AZPrint.com's Corporate Ethics

AZ Print.com values all of our stakeholders not just our shareholders.

On Shareholder Value and Our Responsibilities to Society

For us, increasing shareholder value isn't the sole measure of corporate success. Great sustainable businesses think long-term and consider the interests of all the stake-holders. Stake-holders being the customers, the environment, company employees, the community, suppliers, and of course, the company shareholders.

Our management encourages long-term thinking and our shareholders recognize that "long-term" means well beyond the "1 year plus 1 day" definition used by Wall Street and our tax laws.1  Furthermore, we will not employ exploitive business practices to increase share value, regardless of what the law allows.

We are grateful to operate in a country that has comparatively few regulations and we believe that freedom comes with great responsibilities. We have outlined some of those responsibilities below.

On Treatment of Customers

We view you, dear customer, as more than just a source of revenue. We want your business to succeed and we think that if provide quality products and services, and if we treat you fairly and with trust, then you will reward us with your business. So here are some practices we believe will help you succeed even if it comes at our expense.

We Won't Hold Your Artwork Hostage

You may have noticed the Business Card Designer software installs on your own computer. We opted for a desktop software solution as opposed to an on-line design tool since it allows you to always own your data. Companies like Vistaprint.com allow you to design your marketing material on-line. Not only will you pay a premium for this "priviledge" but you also lose control of your brand. This is a completely rational business decision on their part and we are sure their shareholders love it. But we think we can build a better business when we must rely on on our quality of service and products. We think forced customer loyalty breeds resentment from the customer, and laziness on behalf of the supplier.

If you ever need to download your artwork from us, we make it easy. Perhaps you lost your copies. Perhaps you need to share this data with your web site designer. Perhaps you require a creative service you prefer to perform somewhere else. Or perhaps you are leaving us entirely. Either way you don't owe us an explanation. Because the data belongs to you, not us. See the Data Asset Management discussion on our Free Services page for more information.

No Spam, Telemarketing, or Soliciting

Spam is annoying and ineffective. There we said it. We can picture it now -- spammers in attack formation just waiting to pounce on any business that publicly declares that spam is bad... we'll take our chances.

No telemarketing calls from us either. Telemarketing calls are intrusive (as are solicitors) and you are busy. And making those telemarketing calls come at the expense of our employee's self-esteem. Seriously, we have tried it and our employee looked broken towards the end of the day. A reasonable telemarketer's success rate is around 1%. Imagine wasting 99% of your time and the time of others. We want no part of this. If you do get a call from us, it will purposeful and non-scripted.

We are of course, big fans of direct-mail and flyers. We may leave you a door hanger at your residence or business. But more likely we will send you a promotional piece in the mail. "Direct mail is my first love, and later it became my secret weapon." says David Olgivy, one of Madison Avenue's best and brightest.

By the way, the next time you visit a Bookman's or Changing Hands Bookstore we recommend you search David Olgivy's book "Olgivy on Advertising". This timeless classic is a must read for anyone interested in marketing (or if you are a fan of AMC's Mad Men).

Transparency and No Up-Selling

We don't hit you with hidden fees and we don't try to up-sell you at every step during check-out. The terms of our 250 FREE Business Cards and FREE Services are explained immediately, not 30 minutes into the sales process. No fine-print and no surprises on your bill -- ever.

No Blame Games and No Profiting from Your Mistakes

If something goes wrong with your order our first priority will be on correcting the mistake and reprinting your order. If this mistake is clearly yours, you will receive a 30% discount on the reprint.

Fast, Easy Ordering and Invoicing

We know you are short on time. You may just want to upload your file and explain the terms later. No problem, you can always just click the Fast Upload link (pending) at the top of our page. Or just e-mail us. For most businesses, we don't force you to go through a formal checkout when you are busy. And we can invoice your bookkeeper if it isn't convenient to pay at the time of order.

You can also easily track your order at anytime on the My Orders Page. We have made this webpage smartphone2 friendly. We also will send you an e-mail at the start and completion of your order.

Your business transactions are our privlege. We are obliged make those transactions easy.

Responsive Customer Support

We make our phone number clearly visible at the top of every web page. It is our goal to answer the phone by the third ring. You deserve better than voicemail or unknown hold times.

Confidential and Secure Transactions

We never use any of your artwork for printed samples or for images on our website without permission. We recognize you may be in a competitive market and that you don't want your marketing ideas known to your competitors.

Furthermore, if you ever provide us with a credit card number, that information (other than the last 4-digits and card type) is stored on an RSA-encrypted device that is never connected to the internet or our network.

Customer Rewards Program is Moral Hazard Free

Visit our Rewards Page for further details on our Rewards Program.

On Our Competitors

We believe certain business do best when focusing on its core competency. For the AZPrint.com's team that core competency is full-color offset printing.

To create great outdoor signage, great graphic design, or great apparel requires not only a different skill set than ours, but also a level of support that only a retail business or local graphic artist can provide. Please visit our Local Page to see our recommended local suppliers for these goods and services.

Our primary focus is printing for businesses and organizations. We do not pursue the personal products market like weddings, or family events. We find that personal projects require customization and creativity that is best served by your local retail printer.

We do offer limited free graphic design but that is only for small projects that aren't worth billing. We encourage you to support the Phoenix and Tucson graphic artist community. Click here for a list of our affiliated graphic artists.

We will not undercut the local printers in Tucson or Phoenix and therefore do not price match. Likewise, please keep in mind that your local retail printer can't and shouldn't match our prices. AZPrint.com offers low prince pricing because our turn around is 3 to 5 business days, because we have no retail store, and because we offer limited options. Your retail printer in Phoenix or Tucson should be able to provide better turnaround, greater flexibility, and in personal face-to-face service when you need it.

We value our competitors as they push us to do better. And we have no problem recommending a competitor when we know they are a better fit for your business. Visit our Local Page to see a list of recommended local sign companies, retail printers, custom apparel companies, and local graphic artists.

On Employees

To our part-time or full-time direct employees:

• We commit to providing uncovered employees with health care insurance.
• We commit to not providing or enabling "dead-end" jobs.
• We commit to never have unpaid slaves interns or minimum-wage employees.
• We commit to investing in software, equipment, and management practices that lower work-place stress.
• We commit to treating an employee mistake as part of continuous training, not grounds for abuse or dismissal.
• We commit to building an employee-owned company.
• We commit to continuous employee improvement and education.
• We commit to not exempting management from any workplace policies.
• We commit that management will not discuss politics or religion at the workplace.

On the Environment

Our environmental policies are explained on our Environment Page.

Rant Section

1. U.S. tax law defines "long-term" shareholding as 1 year plus 1 day. We've heard that life expectancy is shorter for Investment Bankers , but 366 days isn't "long" even in dog years.

2. Did you know that the word smartphone (as in the phrase the " my Blackberry 8200 Smartphone sucks") may be the only one word oxymoron in the English language.