Now this p!ssed me off......................................

[Gino]

How many of ya don't do everything in-house ??

Well, I needed something fabricated by another vendor and I gave them the specs, drawings and everything else needed in getting me a price, so I could finish the quote for our customer. I did this on the 19th of December. I sent out another reminder of this much needed pricing yesterday. Today, I got an answer that his supplier is closed this week for the holidays and he can't get me a price til next year..... with a little LOL behind it. I did not think it was funny, not one bit. Had he quoted on it back around the 19th or any time during that week, I'm sure his supplier would've been open.

This incompetence really burns my butt. I can deal with lotsa things, but this guy is good at what he does and has a rather lackadaisical attitude towards these things at the most inopportune times.

This is exactly why I don't like depending on others for any part of a job. That sub-out crap is just that..... sub-par in ethics.

Okay, rant over. I feel better now. Anyone else have times like this ?? ​

 

[BigfishDM]

That is a big PAIN in the butt!

 

[player]

That has been my experience with subcontracting.

 

[Msrae]

I used a subcontractor when I had a machine down. It was a bad experience as well. They did the original job, but missed a few smaller parts that were in a separate file. When I contacted them about the smaller parts they did the job but then billed me double the original quoted price. Their response was that they have a minimum $$ limit and those smaller parts didn't meet the minimum, (my original order was over the minimum). They originally told me they had a deal on shipping and that it would be free but then proceeded to bill me for shipping. Subbing it out ended up costing me more in money and time and aggravation than it would have taken to just do those parts myself. It was pretty frustrating.

 

[Correct Color]

Personally, I can't stand "LOL" period.

It's annoyingly childish to me just reading it in any correspondence. In a business email, admitting to a client that I screwed up farming out something that client was farming out to me...

Yeah, that's not exactly what I'd call professional.

 

[equippaint]

I feel your pain. Subcontracting is a pain. You end up getting a bill way over the original quote, stuff not done to spec, orders they forget about etc. When we take on sub work, usually the company subbing to us is a bigger pickier pita than any other client would ever be. I try to avoid it at all costs. For stuff we don't do in house, I refer them to companies that send us referrals in return whenever possible. If its a part of a job that you do and just sub out the metal fab or something like that then it is what it is. Jump around with some different shops to make sure you have backups in times like this.

 

[Bly]

lol.
Seriously I hardly sub anything out.
When I do I half expect to be disappointed with either delivery date or quality.

 

[ColoPrinthead]

You mean you didn't teach him how to run his business, Gino?!

 

[Billct2]

I sub quite a bit these days, including to a few great merchant members here. I have developed a relationship with some of the subs so I know they will do the job right. The one problem I can have is lead times on some products. If I had the capability myself I could work till midnight to get something out the door, subs don't do that. But using subs has saved a lot in hardware/software that I don't have to buy, much less the maintenance and downtime issues. So it's a compromise.

 

[rossmosh]

Subbing out work is great when you find a reliable, high quality company that does great work. When I'm subbing out a job, I tell my customers I am. We do a majority of the work in house but I offer maybe 5 services where I could on companies to do work for me. I always let the people know their typical production schedule. I set up reasonable expectations. Around this time of year I say "With the holidays, we have to figure in an extra week or so because different people shut down around this time of year."

The other thing I keep in mind is, doing business with someone is a choice you make. I tell people flat out "Tell me when you need this by. I work off of due dates and if you're working on a project for June in December and it's not a big order, I'm going to prioritize orders. If you tell me you want it in a few days, I'll prioritize your order." I do the same thing with my vendors. If I need a rush price quote, I email and follow with a call letting them know it's a rush. I've been around long enough to know in order to get priority service, you need to ask for it. I also know not to push people to hurry up just to wait. You want to build a positive report so when you need a favor, they're more willing.

 

[Johnny Best]

You mean you didn't teach him how to run his business, Gino?!

Seems strange a sub contractor cannot give you a price because he is waiting for his supplier is on vacation, He should know what his supplies will cost since he probably has been in business for some time to be a contractor. Seems he just was lazy at this time of the year and is going to make you wait. And on a side note, LOL has ben replaced with haha!
Maybe you need to find another company to do your work Gino, someone with less laughing going on.

 

[Gino]

Ya know, now that you guys mention it, this guy, in real life, is one of those people who say something and then follows it up with a laugh. I don't know if he doesn't take things seriously or just has a nervous habit of laughing whenever he says something, but it wasn't funny this morning.

The guy's company is good and prices are for the most part reasonable, so I don't wanna go looking for anyone new, but it just irks me, that I gave him all this information a week and a half ago, and he acts like he was on it, but the supplier is closed. I know it's just a fake excuse, it just irritates me when people say anything and expect you to believe it.

Yeah well, I'm over it, my customer was champing at the bit yesterday, but I used the same excuse on him today and he was .....aww, alright. I just wanted to know how much I'm spending and wanted to get it into this year's business.

 

[WrapYourCar]

He's probably LoLing because to expect someone to urgently quote up something when he's getting ready for holidays is laughable.. he's gonna make you wait and laugh at any attempt to speed him up on it. Nothing more annoying than doing quotes for people that probably won't even order.

 

[Gino]

He's probably LoLing because to expect someone to urgently quote up something when he's getting ready for holidays is laughable.. he's gonna make you wait and laugh at any attempt to speed him up on it. Nothing more annoying than doing quotes for people that probably won't even order.

You........ make no sense, whatsoever. No one has more holiday spirit than me. However, business is business. Putting some numbers together for a quote is not hard to do, regardless of what time it is, unless he just put it off too long. Called a procrastinator.

Not even order ?? Where did that come from ?? My customer has been buying from us for a long long time....... and I get from this vendor quite often. Nothing iffy about this request. But hey, maybe some people just put things off like yourself with a lousy outlook on getting jobs......... who knows, huh ??

 

[hcardwell93]

I've noticed the 'lol' as a either a nervous tick, or it's used as an out. People make a statement, and instead of being willing to stand by it when challenged they can say, "well I was just kidding..didn't you see the lol?"

 

[Pixels Are Bad Mmmkay?]

I've been on vacation for two weeks. Lol to all of you.

 

[Walter JB]

I guess it's really who you know. We are like the designers/printers/etc. other sign companies go to from anywhere in the country. Our competitiveness relies more on QC (quality control) than price, although we are competitive. That is because anyone can do cheap. Our problem is not that we provide poor service, but that our service is maybe a little too exceptional, which results in some clients taking advantage of us. Although most of our clients are easy to work with, we have a few regulars who expect and demand unreasonable rushes (same day at times) and provide unworkable files, which we have to 1st try and open then fix because their "designers" have no idea how to send proper pdfs or change text to curves/outlines or that you DON'T increase the resolution of a crappy jpg simply by increasing the file size, etc. And they do not wish to learn. The ONLY thing that seems to help is the additional charges we have to stack on (which was difficult to enforce since our boss is a bit onthe timid side when it comes to dealing with them). Also, occasionally, I tell them it can't be done in the time frame required and why. Some are learning. Some it seems not. So I think, bottom line, it all depends on respect and lack of it. I can easily choose to not deal with certain suppliers or companies with whom we require their services. It's much more difficult not to be able to choose my clients. I don't have the luxery.

 

[maxakarudy]

I do a lot of subcontract, so here's my point of view...

1. I took the time to learn the skills you don't possess.
2. I put the time in without reward until learnt them.
3. You probably referred to me by recommendation, I didn't contact you.
4. I run my own business, I'm not on your poyroll.
5. I don't have a monopoly on the products you want, there are other people out there if you want to use them.
6. With my skills you now offer more products and make more easy money, you now just install my work.
I could go on all night...lol

Don't treat contractors, like you own them, if you don't like the situation improve your skill level so you don't need them
Martin

 

[Johnny Best]

I do a lot of subcontract, so here's my point of view...

1. I took the time to learn the skills you don't possess.
2. I put the time in without reward until learnt them.
3. You probably referred to me by recommendation, I didn't contact you.
4. I run my own business, I'm not on your poyroll.
5. I don't have a monopoly on the products you want, there are other people out there if you want to use them.
6. With my skills you now offer more products and make more easy money, you now just install my work.
I could go on all night...lol

Don't treat contractors, like you own them, if you don't like the situation improve your skill level so you don't need them
Martin

You left off number 7 from your point of view,
7. Be as pompous as you can. LOL

 

[ams]

Personally, I can't stand "LOL" period.

It's annoyingly childish to me just reading it in any correspondence. In a business email, admitting to a client that I screwed up farming out something that client was farming out to me...

Yeah, that's not exactly what I'd call professional.

I agree 100%. A merchant on this forum kept posting LOL for his products and when I mentioned that few people would take him seriously and that it's unprofessional, he didn't like those comments at all, but it's the truth.