Take a Magnifying Glass to Your Terms and Conditions
Is there anything more uninviting than fine print? Just the phrase alone seems to raise the hackles.
Why does some of the most important information get chunked into blocks of text that only law school grads understand? Let’s zoom in on the fine print and make it easier to see what needs to be there.
Ideally, your contracts should only include vital info, and if it’s truly essential, it should be crystal clear.
From one business to another, here are six must-haves in your converting contract’s terms and conditions.
1) Guaranteed Trial Orders
Commonly referred to as GTOs, these are meant to give you peace of mind if the finished product doesn’t work as agreed upon. Some companies, for example, offer limited GTOs to cover costs associated with product performance. However, it’s important to note that there are other costs outside of just refunding or replacing a faulty tape.
At Walker Tape Converting, we take it a step further and offer a complete guaranteed trial offer that covers every cent a customer pays. To get more specific even, we cover all associated labor and overhead costs. Or in other words, we take responsibility for the entire internal costs of taking a job on in the first place.
If the finished product configuration, precision tolerance, or quality doesn’t work for the customer, then they can return everything for a full refund. Our reasoning here is simple and human-centered. If the product doesn’t work like we agreed it would, then it shouldn’t cost the customer a dime.
2) Lead Time Guarantees
Make absolutely sure there are clearly defined lead time guarantees in the terms and conditions. These allow you to make your production process as efficient and as dependable as possible.
Imagine trying to schedule launches or orders without knowing for sure when you can count on converted products coming in. That just sounds like a recipe for constant stress.
Guaranteed lead times give you the freedom of scheduling with confidence. We also see it as a sign of building trust between us, as well as giving you the ability to build trust with your customers.
3) Quality Specification Guarantees
Precision is key to both your production process and to the overall quality of the end product. If you’re receiving inconsistently converted products from your converter, then a lot can go wrong. Stray adhesive can gum up your workflow and raise labor costs by creating waste that takes a hit out of your ROI.
That’s why quality control and assurance is so important. Staying within and holding to agreed upon measurement tolerances ensures you provide your customer with consistent quality. If quality becomes inconsistent, then that could render your business less competitive.
4) Price Lock Guarantees
A price lock prevents any increases over a certain period of time. This ensures that you can make strategic budget plans for that duration, knowing there won’t be any tacked on, surprise costs. This is simply a good business practice.
“After the fact” price hikes feel wrong because they are. It’s as simple as that. We, for instance, commonly offer a price lock guarantee for one year. Even if raw material costs on our end increase, we eat the costs and honor the deal we’ve made with customers.
5) Easy, Hassle-Free Returns Policies
This is exactly what it sounds like. Be wary of contracts that sound defensive or evasive with a never-ending list of exceptions to returns.
The way we see it, a return means you’ve trusted us with your business, and we want to honor that trust. Returning the product should be as easy and friendly as it was to purchase the product in the first place.
Your converter should also allow for credit-back options as well. This could streamline the return into a quick order to solve the problem and get everything rolling smoothly again.
6) Finished Product Sample Approval
Just like with price lock guarantees, this is simply good business. Customers should get the chance to see and experiment with a sample before the pressure’s applied to commit to the investment. Moving forward with an order without knowing if it will work is scary. In the long run, doing so puts both the converter and the customer at risk of wasting a lot of time and money on the wrong solution.
Sending sample approvals establishes a relationship of trust and respects the work you’ve put into a project. We see each customer’s order as our way of investing in their success.
Let’s end on a blunt truth: some contracts out there are written as if they’re getting away with something. At Walker Tape Converting, however, we only want your business if we can actually help you.
Request a free quote, and enjoy that philosophy of ours in action!
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