The joys of customers...

[MrDav3C]

Thought I would share this one for peoples comments / thoughts on how they would deal with this situation.

We have a longstanding customer who we complete vehicle graphic work for on several vehicles for approximately once each year.

The wanted us to design something "different" for them so provided them with estimated costs including costs for estimated design time, the customer provided a brief including vehicle specifications.

After numerous hours of design time because the customer couldn't make their minds up about how they wanted the vehicle to look etc. a design was finally agreed upon and the customer was billed accordingly.

When the vehicle arrived to us in a beyond filthy condition, we pointed out to the driver that this wasn't acceptable but agreed to clean the vehicle on this occasion in the interests of our working relationship.

Upon inspection of the vehicle we noticed the vehicle was different to what the client had specified in the design brief, the brief said it was an L2 H2 when in fact the vehicle was an L3 H3. We did ask for photos on numerous occasions but to no avail.

I explained this to the customer & pointed out to them that the 10M of printed wrap was now all waste & they would need to pay for this on top of the new larger graphics that would now need to be printed, which they agreed to do.

Obviously this did create significant delays for us and a couple of late nights to ensure the vehicle was ready to be collected still within the required timeframe.

After the customer received the vehicle back, we received an email complaining about a few small points such as black paint on their white vehicle which we couldn't remove before installing the graphics & the logo on the side encroaching on a power outlet that the customer didn't ever make us aware of prior to printing.

My questions are:

What do other people do when a vehicle arrives in such a filthy condition, when a vehicle is completely different to what its supposed to be & when there are other issues such as paint / marks / power outlets on a vehicle that you are unaware of?

Have attached a few photos for reference

TIA!

 

[visual800]

If you went and inspected a vehicle, you made decals for that vehicle and then they brought you a different vehicle, thats on them. They should pay for the decals that do not fit.

As far as dirty vehicles I always count on cleaning them customer never bring claen stuff

 

[MrDav3C]

If you went and inspected a vehicle, you made decals for that vehicle and then they brought you a different vehicle, thats on them. They should pay for the decals that do not fit.

As far as dirty vehicles I always count on cleaning them customer never bring claen stuff

Unfortunately we didn't have the opportunity to inspect the vehicle due to it always being out on site.

The customer did provide vehicle details which turned out to be incorrect.

We also requested photos of the vehicle which they didn't send.

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

So we add a $150 refundable cleaning fee to every wrap. If the vehicle is bad we keep the fee on, of it's clean or mostly clean we refund all or part of it.

We have learned that we don't hit print until we lay hands on a vehicle... If they bring to us or we go to them.

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

I wouldn't accept the graphics running into the power outlet either, you guys should of fixed that. You had to print it a second time to fit their vehicle so someone should of caught it now that you had the actual vehicle in your procession to look over.

 

[MrDav3C]

I wouldn't accept the graphics running into the power outlet either, you guys should of fixed that. You had to print it a second time to fit their vehicle so someone should of caught it now that you had the actual vehicle in your procession to look over.

Fair comment, we have agreed to rectify this F.O.C.

Although we had to reprint the wrapped elements of the job, we managed to utilise all of the pre-printed logos, lettering etc. to try to reduce the additional costs to the customer.

Perhaps due to the tight deadlines we were up against with the more pressing issues of the vehicle being completely the wrong size further impacting this, we were slightly negligent here.

 

[MrDav3C]

So we add a $150 refundable cleaning fee to every wrap. If the vehicle is bad we keep the fee on, of it's clean or mostly clean we refund all or part of it.

We have learned that we don't hit print until we lay hands on a vehicle... If they bring to us or we go to them.

I like this idea, we always request that vehicles arrive in a clean but not waxed or polished condition, perhaps putting a monetary value to it will encourage more people to take it seriously.

 

[Notarealsignguy]

If they run it through the carwash, tell them to get the cheapest wash. No wax, rain-x and definitely no tire shine. I'd rather have a dirty van than deal with silicone all around the wheel wells. I'm not sure how all the wrap shops work but we won't print anything new until the vehicle is at our shop. It may add a day but mistakes add more time than that.

 

[MrDav3C]

If they run it through the carwash, tell them to get the cheapest wash. No wax, rain-x and definitely no tire shine. I'd rather have a dirty van than deal with silicone all around the wheel wells. I'm not sure how all the wrap shops work but we won't print anything new until the vehicle is at our shop. It may add a day but mistakes add more time than that.

I wish we had the time available to only print once we have the vehicle, we generally print wraps in advance as we do believe in letting printed wrap out / de gas so this obviously is a time implication for us (don't want to get into that debate though!).

The timings were tight with this one prior to the issues, certainly couldn't have kept it off the road any longer!

 

[JBurton]

Look, customers are people, and people suck. Just strip the logo and replace, and slap a white piece under the lettering with the black paint. Bill them for it all, as the drawings were sent over and supposedly approved. If they balk at paying, tell them to get their pound of flesh from the idiot who signed off on the art. Of course this will likely burn that bridge...

 

[Billct2]

Only things I would think are on you is the power outlet and letting the customer make a decision about the paint scuff (to either live with or have it fixed)

 

[Gino]

I believe the time to discuss these problems with a customer is BEFORE you start instead of returning it with some minor flaws and then discussing it afterwards.

 

[Notarealsignguy]

I wish we had the time available to only print once we have the vehicle, we generally print wraps in advance as we do believe in letting printed wrap out / de gas so this obviously is a time implication for us (don't want to get into that debate though!).

The timings were tight with this one prior to the issues, certainly couldn't have kept it off the road any longer!

Everyone wants things fast, they don't need it fast. I don't really understand the competitive environment for wraps but having the file ready but waiting until it shows up to double check before printing seems like a more efficient way to do these. It sucks to have a vehicle out of service for a few days but that is their problem to handle and any decent fleet operator will have spares for stuff like this or wrecks, breakdowns etc.

 

[Stacey K]

I would re-do the logo by the electrical box. Charge for the extra graphics but don't get too crazy. You should have called them right away. For cleaning, I tell them to bring it clean. Most are pretty clean. I have sent customers up the road to the car wash upon arrival.

I've gotten burned in the past with incorrect vehicle descriptions. Infact, most men who think they know everything, don't know what size bed their pick-up has.

Luckily, I have two boys who I can send photos to and not only will they tell me which template is correct but I'll get the run down on how reliable the motor is, how many liters, valves, and if has the Ford Diesel 7.3 liter I should ask if it's for sale, reminders to let the glow plugs warm up if it's a diesel, and all sorts of other useless information on that particular truck.

Most customers suck at measuring also. I always wait to cut/print until I have the vehicle. This does cause me to work a 12-14 day sometimes or to ask for the vehicle for two days if it's a larger job.

Sounds like they do a lot of business with you so if you have to eat a little - so be it.

 

[danno]

Send them to Wal-Mart. Ask door greeter which aisle the custom graphics department is. Installation is usually in the tire bay.

 

[2B]

If we are dealing with a vehicle that we can NOT get our hands on, we require a clear image of the VIN
Even then we try NOT to print or cut until the vehicle is where we can put hands-on

We will do a walk around with whoever drops the vehicle off with a GoPro recording EVERYTHING
If ANYTHING is found odd or different from the initial scope, all stop and clarify
Tight timeframes are NOT a justification to skip steps, make assumptions, or not have full disclosure or clear expectations

If the paint was pre-existing, that is on them. We will try but we are NOT a paint & body shop
If you did the paint damage, that is on you and you do NOT let that leave your shop without fixing

"Dirty" vehicles are billed by the hourly shop rate to clean.

The outlet, is 100% on the installer, This looks like cut vinyl and should have been moved before installation
If you like this customer, replace for free and remember this "lesson"
If they are a PITA, charge and still remember this "lesson"

I'm more focused on the rocker panels and the chevrons

 

[Modern Ink Signs]

We have a disclaimer on all of our quotes that states dirty vehicles are subject to a $100 cleaning fee and can result in the delay or even rescheduling the project.

Our work flow is such that we are preparing the vehicle at the same time the graphics are being produced or they have already been produced prior because we have confirmed the vehicle ahead of time.

For issues like paint, dents, scratches etc., we do a walk around with the customer when they drop the vehicle off. Any issues are immediately documented. If they drop off after hours we still do a walk around and if there are any issues we immediately document this and contact the client. Send them the pics.

We are actually dealing with this right now. We have a van come in and that while wrapping the clean coat is failing on the driver side. We had them come in to see for themselves. Of course, there was the discussion of the necessary reprints.

 

[Notarealsignguy]

Dents and scratches? Go right over them and they disappear.

 

[unclebun]

Dents and scratches? Go right over them and they disappear.
View attachment 168695 View attachment 168696

Yeah, I love the people that want to wrap so it covers up accident damage.

 

[Gino]

Paint doesn't count.