Most Wide-Format Printers Accept Walk-Ins, but Some Limits May Apply

QUESTION:

Do you accept walk-ins?

YES: 79%

• Our main office is situated to received walk-ins well. Our signage manufacturing hub is a little less open to the public, being more appointment based. In both cases, we look at our buildings as a showcase for what we do and as a huge competitive advantage for us in the marketplace. — Wade Neff, Strategic Factory
• We are in a mostly residential area, yet we are 70 percent walk-ins. — Tommy Melendez, Master Graphics NYC
• Walk-ins are welcome but very rare. — Jim Dittmer, JDA Creative Color
• To a degree. [We accept] walk-ins to discuss projects, schedule appointments and answer general sales questions. — Tami Napolitano, Awesome Graphics
• Mostly by appointment, but we are located where there is not a lot of foot traffic. — Linda Fong, Fastsigns Oakland, Fastsigns Hayward
• We primarily deal with company marketing or promotions departments, but if someone finds us, we help them out. — David Kaiser, Digitype Design

NO: 21%

• We’ve positioned ourselves to redirect most of the walk-ins we receive. We view turning people away as a negative experience and pointing them in the direction of a shop that can give them a quicker product at a better price is a win-win. We’ve also partnered with some great clients that were walk-ins. Taking a few minutes to connect with someone who took the time to seek you out always looks better for your organization. Even if you don’t take their job, they can still leave with a solution instead of a negative view about a company that wouldn’t give them the time of day. — Rob Matthews, M3
• No. We get too many elementary questions, and 99.9 percent of the time they’re for a service we don’t offer. The time lost to step away from a design project or production or install is hard to recover from. — Kristin Lanzarone, WrapStar Pro
• We do not have a full-time person waiting to host someone, so it distracts anyone who would have to jump into a sudden appointment. We plan to hire someone who could be available for this, though. — John Sherman, Flavor Paper