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sign_girl

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Everything posted by sign_girl

  1. Seems way more people than ever feel entitled. Love when guys quit to open their own business becaus we are so dumb and bad owners. Funny, this is our 33rd year...I think maybe one guy is in his 3rd. The rest? Many have 'landscaping businesses'. Yuppers, owning a sign business is easy peasy!!!
  2. Yup, I don't get it. We now just pay people and that's it. We often want to treat them to something - to somehow say thank you for a job well done for a special project, etc., but no more, which is sad to say. Like I said, we arent big and our business is like another 'home' to us, so we want to have 'friends' in our home, if you get what I mean. We like to have a fun environment and like to 'like' people in our home. Unfortunatley, no more and I find that sad.
  3. Not sure about other companies. I pay my guys very fair wages and benefits. I expect them to do the job I am paying them for. It's impossible for one person to do the actual work of 2 or more people in the same amount of time. Unless the 2 or more people are not pulling their weight. Your post reminded me of a former employee who just left my employ for a $2.00 hike in pay. (not saying your like this guy) He had the ability to take his Journeyman test for 6 months. Once he passed, he would receive a $3.00 raise from me. He never took the test. His reason for leaving was, "He didn't make enough money last year, and didn't get enough over time." He was with me for over 3 years, and a valued hard working employee. But he could not legally be a lead man on his own truck as an apprentice. He is now driving over 50 miles each way for his new job. Versus the 18 miles each way working for me. Now lets add the 35 days he missed work last year. Yes 35 days. Now add in the fact his co workers had to pick up his slack. Which made each job take longer, and me cost more. To summarize, missing 7 weeks of work unpaid, plus his 2 weeks of paid vacation. Left us 1 man short for 2 1/2 months. His $16.00 extra a day is lost on fuel. Not to mention the extra 1 1/2 hour drive coming out of his personal time. If someone quits working for me to go to a competitor. They will never be re hired by me. I expect my employees to treat my business as it were their own. The more they put into it, the more they get in return. We operate the same way. There must be some psychology behind people quitting after ~4 years. So many have and it always seems that it becomes our fault that they choose not do pull their weight. We will pay anyone more money if they put in the effort. Seems the better we treat someone and the more money we pay, the bigger the burr up their rears. We took all of our employees (and spouses) to Mexico one year - to an all-inclusive resort. After we all got back, each one started slacking. I would have guessed it would have been motivation. That was in November and two got a $2K bonus at Christmas. They were both gone within six months and now are working for less and most likely not being given bonuese like that nor vacations. We have a happy environment - very laid back. Never do we say no to a vacation request. Heck, we rarely say no to any requests. Anyone have a clue why this happens?
  4. I love how you accuse me of sitting on my computer all day as I'm reading what must have taken you a half hour to write. Kenn, you have what many call a bit of an "I" problem. In your first (long boring) paragraph you will notice you use the word "I" ten times. You do this because you're in love with yourself. You are the perfect stereotype Union egomaniac that thinks because he belongs to a gang he has this experience and knowledge that come with paying and playing by the union rules. The truth Ken, with you and many of the Union companies in my area that I personally deal with ( yesterday I spent an hour explaining simple ship to a Union shop owner) is that you pay and play so you will get work that you would NEVER get otherwise because of your lack of ability. Many customers will assume, because they are clueless and have been brainwashed over the years that union workers are more skilled than non union. You need that edge, and you love the fact that you think there is some big gang behind you backing you up. Now you're "name dropping" your union buddies to add some sort of (what you think will be) fear into a non union worker. Like Signgirl said earlier....all you do is prove our point over and over with every post you make. Now you can call me a hater AGAIN and spend another half hour telling everyone how great you are and who you know! Rigby, poor Kenn is a narcissist, by definition. (generalized personality trait characterized by egotism, vanity + conceit; overestimates his abilities and has an excessive need for admiration and affirmation). You can't have a conversation with someone like this, though I enjoy how he continues to make our argument.
  5. Dear Ken, I don't think you have an understanding about any of our posts - your reply makes no sense. Who is complaining about work?? My point was simple; union workers are waaay overpaid for the work they do releative to non-union workers in many, many instance - and in my opinion. You don't need to be so defensive. I would put my work up against yours any day of the work, sir. And, I work my pretty little ass off, to boot, and have done so for 32 years, thank you. By the way, I cannot find a website for you anywhere. What is it? I would enjoy looking at your work - see what you design, engineer and fabricate in-house. How long have you been in the sign insdustry and how long have you owned | operated a sign business?
  6. Michigan roads are a fine example of union work - their extra knowledge really shows, doesn't it?? That combined with the stupid low-bid' system....
  7. Entitlement has become a disease....
  8. You are making my point, Ken. Union wages are SO far out of wack and for no reason in particular, other than the power of unions. There is NO WAY that someone on the line deserves to be in the six figures for putting screw in a hole or whatever they do. Prices of so many things are ridiculously high because of the union pay scale. Numbskulls keep their jobs because the unions back them up - if these same numbskulls worked at a non-union business, they'd be out on their butts. I watch people that work in hospitals works at a snail pace with the union mentality - they know they don't HAVE to perform because the union has their sorry backs. And what is the excuse for a union guy sitty on his butt watching us work our off? These guys wouldn't know how to wire neon if they had to, so what is the point of them getting paid $40+/hr. plus benefits while watching us work?? I can't comment on what goes on all across the country - you get around a lot more than I do, I guess. Being a union worker doesn't mean they have any better skills. It means the unions have power and have bully lobbiests with a ton of money to throw around - that's it.
  9. Who thinks UL, MetLab, et al, are a farce? Here's an example of what a wonderful UL label gets you: http://www.thesignsyndicate.com/forums/index.php?/topic/6079-ugly-led-work/ And what UL charges is a crime in and of itself. A joke. I had gotten a quote from MetLab for a site inspection - UL was double and when I told them that, they immediaely dropped their price. Wonder how many companies they ripoff on a daily basis??
  10. Sure!! Oh wait... BTW, they will be digging looking for Hoffa again a few miles from my house, so maybe not! LoL And here's an example of what a wonderful UL label gets you: http://www.thesignsyndicate.com/forums/index.php?/topic/6079-ugly-led-work/ And what UL charges is a crime in and of itself. A joke. I had gotten a quote from MetLab for a site inspection - UL was double and when I told them that, they immediaely dropped their price. Wonder how many companies they ripoff on a daily basis??
  11. Class action suit against whom?
  12. Bad enough to have to play by such unequal rules, but it's their superior 'holier than thou' attitude that makes it all that much worse. There is no basis for stuff like what you mentioned. Unions were for equalities, back in the day, and to prevent employers from taking advantage of people and having poor work conditions. Now it just creates expensive everything and is the reason that China, India and other countires have all of our work! Companies don't give a hoot about the working conditions + poor wages of those people, which are horrible. Same for the UL fiasco. No one truly cares about quality or safety of signs. Inspectors (mostly contractors here now) look at the little stickers as if it denotes quality and fire protection. Most don't ever look inside of a sign - just for that sticker. It's always about the money - nothing more.
  13. We have been fortunate and have done some work inside of the GM Orion Plant without being a union shop, but I get really irritated when we have to have a union guy sit on his fat arse and watch us while getting paid waaaay more money than any sign people I know. Unions had their place decades ago, but now they are part of the demise of this country. I am Detroit born and raised, so I am surrounded by union folk. It is ludicrous that someone on the line can be in the six figures while screwing in a bolt without needing a brain while people who work their butts off barely get by. But, just my opinion :) And don't even get me started on the whole UL, et al fiasco - one of the biggest ripoffs in the sign industry since ADA signage.
  14. sign_girl

    Smile Keepers

    From the album: Signs

    Carved + gilded sign with smalt background.
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