Snoochie

Erik; Are you insinuating that members are having their rights violated by persons known or unknown? I will not accept that those Brush fires you and Samuel Adams hold and held so dearly are having cold water thrown on them? "Give em Hell" Erik Truman................. Best

It,s worth giving these "stinkers" an encore review.... And I still stand by this list! Best

Did they take a discount for early payment? Best

Fantastic news for neon craftsmen. Hopefully more business for the local sign industry. And what is better than vintage Americana? Certainly not new age China. After all, we are talking about Albuquerque and not Beijing where it seems LED crap all comes from. But the so called American LED manufacturers all build their products in China under strict guidelines. Freely translated, a 16 year old plant manager gives directives to a 14 year old line foreman who then keeps an eye on those pesky 12 year old assemblers. No finer example of quality control and strict guidelines............. Best

Keith; But what was the excuse why it took so long? I am writing a new best selling novel called "Dreaming Up and Using Bullshit Excuses" and I need some material. I will mention your name along with others, including myself, in the Chapter "How to Cheat a Sign Contractor Effectively". Best

Keith, I assume you have made calls to A/P. What are the excuses you have been given? Unfortunately, "Slow Pay, No Pay" seems to be the norm for many of these middleman companies. Go after the actual job site owner of record and then watch them jump. Best

Quick marriage and even quicker divorce? Best

Erik; I have been involved with some interesting conversations regarding failures, only in a different venue. I am active with canopy retrofits and can tell you there are more premature failures with exterior lighting that most are comfortable to admit to. From an electrical/lighting standpoint, I can agree with you that LED is not the "end all be all" at this point in their evolution. In conjunction with LED canopy lighting retrofits, is fascia sign and channel letter retrofits utilizing LED and there are failures there as well. And to challenge you on "LED's are made to save money", it should read "LED's are made to make money". Lastly, neon is an art that is perfected over time. That's why glass blowing,as it were, is an industrial art. LED is just another business product that relies on the latest cheap shit house factory in China to build and ship that product to the USA. Don't get me wrong, LED's have there place in the scheme of things but nothing quite matches the sheer art form of a well crafted and installed neon sign. But LED is not going away so get used to it..... Best

I hope a very speedy recovery is next..... Best

While I don't know Garrett Churchill, if Erik holds him in this high regard, he must indeed be special. It is rare that there is passion that anyone holds for anything when it is detached from money. Stay true to yourself. My thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery go out to you. That is the beauty of our USA, we all are connected, no matter if we know one another or not. God Speed Garrett............ Best

Mark; I second that "useless" opinion my Texas Brother............ Best

Action National Entera Fairmont Regency Icon Sign Depot Nationwide Sign Service & Repair Atlas Sign Industries Archer Signs Loren Electric The list continues to grow and grow......... Best

It's worth repeating in situations like this.............. "Stolen Valor". Apparently the courts have said that you can lie about being a decorated veteran so why not a small offense like stealing a sign photo and claiming it to be your own? Best

Erik; I know the first company that you have listed on your FBI post relating to "Stolen or Missing" signs............ The contractor, Power, is actually a subcontractor for Coast Sign out of Anaheim, California and it appears that some of the other signs may been those that were produced by Coast but simply installed by Power. They also do work for ICON, so maybe some of the photos could be for them as well. Inasmuch as I am familiar with the Petroleum Industry, I would venture to say that those signs depicted are most probably fabricated by other national builders and again,simply installed by Power. As far as your sign, well, I don't have any speculation about that. Seems your picture was just pirated and that is the end of the story. I went on their website and noticed that your sign was missing. Now I am not saying that Power produces no signs, I just can't say that. But some of the major corporate signs, well I'll bet my hard earned dollars that they were produced by others. Having said that, this company does do a good job of installation. Just should be more specific about who built what and who installed what when posting information in cyberspace. If they were specific about which were built and installed in house as opposed to built by others, I think that would be more honorable. But I noticed on their site that they don't actually say that built these signs so I suppose they danced around the edges. As far as your beautiful sign, well, Bullshit and nothing more. Sad! But Erik, the old addage goes, "Imitation is purest form of flattery". Consider yourself flattered my friend. Best

"I still haven't replaced my roof. May do it myself with some of my employees. After all, anyone can do roofing." I have been an electrician for many years. I was thinking of doing electro-cardiograms for St. Judes Hospital in Fullerton. Since I know electricity, I figure I most likely can perform the procedure. To reiterate what my friend ALLTEX wrote, "Anyone can do it". Best

Glad to hear it !!! Maybe you are reaping the benefits of member contractors calling out these nationals on The Sign Syndicate. Maybe you are lucky. Maybe this company has had an epiphany and has changed their ways. Maybe........... Hopefully you will continue to provide service and be paid in a timely and fair manner. Best

Action National Entera Fairmont Regency Icon Sign Depot Nationwide Sign Service & Repair Atlas Sign Industries Archer Signs The list continues to grow and the smell is getting stronger! Contract with these companies and you may wind up getting burnt. Best

I contract here in California and hold both C-10 and C-45 licenses. I also have a state certified electrician license that requires me to hold another card in my wallet. I don't find the whole concept of gaining the skill necessary, obtaining a license and then performing work as a contractor too much of an over reach. I work for one National Sign company, who does pay on time, and provide electrical (C-10) service to those job sites that C-45 contractor subs are not allowed to complete when it crosses with the sign sector. Again, they don't feel it is an over reach and neither do I. But Erik nailed it when he said that "Title 24" here in California is definitely a government over reach. It is a ridiculous set of rules that slows down a job and makes the costs rise accordingly. But I guess you have to take the good with the bad in any industry. Best

Chubby; I recently received a call from these folks to work at another chain store here in California. The girl whom I spoke to knew basically nothing except to present a story line about travel that wouldn't cover my cost, labor on the job that wouldn't cover my cost and charges for material that wouldn't cover my cost. I as well said thanks but I would have to pass on this glorious opportunity to be paid extremely slow, if at all, for under priced work here in the Golden State. How anyone could work for these people is just mind boggling to me. Best

Wow.... I thought he just did signs! When did he start this business in Cali and what type of food does he serve? Knowing that he is the consummate professional, I can only surmise the food is excellent. I hope he decides to branch out into Orange County. Good Luck on the new venture Chubby. Best

LEDs could soon light the way everywhere Philips says it'll sell them as replacements for fluorescent tubes in particular. They promise to be more efficient, warmer and cheaper. If you've grown up in postwar America, much of your life has been illuminated by fluorescent lighting. And while they may not have the warm glow of old-school incandescent bulbs, fluorescent lights are much more energy-efficient. They also last longer and have been lighting the way in America's schools, businesses and workplaces for decades. But that might change soon as fluorescent technology gets challenged by light-emitting diodes (LED). Royal Philips (PHG +1.39%), the Amsterdam appliance giant, has developed a prototype LED that is not only more efficient than fluorescent lights but cheaper. It has a warmer light and is more environmentally friendly. What's more, the company expects to have these new LEDs mass-produced and on the market by 2015. The expectation is that LEDs will replace about half of the world's florescent lighting in the following decade. "This is a major step forward for the lighting world," Rene van Schooten, the CEO of Philips' light sources division, said in an interview with the The Associated Press. "It will bring an enormous savings in energy." Not that fluorescent light technology has been standing still. Many of us are familiar with the corkscrew-shaped compact fluorescent lamps that have been gradually taking the place of the incandescent bulbs pioneered by Thomas Edison. But LED bulbs are also out there, as an option for both businesses and homeowners. The cost for LED bulbs is still well above that of CFLs, although LEDs last longer. And there's still some debate as to whether the U.S. market can afford widespread LED lighting in its current form. "Right now, the best LED lamps have approximately the same efficiency as the best CFLs, but they cost about 10 times as much," said GreenBuildingAdvisor​.com senior editor Martin Holladay in 2011. "Although LED lamps should last longer than CFLs, you won't see any savings from switching to LEDs -- unless the labor cost for changing out a lamp is very high." But AP points out that Philips -- as well as Siemens (SI +0.50%), General Electric (GE +0.04%), Cree (CREE -0.54%) and others -- have made "significant inroads" in the LED market as they replace incandescent and halogen technologies. In fact, Philips' Van Schooten notes his company not only makes LEDs but is a major producer of fluorescent lighting. "Clearly we'll have to phase (the fluorescents) out," he said. "We knew this moment was coming for some time." Best to all.............

Sean; YUM brands is in the process of offloading their stores to Franchisees and as hard as it is to believe it, quality control doesn't enter the picture. So long as lighting comes on, in and around the stores, nothing matters above that basic fact. The bottom line is, that when the store is sold, the maintenance is the realm of the franchisee. YUM is just an advisor or guidance counselor and doesn't get involved with the nuts and bolts of the maintenance of the franchisee locations. And if sales are good, that's all that matters. The food industry is embroiled in stiff and ugly competition so YUM is more concerned with developing and selling Chicken Bites, Cheesy Squeezy Tacos or Super Duper burritos and other products that will pad the bottom line. Unfortunately, this is what the corporate world is about, Profits. If Action tells the Franchisee that they can do the job for a cheap price, they will get the job. To hell with image. Profit is everything to them and Action apparently helps them fulfill this need. Best

Chubby, The answer is obviously NO! They, like many others, do not research anything and are seduced by price and salesmanship. I would also ask, doesn't anyone who embarks as a contractor for these folks do any research before they board the good ship Action? Again, the answer is NO or possibly they do, but are inflicted with a case of Cognitive Dissonance. They take the journey anyway, only to find the trip and destination weren't too pleasurable. It amazes me that these guys can even stay in business, but in these times we live in, nothing surprises me anymore. And as much as it pains me to say it, I'll bet there are folks on this very board who will embark on the cruise liner even after knowing what they know about this company. For the record, I am not one of those...... Best

I wonder if this YUM Brands franchisee knows what it is getting into?? They just jumped into the fire and will get burnt along with the fools who actually will provide the labor for next to nothing and get paid only after never ending chest pounding and threatening. But it is still a free country and they can contract with whomever they want to. Best

Wait for the new company to emerge and re list them on "The Hall of Shame". Look at all the reborn companies and take heed to this painful lesson. Best