EmbroidMe

Recently I had an «emergency embroidery» need, having a CEO playing in a golf tournament on Monday and not knowing until Friday that he didn’t own a company logo’ed shirt.
I called EmbroidMe because I have been by it a number of times and it was the first (and only) place to come to mind. I explained how I wanted to bring in a shirt and have a company logo embroidered on it, and is there any way they could have it done same day or at least over the weekend.
The person on the other end of the phone pretty much told me I was crazy, that it would be 7 – 10 days. I explained that yes, I understand the usual process, but is there any way they could fit in a quickie, obviously being compensated for such. I was told that NO ONE can do it, same day embroidery doesn’t exist. I asked, is it done in house? if so, can’t you just take the shirt over, put it on the machine, have the logo sewn out, and then return to business as usual? I mean, one would think it was POSSIBLE, even if it wasn’t the usual MO.
I then asked if they can’t do it, could she maybe recommend another place that may be able to. I mean, it happens a lot that you aren’t able to fill an order, but you are able to say «maybe try Bob’s up the street, they might be able to?»
The person very rudely let me know that they have a PRODUCTION SCHEDULE booked WEEKS in advance, and NO, they can’t just pop in a random order, and again — NO one can. It was very clear this person, despite sharing a parking lot with Burger King, did not believe in having it «your way, right away.»
After googling, Unilocaling and getting twitter recommendations (thanks, dedicated Unilocalers and friends!) I spoke with several companies, asking each one if they could do it (same day or 2 day turnaround) and at least 4 – 5 said yes, email us the logo and we’ll get started on it and you can pick it up this afternoon or tomorrow.
I decided to go with Bloom Embroidery, based on proximity to my office and the nice lady on the phone who was assuring me they could get it done, no sweat, just come on in and we’ll get it for you.
I called EmbroidMe back, to let the helpful girl on the other end of the line know that yes, there are companies in Dallas who can do same day or 2 day turnarounds — admittedly it was partly to let her know they lost a potential customer due to her non willingness to go talk to someone else in the shop (I can’t believe the owner of the store would have shut me down like that) but mostly to help the next person who calls with the same question — maybe she will be more helpful next time.
Well, imagine my surprise when the conversation went like this:
Me: Hi, I just called a few minutes ago and was asking about a quick embroidery need? for my CEO, for the golf tournament on Monday?
Rude Person who works at EmbroidMe: Yeah? So?
Me: Well I just wanted to let you know that I called around a bunch of places, and there actually are a few that do it same day — several, actually.
RP: Oh really. How many?
Me: (startled and confused) Um, I guess like 4 or 5, that I talked to. I mean, they probably don’t usually do same day, but they definitely said they could make it happen if that’s what I needed
RP: WHO.
Me: Huh?
RP: What are the names of these companies?
Me: (blood pressure rising, voice getting higher) Um, ok… looking at my sticky notes here — well the one I’m going with is Bloom Inc, but I also talked to Impress Designs, ClearSky 24…
RP: (interrupting me) That’s 3. You said there were several.
Me: um, I’m not going to give you my entire rolodex, I just wanted you to know that there are definitely some companies in town that can do it, so next time someone needs something on the fly maybe you won’t tell them IT CANT BE DONE.
RP: Well, they are probably going out of business. We are busy, that’s why we can’t do it. We have enough business that we don’t have to take random one off orders — they are probably hurting for business.
Me: (starting to lose my temper) Listen, I’m just trying to tell you, that from a marketing standpoint, it would be in your best interest to try and please a customer — and if you can’t do it, there are some places that can. Don’t tell someone «it can’t be done» when it’s clear that other businesses are willing to do what it takes to close the deal.
RP: WELL GOOD FOR YOU! I’M GLAD YOU GOT WHAT YOU NEEDED!
IM SO HAPPY FOR YOU!
Me: GOOD!
RP: GREAT!
Then I think we mutually hung up in each others’ face. Pretty sure I slammed the phone down a few times and then felt silly for getting so mad at a person over embroidery. But SHEESH, honestly! WTF?
I’m giving it 2 stars, not just one — because I feel sure that the owner or manager has no idea this is going on when people call, and I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt that under normal circumstances the company probably does good work — it’s just that attitude is everything to me and I am MUCH happier taking my business elsewhere.