Paying for Messups

[jamodu]

Hiya,

One of the designers at work has messed up with an advert. It was a very tight deadline and he didn't get a formal signoff and missed a digit from the company's phone number.

The upshot is that our boss has now decided that any messups which require reprinting will be paid for by the designer who messes up. (I think he's trying to scare everyone into checking every detail and getting formal signoffs on all jobs).

I was just wondering what the print designers here think of being penalised like that. Does anyone else have to cough up the cash personally for making mistakes or does the company usually take the hit?

[Tsmalldon]

Your boss sounds like an A-Hole

Mistakes happen, People are human. He should not inflict fear to motivate you. Rather a pep talk to inspire you.

Im not even sure thats legal.............

[Satchel]

wow, no... I think I would be looking for a new job if they made me pay for mistakes personally.

It's not just me involved in the project, we are a team here - it may be my project, but it's everyones duty to proof!

If you're going to have to pay for your mistakes you should get the actual profits from the job too!!!

Total BS!

[Craig B]

Satchel's got a great point, if I have to pay for a mistake I should get a cut of all the profits from ads that don't have mistakes.

[Drorain]

Lol…that’s like the idea of paying restitution on a short till, mistakes happen…that’s life. If it becomes a repeat problem, then the designer needs to be out of a job. That or a proofer/QC person should be hired. It may not even be legal for him to charge the designer. In the retail world companies pay insurance against such shrinkage.

[Danger_Mouse]

yeah total wow.

TEAM is the keyword here. It is not fair to hold someone accountable for errors when they have been staring at it (working on it) for long periods of time. Hell I could spell my own name wrong and not notice.

Maybe your boss should look at your companies proofing process instead of cracking the whip.

If someone makes a mistake here at my job, we are all to blame.

Another good example why to ALWAYS get a sign off.
Satchel did say it the best too, do you get the profits from all the successful adverts.

What an idiotic thing to say to your employees. Doesn't hit the core of the problem whatsoever, rather creates new ones. It's a breakdown in your process that's the problem. As your manager, if anyone should take the hit it should be him/her. Sad.

[Drorain]

Oh I’d also leave a shortstack of pancakes with “OFF” written in chocolate syrup on his desk, it’ll leave him befuddled and confused, but you’ll know what you really said to him.

[Typically]

Oh I’d also leave a shortstack of pancakes with “OFF” written in chocolate syrup on his desk, it’ll leave him befuddled and confused, but you’ll know what you really said to him.

hahaha now that would be awesome

[jlknauff]

I run my own company, and I can tell you first hand that people (including myself) will make mistakes. That being said, everyone involved is partially responsible. If it becomes a repeat problem, the designer in question should be let go, but that designer can not be charged for mistakes. Not only is it unethical, it's actually 100% illegal. The DOL would have a field day with that.

[PrintDriver]

It's Graphics.
There are bound to be mistakes and mess-ups. Comes with the territory. You want BIG mistakes, do large format. LOL!

[Logo-Mechanix]

I once had a boss so sick of all the overtime he called everyone in and told them they were being put on salary. I have to say he was none too happy when five o'clock rolled around and everyone left without finishing the day's work.

[frankster]

Hiya,

One of the designers at work has messed up with an advert. It was a very tight deadline and he didn't get a formal signoff and missed a digit from the company's phone number.

The upshot is that our boss has now decided that any messups which require reprinting will be paid for by the designer who messes up. (I think he's trying to scare everyone into checking every detail and getting formal signoffs on all jobs).

I was just wondering what the print designers here think of being penalised like that. Does anyone else have to cough up the cash personally for making mistakes or does the company usually take the hit?

Where are you located? It is not legal in the UK and I'm assuming from the Americans that have posted that it is not legal in the US either.

This smacks of a small business owned by the "boss" and the "boss" is a total asshat. How on earth does he expect employees to daily risk their wages and even savings or money that they don't actually have for his business? If he wants to hold someone other than himself responsible for design mistakes then he needs to hire an agency or freelancer and even then he will have to proof the work himself and sign off on it. What a spanner! :rolleyes:

high employee turn over by any chance?

[CkretAjint]

There are bound to be mistakes and mess-ups. Comes with the territory. You want BIG mistakes, do large format. LOL!

You mean like that puppy shops phone number that was off by 1 digit and connected you to the local porn shop? Yah... been there done that!

Or perhaps its the printer that crapped out half way through a print, so the board was printed in 2 sections. We didn't realize until it was hung up on the side of the busiest highy during rush hour traffic, that we seemed an extra letter in there! "FALLS VILLAGE" became "FALLLS VILLAGE"

LOL!!!! :p


I would so be fired and poor if we had that 'rule' here at my job. :D

[PrintDriver]

ya, me too.

[urstwile]

If you're going to have to pay for your mistakes you should get the actual profits from the job too!!!

Total BS!
Indeed! Well said, Satchel. :)

[budafist]

You mean like that puppy shops phone number that was off by 1 digit and connected you to the local porn shop? Yah... been there done that!

Oops. We once ran an ad for our client with their website as
b l o w f i s h . c o m
istead of
b l o w f i s h s u s h i . c o m

The first one is a site selling sex toys. Client had signed off on it though!

We don't pay for our mistakes here. Thank goodness.

[jamodu]

Where are you located? It is not legal in the UK and I'm assuming from the Americans that have posted that it is not legal in the US either.

This smacks of a small business owned by the "boss" and the "boss" is a total asshat. How on earth does he expect employees to daily risk their wages and even savings or money that they don't actually have for his business? If he wants to hold someone other than himself responsible for design mistakes then he needs to hire an agency or freelancer and even then he will have to proof the work himself and sign off on it. What a spanner! :rolleyes:

high employee turn over by any chance?


We're a UK based company and funnily enough, the churn rate is pretty low. With regards to hiring an agency tough one - we ARE a design agency - the mistake was made on an advert for one of our clients. Because no formal signoff was obtained, that client is now refusing to pay for the advert (even though they did see a final proof - just not signed).

It has happened quite a bit recently which I suppose is why the boss is a bit miffed. One of the messups involced about £8k worth of football pitch boards missing a critical detail...so PD I can relate to the large format comment!!

I've just been tasked with implementing a complete checking procedure for all jobs....any pointers?

[budafist]

Printing does not go ahead without formal signoff regardless of deadlines. End of story. If the client needs half an hour to read an ad, they need to give you half and hour more to work on the job. Or you charge rush fees or something.

[PrintDriver]

^yes. No signoff, or waiver, no job. We use waivers a lot when we only have hours to print rather than days. But the client signs or no print.

[CkretAjint]

I agree completely with PD and Buda.

[emmerse]

A designer at the agency I work for ran into this problem a long time ago. Normally, we are not at risk of being charged for reprints, but he had several big mistakes within a few months. He faced the option of paying for the last one, or find a new job. He paid.

[frankster]

Because no formal signoff was obtained

That is the issue that needs to be resolved, nothing else. Nothing should ever go to print without being signed off on by the client. If someone repeatedly messes jobs up and makes the company look bad then they need to be fired, regardless of if they are willing to pay for thier mistakes or not.

[thebest]

Wowzers... that doesn't sound like a fun spot to be in.

Moral of the story is to get client approval, in print, at all costs... or it will cost you.