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Question Dumbest Thing in Your Shop
- Thread starter billsines
- Start date
Texas_Signmaker
Very Active Signmaker
Tie between misspelling a $5000 foamcore monument sign we ordered...and misspelling several hundred small signs in a $4000 order....obviously after they were all applied
bannertime
Active Member
Outside of the infuriating lack of attention, like someone grommeting two banners together, cutting through a banner into another order, or weeding out a box leaving the letters when it was supposed to be reverse cut with the letters weeded out. Or when someone would flip an X-acto in the air to watch it stick into the self healing mat, talk politics to a customer, or guesstimate sign measurements...
I was once replacing a power supply onto an old piece of equipment. I pulled the old one out, I put the new $500 unit in, turned it on and it blew immediately. I open up a similar machine and find out that I installed it backwards. That was exciting, and I now take before pictures, use paint marker to mark locations, and triple check before plugging things back in.
Once had a customer tell me I was supposed to have informed her when few months after she bought a banner stand, we found a new one we liked better.
Possibly the worst case was something that's happened three times. Taking another order from a customer that's ripped us off before.
I was once replacing a power supply onto an old piece of equipment. I pulled the old one out, I put the new $500 unit in, turned it on and it blew immediately. I open up a similar machine and find out that I installed it backwards. That was exciting, and I now take before pictures, use paint marker to mark locations, and triple check before plugging things back in.
Once had a customer tell me I was supposed to have informed her when few months after she bought a banner stand, we found a new one we liked better.
Possibly the worst case was something that's happened three times. Taking another order from a customer that's ripped us off before.
Bradley Signs
Bradley Signs
The dumbest thing in our shop is me!
brycesteiner
New Member
The dumbest that was in my shop was buying a Xenons UV machine from China -- $20 grand mistake.
I've done quite a few caskets now. Funny because I get a call from the funeral home, customer in the shop asks me why I'm going over there and they think it's very odd for me to go measure the casket--like it's a joke or something.
Years ago I was making channel letters at my sign shop. For years I had dreamed about getting the very expensive channel letter brake that is made just for channel letters. It cost $2-$3K at the time, and after years I finally bought one. About a week later this know it all employee ruined it trying to bend 4" x 1/4" flat bar steel with it. He was just reefing on it with everything he had.I fired him. This guy thought he knew everything and had a real superiority attitude. Couldn't tell him anything. He bent the teeth all out of whack.
RyanT
Director of Entropy
Dumbest thing was my very first order - I only had a plotter and a computer at the time and a friend of a friend needed 70 promotional decals EMERGENCY overnight. I knew none of the other places in town would be interested in doing it on time, and I thought "YES! here's my chance to be the quick turn-around savior!" What the customer wanted was a round two color decal, dead simple to print, but I had no printer. So I nonchalantly explained how a cut vinyl decal would be better (since that was all I could do) and spent the next 20 hours straight cutting, weeding (1/4in tall font), and assembling 70 two color cut vinyl decals.
What did I charge? $80. So I made nothing, hated the work, and the customer didn't get what he wanted (he was very confused that it wasn't a normal decal). When the only tool you have is a hammer....
What did I charge? $80. So I made nothing, hated the work, and the customer didn't get what he wanted (he was very confused that it wasn't a normal decal). When the only tool you have is a hammer....
The dumbest thing I ever did was try to unload a whole bunk of 1x4 6' material in a trailer without proper strapping...the entire bunk fell over half inside and half outside the trailer, in the morning, in the dark, in the winter. Took me and another guy probably 45 minutes to clean it up.
Incredible! I can't BELIEVE some of the dumb things I see with power tools!
Sign.ed
New Member
Anyone I have ever trained or worked with, I have always told them, "If you aren't comfortable with it, don't do it. Come get me, I'll do it."
I think being scared of a machine definitely increases your risk of injury too.
However, I would force them to work up a tolerance too. If it was something easy, a 4' x 8' into (2) 4' x 4',
"No, you can do it."
Pauly
Printrade.com.au
This has me in tearsYears ago I was making channel letters at my sign shop. For years I had dreamed about getting the very expensive channel letter brake that is made just for channel letters. It cost $2-$3K at the time, and after years I finally bought one. About a week later this know it all employee ruined it trying to bend 4" x 1/4" flat bar steel with it. He was just reefing on it with everything he had.I fired him. This guy thought he knew everything and had a real superiority attitude. Couldn't tell him anything. He bent the teeth all out of whack.
C
ColoPrinthead
Guest
Those things are horrible!In our shop it's the owners son
Gino
Premium Subscriber
Well, this was supposed to be in our shop today. We have 2 Police cruisers to do and I went to pick the first one up this morning and spent about 20 minutes there, while they tried to locate the vehicle. Arrangements were made for me to pick it up this morning. When I got there, the Sgt said, we don't have a number 5. Well, I was told you did. 3 of us went out on the lot and looked everywhere. No vehicle. Came back inside, talked with the assistant chief and he said 5 is on the lot. It's waiting there for Gene from the sign shop. Well, we never found it and I asked if they lose a lotta cars. He said, yeah, we don't know where 2 is either. 2 is the other vehicle we hafta do. So we rescheduled for next week after they find the 2 they lost this week.
C
ColoPrinthead
Guest
Glad I don't live in the community they serve!
Gino
Premium Subscriber
That's just it, it IS where I live. I know half the cops and this doesn't sound like them, but they are having some internal problems and I guess it spilled over into this area. They've outgrown their present location and have a huge temporary command center in the middle of the parking lot. It was just put in and no one knows what's going on with that, so I guess they're just a little befuddled, but I thought it was pretty silly, the cops losing 2 of their own cars and actually saying it out loud.