Several years ago, on a quiet, sunny afternoon, at the end of a long and productive week, my office phone rang. I answered it and was greeted by a fellow who announced that he was the print vendor for a bank client of mine called McIntosh State Bank, for which I had completed a brand new identity (their logo is in my portfolio, and shown below). Both McIntosh and the print vendor were located south of Atlanta in Jackson Georgia, about an hour and half drive from my office. He then proceeded to let me know that he needed my help. He had received via regular mail my digital production art files on diskettes. Remember those? This was before email and the internet.

These files were for the bank’s new stationery system or the up-front collateral program. He needed those files output to films in order to produce printing plates. They needed to be reverse-facing, emulsion-up, which technically was not a problem. Bear in mind, this would be similar to a mechanic asking for tools to do his job, so it did not fail to escape my awareness that the request was out of the ordinary because printers are expected to output films from the files we designers produce. Producing films isn’t normally the job of the designer.

I kept that awareness to myself as he explained why he was unable to make his own films. His reasons seemed rather weak, but I decided to help because it was in the bank’s best interest. I had the films made by one of my vendors, which, in order to meet his deadline, would also require that I pick them up and deliver them personally. He oddly insisted I do this because he wanted to meet me in person (I learned much later as to why). Thankfully, my vendor had FTP, file transfer protocol, so I was able to use this relatively new online way to send the files for output, thus saving quite a bit of time. I would worry about who to send the bill to later.

The next day, I picked up the films and made the long drive to Jackson. The printer was located just across the street from McIntosh, so he was easy to find. With envelope in hand, I went inside and delivered the films. He inspected them and assured me they were what he needed. He then gave me a short tour of his facility. I made it a point to not discuss the issue of why he was unable to print the films himself, unless he brought the subject up, which he didn’t. As I prepared to leave, I noticed that in the front of his office hung a model of the Star Trek Enterprise. I welcomed the chance to meet a fellow trekker. We talked about that for a few minutes, and shortly afterwards, I left for the long drive back.

It is important to clarify that the film pickup and delivery went well without any obvious problems. The meeting with the print shop owner also went well, and I felt pleased I was able to help both the print vendor and McIntosh State Bank. End of story right? If only it was…

My design contract with McIntosh was completed, and they paid the final balance on time, but I noticed that all communications with them had stopped. Normally, with most clients, there is a continuing need for my services—consulting, print, marketing, signage, etc. After a couple of months, I decided it best to follow up. My messages went unanswered. I knew something was wrong, but I had no way of knowing what it was.

I grudgingly put it behind me. About a year later, I was talking with another client of mine, United Sign Advertising (yes, I did their logo too), who manufactured all the signs for McIntosh. He divulged to me that my behavior with McIntosh was unprofessional and that’s why I could no longer contact them. I was floored. What behavior, I asked? I had no idea what he was talking about. He proceeded to tell me that McIntosh’s print vendor had accused me of being belligerent and rude to him on the day I delivered the films. I responded and clarified that the accusations were lies. I had no idea why the printer did this to me.

Later, as I thought more about what happened, it occurred to me that the printer deliberately set me up. He got me to come down there so that he could sabotage my business relationship with McIntosh. It worked. I lost McIntosh and nearly lost United Sign too because they both believed the lies without getting my side of what happened. Had United Sign not called and told me, to this day I would not know what happened because McIntosh simply cut me off without a word. To me, that was unprofessional of my client so in some ways, I’m better off without them.

What was the motive of the printer? He was most likely paranoid that I was going to take McIntosh away from him, so he attacked first. After all, I designed the new identity for McIntosh State Bank and that made me a threat in the eyes of the printer. Plus, I’m sure he was egotistical enough to believe he could have designed McIntosh’s new identity himself (lots of vendors think this). How dare I do it? Once I learned what he did, I established a new rule: I NEVER communicate with any client’s vendors. I deal only with the client and my client HAS to deal with their vendors themselves. On top of that, most of my client communications are backed up in writing by making judicious use of email. Everything can be verified. This is a good lesson for my readers too. Be cautious and never meet with someone alone. If I ever am forced by a client to talk with a vendor directly in the future, I will force the client to be there too. I will never meet with a vendor alone.