proof delay and vacation time

sellis

Hi all, I'm going on a weeks vacation in a little while and I'm wondering how to handle proof delays. In the past, when I've taken short trips I would just extend the proof delay for all galleries so I'd have time when I got back. This trip will be at least ten days and the maximum proof delay is seven days.

One thought is to put a message on my main page stating that orders should be placed after XYZ date and put the word out on my personal and business Facebook pages. But then that also alerts people that I'm on vacation!!! I've got about 15 active coupons/print credits and then there's the people who are just ordering prints without a coupon.

How do you all handle it? :dunno:scratch

Thanks,
Sam

Allen

sellis wrote: »

Hi all, I'm going on a weeks vacation in a little while and I'm wondering how to handle proof delays. In the past, when I've taken short trips I would just extend the proof delay for all galleries so I'd have time when I got back. This trip will be at least ten days and the maximum proof delay is seven days.

One thought is to put a message on my main page stating that orders should be placed after XYZ date and put the word out on my personal and business Facebook pages. But then that also alerts people that I'm on vacation!!! I've got about 15 active coupons/print credits and then there's the people who are just ordering prints without a coupon.

How do you all handle it? scratch

Thanks,
Sam

The safest way is put a site wide password on your site.

sellis

Allen wrote: »

The safest way is put a site wide password on your site.

Interesting idea, but I don't want people to not be able to view the photos either. Unless I make the password hint a vacation message! Hmmmmmm!

Smug Eric

You could turn off the printable option in all your galleries using the Multiple Galleries option in the settings. Then if you have internet access you can can turn the printable option back on 3 or 4 days into your vacation so visitors can order again.

sellis

Smug Eric wrote: »

You could turn off the printable option in all your galleries using the Multiple Galleries option in the settings. Then if you have internet access you can can turn the printable option back on 3 or 4 days into your vacation so visitors can order again.

I like that idea, along with a message on my main page that I'm on vacation and can not fulfill print orders until I return.

Thanks!
Sam

jfriend

Rather than all the talk about how to prevent orders from being placed, I assume you're in the business of generating sales. Wouldn't you rather figure out how to be able to process a few orders while you're on vacation so customers can buy when they want to rather than locking them out of placing orders?

Do you have a laptop you can take with you and load up your usual processing software on? If so, all you need is an external drive that you can copy your photo library onto and have everything you need to spend a few hours making sure your orders can go through without a hitch.

sellis

jfriend wrote: »

Rather than all the talk about how to prevent orders from being placed, I assume you're in the business of generating sales. Wouldn't you rather figure out how to be able to process a few orders while you're on vacation so customers can buy when they want to rather than locking them out of placing orders?

Do you have a laptop you can take with you and load up your usual processing software on? If so, all you need is an external drive that you can copy your photo library onto and have everything you need to spend a few hours making sure your orders can go through without a hitch.

I could bring the laptop with me, but I don't know if the cottage we're renting has Internet access. I don't take many actual days OFF and I'd like to be able to relax for a while. Today was my birthday and I uploaded a wedding, met with a client, finalized a contract for a Quincienara, and did a little networking with a venue. Granted, I'll still be returning emails and calls while on vacation, but I really don't want to be up late retouching images (because I won't sacrifice family vacation time for work) and then be dragging while we're doing stuff with the kids the next day.

I could handle small orders by just downloading the JPEG from SM, doing a quick retouch, and replacing it for printing, but sometimes I get orders of 100 prints at a time or orders for large canvases that require I go back to the RAW file to make sure I do the best edit.

I also know that 99% of my images can be printed as they are uploaded, but I want them to look their best so I give them a little extra attention before going to print. Not to mention that I have 79,555 images in my SM galleries! That's a lot of files to haul with me.

sellis

Case in point- the wedding I uploaded TODAY just used their $500 print credit to order a bunch of 5x7s through 11x14s. I definitely wouldn't want that going out the door without additional love and attention! I do think that clients will respect that I'm away and will wait to order prints if they know they'll get a better print.

Sam

jfriend

sellis wrote: »

Case in point- the wedding I uploaded TODAY just used their $500 print credit to order a bunch of 5x7s through 11x14s. I definitely wouldn't want that going out the door without additional love and attention! I do think that clients will respect that I'm away and will wait to order prints if they know they'll get a better print.

Sam

That makes sense for an event like that. It would be nice if you could contact the help desk and ask them to extend the proof delay for a specific order while you're on vacation. I wonder if they can do that?

SamirD

jfriend wrote: »

It would be nice if you could contact the help desk and ask them to extend the proof delay for a specific order while you're on vacation. I wonder if they can do that?

That's what I was thinking. Maybe extend the proof delay on an item once it's ordered? It would take you watching email for orders and emailing the help desk to hold them, but it doesn't seem like a hard request.

Andy

jfriend wrote: »

That makes sense for an event like that. It would be nice if you could contact the help desk and ask them to extend the proof delay for a specific order while you're on vacation. I wonder if they can do that?

We can't - but we can always cancel an order in proof delay and then replace that order when the pro returns. Just write our Support Heroes and we'll be able to help.

sellis

Andy wrote: »

We can't - but we can always cancel an order in proof delay and then replace that order when the pro returns. Just write our Support Heroes and we'll be able to help.

That's great to hear Andy! I knew there was a simple way to handle this. If I get any orders while on vacation, I'll email SM, then I'll email the client to let them know their prints will be delayed so they aren't left wondering.

What a relief! Now I can leave that beastly 17" MBP at home and just bring my iPad

Sam