One of the most important factors in a design based industry, is communication. Good communication is vital to understanding and describing, what is to be expected, and delivered in the initial phase of a design project. If communication is not up to par, the results will not be up to par.

I recently had a learning experience, which has emphasized the importance of communication.....

It started with a phone call. The caller had a heavy Eastern Indian accent, and was very hard to understand. After a few minutes of asking him to repeat himself I finally understood the customer was requesting a quote for 10 card designs (similar to a business card, but meant to carry a sim card). I told the customer the price would be $75 per design, so in total the price would be $750, I told him our turnaround time is usually between 24 and 48 hours, but may take longer for so many cards. He immediately explained that the price was too high. At first I stood by my quote, but after speaking with the gentleman a bit more, I decided to work with him, and I offered the following....

1 card design, comes with 3 revisions, what I can do is use these revisions, and create 3 different designs, however, you will not have any revisions. If you require any changes, you will have to pay for them. After explaining this to him, he seemed to understand and replied, that what he wanted was really simple, and would not require any changes. So we moved forward with starting out with only 4 cards for $75 and no revisions.

A couple days later he paid his invoice and sent several emails, with attached samples of what he was looking for. Below is an example of his email....

Hi Dennis,

let see whit one card you see it has own logo "company name removed for privacy." like "company name removed for privacy" card logo on the top of lef side..web site like instead of world sim "website removed for privacy" web site let see...

As you can see, this email was somewhat hard to comprehend, I asked for clarification, and the next email wasn't much better, but I thought I had an idea of what he wanted, as he did attach example images to his email, so I went to work....

The next day I sent him the first card, and began to work on the next. About an hour later he wrote me back asking for some changes. He said he wanted some different colors and something was missing. five minutes later he was ringing my phone. So I answered and he tried to explain the changes he wanted. I replied to him, sir, we already spoke about this, you do not receive any revisions with your order, if you require revisions I have to charge you. He spoke something in his native language, that I couldn't understand, and then in English began to argue with the fact that he had to pay for a revision. He said and I quote..."Dennis change is easy, no problem for you maybe 5 minute.". I replied to him once more and reminded him of our earlier agreement, and finally he agreed to pay for a revision.

The next day he sends me his change request, and again, I have to ask for clarification of what he wants, because I could not understand his email. He replies in sarcasm, because he cant seem to understand why I don't understand his email. At this point I am getting a little frustrated. I finally get an idea of what he wants and I get to work. A couple hours later I present him with his revision.

The weekend arrives, and I don't hear a thing from him. Monday evening he emails me, saying that he doesn't like the changes and states that he will stick with the first design, and wants to move forward with the next card, he submits the details via email.

The next day (not even 24 hours later), while I am out of town, he calls, my phone and leaves several messages asking where I am, why am I not answering the phone, why am i not answering his email, He accuses me of not taking him seriously, and threatens to call PayPal to get a refund.

When I get this message I immediately email him a nice long email explaining, where I was, and Why I did not answer the phone, and reminded him of our normal turnaround time. About an hour later he calls and I answer the phone. He gets very short with me. I try to explain to him, in the nicest way possible, that I had a previous commitment, and that I would have something for him as soon as possible. I tried to explain to him that I need at least 24 to 48 hours before he starts worrying. He claims that he didn't know,  and that I never told him, that I am not taking him seriously. (just a side note...The conversation was much more complicated than what I have typed, there were several requests on both ends to repeat ourselves) In the end he says Fine! Fine! Dennis,  You have something for me in 24 hours Ok Bye, and he hangs up on me.

Well at this point I am kind of upset. I see the communication barrier, and its causing nothing but problems. He doesn't understand me, and I don't understand him, so I call him back, and explain to him, that I think it is best if I refund his money, and we part ways. The language barrier is just to strong, and we are not going to make much progress at this rate.

At first he doesn't want to end the relationship, but I assure him, I cant deliver want he wants, because I don't understand it. So I hang up the phone, and refund his money.

Today I feel kind of bad about how this turned out, I have never experienced anything like this, most of the dealings and communication at Skilled Graphics, is spot on, I have promised myself not to be put in this position again. Communication is of the highest importance in this field. Poor communication will turn into poor service. If you are a customer looking for a design, the most important thing you can do is communicate to the best of your ability what you want your designer to produce. If you are a designer, make certain you know what your client wants, make sure there is no doubt.

Communication is in my opinion the most important factor is a successful business relationship.

< Prev		Next >