New "Proof Approval" form

[GoodPeopleFlags]

So I designed a fancy "Proof Approval" form to send out with proofs and it requires a signature or an email saying *approved* and the form says that an email is considered an electronic signature. We've always sent out proofs and gotten approvals, but now it's just more "official".

On day 2 of implementing this new form, a lady comes in and tells me she got the email and to go ahead with the order (x10, 18x24, d/s) but didn't bring her form. I printed it out, she looked at it, signed and dated it. I almost started printing them yesterday but decided to wait until this morning. There was an email this morning that the website was spelled wrong. She came in the shop to see if I'd gotten her email. I told her she was lucky I didn't start printing them the night before. She says, "But I wrote the website down correctly on that piece of paper" and I said, "That's why we send out proofs" and she said, "But I didn't catch it" and I said, "Yep, ya gotta look over them carefully" and she says again, "But I didn't catch it" and I said everything was fine, I hadn't started them, so there was no problem. I know if I'd started printing them, she would've used "but I didn't catch it" as her argument to get them fixed for free.

I'm sure that problems with come up, even with signed approvals. What are some problems you guys have run into so that I can maybe avoid them before they happen?

 

[SignaramaFL]

We haven't had many issues, but just as you've now implemented, we have a template in flexi that we apply to anything that is designed, and it has an area for a signature and date, and it has a disclaimer that says that by signing it the customer is held responsible for any misspellings or grammar errors.

 

[Locals Find!]

I have been putting in very large Arial Black Letters at the top & bottom of my proofs

"Read everything carefully as I can't spell and spell check is broken. I am not responsible for any mistakes after you approve this. Read this again please."

 

[HulkSmash]

When a customer gives us copy and WE spell it wrong, and they even approve the proof, we redo the job at half price. It shines on us as well, when we don't spell something right, it's both our faults for not checking their original spelling over, and their fault for not properly checking their proof.

 

[David Wright]

That's why we need some collaborating platform. There are online subscriptions for this but I just bought Adobe Acrobat to try to handle this.
I haven't figured out enough in the settings to make this painless, but it does allow for uploading to Adobes site or email and signed digital pdf to customer right from the program. You can even allow their Adobe reader to do mark ups and commenting and track all with the program.

More to come as I learn more.

 

[Kevin-shopVOX]

That's why we need some collaborating platform. There are online subscriptions for this but I just bought Adobe Acrobat to try to handle this.
I haven't figured out enough in the settings to make this painless, but it does allow for uploading to Adobes site or email and signed digital pdf to customer right from the program. You can even allow their Adobe reader to do mark ups and commenting and track all with the program.

More to come as I learn more.

Online proofing is much more efficient than what you are doing. You should be able see revisions, which one was approved, have the ability to have the customer approve directly or send comments and see all of that on the same screen all while it not being a struggle or pain. SignVOX does just that and more. It really has made the proofing process much more efficient.