HansonSigns

This kills me - I've been in constant contact with them, "we'll get the money, we are getting financing, the papers will be signed on Friday"..... and then I find out they are "reorganizing". They lied to me!! They saw this coming and kept stringing me along because I was stupid enough to believe them. Arrgg!

Yup, unfortunately, they still owe us $3,251.00 for a reface on TJ Maxx. I went to the Int Sign website and emailed everyone on the site - got the following reply "Nancy, I sincerely apologize for the run around you have been experiencing. We are in the process of finalizing additional financing from our bank which should be completed in the next couple of weeks. The financing has been approved but the papers just need to be drawn up and signed. This will allow us to start sending out regularly scheduled payments to all of our vendors and really keep us poised to thrive well in to the future. If you could extend me a little more time by refraining from the lien, I would certainly appreciate it. It does not do any of us any good if something was to happen to our customers. Thank you, Seth F. Sekeres Chief Financial Officer International Sign & Design Corporation P-727.541.5573 F-727.544.7745 ssekeres@intlsign.com " So, I'm waiting with crossed fingers. And we are demanding deposits from all the int. sign companies (except Fast signs, who pays in like 22 days and are on our Christmas card list...:)

Absolutely get 50%! I'm dealing with several national companies that want to pay 120 days out.... and since Image Point got us for over $25,000 (OUCH), if we had gotten 50% down, it would still hurt, but not quite so much. So, our policy is now 50% up front or get someone else to do it. We are fortunate that many of our franchise customers insist on using us as the installer for their signs, so the national companies don't really complain much. Of course, with some companies we work for and have excellent history (like Fast Signs national accounts and MC Signs) we do the work with a purchase order instead.

A lot of National Accounts have been taking advantage of us small companies for a long time. Hold firm and they straighten up - for a while, at least. Action National was on our COD list for a long time, but the last 4-5 jobs we've done have been paid with 40 days. MC Signs always paid within 55 days, never any bs when I called to find out when they were going to pay. Fast Signs National Accounts is awesome to work for - pay within 45 days and the people are really nice there. On the other hand, Visible Graphics in CA is willing to pay 1/2 down, but getting the remaining payment from them is like pulling teeth. They are now on our COD list. We've probably offended more than one national company in asking for a deposit, but in these tough times, they'll just have to deal with it.

Jeeze, i just realized I answered a post from 2005. I AM slow!

If you can log on at other hotspots and not your house, sounds like your wireless internet is firewalled. Since you know that your 'puter is working correctly, it's gotta be a firewall issue. We have XP and a network here at work (only one computer is wireless) and had no problems, but to make it more secure we had our IT tech (a guy we hire from time to time) password it - an he had to configure each computer on the network. It didn't take long, but I couldn't figure it out. Oh, and today, my network server power supply died. It's always something! This probably didn't help you out, but at least you know you aren't alone!

This is in the other Imagepoint thread - good luck! United Sign Systems in California will take applications for Project Management and Sales - Good luck everyone! Mike@unitedsign.net

Yes, I'm going to lien those jobs we have, but I doubt we'll see any $. From now on we'll get deposits from the big national guys just like everyone else!

I do feel badly for the employees - but I feel worse that I have to tell my boss that Image P0int may not pay us the $25000 + they owe for several installs we did in November and December.... and one Nissan job in September. That makes me ill - we are a small sign shop and that's sizeable hit for us. It all rolls downhill.....java script:add_smilie :puke:

We aren't in a bind - Business was slow for a couple months, but has picked up since August. It helps that we have some great loyal customers opening new stores and calling us for their sign needs. We are a 12 person electrical sign shop and haven't had to resort to cutting back on hours or downsizing employee benefits. We haven't purchased any new equipment - we were looking at a new cnc router, but that can wait.

I worked for Mervyns in Lancaster, CA in the late 70's. They used to have really nice quality clothes, but over the last 10-15 years, the quality had gotten very shoddy. With Kmart and wallmart selling the same stuff for lots less, why would Mervyns be surprised they didn't make it? The Mervyns in my local mall in Silverdale, WA was replaced by a Kohls. And Linens 'N things is going out of business too. Aren't they owned by the same parent company?

Well, I heard the "Global Unification" thing also. Who charges less than ($150) for "house calls"? How about computer technicians... the cable people.... phone companies ... US! We only charge $92 per hour for our service truck. Guess we should bump that up. And as for providing UL with measuring tools, hmmm. The local L&I office (electrical inspectors for Washington State) frequently has us meet them at a job site so they can use our ladder to access the sign.... I guess we just gotta grimace and bear it. We are over a barrel!

Ja ist es, warum unsere Rate so hoch ist.

Yeah, we've done a bit of work for Image Point. They pay in about 60 days as long as you get all the sign off sheets; purchase order numbers and pictures of absolutely everything. We like the people we've worked with for IP, they seem reasonable and usually answer emails within a few hours. I absolutely hate their purchase orders, they are the hardest to read - can't find the vital information about the job because it's buried in the 4+ pages of standard crap they put on every job.

Yeah, I'd be interested to know if anyone uses these alternatives. I tried to get info from MET but have been ignored so far. java script:add_smilie(" ","smid_66") crazy.gif

I have worked for "Nationwide Electrical" out of New Jersey, and they have paid in about 64 days - so much for the "Net 45". I totally agree - why aren't these companies wising up and using local sign shops? How hard is it to make the store manager responsible for a repair budget?? They must like paying mark ups. One time, we were the third sub on a service job. How much did that repair bill go up??!!

We are looking to get a "Bulb Eater" - anyone use one? I only know one company who uses it - they love it.

Yeah, KGirl, how'd the toddie go down? Hmm, my theater is small (our basement has a main support beam/column, so we used that for one wall), but we have a Mitsubishi projector (at about $850, it was way cheaper than a big screen LCD tv), made the screen about 120", and got a .... sound system (I can't for the life of me remember what it is, but it does rattle the floors upstairs!). We have two "sound chairs" we got in Japan in the 80's, and our LazyBoy recliners are being made even as we speak! The projector works with the computer, the playstation (blueray!), the dvd player and the cable tv box. And the picture is awesome! I was surprised at the great quality because the screen we made is just blockout material (the kind of stuff they put on the back of the curtains). The room is flat black, with blue at the rear (away from the screen so it doesn't reflect light), and the carpet is blue/grey. We may never see the sun again!

Got our home theater up and running. Movie time!

We use SignSearch, but I've not browsed it enough to come up with that issue. I'd definately complain - if a potential customer can't browse on the website, what's the point of buying space there?

Geeze, KGirl, that's a tough career! My hats off to you and anyone who can work with disabled people - especially kids. I agree about the diagnosis issue. I'm having a hard time believing that autism can be at such epidemic proportions. It sure sounds like the case you described is something else totally. I'll keep you in my prayers! And I agree with Manuel, also. State of Fear really described the mindset of the "global warming" industry. Sorry I don't have a rant today. I'll work on it!

My hubby told me about this story - just too funny not to post. The Horror of Blimps by Scylla Last week while travelling I stopped at a Zany Brainy store and saw that they had a blimp for sale. It's called Airship Earth, and it's a great big balloon with a map of the Earth on it, and two propellors hanging from the bottom. You blow up the balloon with helium put batteries in it, and you have a radio controll indoor blimp. I'd seen these things for sale in Sharper Image catalogs for $60-$75. At Zany Brainy it was on clearance for $15. What a deal! Last night my wife was playing tennis and it was just my daughter and I at home. I bought a small helium tank from a party store, and last night we put the blimp together. Let me tell you, it's quite a blimp. It's huge. The balloon has like a 3 ft diameter. We blew it up with the tank attacched the gondola with the propellors, and put in batteries. Then we balanced the blimp for neutral bouyancy with this putty that came with it, so it hangs in the air by itself neither rising nor falling. It was easy and fun, and then I blew up another balloon and made Mickey Mouse helium voices for my daughter. My three year old girl loved it. We flew the blimp all over the house, terrorized the dog, attacked the fish tank, and the controls were so easy my daughter could fly. Let's face it, blimps are fun. Alas, the fun had to end and my daughter had to go to sleep. I left the blimp floating in my office downstairs, my wife came home, and we went to bed, and slept the sleep of the righteous. At this point it is important to know that my house has central heating. I have it configured to blow hot air out on the ground floor and take it in at the second floor to take advantage of the fact that heat rises. The blimp which was up until this moment a fun toy here embarked on a career of evil. Using the artificial convection of my central heating, the blimp stealthily departed my office. It moved silently through the living and drifted to the staircase. Gliding wraithlike over the staircase it then entered the bedroom where my wife and I lay sleeping peacefully. Running silently, and gliding six feet or so above the ground on invisible and tiny air currects it approached the bed. In spite of it's noiseless passage, or perhaps because of it, I awoke. That doesn't really say it properly. Let me try again. I awoke, the way you awake at 2:00 AM when your sleeping senses suddenly tell you without reason that the forces of evil on converging on you. That still doesn't do it. Let me try one more time. I awoke the way you awake when you suddenly know that there is a large levitating sinister presence hovering towards you with menacing intent through the maligant darkness. Now sometimes I do wake up in the middle of the night thinking that there are large sinister and menacing things floating out of the darkness to do me and mine evil. Usually I open my eyes, look and listen carefully, decide it was a false alarm, and go back to sleep. So, the fact that I awoke in such a manner was not all that unusual. On this occasion I awoke to the sense that there was a large menacing presence approaching me silently out of the gloom, so I opened my eyes, and there it was! A LARGE SILENT MENACING PRESENCE WAS APPROACHING ME OUT OF THE GLOOM, AND IT COULD FLY!!! Somewhere in the control room of my mind a fat little dwarf in a security outfit was paging through a Penthouse while smoking a cigar with his feet up on the table, watching the security monitors of my brain with his peripheral vision. Suddenly he saw the LARGE SILENT SINSITER MENACING FLOATING PRESENCE coming at me, and he pulled every panic switch and hit every alarm that my body has. A full decade's allotment of adrenaline was dumped into my bloodstream all at once. My metabolism went from "restful sleep mode" to HOLY SHIT! FIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE OR DIE!!!! mode" in a nanosecond. My heart went from twenty something beats per minute to about 240 even faster. I always knew this was going to happen. I always knew that skepticism and science were mere psychological decorations and vanities. Deep in our alligator brains we all know that the world is just chock full of evil and monsters and sinister forces aligned against us, and it is only a matter of time until they show up. Evolution know this, too. It knows what to do when the silent terror comes at you from out of the dark. When 50 million years worth of evolutionary survival instinct hits you all at once flat in the gut at 200 mph it is not a pleasant sensation. Without volition I screamed my battle cry (which is indistinguishable to the sound a little girl makes when you drop a spider down her dress (not that I'd know what that sounds like,) and lept out of bed in my underwear. I struck the approaching menace with all my strength and almost fell over at the total lack of resistance that a helium balloon offers when you punch the living shit out of it with all the stength that sudden middle of the night terror produces. It's trajectory took it straight into the ceiling fan which whipped it about the room at terrifying velocity. Seeking a weapon, I ripped the alarm clock out of its plug and hurled it at the now High Velocity Menacing presence (breaking the clock and putting a nice hole in the wall.) Somehow at this moment I suddenly realized that I was fighting the blimp, and not a monster. It might have been funny if I didn't truly and actually feel like I was having a legitimate heart-attack. On quivering legs I went to the bathroom and literally gagged into the toilet while shaking uncontrollably with the shock of the reaction I'd had. Unbeleivably, both my wife and daughter had completely slept through the incident. When I decided that I wasn't having a heart attack after all I went back into the bedroom and found the blimp which had somehow survived the incident. I took it to the walk in closet and released it inside where it floated around with the air currents released from the vents in there. I closed the door, this sealing it in, and went back to bed. About 500 years later I fell asleep. *** At about 7 am my wife awoke. She had been playing tennis and wasn't aware that we have assembled the blimp the previous evening, and that is was now floating around the the walk-in closet that she approached. The dyndamic between the existing air currents of the closet and the suction caused by opening the door was just enough to give the blimp the appearance of an Evil Sinister Menace flying straight towards her. This time the blimp did not survive the encounter, nor almost, did I, as I had to explain to my very angry spouse what motivated me to hide an evil lurking presence in the closet for her to find at 7 am. I can order replacement balloons on the internet but I don't think I will. Some blimps are better off dead.

Hmmm - we've done three jobs for them, average days to pay us - 63.

Aircraft pilots and flight engineers must include the guys who test fly the planes... my dad worked for McDonnell Douglas for years, told me some stories from his inspection days....

Hmmm... I don't use large format printers, but I've killed two HPs and an Epson using generic cartridges. Certain ink formulas eat print heads.