DYNAMIC GRAPHICS BULLIES ITS CUSTOMERS

Written by Rick Archer
First Draft: October 2004
Updated: August 2007

Dynamic Graphics is a company that shows little regard for its customers or its finest artist.  Learn how $50,000 Worth of Business and 20 Years of Loyalty mean nothing to these corporate geniuses.

MY ADMIRATION FOR THE ARTIST NAMED CHRIS

In November 1984 I received my first issue of Clipper, a magazine of Clip Art. Clipper was the property of Dynamic Graphics, a commercial art service headquartered in Peoria, Illinois. 

My first Clipper issue did not have many useable pictures, but one picture did catch my eye. This silly little Valentine picture on the right started a love affair I had with a Dynamic Graphics artist that lasted nineteen years.  I used the Valentine picture a Poster I created to advertise my upcoming Valentines Dance Party.  To paraphrase Bogie, it was the start of a great friendship. 

Over the next few years I developed a rapport with a woman named Marilyn Jennings who was a customer service representative at Dynamic Graphics.  I asked her about the artist, but was gently rebuffed.  I discovered she was sworn to secrecy.  Curious, I pressed a little bit.

Marilyn revealed  that the company was super-paranoid about revealing his identity. Apparently this particular artist was so gifted DG was afraid someone would either steal him away or contact him to create original artwork and bypass them completely. 

I told Marilyn I was bitterly not to learn more about him since I admired his artwork greatly. Marilyn made me an offer.  She promised to research all the back issues of Clipper magazine and find his previous work for me.  I could add these archived drawings to my growing collection.

Of course I paid a pretty penny for each picture, but I didn't mind.  To me, each picture was worth the price.  The picture here on the left was one I purchased from a previous issue thanks to Marilyn's research.  A copy of this picture hangs on the wall at my dance studio in Room 4.

One day Marilyn relented a little.  She literally whispered over the phone in great confidence that his name was "Chris".  She added that she believed Chris worked out of Chicago.  And that was all she wrote.  Marilyn said she could lose her job just for revealing that much!  In nineteen years, that's all I ever learned about the artist named Chris from Chicago. 

Marilyn has been retired now for several years and I think "Chris" is too so I feel comfortable writing a story about both of them.  

My dance students definitely recognize his style.  I have enlarged copies of his pictures hanging all over my studio!!   Now you know where all those amazing pictures at the studio come from. 

As you might gather, I accepted the position that Dynamic Graphics took.  Maybe they really were worried someone would cut them out of the middle and commission artwork from Chris directly. As long as I got a couple Chris pictures in every issue, I didn't mind paying the $40 or $50 charge.

Then I discovered there were more Chris pictures in another magazine published by Dynamic Graphics called "PMS". This absurd title was short for "Print Media Services". I wonder if their staff was aware the readers might think it stood for something else. I certainly got my fair share of laughs out of it!

Still I couldn't bear the thought of missing a Chris picture.  I started to subscribe to PMS as well as Clipper each month. Now Dynamic Graphics was sending me two issues a month to the tune of over $100.  I didn't care.  I was happy to get the extra Chris artwork! 

Each issue had one entire page devoted to photography.  This was wasted space in my opinion. Dynamic Graphics usually put 4 photos to a page.  I never used a single one.  I just wanted the artwork!   The photography was a nuisance, but since it was only one page per issue, I decided to ignore it.

Once a year Dynamic Graphics would send out a questionnaire asking me to rate their service and offer my opinions.  Every year I would say, "cut the photography and stick to your strength which is artwork." 

After all "Graphics" is "Artwork".  Anybody can take a photograph, but it takes tremendous skill to draw pictures of the quality you see here in my article.  So far every picture has been a "Chris" drawing.   His work is so gifted it takes my breath away!!  And a lot of the other Dynamic Graphics artwork was valuable to me as well.

In 1996, the studio was running pretty low on funds.  We were barely breaking even, so I canceled half my subscription. I no longer received PMS.  Fortunately along came Swing Dancing in 1998 and our coffers were soon restored.  I reinstated my PMS subscription after a two-year break.

Not longer after that, several developments occurred with Dynamic Graphics. First they offered me a third Art service known as Designers Club at a discount. I didn't care for it much, but the discount made it seem worth a gamble. 

More important, DG began to offer their artwork on CDs as well as in magazine form.  This came in handy.  I established a rudimentary SSQQ web site in 1998.  This move would eventually take my dance studio into a great period of expansion. Through the tutelage of my friend Gary Richardson, I had recently begun to use computers for my graphics.  My web site was awesome thanks to the Dynamic Graphics clip art! 

Now this new CD format meant the pictures would be in color as well as black and white.  I drooled at the thought of getting color!!  So I signed up for the CD-Rom format, a move I never regretted. Now I began to receive Chris' marvelous artwork with color added!!  I was pretty excited! 

1998 was about the same time Dynamic Graphics started pushing its photography branch. Calling this division Creatas, offer after offer came rolling in to get exciting photographs.  Spare me.  All I did was yawn.  This company really didn't get it.  I originally signed up with them for ARTWORK.  I was paying them to give me something I could not create myself.

I already knew how to take a stupid photograph.  Practically any moron can do that including me.  If I wanted a photograph, I had a camera.  I could take a photo all by myself.  But I could not draw a picture myself! 

It takes an artist to create art.  I would pay for artwork, but I was disgusted at paying for photos.  I had no need for their photos.

Meanwhile Dynamic Graphics continued to send these huge photo albums full of one picture after another at no charge.  Some of those catalogues had hundreds of photographs.  I didn't care.  I would glance through them, roll my eyes in disgust, and throw them away.

What marketing genius was behind the decision to move to Photography?  I figured they were testing the market.  It turned out the catalogues were a precursor.  Sure enough, one day there was an ominous development.  With my November 2000 Clipper CD came a big yellow sticker proclaiming "Now includes 20 Royalty Free Stock Photos Each Month!"  oh happyhappyjoyjoy!  What did I ever do to get so lucky!?  I was disgusted.  The usual 4 Photographs per issue was now expanding to 20.   Oh, wonderful.  Just what I need.

The photo of the glasses pictured on the left is one of the photographs from a DG issue I was forced to pay for.  If I needed a picture of glasses, don't you imagine my digital camera could do the job at NO CHARGE?  Why was I being forced  to pay someone else to take random pictures?

Dynamic Graphics never bothered to explain its decision. They never explained why they expected people like me to pay for a series of random photographs of mundane things like glasses and the whatnot. 

Now if I wanted to get your attention on 'glasses', here is how I would do it.  I would use Dynamic Graphics ARTWORK!!
 

The decision was irreversible.  Dynamic Graphics had decided to offer fewer pictures and more photos.  I didn't like this change one bit.  I was now being charged for a bunch of photographs that had absolutely no relation to my business.

All the while DG was sending me three CDs a month: Clipper, PMS, and Designers Club. I believe the monthly bill was around $160. 

There were more and more photographs and fewer Chris pictures in each issue. Plus the Designers Club material was practically useless.  Since the studio was doing okay financially, I went along with the slow erosion of value in the product, but I wasn't happy about it at all.

Give me more Chris pictures per issue and cut out the nonsense.  Dynamic Graphics started as an art service.  Why not stick to what you are good at?   If the service wanted to expand its product, okay, I can understand that, but why force the decision down the throats of its customers?

There was one development that I did approve of - I loved the new color!  There were many beautiful Dynamic Graphic pictures that took my breath away.  The color made these pictures even more special.  The color pictures worked perfectly with the Internet. 

My dance studio web site was getting prettier all the time!!  For example, in 2000, Swing Dancing was exploding across the country.  Just imagine how effective this Chris image of Swing Dancers was for promoting a Swing Dance Party at my studio!! 

This Chris artwork was powerful stuff indeed.

By the year 2000, my art collection  had become vast.  Sixteen years of collecting Dynamic Graphics artwork meant that I had several pictures to choose from for practically any situation including lots of Halloween Chris pictures like the one on the right.  I received many compliments on my use of artwork on the web site. 

I told anyone who asked I owed my success to Dynamic Graphics.  The studio had spent thousands of dollars, but I considered it money well spent. 

My SSQQ.com website was incredibly popular.  From the low spot of 1995, by 2000 my business had doubled thanks to the Internet.  My studio's success was a shining example of how Dynamic Graphics artwork used the right way could dramatically expand a business.

I paid good money for
this picture of cherries

I also added Dynamics Graphics had done well by me as well. By the end of 2004, I estimate my dance studio had sent this company somewhere around $50,000.

Do the math: $150 a month times 12 is $3,000.  Twenty years times $3,000 equals $60,000.

Yes, Dynamic Graphics had probably paid a few bills along the way with our checks. However, until the Photography Era began I never begrudged them one cent. 

But being forced to pay good money for photos of cherries started to poison my attitude.

I paid money for this picture too

I am sorry to say, but as we began the new Millennium, something unfortunate was going on over at Dynamic Graphics.  I had absolutely no idea why, but Dynamic Graphics seemed to go downhill.

January 2003 marked a fateful moment.  I received an announcement that Clipper and Designers Club were being phased out and replaced by a new service known as Liquid Library. 

I would still be getting two CDs a month.  However there was a catch: Before I received two Artwork CDs.  Now one CD would be totally artwork while the other would be nothing but photographs.  And I would be paying even more money. 

One entire CD per month of photographs!!  Such a deal!!

Yeah, this picture too

'What on earth did I do to deserve this treasure?', I wondered.  Suddenly I had a full CD full of photographs of strangers frowning at computers, glasses on a desk, a crying baby, and cherries. What was I going to do with a picture of a fat guy taking a hike? 

I was paying $100 a month for 2 CDs.  That meant I was forking over $50 a month for a service I never asked for, never wanted, and had no use for.  Furthermore I was given no choice.

I actually got the feeling that Dynamic Graphics could not give away these photographs nor could they sell these photographs, so they decided to FORCE us into paying for them whether we liked it or not. 

I got on the phone and asked the customer rep if I could just pay for the Artwork and skip the photographs.  No luck.  She said this was not an option.  To get the artwork, I had to continue to pay for the photos.   $50 for a fat guy hiking.  Such a deal!!

And this picture too.

I patiently explained to the woman that if I needed a photograph, I could take one with my own camera.  Why were they making their customers pay for photos that could be taken for free?

She said that Dynamic Graphics hired leading professionals to use their artistic talent to take quality pictures.  Plus these Photographs were Royalty Free!!  Oh boy!  So are my own photographs.

I added that most of the photographs were of total strangers.  I said my customers preferred pictures of themselves on the web site, not people they didn't know.  I said people did not really care about pictures of dogs, cherries, crying babies and glasses.  I mean, don't get me wrong, I like dogs, but do I really have to pay for a dog photograph when I can take a picture of my own dog?

The customer representative basically replied, "This is the way it's going to be. Take it or leave it." 

Fortunately for Dynamic Graphics, they were either lucky or they had the sense to include some Chris pictures in the first edition of Liquid Library.   The thought of missing even one new Chris picture was more than I could bear.  So I gave in and continued my subscription.

If I had known Chris was not going to be part of the Liquid Library for much longer, I probably would have quit on the spot.  Chris only stuck around for eight more months.  The last time I saw a new Chris picture was in October 2003.   I instantly noted his absence from the November 2003 issue. For a while, whenever I received my new issues of artwork, I would open it with excitement hoping Chris would make a comeback.  But after a year, I gave up.  It was with great sadness that I accepted that I had seen the last of any original Chris pictures. 

I think this artist was a genius.  This man had an amazing talent.  I still don't understand why he is not famous.  This man's artwork was brilliant.  Why haven't I ever seen a story in a magazine about his work?  No one has ever painted a picture of a beautiful woman with more style! 

No explanation for the departure of Chris was ever given by Dynamic Graphics.  I can only assume that perhaps he was approaching retirement age.  However sometimes I wonder if he were forced out.  You would think they would acknowledge the passing of their greatest artist, but I guess not. 

I have always wondered if his name was "Chris".  It's difficult to admire a phantom.  All I ever wanted to do was thank him for sharing his gift.  Too bad the company was so paranoid they could never even acknowledge his name.  You never know how vulnerable these corporate giants might become if they give any credit to the people who helped build them.

DG was lucky to have him.  It was the artwork of Chris that caught my eye in the very beginning and it was his work that kept me wishing for more.  For twenty years, I worshipped the ground he walked on.  Without Chris and his drawings, I would have told Dynamic Graphics what they could do with their stupid photographs a long time ago.

When Dynamic Graphics sends me quality pictures like this, I am thrilled

How I am Rewarded for $50,000 and 20 Years of Loyalty

In September 2004, a stupid situation developed when a woman from Dynamic Graphics named Patricia Mann started fussing at me over an unpaid bill. 

Patricia Mann had first called the dance studio in late August 2004 to complain about a missing payment.  My ex-wife Judy Archer answered the call herself and said she would handle it.   At the time, I was just two months away from my 20th anniversary of subscribing to the Dynamic Graphics art service.  If Judy promised Ms. Mann she would pay the bill, she meant it.  Judy paid all of our bills promptly.

Any glance at our perfect twenty year payment record with Dynamic Graphics would show we were good customers.  But they didn't trust us - a couple days later I received the first fax my business had gotten in the past three years.  I had forgotten anyone even had the correct phone number!!  The fax said we owed Dynamic Graphics $180 for an unpaid bill.  $180 was payment for one month.

I went to the checkbook and noticed that Judy had just sent in a payment for the same amount.  At the time, I incorrectly assumed this was the bill Ms. Mann was talking about.  So I quit worrying about the bill.  

One week later I received an email from Ms. Mann inquiring about the unpaid bill. 

----Original Message-----
From: Patricia L. Mann
Sent: Wednesday, September 08, 2004 3:19 PM
To: dance@ssqq.com
Subject: liquid library service
Importance: High

Good afternoon Rick. I have been unable to reach you by phone to advise of a past due invoice.

The invoice number is 348208 in the amount of $181.74.  This invoice is for the May liquid library and the June Print Media service. The invoice is dated April 30th 2004.

We have received payments on a regular basis except for this invoice.

We have a special service available to all our customers at no additional charge to you. We can auto charge your monthly invoices on a credit card. After your card is charged each month we would send you a paid receipt.

Please advise if I can set you up for auto charge and when we can expect remittance for the past due invoice as it is delaying your current monthly shipments.

I look forward to hearing from you soon. Thank you for allowing us the privilege of being your image provider. Have a great day.

Patricia L. Mann
Dynamic Graphics Group
Account Specialist

Here is a DG Photograph
I was forced to pay or

A vintage 1995 Chris picture

-----Original Message-----
From: Rick Archer
Sent: Wednesday, September 08, 2004 5:27 PM
To: Patricia L. Mann
Subject: RE: liquid library service

Ms. Mann,

This is the third time you have contacted us.

First my assistant received your phone call. Then I received your fax. Now you have emailed me.  We get the message.

Please calm down.  I don't know what the problem is.  We sent the check - I saw the listing with my own eyes.  

We have always sent the check for nearly twenty years.  You can trust us.  When the returned checks come in, I can see if the missing check is there and handle it then.

Don't worry about it.  I will simply pay the balance if after glancing thru the returned checks I see the one we sent to you is still missing.

Rick Archer

-----Original Message-----
From: Patricia L. Mann
Sent: Thursday, September 09, 2004 8:42 AM
To: dance@ssqq.com
Subject: RE: liquid library service

Good morning Rick.  I apologize for bothering you.

With this reply I will note your account and watch for the payment.
I appreciate the reply. With this it will not be necessary to contact you again regarding this matter.

Have a great day.
Patricia Mann

Finally some nudity!!  Here is an exciting photograph of a naked pregnant woman.
I was forced to pay for this.

-----Original Message-----
From: Rick Archer
Sent: Tuesday, September 14, 2004 7:07 AM
To: Patricia L. Mann
Subject: RE: liquid library service

Received canceled checks today and our check to dynamic graphics was in there.

#4971 dated august 17 in the exact amount of 181.74

Rick Archer

-----Original Message-----
From: Patricia L. Mann
Sent: Tuesday, September 14, 2004 8:33 AM
To: dance@ssqq.com
Subject: RE: liquid library service

Good morning Rick.

We are in receipt of check number 4971. Invoice number 375333 was paid with that check. We have not received payment for invoice 348208 dated April 30th for the May Liquid Library and June Print Media Service. Once this invoice is taken care of you will be paid to current.

If you like, we can place that on a credit card to clear immediately or you can submit a check.

I look forward to hearing from you.
Have a great day.

Oh boy, a picture of a plastic warning light!!  Why I am forced to pay for
this is beyond me.  My digital
camera could do just as well.

No one paints a beautiful woman like Chris.  He is a genius.

-----Original Message-----
From: Rick Archer
Sent: Tuesday, September 14, 2004 10:21 AM
To: Patricia L. Mann
Subject: RE: liquid library service

Now I understand.  It is obvious that somehow the April bill got misplaced.

However I am reluctant to pay by credit card. The simple thing to do is add in the missing payment when I receive my next bill.

By the way, I noticed I haven't received a Dynamic Graphics mailing in some time. If I am not mistaken, I haven't seen anything since early July.  

Nor have I seen a bill.

You aren't by some chance "holding" my shipments till I pay this one outstanding bill,  are you?

Rick Archer

-----Original Message-----
From: Patricia L. Mann
Sent: Tuesday, September 14, 2004 10:40 AM
To: dance@ssqq.com
Subject: RE: liquid library service

The only shipment I can see that is being held is your September shipment.

We have made a shipment each month to the following address: xxxx street, Houston, TX 77007.

If this is not correct please advise so I can correct your account.
Please let me know the last issue you received. I will replace the issues missing.

I am unable to release the September shipment until the open invoice is remitted. Do you have a fax number and I will fax it to you?

If not, let me know and I will place a copy of that invoice in the mail.
Thank you

Patricia L. Mann

Wow!!  They sent me a photo of a
metal chair!  Just what I hoped for!!

-----Original Message-----
From: Rick Archer
Sent: Tuesday, September 14, 2004 11:25 AM
To: Patricia L. Mann
Subject: RE: liquid library service

Ms. Mann, I don't appreciate having any shipment withheld for several reasons.

First, you have earned the distinction of being the most aggressive bill pursuer in the history of my business.

For twenty-five years, my company has paid every bill ever sent to us.  We have never had a bill collector contact us before so pardon my inexperience with the phenomenon.  

You also hold the record for variety of approaches with three different forms of contact. You have a) phoned us, b) faxed us, and c) contacted us via email.  

I have been doing business with your company since 1984. We are just one month short of TWENTY YEARS. That means out of 239 bills to date, we have paid 238 on time plus you are in possession of an email from me promising to pay the missing bill as well.

But this isn't good enough for you, is it?   No, my current issue will be withheld until payment is made.

I imagine the root of the problem is very simple: We never received the bill. As you can see from our recent payment, check number 4971, we paid the latest bill we have received. But rather than believe us over the postal system, you assume the worst.

Today I have just found out for the first time there is a missing bill from April.  This means your company is in jeopardy of being swindled for $181 from a customer that has been a loyal, constant customer for twenty years.  To protect yourself from further damage, you have withheld shipment of more pictures until the bill has been paid.

Do you understand the meaning of the word "overreact"?

Furthermore while I have your attention, I have a complaint.  I have been paying god only knows how much money for the past couple years for an endless series of photographs that I never asked for and HAVE NEVER USED.  

I don't need your professional pictures of smiling faces of anonymous people I don't know or care about.  If I want a photograph, I imagine my digital camera will take any picture I want.

-----Original Message-----
From: Patricia L. Mann
Sent: Tuesday, September 14, 2004 2:10 PM
To: dance@ssqq.com
Subject: re: liquid library

Good afternoon Rick. I apologize that I have angered you in any way.

I feel if we had been able to speak personally we would not have gotten off on the wrong foot.

It is not now, nor has it ever been in the past my practice to be overly aggressive or to strong arm anyone I contact. In no way have I felt that we were in jeopardy of being swindled.

The September issue will be released for shipment immediately.   (Rick's Note: On Sept 22, more than one week later, I still had not received this issue. So much for "immediately")

Liquid Library is an all purpose image resource and we try hard to include content that meets the needs of all our customers.

I sincerely thank you for allowing us the privilege of being your image provider, and hope you will accept my apology.

If you will verify your address is correct and the issues you are missing, I will have them replaced.
Have a great day.

Patricia L. Mann

Oh boy, a picture of a hand using
a Mouse! I love this one!

-----Original Message-----
From: Rick Archer
Sent: Tuesday, September 14, 2004 3:26 PM
To: Patricia L. Mann
Subject: complaint of month liquid library

Thank you for the form letter.

You did not even begin to address my concern about being expected to pay for Photography CDs that I do not want.

Over the years I have used your artwork extensively.  For the most part, I have been very pleased.

I was a huge fan of your company until the unilateral DG decision to force me to accept the photography included in "liquid library". This material is completely useless to my business.

And now I have this awkward bill collecting incident to add to my Dynamic Graphics experience.

Your check is in the mail.

Rick Archer

Just for the fun of it, I decided to try an experiment.  I selected a photograph from the November 2000 Dynamic Graphics photography collection.  It was truly an eye-catching photograph for the ages: a hand, a pencil and a piece of paper.  Then, to make it really clever, a GLOVE plus an attractive green background was included. 

A professional photographer undoubtedly spent years acquiring the skill to take a photograph of this magnitude.  How creative!! 

And how many years of business school training did it take some DG executive to acquire the skill so he or she could figure out a way to force people to pay MONEY for this picture?

DG Photo, Nov 2000

For the second phase of the experiment, I attempted to create a similar picture using my own meager Photography skills.

First I carefully assembled the necessary items - paper, pencil - to duplicate the scene.  After much thought - maybe 2 seconds - I decided to skip the glove.

Then I had to locate a hand.   I asked my daughter Samantha to come lend me a hand.

Sam was very reluctant.  She explained that she had no advanced training in posing for commercial photography.  I told her to calm down and not to worry.  Sam was still unsure.  How much would she be paid?  After some wrangling, I persuaded her to help by saying, "Stick out your hand if you ever want to eat using all your fingers again."  That ended all labor woes.  

Guess Who

I moved her hand to the exact angle, then gently placed the pencil in her hand.  We were ready to go.   I picked up my four-year old $200 Sony Mavica digital camera, turned the Flash to the "ON" position, aimed carefully and delicately pressed the camera button.  Click.

Due to my inexperience in Photography, I stupidly assumed one shot would be sufficient.  I am sure a professional would have been more thorough. I copied the picture onto my computer hard drive and published it here on my web site.  The entire process took about two minutes. 

You be the judge of my work.  Now I admit there is an unanticipated blue shadow, but you know what?  I like this photograph for one reason in particular: It didn't cost me a single penny.

Maybe I should send Ms. Mann a copy.  You don't suppose she could get Dynamic Graphics to pay me $40 for it, do you?

A royalty-free photograph
of daughter's hand
taken by Rick Archer