Hello, #northwestarkansas. We have some news!

When Wild Beaver launched in Q4 2021 we really thought we were just gonna RETAIL PRINT SHOP like Ken does BEACH .

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But Northwest Arkansas took our beaver paw and said, "Actually, what we really need from you is a little bit different than copies and scans and fax services." And of course we said SURE! WE CAN DO THOSE LIL BIT DIFFERENT THINGS FOR YOU!

By the end of Q3 2023, those "little bit different things" (design and production services) are now what we do. We're on the cusp of bringing on a 4th member to our design team. I'm on the phone with my vendors about new production equipment. Everything that's growing at Wild Beaver is happening BEHIND the walk-in retail service counter. Copies, faxing, scanning -- these services don't come close to generating the revenue to cover the wages of the staff who run the counter, but I have to have them there to help anyone who walks in.

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Last week, the proverbial dam broke for me as a business owner...there were too many situations at our walk-in counter that made it very clear our current business configuration was not working. We could be a retail print shop or a Design and Production Studio, but not both. It isn't sustainable.

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After careful consideration, we have decided to close our walk-in retail counter operations and discontinue the walk-in services provided there. This change is effective immediately.

For most of our customers, this structural change won't have any impact. We're still going to be printing emails, jobs can be picked up at our location like always. The only change our customers will see is in our workflow process as we implement new project management software.

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To reiterate, the only customer segment impacted with this change are the walk-in customers seeking on demand copying, fax services, and those who bring in their phone or laptop to have files printed on demand. These on-demand services are being eliminated with our retail shop operations.

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With the new business format, we can  put 100% of our energy, team talents, and resources where we are experiencing rapid growth, and that is design and production work.

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As a Studio, we'll be able to focus on our mission to become the  creative resource we want to be for our fellow small businesses,  nonprofits, civic groups, and event organizers in Northwest Arkansas.

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And by changing our name to Wild Beaver Design & Production Studio, our business focus is clear and disassociates us from a retail print shop operation.

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By the way, you can still call us Wild Beaver for short ;)

What all is changing?

DISCONTINUED SERVICES:

• Copy Services
• Faxing
• Walk-in / On Demand / While you wait Printing Services
• Walk-in / On Demand Meetings with Designers (this is now by Appointment Only)
• Walk-in / On Demand Print Project Consultations (this is now by Appointment Only)
• Walk-in / On Demand Notary Services (this is now by Appointment Only)
• Walk-in / On Demand Scanning Services
• File transfers from USB / Flash drives (please email your files, upload via the website, send a transfer link, or ask for a Dropbox transfer link)
• Mailing, shipping, packing, and return drop offs (we haven't done this since May but everyday people come in with packages to pack or ship)

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Q & A

• WILL YOU STILL PRINT MY ONE OR TWO PAGE FILES IF I EMAIL THEM TO YOU? Yes! We will continue to print one and two page file attachments,  just not as a walk-in , on-demand service. Our production team will print emails on a first come / first serve basis unless you specify your order as a Rush with the time it is needed. (Our team will send you an estimate with the rush fee + printing fees before your files are printed). The new minimum fee for our file printing service is $5.00

• I AM NOT A BUSINESS, CAN I STILL USE WILD BEAVER FOR MY PRINTING? Absolutely! We will continue working with individuals just not as walk-in service.  A personal project, family event, birthday parties invites, baby showers items, stuff for kids sports teams or Scout Troops., etc. - we'll carry on printing all these things, you don't have to be a business or nonprofit to work with us. Send us an e-mail (print@wildbeaverprintshop) to let us know about your project. If you'd like to discuss it in person with a designer, we can schedule a consultation appointment for you.
• WHY ARE YOU NO LONGER TAKING USB OR FLASH DRIVES?  1) Network security issues . 2) Liability issues 3)Most of our customers who bring us USB drives for file transfers expect us to print their items while they wait, and that's a service we no longer provide. We ask that you either email your files to us, use the file uploader on our website, send us a link to a Cloud drive (OneDrive, Google Drive, WeTransfer, etc), or request a Dropbox link from us. All print jobs will be printed on a first come / first serve basis unless a rush service is noted with the deadline information.
• CAN I STILL WALK IN FOR A QUICK QUOTE ON SOMETHING? One of the "dam breaking" situations I experienced that led to this change was a situation of a quote given verbally to someone at the counter. The customer placed the order and the total they were changed (which was correct) was very different than what they were told verbally "on-the-fly" at the counter. As you can imagine, this caused a lot of upset. So no, we will no longer provide "quick quotes" at the counter or over the phone in an effort to avoid repeat situations. If you'd like to receive a quote, send us an email about your project and we'll get you  a written quote ASAP
• I PROMISE MY PROJECT IS REALLY SMALL AND SUPER EASY, CAN I JUST POP IN AND TALK TO SOMEONE, I SWEAR IT WILL JUST BE 5 MINUTES. The number of people coming in for "quick meetings" has escalated to the point that it's become a serious operational issue for my design team. Some of these meetings are quick, but too often they spin into 15 minute or 20 minute meetings. All it takes is a handful of these unexpected "five minute meetings" to upend our project schedule for the day.  So apologies, the appointment scheduling rule is one we NEED to enforce. Besides, we'd much rather be PREPARED to meet with you -- paper samples, maybe some real examples if we have them, pricing on different options. It will be a much better experience than us scribbling random notes on whatever spare piece of paper we can find at the counter or watching us scramble through boxes of samples trying to find the right thing to show you.  

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WORKFLOW / SERVICE CHANGES

You'll see a change in how we process your print jobs and projects:

1. When you submit your job, we'll either (a) create an Quotation and Purchase Contract form (estimate) and email it to you or , (b) reach out with questions if we have any
2. You must digitally sign the contract to show you accept the quote. or mark the contract as Rejected.
3. You do not have to send the form back, we are automatically notified when you press the "Accept" or "Reject" button.
4. If you accept the contract, we will email a Quickbooks Invoice to you. Payment of the invoice must be made before we start production of your job. The only exceptions will be if prior written arrangement has been made or if you have an auto-pay account with Wild Beaver.
5. Once the invoice is paid, our design and production team will  mark your scheduled job as paid & cleared for production.

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