Issue link: https://nbm.uberflip.com/i/1491555
G R A P H I C S - P R O. C O M A P R I L 2 0 2 3 • G R A P H I C S P R O 8 3 A W A R D S & C U S T O M I Z A T I O N W e know what happens when we "assume." Nevertheless, I will assume that producing personalized items, and selling them, is the primary reason you have purchased a laser engraver. As always, I don't claim to be a know-it-all on the subject — but in 20 years or so, I've found an awful lot of things that don't work. Personalization seems, on the surface at least, to be something that we can throw ourselves into without necessarily giving it an awful lot of thought. If you are producing items only for your own personal use, that may be true to a great extent. However, when you begin to produce personalized products for custom- ers, an awful lot of your own ideas go out the window. We have always heard, "e customer is always right!" My own feeling has always been that the customer is not always right — in fact, there are occasions when not advising a customer about potential chal- lenges with a specific request may actually be against their best interests and could make life extremely difficult for you. But, the customer is always the customer, so on some occasions, you will have to explore a material, a design source, or something else that lies outside your comfort zone or that requires a process you are not equipped to follow. (Engraving something cylindrical when you don't have a rotary adaptor, for example.) If you don't want to purchase more equipment or venture into something new, then of course, you'll have to discuss alternatives with your customer or reluctantly turn down an order. And that is perfectly fine — better to disappoint a customer than waste money, time, and effort doing something a customer is going to be unhappy with. e production of personalized items is always going to be driven by several factors: The limitations of your machine Cutting thicker items may not be possible with a lower-powered machine, and cutting suitable stock may not produce a profes- sional finish without a cutting table. is is particularly true of the back side of the piece you're cutting. Personalization TAKING A BACK SEAT FOR Understanding what the customer wants is the top priority John Morman is the owner of Celtic Tides in Lexington, Virginia. He and his wife, Mary Jo, have been running the shop since 2005. B Y J O H N M O R M A N The customer is not always right – in fact, there are occasions when not advising a customer about potential challenges with a specific request may actually be against his or her best interests. (Images courtesy of John Morman)