Time limits for edits?

Robert Young · February 7th, 2014, 01:31 PM

Client who has not ordered from us since April of 2012... has now requested an edit for a design done in 2010.... what would you do? change the design for the new product at no charge? tell them to use whomever they have been using? or ignore?

Seriously I doubt (personally) that there is ANYTHING we could reasonably do today to regain this client's business. Sorry, am assuming they have gone offshore and are paying way less than we could match.

Yet they come back to us nearly 4 years later expecting us to change a design for fleece that originally was done for canvas bags? (for free according to their message)

Harrow Sports · February 7th, 2014, 06:06 PM

If they haven't ordered from you in 2 years charge them an art charge or don't do it. It would be one thing if you were still generating revenue off of them but you are not. If they have a problem paying you to make art changes from a 4 year old design then let them go and pay to have it done somewhere else. At this point you have nothing to loose except your time if you do it for free.

I would however politely respond with something to that effect rather than completely ignore them. You never know maybe they will pay a couple bucks to change it or maybe even start bringing some business your way again. It doesn't hurt to toss it out there and try.

Robert Young · February 9th, 2014, 09:30 AM

We did the change at no charge with a note saying something like: Here you go stranger! Glad to see you guys are still at it. We are still available for any digitizing you may need so please keep us in mind! Thanks!

Much different tone! lol...(and more appropriate) but I appreciate this forum as a way to vent a bit sometimes... calmer heads nearly always prevail.

Twinklestar-embroidery · March 6th, 2014, 12:19 AM

We will change it for free, just a few minutes, right?

It is really strange the client come back to you for edit, why not just ask their current digitizer?
For us, usually customer bring us old design which done by others and asked for edit, we will make it for them for free.
Maybe he want to come back to you for digitizing from now on? ^_^

obemb · March 24th, 2014, 01:43 PM

I have been in business for 20 years and have used a handful of digitizers in that time. I would expect to pay an edit fee after 4 years of using a good design and then going back to a digitizer I no longer use, or for that matter that I still use, and expect them to modify it for a different application. I have always considered an "edit" to be a correction of something that the digitizer didn't do right the first time and they should be free, but not a modification.

TheGoodStitch · March 25th, 2014, 12:23 PM

Our policy has always been; if it's a digitizing flaw we edit it at no charge. If it's a change in the design, we charge a minimal fee.