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Class and Integrity


Guest Signtiffic

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Guest Signtiffic

A long time ago i thought everyone who did a good job would always be noted as such by the people he or she worked with. Now, with the actual experience in this lovely business of signs, I see more and more that jealously supersedes actual honesty.

Question for my fellow forum users:

If an employee performs above expectations and proves to be reliable throughout their term with you....is it right for you or your employees to talk shit about them? (Employee in questions left for a better opportunity....with notice)

Inevitably these things are going to get back to you and exactly who said it. Not only was it wrong information but potentially cost me a job or two. I'm not one for revenge.... but I sure would love to see karma in action. Oh well. Such is life. The truth always seems to come out.

Same topic.... different situation...

A lot of companies just don't do good work anymore. I don't mean anyone in particular, but there are a ton of hacks out there. I've seen the issues of various firms discussed here and at other forums, but what's the real deal..... how the heck can we establish class and integrity back into this business.

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I can't say too much about the employee thing, that goes for just about any work place I've been in and not just the sign biz.

On the second, I think Accountability.

These forums definitely help out with that when the information is used judiciously. Hacks will always be hacks, and cheap customers will always be cheap customers. You can't convince a customer who looks at nothing but the lower bid that they are headed in the right direction, there going there no matter what you do.

As far as shops go, accountability falls short. More than most I'm sure the actual card holding contractor licensee ever spends any time in the field looking over the jobs his company installs.

Here is one example I just posted, today.

http://www.thesignsyndicate.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3588

Good company, good design work, good installers (some) because i know this company, but also LAZY installers.

Cheap signs, sign a contract, put it up and walk away with the check and never look back. What happened to customer relation building? In my opinion the relationship starts when the job ends, and how you take care of them from that point on. Shit happens with electric signs, but how do you treat them after you collect?

You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life. - Winston Churchill

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Good topic. I'm not sure how to chime in on this without sounding like I'm cupping anyone's nuts. Maybe I am. But, its a good, and very real example of integrity I experienced firsthand.

In 1999, I worked at [electric sign company] for a year, designing any crazy electrical signs we could imagine. [electric sign company] had been in business for a few decades, and had established a top-notch engineering team, a huge shop of skilled artisans and fabricators and big fleet of crane trucks. They could create anything we envisioned. We just had to get the salespeople to think creatively in order to exploit our competitive edge: grand-scale architectural signs. It was a great job. Consistent. Humble. Fairly paid.

Well, I got to reading the various business magazines on my breaks and ended up networking into a guy who ultimately offered me a job about 15 minutes from home (vs. 45 min.) and a 50% pay increase. I felt like a schmuck. I had only been at [electric sign company] one year. But, the opportunity was too good to pass up. I gave my 2 weeks notice and never looked back.

Flash-forward 10 years. I am social networking for design work and run into some people from [electric sign company]. It turns out, they weren't the kind of people who talked a bunch of smack after anyone leaves. In fact, they accepted me back with open arms.

The great thing is, they still have the same high production standards and provide a five year warranty on everything built in-house... which is a lot. It's a really BIG house.

So, its not one thing or another. Its really an integral way of living, that integrity thing. We don't talk smack about ex employees or competitors. We just provide the best materials, with fair markups and reasonable profit - then do what we said we would do.

Do we lose bids because we spec things right, instead of cheap? I'm sure. But, who cares? Let the cheap buyer get the cheapest sign parts and labor if they must. All we can really do is highlight the value of good design, top-shelf products and fair business profit. After all, someone has to stay in business to honor those warranties, right?

As a sales guy, I do NOT want to be in the business of selling the cheapest ANYthing. I want to be in the business of selling the most exclusive, expensive things. Fleet sales for Hyundai, or exclusive agent for Ferrari? The paperwork is the same regardless.

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To All;

I have been in this business for over 12 years, I started out laying vinyl

@ a FastSigns in Glendale, Az & worked my way up thru the ranks to a designer & now a Dept. Head/Lead Designer w/ Lewis Sign here in Buda, Tx.

Over the years I have experianced many different attitudes at the various sign shops that I have worked for. Some shops (alas very few of them) actually care about there people, but most of them do not. The majority of the ones I have worked for over the years have the policy of use them up, wear them out & toss them aside & hire some fresh ones. Some shops, hire

really good people, promise them the moon, then when a project ends they let them go (without telling the employee that they were only hired for their expertise on this project & that since the project is over the company has no need of their services any more.)

The company I am with now, has the best attitude & appreciation for their employees. I see it everyday, evryone is quite happy & excited about coming to work, Everyone looks out for everyone, & we have no "prima donnas" here. Everyone from the owner down to the newest guy will pitch in & help anyway they can to get a project done. I have seen the owner doing everything from laying vinyl, to welding up framework on a large sign. To me, that speaks volumes about the owner & the company, as the owner does not think he is to good to help out the guys in the shop.

Their are not to many owners like that anymore, & if you can find a company to work for who's owner is like that, then you are lucky, & should plan on staying with that company till retirement.

Very Respectfully,

J. Gary Bodnar

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