was ordering my items the day before they were promised. I knew they’d arrive the next day, so what was the problem?

The problem was that I was using a lab that enabled a downturn in my own customer service. I found myself scrambling at the last minute to do retouching and ordering when I should have had everything squared away at least a week earlier.

And then I began to think… I get angry when I see clients bounce from photographer to photographer, chasing the latest sale. I moan about the fact that there does not seem to be any customer loyalty these days. And then I stopped and thought about what I was doing. And I felt like a hypocrite.

So, I began a new search. I started all over. I’m in the middle of re-branding my studio and changing over my pricing, packages and product line to be more in line with that of a boutique studio (is that an over-used phrase, or what?) and a new system is required.

And I began to think again. About small businesses and local businesses. And how in this day and age, loyalty is important in an economy that’s about as supportive as my ex-husband. 😉

And suddenly the choice was clear. I have chosen my new lab based on the qualities that I hope my clients look for in me. I’m local. I offer personalized customer service. I’m not high volume, so I have the opportunity to spend time with my clients and offer them a much higher level of service than they would expect from a chain. My prices are a little higher than most photographers in my area for those very reasons, so the fact that the labs with those desired features had a little higher COGs was only to be expected.

I have chosen Buckeye Professional Imaging to be my primary lab. It is located in Canton, Ohio (just up the road) and I have been acquainted with the owner and a few of his staff for several years. I belong to an organization that uses Buckeye for all of their printing needs (and those needs are numerous), so I’ve had many opportunities to be impressed with their product line and high customer service. I’m very pleased to know that the person on the other end of the line has a familiar name and face.

I encourage you to re-evaluate WHY you use the lab you do. Perhaps everything is going swell and no change is needed, but it could be that there are better options out there for you. I especially encourage you to look to your local community and see what your options are closer to home.  This is truly a time when supporting your local business is important.

If you’ve not yet decided on a lab – check out Buckeye and order some FREE test prints at this link and tell them Wootness sent ya!

Disclaimer: Christine only recommends vendors based on personal experience and does not accept compensation of any type for a positive review or recommendation.