![email erik[at]printedbyerik[dot].com](http://www.printedbyerik.com/wp-content/themes/traction_pro/images/flw-email.png)
I would like that for Free
Pretend for just a moment you walk into your favorite local bakery. You go up to the counter and the bakery’s employee asks you, “What would you like today?” Now you look at her and say, “I have this important business meeting today and I would like two dozen bagels and a variety of cream cheese please.” “Of course,” she says. She gathers your order and you take your freshly baked bagels and cream cheese and head for the door. She says, “Umm, don’t forget sir, you need to pay for those.” “No, it is ok, I buy a lot from you all the time and I need these for free today,” you say.
What just happened? As an employee of a local print shop this dilemma has reared its ugly head before, the horror of the freebie request.
Your customer always has a basic want or request –
- – I have no budget for this upcoming project.
- – We are wanting to do samples as a sales pitch to a current customer.
- – Would you like to be a print sponsor for this event we have this weekend?
From time to time freebies are part of any small business. With this, there has to be an understanding between both parties. When running a small business you can not afford to give a free project away that will conflict with your current production workflow already on the table. Your customer also needs to not push deadlines onto a project he or she is not going to pay for.
The dreaded freebie request– [Customer] It would be great if we could just change that layout a little bit and add this logo into it. It won’t be too much trouble, will it?
Do you have a freebie story? Please share below.
That ticks me off just reading it…AND I want a friggin’ bagel…for FREE!!
Everyone loves something for free every now and again, but it’s hard to make client’s understand that time is money and small businesses can’t afford to give handouts all the time. I feel your pain.
I cringe just thinking about those scenarios. Just about as much as when students don’t understand why we can’t print their stuff and make it work! There’s a lot of work involved people…do you part. It’s a 2-way street dear friends. ~lm
ps I’m with Stephanie – I’d like a bagel for FREE (or a little debbie, I’m not picky). 🙂
ahhhhh! i forget how much all of us designers and printers have in common! i have found those people who ask for freebies don’t appreciate the value of good work. you get what you pay for!
It’s charity season and when you are a designer that means requests for invitations. Just finished a great freebie. First request. We need 50 invitations. Next request. We really need 200 invitations if possible. Ok, I did it. I printed them myself and cut them out by hand because they bled. They were 2 sided so each piece of paper had to go through the printer twice. Next request. Can you jazz up the envelope? So all 200 envelopes were individually fed through the printer twice. Yes they wanted these 2 sided also. Next request. We loved the invitations, Can you make one for our face book page? Next request. Can we get five more of the invitations, but make them 8 x 10 so they will fit in picture frames? Next request. We were at the office store and found these things called business card holders. Can we get donation cards to put in those? So I made 150 business cards which bled and were once again printed by me and cut by hand. I’m pretty sure I have the word “sucker” tattooed on my forehead. Should have asked Erik to do the printing & cutting for free. LOL
Freebies are okay when you get something in return (hmm I guess it’s not really a freebie then?) like if you were doing invites for a charity event but then you got to attend or something?
But I think it should be up to you to offer freebies, not something people ask for.
Being a co-owner of a small business, I can totally relate to this. Why do people assume you do not pay for the stuff they ask you to give away? Whether it is a bagel, a computer, a stack of invitations, a cup of coffee, or simply your time, it all cost us money. This is the time of year when people knock on our door and ask for donations for different charities and events. We feel almost pressured to say yes because we want to protect the reputation of our business in this small city and possibly get a new customer out of it. It is almost like peer pressure. I often wonder if I went to the schools who call on us each year for donations and said, “Hey, we would like to try out your school for free this year to see if we like it” if they would comply. Hmmmmm…..I think not. It is such a double standard. I read what Emily wrote and I laughed outloud for sure. NOT because I think it is funny, but simply because I can relate. IF you added up all the money it cost to PAY for the tangible items you GAVE away plus the time and labor you put into All OF IT, SHEESH, you could have easily made some good money on that project. It does not maks us suckers, it makes us business men and women trying to get new business. In this economy, we all need the good PR. However, it seems we just cannot draw the line and that is what makes is vulnerable all the time. It is hard to be nice, isn’t it? I am still glad I am on my side of the fence. I would hate to be the one who takes all the time. Quite the quandary, huh?