CLOV Customer Service

If there are two things we here at CLOV are good at besides making labels and fabulous customer service, it’s friendly competition and food. So next week, to kick off the holiday weekend, we’ll be hosting a throwdown a la Bobby Flay. If you haven’t seen the show on Food Network what happens is this: a chef claims they make the best mac & cheese/pizza/cherry pie etc and celebrity chef Bobby Flay shows up and challenges them to a throwdown. Both chefs make the same dish and the audience does a blind taste test to decide who the real winner is.

Recently our Customer Service Manager Kathy was chatting with our Press Manager Bryan and they began to each boast that they make the best ribs. Hence, a contest was born! Kathy and Bryan have a history with food competitions. Last year they had a chili cook off – and Bryan won (the winning vote was cast by none other than Kathy’s son in law!) So they’ve decided to have a rematch and this place is just buzzing with both excitement and smack talk. We’re planning a nice celebration of the upcoming long weekend by sampling ribs from each of them and combining them with dishes that the rest of us will bring to complement the meal (my contribution: Coleslaw -  homemade of course!) While Kathy jokes about being here at 2am sleeping outside with her smoker, Bryan contends it doesn’t take that much time to make some mouthwatering ribs. Well, next Friday, May 25, we shall see who the champion is. If you’re in the area around noon stop on by and cast a vote, we’d love to have you!

Just give us a call @ 802-655-7654, write on our facebook wall  or tweet us @LabelmakerVT to let us know you are coming so we make sure we have plenty of food! Please RSVP by Wednesday, May 23rd 2012.

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CLOV Customer Service

First off, we would like to take an opportunity to thank each and everyone one of you who “liked” CLOV during the month of April. With your help (and Dwane’s promised out of pocket match!) Gail, Zara and I were able to deliver a check to Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf for $500! That is amazing!! We just wanted to share what a humbling experience it was for us to visit CEFS on Wednesday and meet not only employees but recipients. We were given a wonderful tour by Rob and Liz, who are two of the kindest people you could ever wish to meet. We were so truly taken aback by how they do so much for the community with so few resources that we wanted to share some of the information they gave us in hopes that if you’re looking for a way to give back to the community, you will choose them.

When you think of a food shelf, many thoughts probably come to mind. I assure you, many of the stereotypical ideas that people hold about visitors to the food shelf are simply unfounded, untrue and at the very least detrimental to organizations trying to help this growing part of the population. There are a variety of reasons a person might need assistance from a food shelf and I would imagine it takes a lot to swallow your pride and ask for help of that magnitude. From a young mother with no place to turn to an elderly resident who is unable to leave their house, hunger knows no bounds. It affects across races, ages, sexes, religions – there is no one immune to the dangers of hunger.

During the tour, we learned that CEFS is so much more than “just a food shelf.” They also have a soup kitchen where meals are served 7 days a week. They help their visitors train for and find jobs in order to better their situation. They hire employees with multi-cultural backgrounds in order to be able to communicate with visitors who are from all over the globe and speak more than 70 languages. They work out of a building that is very small and they feel the repercussions of this; especially during busy holiday times. They need a separate building to house offices and yet another to serve as a warehouse. Coordinating across three spaces is difficult to say the least. Regardless, CEFS helps thousands and thousands of people every year. After our tour, we felt like we wanted to do so much more, but weren’t sure how. So not only are we working on a relationship with them, we are asking for your continued support.

When I asked Rob after our tour what the best way to help was, he was a bit hesitant to respond. While they fight tooth and nail for government help to avoid using donor money for non-food items (their kitchen equipment and refrigerator units for example), they are still financially strapped when it comes to getting the food they need to stock the shelves. Between rising food prices and the gas prices that directly affect those costs, it’s becoming increasingly harder to keep up with demand. While they would never turn away a donation of your time or boxes full of food, what they really need now is cash. If we took the $500 we donated and purchased food with it, it would have only bought a fraction of what CEFS can purchase with the same money through their food banks. So please, if you feel inclined, get in touch with them and see how you can help. Seriously, anything helps. But help is what CEFS needs and we want to facilitate that in any way possible. Again, thank you to all who helped us make this Facebook campaign so successful. Liking our page is easy. Hunger is hard.

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~How will you help keep Vermont beautiful for Green Up Day?

At the beginning of this month, we decided to use our Facebook page as a way to give back to our community. For every new “like” we receive on our page for the entire month of April, we will be donating $1 to the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf. There’s only a few more days to get on board (and ask your friends to do the same!). It takes seconds and every dollar counts. I’ve even heard rumor that Dwane has agreed to match the funds raised with a personal donation. So if helping the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf just by a click of the mouse isn’t enough reason, than think about Dwane reaching far into his pockets and make it happen!

And just in case you need MORE incentive, maybe you should know a bit more about just how much good CEFS does around the community. As the largest direct service emergency food provider in Vermont, they serve over 12,000 people each year. Their food shelf provides a monthly five-day supply of groceries to families in need. They also offer fresh produce and bread three days per week. In addition to the food shelf, CEFS also offers many other programs and services. Check their website at to learn more about their soup kitchen, Project Angel Food, Soup Kitchen, Community Kitchen and Brown Bag Lunch. But make sure to swing on by our Creative Labels of Vermont facebook page and like it when you’re done!

It’s also a wonderful medium for companies that make products which are visually stimulating to showcase their products, direct traffic to their websites and like the goal of any social media campaign, gain notoriety and brand recognition. We here at CLOV are just beginning our pinning journey. We’ve created boards to show off some of the beautiful labels we’ve created for our customers, highlight our blog posts and show off the beautiful state we live in (it’s ok to be jealous of our wonderful state of Vermont, we understand). We pin quotes that embody the values of our company and of course, a board to show pictures of just how much fun we have here at CLOV. We invite you not only to look at our Pinterest page but request an invite and begin your own pinning journey. Don’t forget to follow our pins to keep up with just where we’re headed!

CLOV President

This month Creative Labels of Vermont (CLOV) is supporting The Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf. Please join us to help fight hunger in Vermont.
For every “Like” we receive on our Facebook page during the month of April, we will donate $1 to the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf.

If you have already “Liked” our Creative Labels of Vermont facebook page, please feel free to click on the “Fight Hunger” app (located below our timeline cover photo) and share with your friends.

About The Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf: CEFS works to alleviate hunger by feeding people and cultivating opportunities. As the largest direct service emergency food provider in Vermont, they serve over 12,000 people each year.

Learn more: feedingChittenden.org

CLOV Customer Service

Here at CLOV, we have the distinct pleasure of working with a published author. Our MRP Manager, Lee LaChance, published a book titled “I Need Labels…Now What?” in 2007. It is chock full of information for a first time label consumer – and lots of information that veteran label consumers could use as well. This book is so informational that I feel summing it up in one blog post does Lee’s work a great disservice, but I’m going to try. However, I highly recommend you pick up Lee’s book to learn even more.

When you decide that it’s time to buy labels, your first step would be to give us a call. Our Customer Service Representatives (CSR) will be happy to walk you through the process. With that first phone call it’s important to answer some questions to better assess what label will best fit your needs. Doing some research ahead of time and being able to communicate effectively with the CSR offers the best opportunity for you to get exactly what you’re looking for.

One of the first questions a CSR will ask you is why you need labels and what those labels will be applied to. A bumper sticker applied to a car is a far different type of label than one that has the logo of your bakery and is placed on cellophane bags or cardboard bakery boxes. They need this information to ascertain not only size and shape of the label but what kind of adhesive will be necessary. They will also ask if the labels will be hand applied vs machine applied and under what conditions said label will be applied (ie maple syrup is hot filled while beer is filled at a temperature close to freezing) as both of those questions will help determine what kind of protective coating, if any, will be necessary. Along with that information, the environment that your labeled product will be stored in is an important factor as that can also help determine the type of label requirements you have. The CSR also will ask what, if any, colors you would like in your label. Obviously a simple black label will be more inexpensive than one with multiple colors but it’s important that you clarify exactly what you’re looking for.

Once those questions have been answered, the next step is the CSR requesting a quote on your behalf. The MRP Manager will take into consideration materials needed, number of colors and quantities ordered to determine pricing. That quote will then be forwarded to you. It is important to examine quotes closely as with your first order of labels there will be more fees to consider than just what the labels themselves cost. You’ll be informed of our prepress rate (the time it takes to convert your art to our system and create a proof), plate creation fees and other fees associated with plate changes, color changes, setup et cetera.

Once you see a quote and decide to move forward, we will request you send us the artwork you would like on your label.  That information is forwarded to our prepress department who will create a proof. The CSR will then send the completed proof to you for approval. It is imperative that you examine all aspects of the proof for accuracy. You the customer are the only one who can verify that the label is exactly as you’d wished. If it’s not, now is the time to speak up. In this business we would much rather take our time with the proofing process and make it perfect than have to reprint your order (which could cost you extra money if the error was through no fault of the printer). Once you approve the proof, it’s off to the press!

We have several different types of presses here at CLOV on which to print your labels. Once they have completed the print process they will be sent to our rewind department to assure your labels have the correct copy position and on rolls that are appropriately sized for the type of application you will be using (hand applied labels come on rolls that are easily manageable while machine applied labels may come on much larger rolls depending on the machine’s capacity). From there they move to the shipping department where they are inspected thoroughly and compared to the job specifications you set to guarantee that we have met them all before we finally put them on a truck to you. Upon receiving your order we suggest you give them one more look over to ensure we did indeed meet your expectations (or hopefully created something better than you imagined!).

So there is the basic process for ordering labels! This summary is very condensed and could include so much more but for the sake of a first time label buyer, we hope this gives you a good idea of what to expect. We are always happy to answer any questions you may have and encourage you to ask them. We believe there is no such thing as a dumb question and we love communicating with our customers. We look forward to working with you and providing what you need!

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CLOV Customer Service

As the newest employee at CLOV, I’m not sure whether that makes me more or less qualified to write a post about the atmosphere here. Personally though, I think it’s fitting as I’m coming in with a fresh perspective. After a little more than a week I have a tremendous sense of belonging that started from day one. There’s something to be said for a company that can make you feel so incredibly welcome from the get go. I’ve always felt that being proud of the company you work for and getting along with coworkers is just as important (if not more!) than how much you love your specific job or how much you get paid. You are at work for around forty hours a week – for some people that’s more than what they spend with friends and family (if you don’t count sleeping, which I don’t since I’m not especially social while I do that) – so it’s so important to feel connected to those around you. Through coworker interaction I quickly learned I’m not alone in that line of thinking or in the sense that CLOV is a wonderful work family to be a part of.

CLOV was founded by husband and wife Fred and Phyllis Wall almost thirty years ago. Today their children Dwane & Dale help tremendously with the day to day management of the business. With that being said, it’s as if their family took each employee and brought them into the fold. On my first day, as introductions were being made, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that many people here had been employed with CLOV for well over a decade and almost two decades for some! To me that says a lot. If a company was awful to work for, in any way, who would stick around that long?  There was also this sense of camaraderie; an easygoing air about everyone that just seemed so relaxed. Don’t get me wrong, there is no doubt in my mind how incredibly hard this whole team works to keep our customers satisfied, but it is obvious that CLOV very much embraces the “Happy workers lead to happy customers” philosophy.

I thought that maybe I should dig a little deeper with these new coworkers of mine and ask for their opinions on a few issues in helping me write this post. Luckily, everyone was happy to help the new girl out and I got some great insight as to what working for this company long term means. Everyone was more than happy to share what they love about working here (seriously, everyone mentioned the family atmosphere I described above – now that’s saying something!). They also had wonderful reasons as to why our customers continue to do business with CLOV year after year. One pressman says it’s because we do it right the first time. A customer service rep says it’s because we go above and beyond to satisfy them – no matter how big or small they may be.

When it comes right down to it, satisfaction with your job so often depends on more than what you do day in and day out. In my short time here at CLOV I think it’s pretty apparent the employees here are satisfied and the work atmosphere is a friendly and family oriented one. We are all proud of what we do and how happy we strive to make our customers. We help each other out in order to get projects done efficiently and on time. We smile and are genuinely pleasant with one another. Sounds like a family I want to belong to for a long, long time.

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CLOV Executive Assistant

We have all become accustomed to those little black and white labels on the back of food products, but who actually knows the correct way to read them? With all the information provided how is the average person supposed to know what they should be looking at and how it relates to them specifically? In honor of March – nutrition month – we would like to take the time to shed some light on these labels that have become common place in our lives. In some cases, even so common that they are overlooked or dismissed.

The first part of a nutrition label you should look at is the Serving Size. Although this may seem obvious to some people companies can get a little creative with this fact. When buying a 20oz bottle of soda most people would plan to drink the entire bottle in one sitting. Considering that it should be common sense for a 20oz bottle of soda to be one serving, looking at the nutrition facts may not prevent you from buying the soda based on your dietary needs. However, take a look at the servings per container, notice anything there? A 20oz bottle of soda contains 2.5 servings! All the information on the label needs to be multiplied by the 2.5 recommended serving size to be considered accurate.
This is true of many other types of food and drinks. Next time you’re looking at a nutrition label, take a look at the serving size. Buying a bag of chips? The company suggests a serving size to be 6 chips, you could be eating 5 servings before you know it!

The second most commonly misunderstood portion of a nutrition label are the % Daily Values. I remember when I was younger, I would look at the labels while eating my bowl of cereal and think it was cool that I was getting 15% of my sugar intake for the day. However, these daily values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. We’ve all heard the saying “everyone is different”, well in this case it does make a difference. Depending on your body type, age, and weight, we all have varying recommended caloric intakes. So while these percentages make a nice, quick reference point you need to keep in mind what your specific needs are.

Still confused on what product is healthier than another? Here’s a quick test: go down to the “Ingredients” section and read them aloud. If you struggle over the names of more than one ingredient it’s a good idea not to buy that product. My mother taught me that when I was young and when I’m in a rush, it is a quick way to know if I should purchase something or opt for something healthier.

While looking around online I stumbled across the following video. He makes a point of the serving sizes in a comical way and it got me to chuckle a handful of times. If you have a minute I highly suggest checking this out:

CLOV President

It is our goal to print the best quality labels 
that hold up within the conditions you need. 
We partner in your success by finding out what you do, 
what you need, and what we can do for you.
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Here at Creative Labels we understand that every business is different in style and product. We strive to make your marketing experience as painless as possible. From our knowledgeable customer service staff to our dedicated shipping staff we make sure that you are getting the best from start to finish! We work with you to figure out the most efficient label for your product and have a great prepress staff to ensure your design is 100% what YOU want. 
We have been in business for 29 years and have an extremely loyal staff base. Most of our employees have been with us for 10-20+ years!

Below are just a few customer testimonials. We would like to take this time to thank these companies for their support and are honored to be handling their individual label needs!
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