“Is it printed yet?” should not stop the studio.

Most of what rings a print shop is somebody checking a proof, a finish date or a price on a run they have already talked about. Ava answers those, and your studio keeps its head down on the work.

Seaview Hotel, 09:18A job update, answered by Ava
Answered
  1. Picked up on the second ring
  2. “Will the banners be ready for Friday’s event?”Mark, Seaview Hotel
  3. Found the job
    3 × pull-up bannersPrinting todayCollect Thursday
Written up for your team
Job
3 pull-up banners
Ready
Thursday from 2pm, for collection
Sent
Confirmation emailed at 09:20
What your phone rings about

Mostly people checking on a job already in.

Incoming call Mon, 08:52
“Did you get the artwork I sent this morning?”
Incoming call Tue, 11:20
“Will the banners be ready for Friday’s event?”
Incoming call Wed, 15:47
“What would five hundred flyers cost on the heavier card?”
Incoming call Thu, 17:35
“Can I collect them, or are you delivering?”
Ava, inbound

What she does with them

  • Answers the proof, turnaround and price questions out of your price list and what is on each job, so the studio is not stopping every ten minutes.
  • Sends the quote to their inbox while they are still on the phone, so they are not ringing the next supplier on the list.
  • Writes the call up and emails it to the desk it belongs to, with anything that needs a person marked for one.
  • Keeps doing it at six in the evening, on a Saturday and over Christmas, when the job would otherwise have gone elsewhere.
On your line day and night, weekends included
Sarah, outbound

What she does about the ledger

  • Works through the accounts that have run past terms and asks for a date, starting by email.
  • Gets firmer every round nobody answers, inside your hours and never off her own judgement.
  • Stops the day it is paid, and hands the account back to you when it is beyond asking.
Inside your hours, and never off her own judgement