respecting territories

[Mainframe]

Time to "unfriend Him" !!!
He deserves it!!

Or you could cave and ask him to draw you a map of where he permits you to do business.

 

[Z SIGNS]

all is fair in love and signs

 

[J Hill Designs]

Or you could cave and ask him to draw you a map of where he permits you to do business.

You actually SHOULD do this!

 

[Hicalibersigns]

So did I do the wrong thing? Should I have contacted this other sign maker first before taking the job? He's a good friend and a nice guy but I didn't think I did anything wrong. Am I crazy here?

Nope you are completely correct and he is completely out of line. If you are going to have friends that also are in the same business, you have to realize that you will win some and you will lose some and so will he. I have a friend that married a lovely German woman, and something she says has become one of my favorite sayings: "Business is business and Schnapps is Schnapps."

 

[mikeinpdx]

wow

I can't believe you did this to a friend! I'd hate to see what you'd do to your enemies!!

I think the only correct course of action in a case like this is to just give your shop to him, and beg for forgiveness.

Kidding of course. Doesn't sound like you did anything wrong in the slightest.

 

[TammieH]

That's crazy, its not like you went after one of his clients...never heard of territories, when I was in Cincinnati,Ohio, we use to do business in Columbus, Dayton, Louisville and Indianapolis.

Besides, what does your friend want you to do? Every time you get a call from a potential customer, you are supposed to find out if they are near your "friend's shop" then refer the customer to them?

 

[bikecomedy]

Ahm Joe when people here in California are coming to you I will remember this thread... are you setting us up for your world domination? Trying to calm us before you launch Diaz Global Sign Federation? So we won't be able to get angry you took all of our clients..... Guess I can learn to survive on Schnaps... bottoms up!

 

[ddarlak]

He's not, I just think A, he hasn't been at it long enough to know that sometimes these things happen and it's not really that big of a deal, or B, he really really wanted this job and is upset he didn't get it, and is wrongfully taking it out on me. But even good people let their emotions get to them from time to time. Whether you agree with him or not, I would appreciate it if you didn't call him names, he is a friend, and all YOU know about him is this one thing, so I don't think you're qualified to make that judgment.

Of course I am not qualified to judge your friends, it was a snark.

I was merely making a joke of the situation, because it seemed like a cyberspace-facebook-unreal question to begin with. Obviously he was wrong, his butt hurts, and you know it. Posting the silly question online is asking for some snarkism...

I mean seriously, did you really think you had done wrong??????????? If so, I don't think you would have done it in the first place, you seem to be an upstanding individual who wouldn't pis$ off a friend in the first place....

I sometimes wonder why anyone takes me seriously.... If it's a sign question, I generally only answer if I know what I'm talking about.

If it's snarkable, I'm all in......

 

[John Butto]

Ahm Joe when people here in California are coming to you I will remember this thread... are you setting us up for your world domination? Trying to calm us before you launch Diaz Global Sign Federation? So we won't be able to get angry you took all of our clients..... Guess I can learn to survive on Schnaps... bottoms up!

"In jest there is truth", it is how the Gerber started to put signpainters out of work years ago.

 

[Techman]

If a few of those drama queens would spend a little more time taking care of their own business and less having grand mall hissy fits,, they wouldn't have to worry about one job going over to another..

 

[bikecomedy]

With respect to your friend I would guess he's hurting in business or he might not have reacted this way. Just a guess since most people are good when things are good.

Since you are his friend he thought he could vent and you would understand?

Maybe the thing behind the behavior is worth reaching out and helping him solve. Maybe the discussion is how the customer chose and how would others choose? What could he do to have them chose him?

Pretty sure no one is going to take you out so it can't hurt to help him for what might be going on behind the whine.

For me, I'll stick to Schnapps and pray by some stroke of luck(hard work) I can play in your league some day. But world domination is just too much work. I'll leave that to you and Gerber. Would just like to dominate a 5 mile radius, don't even want to print 10's of thousands of miles like some of you guys. Whew... I get tired just thinking about 10's of thousands of miles of printed vinyl. Heck, I calculated how much that was in 60" rolls per day and then figured out it would take over 50 installers to install it each day even if it was spread out over 10 years. I know, I know, how about 20 years? That would only be 25 installers a day. But wait how long have there been vinyl printing machines? See.. it can make you tired too.

 

[Pixels Are Bad Mmmkay?]

So did I do the wrong thing? Should I have contacted this other sign maker first before taking the job? He's a good friend and a nice guy but I didn't think I did anything wrong. Am I crazy here?

I'm not sure who is crazier here...him for reacting so adversely to the situation...or you for questioning your ethics.

Don't lose sleep over it.

 

[Rick]

I live on the boonies. If I relied on local business to keep me busy, I would be broke.

 

[Joe Diaz]

I'm not sure who is crazier here...him for reacting so adversely to the situation...or you for questioning your ethics.

Don't lose sleep over it.

It's not so much that I'm questioning myself as I'm wondering what the consensus is on this. I was wondering if there were more people who felt the same way he does about it, or the way I do. I'm beginning to see that I'm not alone here, which makes me feel a bit better, but honestly I do lose a bit of sleep over a friendship in jeopardy, even if I feel as though I'm not in the wrong. I don't like losing friends over things like this if I don't have to. I wish there were some way I could convince him that I what I did wasn't wrong.

I live on the boonies. If I relied on local business to keep me busy, I would be broke.

We are the same way. What is kind of funny is that in this case our company has had a handful of clients in his area long before we met him, and we still do work for many of them. I'm sure as time has went on we may have lost a few to him or other sign makers in that immediate area over time. No big deal. That stuff happens.

 

[HDvinyl]

but honestly I do lose a bit of sleep over a friendship in jeopardy

Good friendships are hard to come by, money is not.(for some)

 

[Jillbeans]

It's tricky. I don't think you did anything wrong. After all, they contacted you. You had no idea that your friend had been interested in this job. Unless you are a psychic.
I think the friend is probably (like me) hurting for work and therefore more sensitive than they should be.

You know how it is, in Letterheads (or Walldogs) we are all pals. A few years ago a Letterhead asked me if I knew of a certain fire company, because she was bidding on their truck doors, and (I thought) even had the temerity to ask me what I would charge. The fire company was less than 10 miles away from me but 2 hours away from her. But I told her what I would charge and let her have them (not that I ever did) I figured she must have been referred to them. It kind of hit me the wrong way, but then again, it's usually a bidding war when doing fire company stuff anyway.

On the other hand, the wall job I just did for the tire company. My dear pal and mentor helped me for two days for NO pay (other than two cases of beer) and never mentioned to me that he had been trying to land that job for several years. The owner later told me about it when he asked about the other signature on the sign. My buddy is a class act.

I would just brush it off and move on. You specialize in logos. That's your gig. You're good at it. Your buddy needs to realize this.
Love....Jill

 

[SignManiac]

I had a guy here in town who was here long before me and knew every business in town. He would stop by my shop to visit and see work going on that he had quoted on. What really irked him the most was that I got the job and I was three to four times higher in price than what he quoted. He would scratch his head and say, I just don't get it. Why would somebody spend more money on my stuff than his??

Keep in mind, this is the land of oranges, not apples!

 

[Kentucky Wraps]

The fact you didn't know he had previous relations with that customer combined with the fact that customer, in spite of having previous relations with him, still chose not to use him for the job...is more than enough evidence that your "buddy" shouldn't even be thinking you did something wrong. He should be evaluating why his customer circumvented him when considering someone to design a logo. That's probably why he's hurt...because he is realizing he lost a customer, and that he lost them to you, since you now have their logo to work with and he does not.
It's not your fault if somebody illogically vilifies you. The problem is theirs, not yours.

 

[Patentagosse]

In my area, we are 7 signshops within a 4km radius. Sure, we're not all friends but could you imagine how easy it is to step on someone else's toe? The only times I called the other guys is when someone step in my office with a design in hand and it's evident they are not the author... So I inquire if the design has been paid in full and if they let the customer shop around to find better deal / faster production-installation...

I also appreciate when they do the ysame in return...