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Milestones: Tyco Printing & Copying
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Business New Haven
11/24/2003
By: Mimi Houston
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Tyco Printing & Copying
262 Elm Street, New Haven
Tel:: 203-562-9723
Fax: 203-562-6256
Web: www.tycocopy.com
Ownership: Mike & Ellie Iannuzzi
Timeline: Just over 32 years ago, it was a lot easier to name a business than it is today.
"The 'TY' comes from 'typing,' and the 'CO' is from 'copying,'" explains Mike Iannuzzi, the owner, with his wife Ellie, of the city landmark copy shop on Broadway.
"When we first opened," Iannuzzi says, "those were the only two things we did. And we really didn't expand much until 1975 when we started printing and binding."
With each move the business made - it was originally housed above the York Square Cinemas, then into larger and larger spaces along the same street, then finally across the street to its present location on Broadway - services were added as space and technology allowed. Nine years ago, Iannuzzi's original business partner, John Parker, left to pursue other interests. So wife Ellie stepped in to take an active role in running the business.
From its main location athwart the Yale campus, as well as a satellite office at the student center of Southern Connecticut State, Tyco sells everything from business cards and corporate letterheads to color copies, binding, posters, invitations and more. And, as Iannuzzi attests, it's no longer a simple job to keep on top of the printing business.
"While our services in general don't change," he notes, "the technology has. There's always something faster with better quality - we're always needing to upgrade. But we're still people-driven. Everyone we have here is highly skilled."
While printers and copy shops are on almost every corner of the Elm City, Tyco maintains its prolific client base by relying on business skills that have nothing to do with the latest technology.
Awards and Accomplishments: "We're really a community-based business," says Iannuzzi. "We have a large percentage of clients that we know, and they know us. Our customers come in, give us their projects and they know that if we said it will be ready by noon, they can come back then and pick it up from the same person they left it with."
And while customer trust is a cornerstone of Tyco's success, Iannuzzi says it works the other way around as well.
"A lot of times a student will come in here to pick something up an they'll say, 'I'm really late for class,' so we tell them, 'Don't worry about it. Come back and pay for it later.'"
It's service like that that breeds loyalty and referrals, but perhaps more importantly, it's just the way Iannuzzi likes to do business.
"We're all like family here," he insists. "We work long hours, and we're here seven days a week. We have to stay on top of every job, from the smallest to the biggest. We need people that are willing to do that. That means being fair to employees with money, but it really goes far beyond that.
"There's no screaming and demanding here," he adds. "It's give-and-take. Everyone is working hard here, and we respect that. And we get the same respect in return. Most of our key people have been here a long time."
And though more than three decades have elapsed, Tyco plans to be in New Haven for the long haul.
"We're always fine-tuning and marketing what we do," Iannuzzi explains. "We really cater to our backyard - the reality is that's where our business is. But even though we're going on 33 years here, not everyone knows all that we do. You constantly have to yell and scream about your business.
"On any given day we open our doors and do the best we possibly can, but really, it's the customer that determines if you've done the best for them. And I can't tell you how many times a customer will come in and see something you've done and say, 'I didn't know you did color copies - I have a lot of that work.'
"And they've been coming to you for 30 years. You have to ask yourself: 'What are we doing wrong that they didn't know that!'" -
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