Quick Printing

I was at the ICED annual convention in Houston a while back and got involved in a discussion with some old printer friends about the state of political discourse in the country. I can’t recall how the subject came up, but it might have had something to do with cocktails.

Now, I’ve known these folks for many years and was well aware that our political positions occupy opposite segments of the spectrum. (They watch Fox News and I watch MSNBC.) Despite our differences, we soon got around to the subject of shouting. The conclusion was that there’s just too much of it any more. Nobody discusses or debates; they just try to shout each other down. We agreed that the problem can be found at both ends of the political spectrum and that shouting accomplished nothing except to encourage more shouting.

I was reminded of that conversation while editing John Stewart’s September column, which I highly recommend you read as soon as it is published. In effect, he says one should stop fueling the fires by getting irate about issues and instead should use that energy to work on your business and personal life. That’s advice I’d like to shout from the rooftops.

The old saying is that there is a first time for everything. I don’t know if I agree with that on a cosmic level, but it probably holds true on an individual level.

Last week’s trip to Florida for our annual Cygnus Graphics Media Group annual planning meeting provided one example. Karen and I checked into the Fairfield Inn in Fort Pierce at around midnight and encountered something I’d never encountered before. There was no cold water.

Now I’ve been in lots of hotels that didn’t have much in the way of hot water, but never in one that had no cold water. We informed the desk clerk and he offered to move us into another room. Before moving we checked the water in the new room and it was the same deal. We stayed put and showered with the cold water on full, which barely kept us from being scalded. Upon checkout we heard another guest comment on the water situation, so it wasn’t just an isolated event.

Why do I bring this up? Because what we have here is a management problem. The housekeeping supervisor knew about the hot water glitch. So did the desk clerk. They said they had told management about the problem repeatedly and the guy who came to check out the super-duper modern digital water temperature control insisted there was nothing wrong. We were urged to tell Marriott, which franchises Fairfield, so that something might get done about the situation.

I’ve told Marriott and now I’ve told y’all.

I think the lesson here is that you should probably listen up when your employees have something to say. It might keep you from losing a customer.

While we are counting down to Print 09, let’s not forget that NAQP’s Owners Conference is also coming up. Unlike other years when it came immediately before Graph Expo, this is a stand-alone event which brings up the issue of attendance. Sure, Austin is a great city with lots of good things to do, eat, and listen to, but will it be enough to attract lots of folks?

Well, I’ve been to two major franchise events recently and was very impressed with the attendance during these hard economic times. Neither was tacked on to a major printing trade show. That bodes well for the NAQP event which comes at the end of October.

I am always amazed by the independent printers who do not belong to an association, whether NAQP, NAPL, or PIA. They’re out there on their own without any of the resources or peer interaction that association membership can provide. Most non-members say they can’t afford it or it’s not worth it. They’re wrong on both counts.

Doom, gloom, and other such negative reactions. The economy is killing my business. I’ll just bury my head in the sand and wait for things to get better. No sense doing much else. It wouldn’t help anyway.

OK, so I’m exaggerating a little, but I’ve heard similar things from printers since the economy tanked. That’s why it was so refreshing to spend some time with the Sir Speedy, PIP, and Signal Graphics folks in San Diego this week and weekend. There was a completely different attitude on display.

Sure, times are rough and business is more difficult than it might have been a couple years ago, but that’s no reason to hunker down and wait it out. Now is the time to get to work, so when things turn around we’ll be able to grab it and growl. The low-ball printers who are cutting prices to the bone probably won’t be around then anyway.

I sat through three awards ceremonies and saw some pretty solid sales percentage growth and sales volume awards presented. Educational sessions were well-attended and covered both the basics needed to survive and new opportunities to build business in for the future. These guys and others like them throughout the industry get it. To shamelessly flog an old cliché, they prove that when going gets tough, the tough get going.