Posted by Angela Classen on December 23, 2009 at 11:59 AM
This is an update on my experience with using Lulu for a calendar order. You can read my earlier rant here.
I received notice on 12/21 that my calendar order had been shipped and it is scheduled to arrive by 4:30 pm today. Whoop-tee-do. That does me a lot of good since my office is closing at noon today! I had to sheepishly tell my boss this morning "sorry, I don't have your gift yet." My customers who ordered these for their bosses will have to do the same. I did lose several orders though because I couldn't deliver the product in time, which makes me very angry since I ordered in plenty of time according to Lulu's own holiday shipping schedule.
The good news is my BBB complaint has resulted in Lulu agreeing to refund me the $64+ I paid for expedited shipping. However, I'll believe it when I actually see the charge reversed on my credit card.
There are a great number of disgruntled customers over at Lulu right now, including some long-time ones who can't believe how crappy the "customer service" has become. There have been several threads posted in the forums in an effort to get some answers and results. Lulu has had the audacity to lock all these threads because it's "inappropriate" and a "violation of forum posting guidelines." No one has used foul language or resorted to name-calling. Everyone is simply expressing their frustrations and wanting some answers. A couple of people have even suggested filing a complaint with the NC Attorney General's office for deceptive & fraudulent advertising practices. That's how bad it is.
Obviously Lulu doesn't give a flying fig about customer service when they ignore requests for answers, then send "canned" responses, and lock the threads or even ban people from the forum entirely simply because they are looking for help. They have no phone number where you can contact a live person, either. The forums are the only place where you can be heard and possibly get something resolved.
I will never order from Lulu again and would suggest that if any of you are thinking of ordering to rethink your decision. "Customer service" is dead over there.
Posted by Jamie Botdorf on December 23, 2009 at 3:10 PM
I share your pain! I used Lulu for the first time this year for my calendar. I like the Print-on-demond model, but I (and my customers) are so unhappy with the service that I will not use them again.
Several customers complained to me about the ordering process (having to sign up for Lulu membership account before being able to add anything to their cart) that they didn't order anything. Others that did order are now VERY disappointed that they won't be getting their orders in time to give as gifts to their friends, family, etc. It has been a dismall experience all the way around.
Posted by Ian Cox-Leigh on December 23, 2009 at 11:48 PM
I recently put together a photo book through Blurb. It is the result of a two year project to photograph Toronto's Portlands area. I did a large version and it will be my portfolio for the work. I also made a smaller, cheaper, softcover version.
Anyways, I had my fair share of hiccoughs with the process. It took longer than I wanted it to, but not longer than they said it would. In fact, the shipments all came a day or two earlier than predicted at ordering time.
My first copy had print issues that were their own fault (blotchy, streaky prints) and print issues that were my fault (failed to maintain the CMYK converted-profiles when moving through InDesign). I corrected my faults and they refunded my costs due to theirs and I reordered (which ate up another week).
Thankfully, the re-ordered copy is good – as good as I can expect from webpresses (or at least as good as anything I've seen from webpresses locally).
Anyways, throughout this, the one shining star has been Blurb's customer service. I have received prompt and effective replies within an hour or two of emailing them on more than one occasion. My book with the blotchy printing was refunded, plus when I ordered initially, there was a special 20% coupon. I was refunded the full cost including the coupon and including my expedited shipping so that my re-ordered book was totally free. I was very happy.
I did have an issue with my email not going through to them (which might have been my fault). When I posted this to their help forum, I was contacted by two different customer service people within a few short hours. Read the forum thread for the full issue:http://forums.blurb.com/forums/7/topics/7830.
Anyways, this might be of minimal help to you since they only seem to do books not calendars, fliers, etc. . . But, if you want a print on demand company, I can recommend Blurb – if only for the prompt service.
Posted by Genny K. on December 27, 2009 at 8:03 PM
I used Lulu for calendars this year, and frankly, I'm not impressed with the quality, so I won't use them again. I ordered my calendars back in November, and got them within the time they said, so that part was OK. But I'm not really impressed with overall printing job. Pale colors, like clouds, look faded and blotchy. The linen paper on the large size was better, but still not acceptable to me.
I think they do a horrible job of telling you the requirements for photos. Size, resolution, color space- they never give good definitions of what these should be, and there are some apparently wrong things in the design pages, but you can't find out about this unless you page through all the forum thread.
They have a good idea for a business model, but they're not doing a good job of carrying it out. I think they lost a lot of customers this season.
Discussion
3 repliesI received notice on 12/21 that my calendar order had been shipped and it is scheduled to arrive by 4:30 pm today. Whoop-tee-do. That does me a lot of good since my office is closing at noon today! I had to sheepishly tell my boss this morning "sorry, I don't have your gift yet." My customers who ordered these for their bosses will have to do the same. I did lose several orders though because I couldn't deliver the product in time, which makes me very angry since I ordered in plenty of time according to Lulu's own holiday shipping schedule.
The good news is my BBB complaint has resulted in Lulu agreeing to refund me the $64+ I paid for expedited shipping. However, I'll believe it when I actually see the charge reversed on my credit card.
There are a great number of disgruntled customers over at Lulu right now, including some long-time ones who can't believe how crappy the "customer service" has become. There have been several threads posted in the forums in an effort to get some answers and results. Lulu has had the audacity to lock all these threads because it's "inappropriate" and a "violation of forum posting guidelines." No one has used foul language or resorted to name-calling. Everyone is simply expressing their frustrations and wanting some answers. A couple of people have even suggested filing a complaint with the NC Attorney General's office for deceptive & fraudulent advertising practices. That's how bad it is.
Obviously Lulu doesn't give a flying fig about customer service when they ignore requests for answers, then send "canned" responses, and lock the threads or even ban people from the forum entirely simply because they are looking for help. They have no phone number where you can contact a live person, either. The forums are the only place where you can be heard and possibly get something resolved.
I will never order from Lulu again and would suggest that if any of you are thinking of ordering to rethink your decision. "Customer service" is dead over there.
Several customers complained to me about the ordering process (having to sign up for Lulu membership account before being able to add anything to their cart) that they didn't order anything. Others that did order are now VERY disappointed that they won't be getting their orders in time to give as gifts to their friends, family, etc. It has been a dismall experience all the way around.
Here are the links in blurbs store — Small: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1102870 and Large: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1099567.
Anyways, I had my fair share of hiccoughs with the process. It took longer than I wanted it to, but not longer than they said it would. In fact, the shipments all came a day or two earlier than predicted at ordering time.
My first copy had print issues that were their own fault (blotchy, streaky prints) and print issues that were my fault (failed to maintain the CMYK converted-profiles when moving through InDesign). I corrected my faults and they refunded my costs due to theirs and I reordered (which ate up another week).
Thankfully, the re-ordered copy is good – as good as I can expect from webpresses (or at least as good as anything I've seen from webpresses locally).
Anyways, throughout this, the one shining star has been Blurb's customer service. I have received prompt and effective replies within an hour or two of emailing them on more than one occasion. My book with the blotchy printing was refunded, plus when I ordered initially, there was a special 20% coupon. I was refunded the full cost including the coupon and including my expedited shipping so that my re-ordered book was totally free. I was very happy.
I did have an issue with my email not going through to them (which might have been my fault). When I posted this to their help forum, I was contacted by two different customer service people within a few short hours. Read the forum thread for the full issue:http://forums.blurb.com/forums/7/topics/7830.
Anyways, this might be of minimal help to you since they only seem to do books not calendars, fliers, etc. . . But, if you want a print on demand company, I can recommend Blurb – if only for the prompt service.
I think they do a horrible job of telling you the requirements for photos. Size, resolution, color space- they never give good definitions of what these should be, and there are some apparently wrong things in the design pages, but you can't find out about this unless you page through all the forum thread.
They have a good idea for a business model, but they're not doing a good job of carrying it out. I think they lost a lot of customers this season.