Another What Would You Do moment....

[Locals Find!]

Call both your clients in. Tell them both what you know about the signs and let them sort it all out between them.

Then letter up whoever gets the signs. Then your not accusing anyone of anything let them fight it out or not.

 

[signage]

Pat do you sit around all day thinking these things up? If not I'm happy I'm not from your area

 

[CheapVehicleWrap]

Call the second guy IN and tell him the cops showed at your shop. Apparently there was a gps tracker on one of the signs and they were reported stolen. It's all under investigation. Make sure you video it and upload to youtube. post the link here.

 

[Pat Whatley]

Pat do you sit around all day thinking these things up? If not I'm happy I'm not from your area

Unfortunately not. My shop sits on the edge of the downtown. I've got all of the state, federal, city, and county government, plus all of the bank headquarters and hundreds of upscale offices on one side....behind me I've got an apartment complex full of undocumented Spanish labor, across the street is another apartment complex and rental houses for hood rats, and a block from that is a lower class white neighborhood. I spend most of my day either dealing with corporate customers who have really nice sign budgets or dealing with people trying to save a buck or make a buck by any means necessary. I am literally surrounded by a mix of good....and crazy.

Here's a rundown of some of the better moments of the last couple of years:

-Guy trying to sell DVD movies for a buck. His sweatpants were packed with them....all in Movie Gallery cases (Movie Gallery is right up the road)

-Guy trying to sell me a cooler....with my name on it that he'd taken out of my truck in the parking lot.

-Guy trying to sell a Browning shotgun. While I was looking at it I asked him if it was stolen. He told me no, he had the receipt out in his car. Walked out without the gun, never came back.

-Woman walked in to warm up while waiting for the bus...then stripped to her panties (not a pretty sight)

-THREE different people have come in and asked if we fix guitars. there is nothing music related ANYWHERE on this building and never was.

-Guy from across the street came in asking about directional signs for dog fights. Not to be outdone a few months later we got asked about the same thing for chicken fights.

-Spanish guy who could barely speak English drove off and left his sleeping infant in a car seat up front. Showed back up while we were looking in the phone book for DHR.

-Almost daily somebody comes in needing a couple of bucks for gas because they ran out right up the road. To date NOBODY has run out of gas actually within sight of the shop....and only one guy actually had a gas can to get said gas back to his car (gave him $5 for the effort)

 

[Vinylman]

We all have plenty of ideas as to what to do, but each of us at the end of any given day need to ask ourselves, "what would I want to have happen to me if I was the one who originally paid Pat to letter the signs"?

Your response to THAT question may set the tone for the rest of your life. OR NOT!

Though I might be tempted in a certain direction, I know at the end of my day which is the correct approach.

 

[CheapVehicleWrap]

Wow Pat, that IS an interesting place. Sounds like allot of fun! Had a neighbor steal a $100 tool last week. Boy do I have a surprise waiting for him now.

 

[Locals Find!]

Pat, you should put some cameras in the front of the shop and post a live video feed. If half of what you say is true it would be funny to watch.

 

[GypsyGraphics]

I wouldn't letter those signs even if i NEEDED the money to eat!

geeezzz people... he's NOT guessing they're stolen THEY ARE!
whether the guy who brought them in knows there stolen or not, whether he paid for them or not.... THEY'RE NOT HIS!

Pat, it's almost too bad that you know who the signs belong to, otherwise it would just be a suspicion.. and you could keep your suspicions to yourself and do the job.

 

[John L]

...and you don't fix guitars because?

Listen to your market buddy.

 

[showcase 66]

I had a guy bring in 7 real estate signs for a company I do all the signs for. They wanted them refaced for his landscaping business. He said the real estate company was going out of business and was selling them off. I had him start filling out the paperwork while I called up the real estate company. I thought it was a little weird that the same real estate place just picked up 15 new signs a couple of days earlier. Sure enough they were stolen from the back of someones truck. In this case, they guy who brought them to me had bought them from an ad on craigslist. Not sure if they ever caught the guy. Felt bad for the guy who came in with them. He said he bought them for $10 a piece stand an all.

Another real estate company here has a sign that they change all the time. One day it had "we will buy your old real estate frames". Couple of days later peoples real estate signs were missing from properties all over town. There sign then read "Please stop stealing real estate signs to sell to us".

I got a kick out of it.

 

[Fitch]

I am with GG on this one.

At the end of the day Pat you are currently in the possession of stolen property.

No matter how they came about being in whoever's possession. You KNOW that they were stolen originally from YOUR client, and as such remain stolen, no matter how many hands they pass through.

The fact that you have now posted this in a public forum, could actually used against you - particularly from a competitor, or at worst, some legal eagle that wants a win.

Yes business is business, yes we all have to make a living... but that is difficult to do when you are either in jail, or have a rap sheet and known as a person who turns a blind eye to criminal activity.

Pat I know you have a concience. Do the right thing, protect your integrity, your name, your business and your family and do only what is right.

In terms of "what to do" - that's hard. You could call the cops. You could call the original owner - that would be doing the right thing - they are his by law, but that would obviously upset the person that wants them re-lettered and you may find your shop damaged or worse - burnt down.

Personally - I would call the person who dropped them in, ask them to drop by for a "chat" and tell them that you are not accusing them, but are aware that they are stolen, and prefer to pass on the job. I would also call your "client" and just let them know that for confidentiality and possible repercussion reasons you can't divulge their identity but you have had his / her signs in your shop, recognized them and asked for them to be removed immediately from your premises.

I don't know how much you would make from this - let's say $500. Is it all worth it?

How much would a lawyer cost to engage to defend yourself?

Look at the big picture my friend.

Cheers - G

 

[CheapVehicleWrap]

Wow they're strict in Australia. The shotguns one thing, but signs. Here in the states there are entire cities that will not respond to burglary, auto theft, fraud and identify theft calls. But you're right. And I'm Pat.

 

[Sticky Signs]

I would get paid upfront should you decide to do the signs for guy number 2.

 

[Firefox]

Perhaps Pat is looking for the best approach to getting his customers signs back to him without looking like someone that wants his windows broken out at night by a peed off person that may not be guilty of anything more serious than buying used signs off of Craigs list.

 

[binki]

If someone brought in something that I know was stolen I would call the police.

 

[mikefine]

It is a black and white -- businessman decision. You do the job, or you don't do the job.
Nothing in between.
You don't know if the signs are stolen, and that is not your role. Your job is to make signs, unless you moonlight as a cop, or ethics professor, or something like that. You don't ask any questions because you won't win. You are just going to end up making enemies with someone. Either do the job, or decline the job with some excuse like the old vinyl won't come off or the material is faulty. That's my advice. No in between.

 

[CheapVehicleWrap]

...and you don't fix guitars because?

Listen to your market buddy.

:ROFLMAO:

 

[iSign]

call guy 2... tell him that his good buddy (guy 1) was in the shop & offered to deliver your (guy 2) signs... so they are on their way... wait... that was yesterday & he assured me he was on his way. RIGHT THEN... so you have them already, right? guy 1 is your good buddy right?
WHAT??

..OH, WELL, HE SAID HE WAS...

forget the second half of your bill then... i'm sorry. he just grabbed them & stormed outta here, seemingly quite happy to do you that favor, so what was i to do...
guess i'll split the loss with you then... bummer dude...