Jillbeans
New Member
I've fired 4 customers in 26 years.
First was a guy, bought a restaurant, wanted this this and this.
Was in the days of painted signs.
I did this, this, and this as requested.
(luckily even then I got a 50% deposit)
He called after I delivered saying his wife wanted that, that, and that.
I said OK, but you didn't ask for that. Bring the signs back and I'll fix them.
He was so insulting and rude that the signs ended up as subflooring in my bathroom.
Insurance job for a guy I painted his truck using his God-awful distortion happy Word artwork.
Autobody brought it here.
It was multiple colors, outlines, distorted just as the client requested.
Autobody's wife came to get the truck. She about sh!t a ring around herself.
"That's crooked!" she screams, pointing a finger at me, complete with a long lacquered nail, "I am not paying you for that! You better have it changed by the time I come back!"
(umm...didn't the guy's insurance company already pay her hub for it?)
The client came out and looked at it.
He liked it.
I called Autobody and told them to come get it and bring my check, and not to dare have her come with them.
C*nt.
A lady wanted me to paint a sign her fiance designed (Times Roman of course)
It was a rough wooden crappy colonial cutout thing.
She wanted a burgundy background.
I painted it.
She came to get it. She loved it.
She gushed all over herself how great it was.
She paid me and took the sign. Half hour later the phone rings.
Fiance did not like the background color.
"That's not burgundy that's marooooon!" she cries.
They actually wanted me to paint the background around all the lettering on a double sided sign.
Her dad brought the sign back to me along with a gallon of burgundy house paint. Flat.
He pointed his finger at me and was all up in my face.
I told him to take his sign and get the hell off of my property.
They stopped payment on the check.
They installed the sign as was and it stood outside their business until they went bust.
Last was a PITA guy, a retired pilot who always smelled of gin, would always bring little piddly things he'd bought at auction wanting me to repaint them.
He was incredibly cheap, acted as if his sh!t didn't stink, etc.
Topping it off he was friends with my sister (who actually hated him for the aforementioned reasons) so he expected a deal or something.
Finally one day he brought me a rusty milk can with raised letters wanting me to repaint them. I told him $75.
He was livid.
"For that much, I'll repaint them myself!"
The last time I saw him was when I was getting my mail one day and he had his driver stop (on a 4 lane highway) and ask me if I knew where "that new sign shop" was.
I told him I didn't know.
I have gotten real good at reading customers and also referring them to SignARama.
So my criteria for firing a customer would be rudeness.
My criteria for pre-qualifying a customer would be their willingness to trust my judgement. And to not tell me how to do my job or question my prices.
Love.....Jill
First was a guy, bought a restaurant, wanted this this and this.
Was in the days of painted signs.
I did this, this, and this as requested.
(luckily even then I got a 50% deposit)
He called after I delivered saying his wife wanted that, that, and that.
I said OK, but you didn't ask for that. Bring the signs back and I'll fix them.
He was so insulting and rude that the signs ended up as subflooring in my bathroom.
Insurance job for a guy I painted his truck using his God-awful distortion happy Word artwork.
Autobody brought it here.
It was multiple colors, outlines, distorted just as the client requested.
Autobody's wife came to get the truck. She about sh!t a ring around herself.
"That's crooked!" she screams, pointing a finger at me, complete with a long lacquered nail, "I am not paying you for that! You better have it changed by the time I come back!"
(umm...didn't the guy's insurance company already pay her hub for it?)
The client came out and looked at it.
He liked it.
I called Autobody and told them to come get it and bring my check, and not to dare have her come with them.
C*nt.
A lady wanted me to paint a sign her fiance designed (Times Roman of course)
It was a rough wooden crappy colonial cutout thing.
She wanted a burgundy background.
I painted it.
She came to get it. She loved it.
She gushed all over herself how great it was.
She paid me and took the sign. Half hour later the phone rings.
Fiance did not like the background color.
"That's not burgundy that's marooooon!" she cries.
They actually wanted me to paint the background around all the lettering on a double sided sign.
Her dad brought the sign back to me along with a gallon of burgundy house paint. Flat.
He pointed his finger at me and was all up in my face.
I told him to take his sign and get the hell off of my property.
They stopped payment on the check.
They installed the sign as was and it stood outside their business until they went bust.
Last was a PITA guy, a retired pilot who always smelled of gin, would always bring little piddly things he'd bought at auction wanting me to repaint them.
He was incredibly cheap, acted as if his sh!t didn't stink, etc.
Topping it off he was friends with my sister (who actually hated him for the aforementioned reasons) so he expected a deal or something.
Finally one day he brought me a rusty milk can with raised letters wanting me to repaint them. I told him $75.
He was livid.
"For that much, I'll repaint them myself!"
The last time I saw him was when I was getting my mail one day and he had his driver stop (on a 4 lane highway) and ask me if I knew where "that new sign shop" was.
I told him I didn't know.
I have gotten real good at reading customers and also referring them to SignARama.
So my criteria for firing a customer would be rudeness.
My criteria for pre-qualifying a customer would be their willingness to trust my judgement. And to not tell me how to do my job or question my prices.
Love.....Jill