Customer of the Day

[OhioSigns]

Just thought it was funny.... a customer comes in asking how long of a guarantee I give on my work. I knew I had done something for him but didn't recognize him to remember what it was. So I proceeded to tell him there's a number of factors such as the type of vinyl, lamination, vertical vs horizontal exposure, substrate type, surface condition, etc that determines how long I would "guarantee" something for. So, it ended up being a Dodge Neon that I did a racing stripe on last summer using 3M 180mC vinyl. The issue he had was 1 very small (roughly 1/32" x 1/32") chip of vinyl that was missing due to road debris and he wanted the whole hood stripe replaced. Remind you that we live in Ohio, where there is lots of gravel, salt and road debris. I told him I can't warranty anything against damage from road debris or abuse. The guarantee is for the product against adhesive failure, fading, shrinking and overall workmanship. Just could't believe someone thought I would redo the stripe because of a tiny rock chip. I told him I would redo it for the original cost if he was that concerned about it but if it was my car a blemish that small was not worth replacing the stripe. The hilarious part is there was several good size chips of paint missing from of other parts of the bumper and hood from road debris. I wonder if he took it to the dealer to see if they would "guarantee" the paint? Needless to say when it was going to come out of his pocket he wasn't interested in having it redone.

I've got a pretty nice sign in my lobby stating various shop policies and labor rates. Guess I need to add to it that work is not guaranteed against "abuse".

On another note I did have a church once pricing signs and a sign company out of Florida was claiming they warranted their signs from vandalism. When they asked me if I would do that I told them there was no way I could warranty it from vandalism...... that is what insurance is for and I wouldn't eat the cost of a sign if some kid decided to spray paint it or take a baseball bat to it. I told them good luck getting that sign company to follow through with the "warranty" if something was to happen and it was a false promise to try making a sale. I ended up getting the job but it was still ridiculous to think that someone would say they warranty against vandalism. Anybody else have idiot customers come in wanting you to cover the most ridiculous stuff?

 

[Gino]

Probably 35 years ago, had a customer who came in and got a buncha signs for their building and two parking lots. Signs on the building were high enough that no one could reach them. In the parking lot, they were directional type signs and couldn't be too high or people couldn't read them. They told us to make the signs vandal proof. So we double nutted them with a special nut and then stripped the threads, so the sign could not be taken off. About three days later, the guy came in and said he wanted his money back, that the signs were not vandal proof. I said, what do you mean ??

The other night they came into my lot and cut the posts a foot off the ground and stole the sign AND post. I said, I can't do anything about that. Also, they must've climbed up or stood on top of a car and destroyed the signs on the building. He insisted he wasn't going to pay the balance and he wanted the deposit back. I told him if he didn't pay the balance, I was gonna sue him for breach of contract and accuse him of destroying his own signs to collect insurance money. He shut up and we got paid the next day.

Some people, huh ??​

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

Humm sounds like he needed an up-sell on that clear vinyl hood protection stuff.

My disclosure reads:

We stand behind every sign we manufacture and want every customer 100% satisfied with our service. 1-Year warranty unless otherwise noted above. Temporary signs, corrugated plastic or banners are not warrantied. Warranty exclusions: Acts of God, vandalism, misuse, pre-existing damage, accidental damage by others, work preformed by others and buyer modifications or negligence. Normal wear and tear is expected and is not considered a warrantable failure. Fading or lifting or reduction of gloss and contrast is considered the result of normal wear and tear.

Digging: We will submit dig requests to Texas811 for underground line location and marking. Your required to locate utilities that Texas811 does not cover in addition to any privately owned underground lines such as irrigation with marked spray paint. We are not responsible for damage to unmarked lines.

Customer or Vendor supplied materials: We do not warranty, and are not responsible for damage, failure or the replacement costs associated with graphics or materials not manufactured by us.

 

[GAC05]

Just thought it was funny.... a customer comes in asking how long of a guarantee I give on my work. I knew I had done something for him but didn't recognize him to remember what it was. So I proceeded to tell him there's a number of factors such as the type of vinyl, lamination, vertical vs horizontal exposure, substrate type, surface condition, etc that determines how long I would "guarantee" something for. So, it ended up being a Dodge Neon that I did a racing stripe on last summer using 3M 180mC vinyl. The issue he had was 1 very small (roughly 1/32" x 1/32") chip of vinyl that was missing due to road debris and he wanted the whole hood stripe replaced. Remind you that we live in Ohio, where there is lots of gravel, salt and road debris. I told him I can't warranty anything against damage from road debris or abuse. The guarantee is for the product against adhesive failure, fading, shrinking and overall workmanship. Just could't believe someone thought I would redo the stripe because of a tiny rock chip. I told him I would redo it for the original cost if he was that concerned about it but if it was my car a blemish that small was not worth replacing the stripe. The hilarious part is there was several good size chips of paint missing from of other parts of the bumper and hood from road debris. I wonder if he took it to the dealer to see if they would "guarantee" the paint? Needless to say when it was going to come out of his pocket he wasn't interested in having it redone.

I've got a pretty nice sign in my lobby stating various shop policies and labor rates. Guess I need to add to it that work is not guaranteed against "abuse".

On another note I did have a church once pricing signs and a sign company out of Florida was claiming they warranted their signs from vandalism. When they asked me if I would do that I told them there was no way I could warranty it from vandalism...... that is what insurance is for and I wouldn't eat the cost of a sign if some kid decided to spray paint it or take a baseball bat to it. I told them good luck getting that sign company to follow through with the "warranty" if something was to happen and it was a false promise to try making a sale. I ended up getting the job but it was still ridiculous to think that someone would say they warranty against vandalism. Anybody else have idiot customers come in wanting you to cover the most ridiculous stuff?

You should have told him rock chips are an act of God and he should ask Jesus if he would cover the replacement.

 

[ams]

I always get the "I need a sign, how much does it cost" people.

 

[HDvinyl]

A Dodge Neon still on the road?? The racing stripe is probably worth more than the car.

 

[montrealsigns]

I always get the "I need a sign, how much does it cost" people.

Omg we get that all the time!

 

[GaSouthpaw]

The hilarious part is there was several good size chips of paint missing from

I must disagree... the hilarious part is that the customer was that worried about a Dodge Neon looking good.

 

[equippaint]

I hate the ones that come in a few years later, well past any warranty period, but try to argue that the problem started right after they bought it. .

 

[eahicks]

I hate the ones that come in a few years later, well past any warranty period, but try to argue that the problem started right after they bought it. .

We had a customer try to pull that one, telling us he needed his real estate sign redone because the name was spelled wrong. This was months after...and the kicker was he wanted to "go ahead and change to a different name since he needed it redone." Nice try cheap a$$.

 

[JTBoh]

Humm sounds like he needed an up-sell on that clear vinyl hood protection stuff.

My disclosure reads:

We stand behind every sign we manufacture and want every customer 100% satisfied with our service. 1-Year warranty unless otherwise noted above. Temporary signs, corrugated plastic or banners are not warrantied. Warranty exclusions: Acts of God, vandalism, misuse, pre-existing damage, accidental damage by others, work performed by others and buyer modifications or negligence. Normal wear and tear is expected and is not considered a warrantable failure. Fading or lifting or reduction of gloss and contrast is considered the result of normal wear and tear.

Digging: We will submit dig requests to Texas811 for underground line location and marking. You are required to locate utilities that Texas811 does not cover in addition to any privately owned underground lines such as irrigation with marked spray paint. We are not responsible for damage to unmarked lines.

Customer or Vendor supplied materials: We do not warranty, and are not responsible for damage, failure or the replacement costs associated with graphics or materials not manufactured by us.

Fix'd