Just wanted to share a quick story. My kids go to a small private school. We do some work for the school every now and then, but it's a small school. (I also donate scrap vinyls, board drop-offs and every now and then a teacher will want a banner for something personal like a kids party or graduation or something and I tend to not bill them for that stuff.)
Quoted on some graphics for on the wall mats in the gym. And of course I got the "oh man, that's way too expensive, blah blah" response. The local sign franchise guy was WAY "less expensive" than I was. I warned the athletic director to make sure he's comparing apples to apples because, while those mats aren't particularly difficult to apply to, if the wrong materials are used they absolutely WILL fail.
Couple weeks later, my oldest son tells me they got new graphics on the gym mats and he asks if I did them. I told him "no, we were too expensive." My kids have heard and seen this kinda stuff a lot since they used to come to work with me a bunch, so he kind of shot me a sideways glance, like "uh-oh". And then I told my son that I hoped whoever did the graphics did them correctly because if not, those letters will be coming off, and he nodded a long 'cause he knows the drill.
So last night we had a band recital performance thing at the school and I of course, took a look through the door of the gym and sure enough, every letter that is still actually on the mats is rolling off, and there are a few letters that are completely missing already.
Now, I will admit, I had 3 different reactions all at once. Part of me reacted like the father of students at the school and was upset FOR the school, knowing they don't have the money to be paying for stuff to get done 2 or 3 times. Part of me reacted like someone who's worked in print/graphics their whole life and was a bit ticked that a sign shop would do that job the way they did.
But then a part of me kinda smirked and did a little fist pump 'cause I freaking warned him!
Quoted on some graphics for on the wall mats in the gym. And of course I got the "oh man, that's way too expensive, blah blah" response. The local sign franchise guy was WAY "less expensive" than I was. I warned the athletic director to make sure he's comparing apples to apples because, while those mats aren't particularly difficult to apply to, if the wrong materials are used they absolutely WILL fail.
Couple weeks later, my oldest son tells me they got new graphics on the gym mats and he asks if I did them. I told him "no, we were too expensive." My kids have heard and seen this kinda stuff a lot since they used to come to work with me a bunch, so he kind of shot me a sideways glance, like "uh-oh". And then I told my son that I hoped whoever did the graphics did them correctly because if not, those letters will be coming off, and he nodded a long 'cause he knows the drill.
So last night we had a band recital performance thing at the school and I of course, took a look through the door of the gym and sure enough, every letter that is still actually on the mats is rolling off, and there are a few letters that are completely missing already.
Now, I will admit, I had 3 different reactions all at once. Part of me reacted like the father of students at the school and was upset FOR the school, knowing they don't have the money to be paying for stuff to get done 2 or 3 times. Part of me reacted like someone who's worked in print/graphics their whole life and was a bit ticked that a sign shop would do that job the way they did.
But then a part of me kinda smirked and did a little fist pump 'cause I freaking warned him!
