Sign Lady

That's the way a job is supposed to look! Nice work!

It was a sign company. This same guy did a motel just down the street from this restaurant kind of like the picture of the dollar store you posted. Except this jackass used .040 aluminum strips he cut by hand and attached modules to it. When he got on site, he apparently figured out he cut the strips too short at his shop, so he cut short pieces to make the length he needed, drilled holes in each end and attached the short piece to the long piece with zip ties!! The customer called us a couple of weeks later because he noticed his sign wasn't lighting up like it should - half of it was dark - so he wanted us to come "check out the work that had been done" - so when we got on site to check it out we found that the zip ties had failed and over half of the pieces along with the modules were laying in the bottom of the sign!! The owner said he was going to make the guy come back and put in L.E.D. lamps like he paid for! We haven't heard anything else from him, so I don't know what happened. I thought I would give him a couple of weeks and check back with him to make sure he got it fixed. It is a shame and disgrace that people are doing this kind of work. Makes us all look bad. Pisses me off!

The face blew out! Sign has been there a hundred years and never had a problem with the faces blowing out. I kind of figure it may have something to do with the modules around where the faces fits in causing it not to be able to be put back in correctly after their "L.E.D. retro"?? Couldn't fit close enough to the sign because of the modules. The customer PAID for L.E.D. LAMPS - or that is what he was told they were. I have sent him photos of what he actually got and am awaiting his response as to what he wants to do. Knowing this customer I feel sure he will want me to make it right. I don't think he will want to leave this mess. To add insult to injury, they used the extra cheap modules that won't last any time. This customer got screwed all the way around on this deal. He won't tell me how much he paid, but I know it likely wasn't cheap. I feel bad for him, but that's what happens when you go with the "cheaper quote"!!

I just have to say - NOW I have seen it all. Check this out! You can't make this stuff up. My guys found this yesterday!

Hahaha - Unbelievable. What were they working on??

Holy Heavens! Just when you think you have seen it all you come to the wonderful Sign Syndicate and see this. Did a sign company actually do this?? I had a customer call me last year because his sign caught on fire. The reason it caught on fire is because it was built out of 2 x 4s and press board with red vinyl holding the "face" on! I think I may have posted a picture of it back then. Can't find the picture right this minute. Then there is this jewel they found a while back. The customer just could not understand why there were so many dark spots in the faces. It had never been like that before the last "service"! LOL

If you find a good one in this region (NC or SC) PLEASE let me know! When you hire one they think they should make $50 an hour and run the entire place because they know everything about everything. A true pain in the hind parts!

Thanks for the info!

I know I have said it before, but it bears repeating - thank you for this site! It has helped me more times than I can name. If you want to know what is going on in the industry & or what National to stay away from, this is the place to find out! You supply a great service to those of us that work hard every day to make this industry better!

If you don't mind me asking, was it cheaper to have them come to you??

Didn't know you could do that either! Don't know if that would work for mine because it is a 17 ton Manitowoc - I think the max it will lift is 11,000 pounds - even though we rarely lift that weight. Just looks like there would be some kind of exemption for the small guys like us that don't do that kind of construction work/lifting every day. They are going to eventually make it so the small guy can't survive!

Well, that's good to know. I didn't know that part of it!

Hey folks! Hope you are all well. Just curious - how many of you still have not gotten the crane certification??

Yes, and getting weirder by the day! I think they sit around all day and come up with new ways every day to charge us more money simply because we go above 6' in the air! LOL

I agree with Paul. I think your agent may be misinterpreting what they are asking for?? Simply because he/she may not understand the sign industry & what we do. It's rare to find one that does understand it though. Especially in a small market like mine. I don't think Chandler would require you to insure every vehicle on the job site. But there is another way around what they are asking for if that is what they are asking for. My guys very rarely drive their personal vehicles to a job site, but they have before and in the cases that they have, I always get them to park in a big box store parking lot & then I pick them up & take them to the job site. Most folks/owners you work for frown upon having a ton of vehicles on the job site anyway - mostly for space reasons & not having to shuffle them around all day when they get in the way - having to do the shuffle multiple times a day also causes lost time from the work you are doing - have to shuffle to get them out of the paver's way in the morning - then the brick mason's way in the afternoon. That has been my experience anyway. There is always a work around with these kinds of things these Nationals are coming up with these days. Then you can honestly tell your insurance company that your employees do not drive their vehicles to job sites. Ever!

WOW! Another reason not to cover us?? It's already hard enough to get insurances if you go above 6' - now they want to disqualify & not cover for vehicle wraps? Glad I haven't had that one thrown at me yet. I have my insurance with Auto Owners & it just renewed with no issues. Granted, we don't do a lot of vehicle wraps, but we do some. It would be interesting to know what the mind set is on that & the reason they changed for that specific process alone. Because that is such a specific process to pull out of all of the other things you likely do to cherry pick as a reason to not cover you.

That's what sucks the most. When OSHA catches one of these jackasses doing something so assanine, the rest of us pay for it because then OSHA puts a microscope up the rest of our backsides.

Yes, it does. I always tell them I don't send just 1 man out on a bucket truck! My WC insurance company won't allow it - and since I am paying their insurances for the job, I stick to that. They have zero skin in the game and if somebody gets hurt, oh well - not their problem.

Could not have said it better! Unless and until those of us doing it right take a stand against the "hacks" I feel like we are complicit in what is happening to our industry that most of us love and work hard every, single day to protect. Also, unless and until we start to take a stand against these low ball NTEs being sent to all of us, we are going to continue to get the same results shown in that picture. You can't even drive your truck out of the yard for the $150 NTEs I have seen coming through here - or even $200/$300 ones when you come down to it. Not unless it is down the street from your shop. With all of the insurances, licenses, fuel costs & labor costs by the time you are done if you accept a $300 NTE you make nothing when all is said and done. You paid to have work done for THEIR customer to make THEM look good - most of the time without even a thank you from rude, pushy PMs. If they low ball & sell to their customer something that they can't find one of us to do (and they wouldn't do themselves for that amount), then that's their problem. They have to stop promising their customers something that they know is too low for what they want done. If we all stand together, they will have to stop doing it. Or if not, they will get what is in this photo and their customers will begin to revolt too.

You are exactly right. The rest of us have to fight this stereotype every day. Pathetic! Pisses me off.

I would check with my insurance agent to make sure this CYAs you. I don't know about your area, but with my area if I were to type that up they would tell me it isn't worth the paper it is written on. According to folks around here, I can't hold harmless anybody doing anything on my property. I am responsible if they get hurt no matter what they are doing or when.

WOW! Now that's a whole new low. Not to mention the fuel and truck wear & tear. Like I said, there is always that one that will take 10 miles.

Haha -- computer updated between the first one and the second one! Well, you get to read my thoughts 2 times today! LOL

Typed this earlier, but it must not have posted I allow my folks to use my shop, equipment and scrap materials for their own stuff, but never for profit. If they have to have more than I have in scrap, they have to buy it at my cost. I don't mind one bit if they do their kids projects, or banners for their sports teams - on their own time. There is always going to be that one that takes advantage - give them an inch and they take 10 miles and screw it up for everybody else. If I find one of mine doing that, I will stop it for everybody. If they take advantage of my kindness, it stops. I want to keep my guys happy too - but not to my detriment. I don't ever let my guys do the "small stuff" because I don't want my customer to feel like I didn't want to do their small job. Don't ever want a customer to feel like that.

I agree with the other guys. I allow my folks to use my place for their own stuff. Never for profit. I think it sends the message to the customer that it was so small you didn't want to mess with it. I don't ever want one of my customers to feel that way. Like with anything else, there is always going to be that one that you give an inch and they take 10 miles and abuse it. If ever one of mine abused it, it would stop for all. I am kind to a point, but don't take advantage of my kindness. Sounds like you already know what you need to do. Probably going to be hard to do it, but you can't let employees, no matter how great, to take advantage of you. Especially while using your place, your equipment and your materials! Not cool.