Kinko's
The Company With A Kink In Customer Service
Part Two....Or
Have You Seen This Ad?
"Kinko's - We're Doing More."

If you read last month’s story on Kinko's you know I'm not happy with them.  So, after I put it in writing did they wake up and make it right?  Did the "power" of the press get to them?

In a word "NO".

At the end of this article you will see my complete E-Mail correspondence with Kinko's on this matter.

To cut to the chase.

As you may recall, Kinko's really messed me up on a project I was doing.  They made me look bad to my customer, and I lost money on the job to save face with my client.

Kinko's turned this over to the store manager (we will overlook the fact that she knew about this all along as she was in the store when it happened); she offered me a minor store credit, and a major attitude.

She emphatically stated that Kinko's had no real responsibility in this matter.  That when they attempted to do the print job for me it was a courtesy.  As such, the problems I encountered were not their fault or responsibility and they had no liability in this matter.  Only as a matter of customer relations, I would be offered a store credit in the $100.00 area.

I explained that I was out over $700.00, so $100.00 was a joke and an insult.  And that after Kinko's screwed up my job, then totally hid from or denied any responsibility why in the world would I ever use them.

The store manager thanked me for letting them know about Impress (http://www.impress1.com/  (818) 999-1600) and stated in the future they would send jobs like mine to them.  But as Kinko's had in fact not printed anything for me, they had no contract with me, so there was no breach of contract or damages.

I explained that Kinko's needs to learn a lot about customer service and that when they told me they would print the poster for $80.00, that was an "Offer".  When I said OK do it and gave them the computer file to print, that was an "Acceptance".  When you have an "Offer" and an "Acceptance", you have a contract.  When Kinko's did not print the poster, that was a "Breach", of the contract.  When I gave my client a discount and ate the job to protect my reputation that was me "Mitigating My Damages", and the money I lost was my "Actual Damages".  My "Actual Damages" were a direct result of that "Breach" of the "Contract" and they were lucky that we were not dealing with any loss to my reputation or future business.

She just told me that I should take the credit and be happy and that "came down from the top" and if it were not for the "news story" I would not be getting anything.

I decided to run another story.  And I will be forwarding this one to Kinko's new PR Agency.  If that fails I will take legal action.  In any event I will let you all know how it turns out.

As before, I will print any response Kinko's wants printed.

Talking about PR Agencies, lets get back to their new commercial.

In it you see a guy running around yelling in a panic.  He then wakes up from his nightmare.

Then you see the slogan, "Kinko's - We're Doing More."

Boy, can I relate to that ad.  Only thing is my nightmare with Kinko's is still going on.  As for the doing more,  More to piss me off, more to jerk me around , More to.... You get the idea.

Now for that E-Mail record I promised:

March 12, 2001

Dear Mr. Lipshultz:

I am forwarding your additional comments regarding this matter to our branch manager, regional operations manager, and our legal department for their review.

Sincerely,

Adrienne Burks
Customer Relations

cc:   Kathleen Dudek, Regional Operations Manager
       Lisa Lovullo, Branch Manager
       Legal Department

 

*** Original Letter ***



 "Mike Lipshultz" <Mike@biznetonline.com> 03/09 8:02 AM >>>
This is to update you.  The manager of the Van Nuys store did call me.  Long story short.  Kinkos not only failed to resolve this, but is still treating me like I'm stupid.

She made it extremely clear that Kinkos would not give me a dime.  She stated that she was willing to give me a generous offer of a store credit in the amount I paid out for the print, minus what Kinkos would have charged. This is about $90.00 to 100.00.

 I was not going to get anything for my time, aggravation, or lost profit.

When I explained to her that Kinko’s entered into a contract with me to deliver goods by a targeted time, and they totally failed.  As there was a contract I was entitled to all my damages due to Kinkos breach of the contract.  I told her my damages were the $500.00 I lost on the job (I waived all charges to my client to avoid the lose of future business and damage to my reputation.) and the expenses of $225.00 the client would also have paid.

Again the store manager told me there was no contract as Kinko’s did not do
any work for me.  I explained that when they agreed to do the job, that was
a contract.  When they did not print the file, that was the breach.  Also Kinko’s failed to mitigate damages by not even notifying me about it.

Kinko’s put me through it.  I not only came close to losing a client, but almost had my reputation severely damaged.  Thankfully, due to my extreme efforts, and respect for the fact that when something goes wrong on my side, making it right for the client comes first.  I was able to get the work done (but it was done late and past the target time).  To keep my relationship with the client, and my reputation, I waived all fees to the client ( I "ate" the job).

Had I not done so, my damages would be the loss of future business and damage to my reputation.  A lot more then the $725.00 I am out.

I bent over backwards to keep things good with my client.  And Kinko’s (the party that was at total fault) is still trying to bend me over.

I suggest you talk to your legal department about the validity of what I am saying.

I will not quietly go away, nor will I take a store credit to a business that is doing a number on me.

Mike Lipshultz
Executive Editor
BizNet Online Magazine
http://www.biznetonline.com/
"The Premier Business Magazine On The Web"
 
----- Original Message -----
From: "KCO Customer Relations" <CUSTOMERRELATIONS@kinkos.com>
To: <Mike@biznetonline.com>
Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2001 10:36 PM
Subject: Re: Story on Kinkos


** High Priority **


Dear Mr. Lipshultz:

Thank you for your follow-up message, and I apologize for misidentifying
the Kinko's branch in my previous response.

I am correcting the information in our database and forwarding your
message to the branch manager and regional operations manager of our
Van Nuys, CA - Sepulveda branch to make them aware of your concerns.

 Sincerely,

 Adrienne Burks
 Customer Relations

cc:   Cathy Reissman, Regional Operations Manager
        Kathy Dudek, Regional Operations Manager
        Vince Tessitory, Branch Manager
        Lisa Luvolle, Branch Manager

"Mike Lipshultz" <Mike@biznetonline.com> 02/27 6:06 AM >>>
If someone would bother to talk to me, you would know it was not the Glendale branch.  I never said it was, so I don't know why you think it is. It was the Van Nuys Branch, on Sepulveda Blvd.   I believe it is store # 1902.  The date I dropped the work off was 2-19-2001.  It was to be ready by 10:00 am, on the 20th.
Mike Lipshultz
Executive Editor
BizNet Online Magazine
http://www.biznetonline.com/
"The Premier Business Magazine On The Web"

 ----- Original Message -----
From: "KCO Customer Relations" <CUSTOMERRELATIONS@kinkos.com>
To: <Mike@biznetonline.com>
Sent: Monday, February 26, 2001 11:52 PM
Subject: Re: Story on Kinkos


** High Priority **

Dear Mr. Lipshultz:

Thank you for taking the time to tell us about your experience at our  Glendale, CA branch. As a valued customer, your feedback is important to us.
I apologize for the inconvenience you were caused when your order was not completed by the promised time and you were not contacted when a problem
arose with the printing of your order. At Kinko's we strive to provide our Customers with efficient and professional service. I regret that we did not meet these standards in this instance. I am forwarding your message to the branch manager and requesting that he contact you to address and resolve this matter as soon as possible.
Your patronage of Kinko's is appreciated, and I hope we can continue to be of service. Your feedback will help us reach our goal of providing the best service and quality products to our customers.

Sincerely,

Adrienne Burks
Customer Relations

cc:   Cathy Reissman, Regional Operations Manager
         Vince Tessitory, Branch Manager

"Mike Lipshultz" <Mike@biznetonline.com> 02/26 11:54 AM >>>
Below is the draft of a story being done on Kinko's it will run March
1st.
Mike Lipshultz
Executive Editor
BizNet Online Magazine
http://www.biznetonline.com/
 "The Premier Business Magazine On The Web"


(
Make BizNet my start page)


BizNet Magazine Supports:
Because It's The Right Thing To Do.

If You Entered This Page Through a Search Engine Or Any Other Framed Website Click Here To ReturnTo BizNet Online Magazine


Send mail to editor@biznetonline.com with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © 1997 ~BizNet OnLine Magazine
Last modified: November 08, 2002