Pennington Designs, Inc. — Local services in Loma Linda

Preface: I'm very, very rarely motivated to write poor reviews, so you should definitely heed this warning.

I'm a graphic designer based in Redlands. I'm an advocate for quality, and I'd been wanting to try Pennington out on a project since I moved to the area. I was finally able to convince one of my clients to pay a little extra, which I thought would be a huge win for supporting local businesses in Redlands!

To make a long story slightly shorter, they outsourced the job to a company in New Jersey. We got the proofs, no problems at all. Well, there was a mistake on all 500 prints. It was the fault of the printer. The outsourced printer demanded the prints back before they would reprint. After a lot of back and forth, they finally agreed to move the delivery date up two days. From invoice paid, files with Pennington, to having the correct prints in hand, it took a grand total of 1 month + 4 days.

Key: What put me over the edge is that there was absolutely no urgency, on any level, to fix the problem. I'd paid the bill already. I should also mention that my client is in New York, very close to New Jersey. They could've taken the correct prints over on a truck, but they're telling us 7-10 days for a reprint. So, I requested a discount, which seemed reasonable given the timeline, my contact at Pennington agreed and said "Absolutely. I'm working out the details". Still nothing. During this 1 month + 4 days, I'm telling my client to sit tight almost every day. A few days later, on a Friday, I was told that the owner, Richard, wanted to speak to me and would call at 1:30pm. I finally received a phone call from him on Tuesday at 4pm.

This is where it turns really unpleasant. Richard was not at all interested in finding a compromise, or an amicable solution. He a) thought that the timeline was completely acceptable and b) only wanted to absolve himself and prove that I was being unreasonable, reiterating that Pennington "did everything" that they could have done (1 month + 4 days). When I explained that I did not feel as though they had done everything possible, and asked him if he would honor the discount that my contact had deemed appropriate, his response was yelling "Are you serious?! Are you serious?!" at me. Uh, okay. If outsourcing to a dodgy printer in New Jersey and providing me with very lackadaisical customer service "everything" that Pennington can do, then I guess that pretty much sums it up.

There is absolutely no added value in choosing Pennington. There are plenty of cheaper, similar quality (or better) printers who will work a lot harder to make sure that their vendors are responsible, and customers are taken care of.

In summation: Not local, New Jersey. 1 month + 4 days. Lackadaisical. Angry Richard.

Hugely surprising, mostly disappointing. Don't even consider it.

Edit: In response to my negative review on Facebook, rather than addressing it, they just removed the 'Reviews' section...

My company IE Alarm Systems recently had hats made by Pennington Designs in Redlands, CA, and we couldn't be happier with the results. The hats are of outstanding quality--well-crafted, durable, and they look fantastic. The design and overall look exceeded our expectations, making them a big hit with our team.

A special shoutout to Tiffanie Averett, our Account Manager. She was absolutely amazing to work with--professional, friendly, and incredibly personable. Her communication was top-notch, and she made the whole process smooth and enjoyable. The fast turnaround time was a huge plus, allowing us to get the hats quickly without sacrificing quality.

Overall, we highly recommend Pennington Designs for any custom apparel needs. Their team and products...

I recently had the pleasure of working with Pennington Designs in recreating a t-shirt that a friend of mine had bought back in 1995 at the New Orleans Jazz Festival. The shirt was an original art design and Pennington absolutely nailed the recreation. I was helped by Ashley, whose professionalism and bright smile made the experience that much better. Other places I considered all wanted to do a minimum of 25-50 shirts when I was only looking to do 5. Ashley worked with me on exactly what I wanted and kept me informed throughout the process. I would highly recommend this business without any reservations for anyone who has design needs. Thank you Pennington Designs and thank you...