Boston Digital product reviews

As part of my day-job I have to deal with a lot of manufacturers of various goods... this is a great sideline for a reviewer... or is it the other way around? But either way, it means I get a fairly good idea of the current state of the various markets, and a broad sampling of what NZ laughably calls it's "Customer Service Industry". Am I being too cynical? i think not... just keep your mind on that idea next time you stop in at your local shops, or to get your car serviced...

Anyways... it is a rare thing indeed that I find a company who is not only willing, but also able, to provide excellent service while under a pressure deadline... Boston Digital is one such company. A friend of mine recently asked me to design a banner for his business, and also to see if I could arrange a better deal on getting a banner made than the promotions agent he approached. I agreed to give it a shot, since I enjoy a challenge, and it was with great joy that I noticed the agent, who had kindly supplied a faxed sheet of artwork requirements, had neglected to remove the contact details for the manufacturer he was using... so of course I contacted them directly myself.

After some discussions with the Auckland and Wellington branches, and finding that Auckland could do the same job much cheaper due to having all the equipment in-house, while Wellington had to outsource much of the production, a price was settled on that, even with a bit added on to cover my time and expenses, came in nearly $100 cheaper than the best deal the agent could offer. My friend was chuffed, and so was I.

However, due to public holidays and some emails that vanished into cyberspace's friendly neighbourhood blackhole, the artwork didn't get to Boston Digital until Tuesday afternoon, and the banner needed to be back in my hands no later than noon Friday. After a quick phonecall to the main man in Auckland, I was assured it would be possible, but maybe a bit tight. I had notified the local NZ Couriers driver that I would have an urgent parcel arriving on the Friday and could he please ensure it got to me promptly, and so I thought I had it all sorted.

You can imagine my surprise when a parcel arrived on Thursday morning bearing the finished banner! To say I was stunned and impressed would be an understatement akin to calling the tragedy at New Orleans "...a slight bit of rough weather, maybe a bit gusty with sea breezes..."

The banner was as close to the original artwork as technology would allow... in fact it was TOO good because it showed up a couple of glitches in the artwork I had forgotten to fix. -blush- However, much to my relief, the final recipient was overjoyed with the job, and the price, and the stunning turnaround, and offered me much compliment for my efforts... but in all fairness I have to pass those on to the great team at B.D. for their incredible efforts.

Overall, if you have any need for large- or grande-format printing, banners, posters, flags and the like, you should seriously consider checking these guys out before you bother wasting time with any local operators. Let's face it, with the workflow in Auckland, and the portfolio of work done so far by these folks... you would be a fool to ignore them as a serious option.