Simply Brilliant Press

Customer service some of the worse I have ever encountered. He asked me what size I wanted my picture printed. I tried to explain I wasn’t sure, it depended on how big it could be printed and come out clear. He asked me again telling me it was a basic question. I picked a size he printed it and it looked terrible. It was printed on matte and even though the board says semi gloss as an option he told me that’s the only way it could be printed there and I should go to Photo Works. Won’t be using them again if I can help it.

Finished product was great but some terrible customer service. The young man was initially at the front desk but walked to the back to hangout with a friend. Every question I asked, I had to yell it to him and he’d yell back.
Clearly does not care about helping me, just doing the task when absolutely required. I should’ve self-​printed. Guess I’ll have to go to FedEx next time, at least they make eye contact.
²⁄₁₀ wouldn’t go back

Not sure how many stars to give since the finished product deserves 5, but the customer service deserves 0. I had called in advance and the guy who answered the phone answered my question using the least amount of words possible (no hello or thank you or have a nice day), but it seemed like he would rather be anywhere else than there, so I decided to go in person and, unfortunately, the same guy, who looked totally emo, was there to «help» me. He barely looked up from his computer and phone to answer my questions and turned around & walked away before he was even finished dryly answering my questions.
While I sat & waited for the job to get done (I must say it was quick & I was extremely satisfied with the printing job itself), I had the opportunity to witness the same worker interact with another customer. The customer was an older gentleman who wanted to send a fax and when the worker asked him if he wanted a cover page, the customer asked what difference it’d make (I don’t think he actually knew what a cover page was and genuinely wanted to know). The worker proceeded to respond, «It’s a yes or no question» as he barked at me that my order was ready as if he were frustrated that I hadn’t read his mind and already paid. No greetings, no «Thank You“s or «You’re Welcome“s, no customer service. I think the manager/​owner of this place needs to spend a day observing his workers or you’re going to be losing a lot of customers despite the fact you provide quality finished products.

I’ve noticed the one-​star reviews are directed to the staff, and my review is of how my privacy was violated by Nighat and complaint mishandled by the Simply Brilliant Press head office.
I have been a patron of this print shop for almost 4 years now having printed thousands of copies of stories for graduate school, and syllabi now that I am a teacher. Occasionally, there’ll be a mishap where pages are missing or mis-​stapled then I would usually be compensated in some way for the mistakes like a discount next time or the job is re-​done. It’s a print shop. There shouldn’t be mistakes but it’s human to have them and they usually resolve this quickly.
On Friday, October 30^th, I went in to get a passport photograph scanned for a visa application. The photo needed to be in jpeg. Nighat scanned it for me in a .pdf. I asked her politely to please make it a jpeg. She asked the «desktop expert» (I’m quoting her) to re-​scan the image where there was a dirty mark on the side — not on my photo, but from the machine. I asked them to please re-​scan the image, to which she barked: «That’s the best he can do.» I was confused, clearly, the job wasn’t done, and the act of scanning took a minute out of a Friday morning. The «desktop expert» told me to go back to where I got the photo to get the file. They were not going to attempt even to finish the job. I told them if they were busy, I could come back later. Nighat smiled, «Sure. Come back in a couple of hours. Did you hear that? She’ll come back in a couple of hours,» as though I was some irksome fly that deserved to be swatted away. I paid for the bad copies of this scan.
I felt unwelcomed, rushed, and that she was rude to me, which is why I emailed the Simply Brilliant Press head office and called them about my incident. They told me this would be handled and they were sorry for my experience.
On Monday, November 2^nd, Nighat CALLS me. How she got my number, I have no idea. Why she was even calling me was beyond any comprehension but I figured, since it’s a small business, they probably wanted her to personally apologize. However, once I picked up, she starts off the conversation with: «I have in front of me, your beeeeaaautiful email» in an obvious sarcastic tone.
She spent the next 15 minutes verbally attacking me:
1. She thought it was unprofessional of me «as a professor» to write an email of complaint.
— She was using MY personal information against me.
2. For identifying her as the «indian woman.»
— I apologized for wrongly identifying her as Indian, for I had no other reference point to identify her. I shouldn’t have apologized but I felt I had to mediate this phone call in case it got threatening. She, after all, has my phone number.
3. How dare I called her «horrible» and asked for consequences to her actions.
— If she hadn’t been on Friday, she definitely was now. Also, I am a customer with rights.
4. She said she had been working at Simply Brilliant Press for the past 30 years and this is the first complaint she’s received, thus implying that I had no right to complain.
5. She said there was no way to satisfy me as a customer and she would gladly refund the $ 3.50 for the scan back, a scan job that she should’ve charged me the full $ 6 for but because she «knew» me, she didn’t.
6. Lastly, she said she was «disappointed» in the way I acted because she «knew» my personality wasn’t like this and that this was surprising of me.
I immediately called the head office again (mind you, this is the same office that forwarded my complaint email to this awful woman) to let them know what had happened. They promised something would happen. I received an email from Scott, the owner, that they would «re-​double their efforts» to resolve the issue, whatever that means.
Good managers and good businesses do not treat their customers like this. Having her contacting me was perhaps a good idea in theory, but she most certainly did not apologize for her actions nor for this phone conversation. At this point, I most definitely deserve an apology because that was a harrowing experience that I should not have had. But they obviously do not take criticism well, handle their complaints in a professional manner, nor do they care about losing a patron who has been supporting them for years.

I needed a last minute (same-​day) print job for a client and found Simply Brilliant Press on Unilocal.I looked up their website and asked for a quote. They emailed me back within 30 minutes, asking for the files and specifications for the job. One hour later, they told me they were done and my order was ready for pick-​up. Wow! They made the whole process super easy, and I’m very pleased with the quality of paper, quality of service, and the fact that I did not have to stress about this last minute task one bit. I’ll definitely be using them again in the future and would recommend them to others.

I went in to print a booklet — which I’ve never done before so lots of trial and error here. The woman behind the desk was extremely helpful and patient. We printed out some test pages first and then I talked through what I wanted the finished product to look like and she was already 5 steps ahead of me (and patiently waited as I talked it out and caught up). Once our test run was done she had the job done in less than 10 minutes. And the pricing was great. Phenomenal place, I plan to come back here for future projects!

I ordered cards from the Sunrise location. I happened to work with Drew. Everything went perfect. Drew was very helpful with design and options, the pricing was fair, the product came in just as promised, and most important I can not tell you how happy I am with the product. I love the cards!!!

So I walk into Simply Brilliant yesterday to print just a few color copies of promotions for my business (my printer was down). They didn’t know I was in a bit of a rush, but they were relaxed and friendly despite the small order, while being fast and productive. What made it more convenient was they allow you to email the samples to them ahead of time (
). So all I had to do was tell them about the email and… DONE! I can’t wait to go back for some bigger projects!

So your paying the Gay Man’s Currency to get whatever task done you need to do here price wise but 4 stars for being incredibly convenient especially when have an emergency office need and need to use a computer/​copy/​fax/​printing etc…
it is very do-​it-​yourself and the staff are more inclined to let you figure it out yourself then to go out of their way and step away from the counter to help you which nearly makes me want to take a star off but Im quite pleased that this place took over the ever so tacky Copy Centrals that were around the city which I really wasn’t much of a fan of at all. Convenient fast easy and gets the job done when in a stage of urgency.

NOT open til 8:00!
They close at 7:00. Hate getting wrong info from maps.
Otherwise great service depending on who’s working.

Walked in for the first time for some color printing. Their internet is free for customers to print from and the quality far exceeds similar shops. In and out in 10 minutes! Thank you!

I’ve been using Simply Brilliant Press at this location since, well, long before it was Simply Brilliant Press. These guys are terrific. They are friendly, polite and get the job done right and on time. They go the extra step, folding, making small graphic changes, whatever you need and often for no extra charge. Take your jobs to Simply Brilliant! We want them to stay around as long as I have.

WOW — I had no idea these folks were so great! Rudy was amazing with my online order, and then helping me through the printing process. He went out of his way to create a sample for me and then made some great suggestions. And then completed my order faster than I expected (within 24 hours).
Truly — can’t recommend Rudy and his team enough. Thanks for making this so easy!

Hmmm, first of, I am not a common ‘yelper’ unless the establishment has made a phenomenal impression on me. I’m also not your typical Unilocal ‘basher’ which seems to be the norm these days, sadly. Insider advice, don’t fall into that hole. It’s unbecoming. A little courtesy and politeness shown to people behind the counter (or over the phone) will get you places, trust me.
Anyway, this fine location is amazing!!! Rudy took care of all my printing needs, REMOTELY! (Though I live around the corner) He said ‘Go and Enjoy your weekend, I will take care of it!’. VERBATIM! They are honest, accommodating, on first-​name basis and exude rockstar customer service! They will call you back, pick up the phone and have your flyers/​posters ready in a NY (or SF) minute. No complains whatsoever.
I’m an event producer and will certainly utilize the talent of the marketing and design geniuses of Simply Brilliant Castro any given day. Do the same. ‘Nuff said.

Worst customer service ever.. .
I walked in to the store and asked if I could see what samples of color paper they have. The very disinterested guy who was working at his computer in the back, motioned to the wall with his hand and exclaimed, «There it is!» and went back to his computer. Of course, from such a distance, I couldn’t really see what the colors looked like, from the reams stacked on the shelves. (I thought they might have a booklet of samples for the customer to browse through, like many other copy shops.)
So I made a guess at which color I was going to use, then waited patiently for acknowledgement from the salesclerk. (btw.. . I was the sole customer in the store on this Saturday afternoon.) After about 3 minutes, as he continued to ignore me, I simply turned around and walked out. I’ll spend my money elsewhere.

Amazing customer service!
All I needed to do was fax out a couple of documents, but the number was busy. Instead of having me come back the next day, the gracious employee, Rudy, took my cell number, told me he would keep trying till he got through, and then give me a call when it did. And he did call me when it went through.
The most impressive part was that he wouldn’t let me pay for it until it went through, so I came back the next day and payed him. I could have just as easily forgotten, or blown it off.
The funny thing is that I was walking to the UPS store, but I found Simply Brilliant Press first. I’m glad I went in; I’m sure the UPS store wouldn’t have been nearly as helpful.

Perhaps the worst customer service I’ve ever received. The gentleman behind the counter at 2 p.m. today was rude, disinterested and completely unhelpful.
All the customers in the store were also treated to a very loud discussion between the three employees of the «worthless, lazy» manager. The conversation that they were having was constantly littered f-​bombs.
The group seemed to come to a consensus that they would not do «anything fucking extra» again.
Where do you find this low quality of employee. I would imagine you have to search hard to find people so clearly unqualified to be customer facing.
I walked out without finishing my work and will not return.

Contacting Simply Brilliant and doing business with them has been a success!
Last week, I had called the 866 number and spoke to a most pleasant and helpful man by the name of Greg I later found out was the Sales Manager for all of the Simply Brilliant locations. I tried to research how best to bind the copy of my thesis I was going to send to my advisor, and thought I could ask the press folks themselves. I am glad I did! Greg explained in detail the methods and uses of all the different binding styles and I chose to go with «velo binding.» Plus, he suggested which terms I should use to describe the kinds of front and back covers I wanted.
I came into the store because I needed to pick out the color and design of the card stock which was going to be the cover page. A few people have worked on my orders, and have been very patient in answering my questions and giving me their opinions on everything from whether I should mix two types of paper together, to the color of the cover page. I am glad that in the end, my project was in Yuri’s, the stores manager’s hands. The rest of the staff is friendly and helpful, even when they appeared busy with orders or when they had to talk over the machines. They were very willing to show me paper samples and I even got to have an interesting conversation with one of their employees (Alisa) about the actual topic of my thesis!
Lastly, I have to say that they worked very quickly, getting most of it done in my presence. I can only imagine how far they would’ve been when I showed up, if I had sent my files to the correct email right away:
!

Simply diamonds

I came here today to print up 50 copies of a sheet I use for work. It gets EXTREME use each shift and the last time I had them printed here, the paper grade was so light, the sheet fall apart by the end of the shift. At the counter I asked the man if I could have this printed on a heavier bond paper. He handed me a piece white cardboard. I said, «Is there anything in between?» He said, «No» and explained that what I needed was 32 grade (or bond). He then explained that it would be impossible for their machines to print this. Something about ink-​jet vs. laser; it was hard to understand him. When I told him that I used to get it done here on the 32 grade (it was Copy Central then), he literally put his hand up, turned his back on me and walked away. Seriously. I was not even being confrontational. Since I was suddenly, apparently alone. I left and walked down to Kinko’s.
Guess what, Kinko’s had the job done, with a smile, in 10 minutes, on the 32 grade paper.
I always prefer to give the business to the small mom and pop type operations whenever I can, I will even pay a little extra. But rudeness? That was my last trip there ever. I am not a big customer — I probably print 150 of these sheets a year, but I have been going here for ten years and I have a long career ahead. Too bad.