Un-satisfied customer.....

[DanielB 0]

I just did a big 4' x 8' sign for a customer.  She wanted silver metallic color alumalite and white vinyl overlayed with red.  We did the sign and now she doesnt like it and says its not noticeable from further that about 100' or so.  Im really not sure what to do because we got this job through a referral from a previous customer and now she is calling him complaining about it, saying she doesnt want to pay for something she doesnt like and im thinking she wants us to replace it with a different color for free.  We are new in business and I want our name to stay good but then again I dont want a customer to run all over me.  She picked the colors, I gave her a proof before we started.....its not my problem right?  I have to go meet with her tomorrow to discuss what to do, I dont want to eat any cost involved but I almost feel I have to in fear of our business' reputation.  Any advice?  Thanks

[john! 1]

I just did a big 4' x 8' sign for a customer.  She wanted silver metallic color alumalite and white vinyl overlayed with red.  We did the sign and now she doesnt like it and says its not noticeable from further that about 100' or so.  Im really not sure what to do because we got this job through a referral from a previous customer and now she is calling him complaining about it, saying she doesnt want to pay for something she doesnt like and im thinking she wants us to replace it with a different color for free.  We are new in business and I want our name to stay good but then again I dont want a customer to run all over me.  She picked the colors, I gave her a proof before we started.....its not my problem right?  I have to go meet with her tomorrow to discuss what to do, I dont want to eat any cost involved but I almost feel I have to in fear of our business' reputation.  Any advice?  Thanks

What you could do is tell her that you understand her not liking the sign after approving the proof and would like to re-make this for her to make things right again. All she needs to do is pay for a PORTION of the materials and you will get her taken care of.

Saying a PORTION will allow you to double the material cost and making a tad bit for redoing it since it's probably real cheap anyway on the material end

[wdcisco 0]

Very nice solution..

[signworx 2]

Very nice solution..

i would have to agree.very nice solution.(not a pro in the sign world,but i have had my own business from 1998. i was 25)

[Rodger 527]

I have never let the customers get involved in costs of materials etc in any of the business I have had/have . I get paid well to remove Mobile Homes & then charge alot of money for them when I sell a good 1 . Sign material is not much percentage wise of the job .

I would explain that even after she approved the proof ( she did " approve " it ? ) , you will work with her & charge her " X ' amount on a 2nd sign . Getting into material cost etc , just seems to make 1 lie about the matter . Honesty is ALOT better than deception in business . I would rather tell them you approved it , you bought it  OR just remake it free & not let them have the 1rst sign than get into deception at all . I believe you can fool some of the people some of the time , but you can't fool all of the people all of the time ( I think I have that quote correct ) Honesty is 1 of the most important issues in repeat business .

In reality IMO , the major factor is if you have gotten paid , partially paid or nothing & if the customer has possesion of the sign . Better to give a discount on a 2nd sign than alienate customers as long as you said , it doesn't become a habit .

[john! 1]

I have never let the customers get involved in costs of materials etc in any of the business I have had/have . I get paid well to remove Mobile Homes & then charge alot of money for them when I sell a good 1 . Sign material is not much percentage wise of the job .

I would explain that even after she approved the proof ( she did " approve " it ? ) , you will work with her & charge her " X ' amount on a 2nd sign . Getting into material cost etc , just seems to make 1 lie about the matter . Honesty is ALOT better than deception in business . I would rather tell them you approved it , you bought it  OR just remake it free & not let them have the 1rst sign than get into deception at all . I believe you can fool some of the people some of the time , but you can't fool all of the people all of the time ( I think I have that quote correct ) Honesty is 1 of the most important issues in repeat business .

In reality IMO , the major factor is if you have gotten paid , partially paid or nothing & if the customer has possesion of the sign . Better to give a discount on a 2nd sign than alienate customers as long as you said , it doesn't become a habit .

Well if you say if you can pay for a PORTION of the materials to re-do it i'll do it. There is nothing wrong with that. That is not giving away any pricing or anything, it's covering you and she should understand that it does cost money to make signs.

[Rodger 527]

I'm not intending to offend here , but would that be true ? If paying for any PORTION of the materials including 100 % of the materials cost , would you make a 2nd sign for that ?  Myself ,  I would not do a 2nd sign for only material costs . I would give a discount at best ( 25 % - 50 % ) or completely free ( would have to be ALL the right situations ) .

[wdcisco 0]

Interesting discussion we've got going here...

So, John - w/ your solution would you take back the original sign you made? I would think so.

If you let here keep it - your business will be known as the 'buy one sign pretend you don't like it & get another one almost free' sign shop.

Perhaps, she doesn't want the original?

Don't let her play you bro. 

[john! 1]

Interesting discussion we've got going here...

So, John - w/ your solution would you take back the original sign you made? I would think so.

If you let here keep it - your business will be known as the 'buy one sign pretend you don't like it & get another one almost free' sign shop.

Perhaps, she doesn't want the original?

Don't let her play you bro. 

Correct, take the old sign and re-do a new one deff. If she doesn't want to give the old one up, just say how can i take you seriously if your keeping a sign you don't like. I'd probably strip the panel and re-letter it if it were me.

[2GuysSign 4]

This is the reason my customers sign the approval and it tells them they must pay upon installation.  Just re-do the sign for the cost of the materials.  its not your fault she approved the design for completion.  i always have someone complain, but you must work through the hard to satisfy customers

[jheyne 0]

There are a lot of good responses here, but take a minute and put yourself in the customer's shoes and try to ask yourself a couple of questions before you make the decision.

You gave the customer a proof, does the sign look like the proof?

Take a look at the sign, are her claims that sign is unreadable from a distance valid?

How much do you have invested in the job? (INCLUDING TIME)

How much do you stand to lose if you "do" or "don't" make this particular customer happy? (INCLUDING TIME)

(also include the fact that if you make her happy, she may or may not come back for other things)

Just a few things to ponder.

On a side note, what are most peoples payment arrangements for vinyl job? I'm mainly a screen printer and we do 50% down, 50% on delivery.  Seems like a decent way to approach the vinyl thing, half down, half on installation-any thoughts?

First & foremost, don't let these things bother you too much, you'll experience them over the years, and honestly, we're not doing brain surgery here, if something gets messed up nobody's going to die.

Unless of course you put a 1 way sign going the wrong way.... that would be bad

[Benr98 40]

I agree that everyone will come across some customers that this will happen.  First it helps if you have documentation that she approved the draft.

I would redo it, for a fee.  I'm sure she would understand that, like the others have mentioned, for a certain price, since you can reuse the substrate.

As time goes on you will know what will look better then another, as far as color combinations, etc.  I mean it's US that do this either part time or full time, and should know best.

I'm sorry to hear of your experience, but we to have already experienced this...it can be frustrating, but hey, we live and learn.

[Benr98 40]

Take a look at the sign, are her claims that sign is unreadable from a distance valid?

I only agree with this, IF that was part of the condition when taking the order!  If she did not bring that up, that isn't his problem!

[BannerJohn 1,324]

I've never had this happen but my policy is once they approve the proof, they pay for the finished product. I'm not bearing the cost of someone else's stupidity.

[neron15210 10]

50% deposit

signing proof

balance after delivery or I'm taking sign down .

NOTHING without signed proof and deposit.

Just my 2c

[Rodger 527]

Be carefull about taking anything down . In Maryland , you would get arrested by a cop if caught no mtter what . They would issue an arrest warrant by the police commissioner with a complaint . Once installed , You have to take the customer to court here . Laws are funny .

[neron15210 10]

One thing is for sure I do not leave sign if it's not pay in full .

Signing proof, signing on day of deposit and when payment is made in full.

I had one customer like that. I was about to take sign down and he realized he will loose deposit and stay without sign so he pay.I've done a few jobs for this guy since that day.

You can't let anyone walk over you , next guy will try the same thing.

keep customer happy as much as possible but you have to stand up for yourself.

[firemalt 10]

I would say that since she agreed to the proof, it would be a minumim of 50% of the original cost to make a new sign. That should hopefully cover the cost of the new materials needed to make the customer happy, and a little extra in your pocket.

[2GuysSign 4]

Honestly, Who picked the colors for the sign?  Did you just design the sign and used those colors or did the customer pick out the colors?  If the designer picked out the colors, then the designer is at partial fault.  Any time you have light colors mixing, at a distance everything becomes blurred together!  The designer should know that, and should tell the person before they sign on the dotted line.  I always have a good customer base.  If my customers pick colors that wont look right at a distance, then i tell them and try to steer them in the right direction.  Basically you have to tell them what will happen after installation.  if they sign anyway then its all on them!  Just letting you know the facts.

Just tell them you can redo the sign and charge them 50% of the original cost.  just tell the customer that it is to cover materials.

[midwaste 4]

I just had a customer today complain that the printing on their shirts was "hard to read and too dark", I said, "When we discussed this and I told you that would happen, you called it 'subdued'" 

They paid.

The only way I would re-do the sign (for vinyl cost plus markup) was if I could reuse the existing substrate with different colors, or they were willing to pay for a complete new sign with a minimal discount.  I am not about to let a 4x8 piece of anything sit around waiting to get used, not paid for.  Lots of customers in the past have had concrete ideas about what they wanted, and I am not going to argue or try to dispute the claims of their high dollar marketing firms.  I simply make the statement and remind them of that statement when they are not completely satisfied.  If they arent satisfied with that, I keep the 50% down and the product and tell them to have a great day.

[DanielB 0]

She chose the substrate color and the vinyl color.  I did give her a proof and she did approve it.  No signature though.  This customer is a friend of a friend......We have to go meet with her today and discuss what she wants to do.  I didnt know that these colors would look right together, I am new at this so I am going to work with her but she is wanting it fixed for free and Im not doing that.

[signme 1]

I agree with BannerJohn. I got caught up in same situation (more like she had no money). I now have everyone sign proof, and in the end it is their sign.

[DanielB 0]

The customer is now comparing an $800 dollar sign to a hair cut....saying that if her customer doesnt like a color that she has to fix it for free.  She wants us to fix it for free.  Im waiting on her to call me back and its very iritating......any advice on how to deal with someone like this before I blow? ha ha

[Rodger 527]

Have you gotten paid ? % ? that will effect the solution drastically 

[neron15210 10]

Do not do it for free, next guy is going to try same thing on you.

Did she gave you a deposit?

Where is a sign (in your possession or installed)

In worst case I would take sign with me strip it down and use it for next job  rather than let her do it to me.

Good luck man.

D