OEM vehicle wraps coming from Ford

[LowenCertified]

Jester, as a card carrying member of Uasg/pdaa I would expect no less from you. If you want to be in our program, then sign up and pass the test, otherwise quit wasting our time and that of others who take their jobs with pride. Thanks.

 

[LowenCertified]

Jester, how many intstall jobs have you contracted to the community in the last few weeks? Somehow I guess its less than ours? You can have a debate on the merits or you can have a debate on the specifcs. I'll whip you every time. Give it a try.

 

[ProWraps]

matt, i can say with confidence, every post you make, you and your program are looking less and less professional.

i would do you and your company a favor and move on to greener threads. you said your peice about your certification program. be glad you did and walk away.

 

[LowenCertified]

Pro. Peice is actually piece. But we're just saying. Thanks for the advice. Frankly we don't need your advice. Those installers that are choosing to make dollars with us are doing so. Those that don't can live their choices. ProWraps, we don't really need your opinion, just be happy we don't choose to target your area. Yet.

 

[LowenCertified]

Can it truly believe that I posted something that looks like its ford? CRazy!! Don't ever trust wisconsin people. Right????

 

[jasonx]

Can it truly believe that I posted something that looks like its ford? CRazy!! Don't ever trust wisconsin people. Right????

Great post from someone that is correcting Chris' spelling.

 

[CentralSigns]

This thread seems like a bunch of rants back and forth. The bottom line is to do work for Ford in this thread, I would be be payed sub-$10 per square foot. You mention that it will be a good program and imply that under $10 per square foot is a very profitable rate, do you smoke crack or what.

In fact you think, that $2 per square foot is a good rate if you do 500 cars. I find it hard to believe that I will get richer doing wraps for under $10 per square as opposed to, double the amount most wrap shops currently charge. In fact you state that at $2 per square foot I can make a very comfortable living. Does this mean as the co-coordinator of the program you receive something, say the other $7 per square foot perhaps. .Perhaps you will be the one making a good living off it.

Graphics preparation, printing and installation takes several days on a full wrap job. These rates are very low, who makes all the money Low-one or Frod, as the small shops don't. There comes a point that it isn't worth it to continue doing something if there is no money to be had for your work. It's not even worth it to get out of bed for $2 per square foot, I'd go broke at that rate, and couldn't pay any staff. Hardly even pay materials, and definitely not cover any mistakes. Have Frod, oops Ford do the installs at their third world plants where they can get away with paying $2 a day for staff to do installs.

I think Low-one, you should go back to selling business cards because, the business card printers all work for nothing since they screwed their pricing margins up. Glad I don't live in Merica. Dude rethink you fabulous rates.
:U Rock:not :Oops:That's my rant

 

[LowenCertified]

Again, we have created an installation training and certification program, based around the skills of the individual installer, where we actually push work to you. It works for a lot of people. If you want to be a part, www.lowencertified.com.

 

[signage]

Lowen we are aware that you created a training and installation program, but as was asked in an above thread how much do you make off of the work you push to the installer? Do you make more than the $2.00 per square foot they get paid?

 

[ProWraps]

Can it truly believe that I posted something that looks like its ford? CRazy!! Don't ever trust wisconsin people. Right????

what? your talking about my spelling?

Pro. Peice is actually piece. But we're just saying. Thanks for the advice. Frankly we don't need your advice. Those installers that are choosing to make dollars with us are doing so. Those that don't can live their choices. ProWraps, we don't really need your opinion, just be happy we don't choose to target your area. Yet.

wow. i never said anything about your program. i suggested you get above the riff raff and look professional rather than drag yourself and your company down.

unfortunately you were too stupid to take the hint, and made yourself look even more like a douche (did i spell that right?).

you got a lot to learn if you plan on continuing to profess your company and its certification as the best. with you as the spokesperson, i feel sorry for the people that have put time and effort into it.

we were interested in attending your program. which is why i gave you the advice of moving on to greener threads so that you didnt get drug down by the current trend of this thread. now, as far as im concerned you can take your program and shove it, along with your $2 sq/ft.

 

[National Sign Co. - Print]

just be happy we don't choose to target your area. Yet.[/QUOTE]


Why on earth would a somewhat respected national company like Lowen even feel the need to make such a silly idle threat???

 

[CheapVehicleWrap]

Tried several times to go to the lowen site, but it's down. I was curious how many certified installers you have already? And if an installer doesn't make any money on a single vehicle, how does one make up for it in quantity? Is that something we can learn in the class?

 

[btropical.com]

internet fighting

 

[cdiesel]

Matt,
All bickering aside, I have a couple questions: From what I was told at ISA last week, the 3M Preferred test is exactly the same as the current UASG test, minus the company background info/onsite interview/referral check that the UASG does.

Is the 3M Preferred test different from the Lowen test now?

Can you get Lowen Certified at St. Paul?

What steps is Lowen taking to ensure that all of the installs that are subbed out to Lowen Certified individuals are actually being installed by people who are actually certified?

 

[kstompaint]

500 vehicles @ $2.00 a sq. ft. is better than one @ $6.00..... Ready to step up?

I highly doubt that 500:1 is a realistic ratio. Even stretching it to 5:1 doesn't justify whoring yourself out @ $2.

Profit from wrapping a van @ $2 / sq ft... $300.
Self respect... priceless.

Certification, turning the printers of today into the plotters of yesterday!

 

[signmeup]

Do they pile on a design fee, cleaning fee, etc. or is the 2 bucks it? Never mind.....I guess it's just for install.

 

[surf city]

Ok, what started out as an OEM heads up ended as a terrible thread hijack. I am by no means the KING of vehicle wraps. But how many customers are really asking themselves "hey I wonder if this sign guy is a certified warp installer"? I'm pretty sure NONE. If you are like Prowraps and Mosh and others that are successfully installing wraps then I guess that's what matters, that you are good at it and you will continue to get more work. Being certified means that "hopefully" Lowen will steer work your way and pretty much that's it, what else are you getting out of it? Hell were all sign people we can all print up a nice little certificate that says we're certified. We're all professionals here and we do what we do and we know what we can do it for and if 2 dollars a square is what you can make money with by all means have at it. But, why waste time ranting about something with someone that is so one sided about his program and that it's the be all and end all of wrap certification. Lowen, I have no idea what to say here. I actually believe Prowraps when he said he was considering your program cause all he was gonna use it for was to get more work pushed in his direction, can't blame him he's greedy like that and there is absolutly nothing wrong with that. I have never met you or talked to you but, you come off as sooooooooo unprofessional that one has to wonder why on earth would they want to be Lowen certified. With this thread you have put yourself in an incredibly poor position and not only made yourself look rather childish but, you have also tarnished the people that work for you and made your company look bad. Hey that's just me.........oh and I hope I spelled everything ok.

 

[wrapartist]

Matt your program doesn't need marketing. No one out there knows what certification is best and most don't even have one. There's so many now, hell we're all confused! The best certification will be the one that benefits the installer the most. Installers are a tight nit group. They will spread the word like wild flowers and every installer will want YOUR certification. So enough with the media bliss and social network marketing.?wtf? Sit back and let your program prove its value.

 

[ZooTodd]

I don’t understand why people are angry with Mr. Lowen here? He’s simply stating that Lowen is also involved with the OEM programs rolling out. He’s not bragging about his certification Vs theirs. He’s not even telling you it’s a guarantee you will get business once your “certified”. He’s just making people aware that this testing facility exist. If someone can’t see the additional benefit of Lowen conducting the testing, go to 3M, but the bar has been raised by a team of people in this industry, and rightfully so.

I AM Lowen Certified. So I have some insight. I was one of the first people to test and helped set the standard you will be compared to. But don’t think this is a brown-nosing session. I have NEVER received even a quote from my certification. Am I upset? Not at all. To be honest, I didn’t become certified to get more business. I got certified because:
1. I knew I could
2. I wanted to research their testing
3. I wanted a portable certification to believe in

For the record, I can install 2 Ford transits in one day flawless. It would be a 10-11 hour day, but I could certainly do that 4-5 days a week.
Now do the math; At $2 per sq ft, 230 sq ft each = $920 per day. That’s a pretty good living… And I don’t know the exact square footage, but whether its 200 or 250, I’ll take it.

I don’t want to ruffle any feathers here. Some of my best installers are members of PDAA and UASG, and rightfully so. However, just like many others have experienced, there are also some that shouldn’t be included. But my company has its problems too, so I’m not trying to be condescending or facetious.

The point is, this industry needs to embrace a certification that is similar to (ASE) that of a mechanic. Any boss/teacher/coach that has needed to motivate the right behavior understands the leverage accountability provides.
Do you think if your installer could lose his ‘license’ if he dug into YOUR CLIENT’S paint that he would be a little more careful with his blade? Of course, the answer is IF the license has value to him…
And it should…
If you haven’t already, you will hire and fire. People will quit for greener pastures and they need to be replaced. UNTIL NOW, THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A CREDIBLE WAY TO VALIDATE AN INDIVIDUAL’S EXPERIENCE.
Why can’t we embrace this as an industry? We need it. The PDAA and UASG still has its purpose, all start-ups need leads

If you are one of the people that think you will always charge the same price for your service until you retire, you are in for a wake-up call. As long as you brag about how much “YOU” make per square foot, another kid somewhere, eager to go to work for half that, is shooting for your neck. Lowen is not at fault here…you are.

Think about this for a second. Imagine how many hacked up Fords have been turned into local dealerships across America with razor blade scratches in the paint rusting everywhere and primer coated from top to bottom because the installer was a hack that didn’t know how else to make his panels stay down. Ford probably shit their pants!

All I’m saying is its inevitable for this industry to grow exponentially. You can embrace it and be a part of the change, or you can sit back and tell yourself it’s not happening looking for someone to blame.
The reality is, this is a “cottage industry” and its getting ready to go through the same patterns of growth other service industries experience. They told you in school to study History cause it will tell you about the future. This is your chance to utilize that in real life!

Now nobody be mad at each other. This is happening to all of us. It’s not a bad thing that needs blame issued. If it’s not for you at this stage in your life, that’s cool too. But the testing is the real deal. I wouldn’t hesitate hiring any individual that could pass it.
But don’t think you can go there with a bottle of wine and sweet talk Sean for your good grade. He’ll take your wine, but will not pass you if you suck! This program is credible, period.

If you are bored with me at this point, then take off, but I have one more important thing to share.

I, just like many other people in this country, doubted the entire original Fellars Certified gang. If someone couldn’t read between the lines of a vinyl distributor, setting up training and certification programs, then you probably deserve the 50k debt they sold you.
Now I don’t know about you, but the first time I ever heard about Lowen, it was via a purchase order I found on the floor for 220 semi-trailer wraps! When I looked up, the shelves were filled with 3M boxes, filled with printed wraps… At that point in my life (10 years ago) I had just started my business and thought I was doing good selling a couple van wraps! Lowen had my immediate respect, as anyone doing business at that level deserves.
Then I get an email from Sergio, positioned as a consultant. I immediately thought of Fellars, and the negative pulse on the certification, and tossed the email. I was wrapping cars before he ever showed up in their magazine, and I felt I knew more. I had no idea what he could offer as a consultant.

Then, all the sudden he shows up with Lowen. I start listening… Immediately I realize he has ‘something’. Not because it was validated, but because I had researched the company he went to work for. In my opinion, they are the biggest and best. If THEY hired him, what is going on?

So an opportunity comes up to meet everyone at Lowen’s competition? A WONDERFUL networking opportunity I might add… I could tell immediately at the competition last year, that the people running the show knew what they were doing.
The scoring system was well thought out. It was perfectly done to motivate the installers to remove any imperfections before moving on. In other words, as a graphic manufacturer, I realize my customers will not pay their bill if the craftsmanship is questionable. To me, it was obvious Lowen had been presented with the same challenge because the scoring reflected that bad craftsmanship was unacceptable!
I don’t know if you are as experienced as I am, but at this point, Lowen’s objective was quite obvious, and so was Sergio, Jody and Sean’s. They were out to prove to the world THEY know what a good installer is, and they will find them and prove it. And they did.
If you are unwilling to take the risk to get tested yourself, then don’t. Business = calculated risk, and you have the right to run your business as you see fit.

But don’t sit around bad-mouthing something you know NOTHING about. As long as you use your current income as a excuse to NOT go, more and more people will shoot for your job. Arrogance will be your demise.

If you are interested in sending someone for testing, you better make damn sure they read their bulletins. Cause unlike the UASG and PDAA, they aren’t giving out the answers right before it starts. This test is serious, and should be taken that way.

As far as taking the test at 3M, I can’t speak on experience. But I can speak from experience about Lowen, and its serious.
Also, don’t go take the test and expect jobs in return. If you aren’t prepared to make good money off the volumes they are presenting, at the prices they are paying, then they will find someone else that will. And it can be done…I do it every day. And so do they.

If anyone would like to speak to me directly about any of the details of this experience, I will be more than happy to help you. I don’t want anyone to have a bad taste in their mouth regarding this testing facility. Its totally legit, and I have no motivation to lie about it.

 

[kstompaint]

First post, cut and paste... now that's something to believe in.