• I want to thank all the members that have upgraded your accounts. I truly appreciate your support of the site monetarily. Supporting the site keeps this site up and running as a lot of work daily goes on behind the scenes. Click to Support Signs101 ...

Question How many of you have had this happen..........??

Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
About 2 weeks ago, a company had scheduled a truck to be lettered in our shop. I told them a check had to be there when the truck was picked up, or I would not release the truck to the driver when he comes to pick it up. Rules are rules and I can't break my own rules................ :noway:

So, they overnighted a check to me, but the driver never showed up. The next day, I got the check and they told me something had gone wrong. So, we set it up for yesterday.... and again, a no show.

Their office just e-mailed me and said, please return the check and we'll just do something else.

Sorry, that check has been deposited and I don't turn work away. Get your act together and this time make sure you keep the appointment or I will charge you over again. You've skipped out of 2 time slots. No more, got it ??

She wrote back, my sanity is shot, I yell at these guys and they just do what they want.

Do what I do and have an extra drink tonight and tomorrow, be stern and tell them, next time, it's coming outta their pockets.


So, I already have the money and it's good money, as we don't do sh!t for nothing, but so far we ain't did nothing !!

Anyone care to discuss if they've had similar transactions or people who have stood you up or just can't get their act together ??


:bushmill: :beer:bushmill:​

GINO.gif
 
S

studio 440

New Member
Gino said:
About 2 weeks ago, a company had scheduled a truck to be lettered in our shop. I told them a check had to be there when the truck was picked up, or I would not release the truck to the driver when he comes to pick it up. Rules are rules and I can't break my own rules................ :noway:

So, they overnighted a check to me, but the driver never showed up. The next day, I got the check and they told me something had gone wrong. So, we set it up for yesterday.... and again, a no show.

Their office just e-mailed me and said, please return the check and we'll just do something else.

Sorry, that check has been deposited and I don't turn work away. Get your act together and this time make sure you keep the appointment or I will charge you over again. You've skipped out of 2 time slots. No more, got it ??

She wrote back, my sanity is shot, I yell at these guys and they just do what they want.

Do what I do and have an extra drink tonight and tomorrow, be stern and tell them, next time, it's coming outta their pockets.


So, I already have the money and it's good money, as we don't do sh!t for nothing, but so far we ain't did nothing !!

Anyone care to discuss if they've had similar transactions or people who have stood you up or just can't get their act together ??


:bushmill: :beer:bushmill:​

Click to expand...
non refundable deposit work is scheduled just keep appointment and job will be done
 
hcardwell93

hcardwell93

New Member
I had a contractor order some yard signs when I first opened. I ordered in the materials and then he told me the real owner of the company will not let anyone other than Company X do his signs and to cancel the order.

I replied that I felt it was unprofessional and didn't appreciate the chain yanking. The guy came in and paid me for the materials out of his own pocket and said "sorry for doing that to you."

I took those materials and sold them as signs to someone else a week later!

It turned out ok and taught me about deposits and authorized purchasers without having to take a beating!
 
GAC05

GAC05

Quit buggin' me
Appointments? You guys don't have a drive through?
May I take your order sir? Please drive to the next window to pay. Proceed to next window for the install please.
Thank you have a nice day....Next!.
At least is seems like this about 90% of the time.

We have regularly scheduled customer promos that launch on the 1st of each month for multiple clients.
Everyone in the chain knows the deadline and how much production time we need.
I think they call each other up and lay down bets on who can hold out the longest sending the artwork and still get their stuff installed on day one of the new month.
Friday afternoon print requests are more common than I want to admit.

One day I'll get this right.

wayne k
guam usa
 
Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
You guys seem to be missing the point. I got paid totally in advance. I have the money..... green cash in my greedy little hands. They can't get there and I'm not holding any time open for them anymore. If they cancel again, I am gonna charge them all over again...... and they now know this.

I just was wondering how many of you get the money in advance and the job doesn't show up.

If ya ask me, it's a pretty neat gig. Get paid and the client is a no show.
 
S

signgirl

New Member
I haven't had a customer do as what has been done to you but a few years back I had a client pay me for a future job as to not lose his allotted expense for the year and it was a decent amount. I still haven't heard from him and I do know he is still with the company. I'm not going anywhere and if it comes up I'll surely do the job. I have reminded him a few times but I'm not going to chase him down...I got stuff to do!
 
Pauly

Pauly

Printrade.com.au
Nothing like that. We get people who ask if they can leave it there for a week or 2 as we're waiting on someone else to finish something as it's taking longer than expected to finish for the installation.
 
hcardwell93

hcardwell93

New Member
A friend has a business and in the contract it states that when you pay for your slot it is totally not refundable. The slot however is always open, you just have to pay a small "transfer fee" if you miss the original slot.
 
F

fresh

New Member
That sounds TOTALLY SHADY. Are you saying that your crew just sat around, doing absolutely nothing for the time that the truck was scheduled? They were sitting there just waiting for the truck to show up? Did you even plot / print the graphics yet?

Everyone in this scenario screwed up. We always get half up front, not the full amount, and I'm okay with that. I would not have deposited a check for work I didn't do. If literally nothing was done yet, I'd say you owe them 100% back. MAYBE you can charge a small cancellation fee (like $75). If you did work, its probably okay to refund 50%, and reschedule the install at a later point. You really want to be the guy who charges people for work you didn't do?

If I heard of a vendor doing that, I'd be very apprehensive doing business with them in the future.
 
Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
fresh said:
That sounds TOTALLY SHADY. Are you saying that your crew just sat around, doing absolutely nothing for the time that the truck was scheduled? They were sitting there just waiting for the truck to show up? Did you even plot / print the graphics yet?

Everyone in this scenario screwed up. We always get half up front, not the full amount, and I'm okay with that. I would not have deposited a check for work I didn't do. If literally nothing was done yet, I'd say you owe them 100% back. MAYBE you can charge a small cancellation fee (like $75). If you did work, its probably okay to refund 50%, and reschedule the install at a later point. You really want to be the guy who charges people for work you didn't do?

If I heard of a vendor doing that, I'd be very apprehensive doing business with them in the future.
Click to expand...


Your take is total and complete BS. You're as bad as the Comey situation.

I don't owe them a thing. Not one red cent. A contract was made, signed and dated. They had a truck lettered about 3 weeks ago and it went the same way, but the guy brought a check with him. I'm fine getting 1/2 up front or all when finished. However, a contract is a contract. The lady had called me the day before to confirm everything and I simply asked if she gave the guy the check, since I didn't see the deposit. She said, oops, I'll overnight it right away. Next morning she called again and said the check went out and the guy would be here around 1:30pm as planned. Around 3:30 or 4 o'clock I got an e-mail that the guy would not be showing up....... something happened. No problem, he can come tomorrow around the same time. Oh, by the way, we received your check, thank you. You're quite welcome. We'll see ya tomorrow. Next day comes and goes and she called me saying there was another foul up. Turns out, these guys tell them they'll be here and then at the last minute decide something else is more important. That's when she said about returning the check if I want to, but I said, I'm not turning work away, just get your act together and next time we schedule.... if they don't show up, I will charge you again. She totally agreed and said there will be no mess up again. then she told me, there's another truck coming and would like to schedule it.

The whole thing is...... these guys can run around in neat pickups wherever and whenever they want and no one knows where or who they are, other than what they report.. With identification on the trucks, they now hafta behave.

I'm just surprised I must explain all this to someone who is in this business and has experience with this sh!t.


As for sitting around with our thumbs up our a$$. We always have multiple jobs going and there is no time lost on any of them when someone cancels. It's totally understood, but when it happens continuously..... with the same customer, I don't give the money back....or when contracts are signed. That's on them. If you run your business the way you told me to run mine..... well suffice it to say, I don't. After 45 years of this..... we're not doing anything wrong, especially when she just scheduled another truck with us. I think she understands enough to know how business[es] are run.

But hey, thanks for your input. It's greatly appreciated.
 
B

bannertime

Active Member
I did have a lady come in a few years back. She ordered a partial wrap. She paid in full so that the process would move along quickly. We sent the layout, she made changes, we eventually got it approved. Scheduled the time, and she just vanished. No emails, phone calls, nothing. Never responded. Over a year later she comes into the store wanting a refund. I actually laughed out loud. We ended up scheduling a time to install instead, and charged for installation. Her reason was that the vehicle had been in a shop for accident repairs, for a year...

It happened twice that year. Another customer never picked up their business cards and over a year later(same year as other customer) came in asking for a refund. We handed her the business cards instead.

As for the people saying to give the money back, no. Giving the money back is the absolute last resort, and only if you lack a "no cancellations/refund policy." Every effort should be made to help the customer. If you let them walk, you'll likely never see that business again. Doesn't matter how "honest" you look. Instead, make it easy for them to get the job done. The customer is frustrated and honestly needs guidance. If they refuse, "here's the cancellation policy that's in the contracts."

If you sign a contract with an insurance company, pay them thousands of dollars, and then never use the policy; that's on you not the provider.
 
Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
Marlene said:
did you have all the vinyl pre-cut? if so, charge for that and return the install labor
Click to expand...


No, nothing is pre-cut for this job. Other than regulars who we know what all the sizes and requirements are, we never pre-cut anything. Also, sometimes a customer will come in and say they'd like to change something from what they first Okayed. This way we're very flexible. With 3 plotters going, we generally don't hafta wait very long. This is all die-cut vinyl. No digital printing and it's very little vinyl going on the vehicle.

Besides, I don't itemize vinyl, labor, profit, overhead, taxes or anything else. It's one lump sum and that's all that's to it.


Again, I'm not looking for remedies or anything else. I run our business they way I see fit and has worked for us for decades and learned through the school of Hard Knocks. I was merely asking if others have run into similar situations. :)​
 
Marlene

Marlene

New Member
nope, can't say I've ever run into anything like that. we don't bulk everything together and we do pre-cut what was agreed on. with that siad, any changes are an up charge. since you didn't do anything, why would you feel , like it was OK to keep the money?
 
Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
Marlene said:
nope, can't say I've ever run into anything like that. we don't bulk everything together and we do pre-cut what was agreed on. with that siad, any changes are an up charge. since you didn't do anything, why would you feel , like it was OK to keep the money?
Click to expand...


Like I've said fourteen times already...... a contract was signed, dated and agreed upon. The company wants the trucks lettered, they just can't get the drivers to come in.

So, you're telling me, when you quote a truck to be lettered it looks like this....??
fake estimate.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top