Almost done! (And random)

[AAndrews19 53]

Would just like to chime on on the topic...

I consider myself somewhere in the middle. I have a certain level of quality I like to uphold for my business. That goes for design, and application.... Yes, I have turned away from a job here and there, but most of the time it's because the customer is trying to haggle on the price of quality work.

If someone wants to give me money to bring their horrible design idea to life... I usually try to help, but if no progress is made... I'll still take their money, and that particular job will just stay far away from my portfolio.

Also, another thing to consider... Are you charging for design time? Or are you just cutting "Joe Schmo's Plumbing Service" out of vinyl and sticking it somewhere? If the customer is not interested in paying for additional design services, slap the decal on their truck and call it a day.

The only thing we can do is offer the additional service. You'll have an easier time convincing the customer their design needs help if you have examples to show, and if you come off as trying to help them, not insult their lack of artistic skill.

[Rodger 527]

As I read through this entire thread.... I spotted where I have been guilty of both attitudes.....

There have been times when I did exactly as asked.... after issuing warnings....

AND

There have been times when I let the person know that they needed to have their

request filled somewhere else.......

I'm thinking there is room for both avenues depending on circumstances.

I read the whole thread and this post along with a Ricky Nelson song sums it up for me , Garden Party lyric " You can't please everybody , so you might as well please yourself "  ( exact name of song & lyrics might be wrong , but they are at least close & what i remember right now ) . To those that making something that would bother them , by all means don't do it . If it does not bother you to make it , even if it is not " your cup of tea " make it and be happy . I have seen child molester stuff posted here ( some sort of bear that is an icon for those perverts ) and that stuff is lower than whale poop . I have seen alot of stuff in this forum that is in poor taste IMO , but to each their own . Getting pissy because it does not bother others to make what the customer wants as far as " correct design " ... is HILARIOUS to me :laugh:       

[AAndrews19 53]

I have seen child molester stuff posted here ( some sort of bear that is an icon for those perverts ) and that stuff is lower than whale poop .

 

Wow, really? Those sick ****s actually have an icon they use to connect with each other?! That is definitely something that would fall under the " will not do" category. I also try to avoid doing any kind of business with the paegans and other motorcycle 'clubs' in the area.

[OWJones 1,981]

PedoBear isn't an icon for perverts, it's actually an internet meme intended to make fun of perverts.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedo_Bear -- "It has been frequently misunderstood as a mascot of child sex offenders when on the contrary it mocks such people."

[jaybyrd 3,770]

From AANDREWS19 "I also try to avoid doing any kind of business with the paegans and other motorcycle 'clubs' in the area."

I no longer do "clubs" after a shirt run and banner for a new year's party that turned ugly. Ended w/ a phone call threatening my life and gettin screwed out of $200. I really wanted my money...

[OWJones 1,981]

 Ended w/ a phone call threatening my life and gettin screwed out of $200. I really wanted my money...

 

I got a phone call like that once, some guy told me if I didn't quit seeing his "old lady" that he was going to hunt me down and kill me.  Turns out he had the wrong number...

 

 

P.S. If anyone calls you under similar circumstances, saying "You're going to have be more specific and tell me which lady it is I need to quit seeing" is really not the proper response...

[Rodger 527]

PedoBear isn't an icon for perverts, it's actually an internet meme intended to make fun of perverts.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedo_Bear -- "It has been frequently misunderstood as a mascot of child sex offenders when on the contrary it mocks such people."

I understand what actually it is supposed to mean now .. but this is how I roll ... anything like that has no " fun " in it AT ALL , including anything remotely connected ( well , a decal saying legalize hunting pedophiles would be ok ) . My mind reflects to a fond saying ... " How is the best way to wink at a _____ ( fill in the blank , in this case a pedophile ) ... When asked how , you close 1 eye & pretend you hand is holding a pistol & aiming it !!!

 

 There are many things that carry a street meaning completely different than the " defined " meaning . I remember the " discussion " a long time ago on this forum about this very subject . Turns out there is a 3rd group that uses it as I described ... of course all this is over the internet , so it has to be true .

[jaybyrd 3,770]

At least yours was wrong # my problems was the fact that I produced a sample shirt for approval or the club prez and he gave the OK on it, Rush order for new years so I hammered them out and a flunky came down and picked them up partial payment in hand (this is where things started to go south) He called the prez and they convinced me to trust them for 24 hours til they could get to the bank, still no real nightmare. Got a call the next day shirts are junk, they're not paying and I have to replace them free of charge and they are keeping the old shirts. After calmly explaining they got exactly what they asked for and I wanted my money I was told I'd better have my life insurance paid up cause it was going down. Again calmly I explained that the problem is on their end not mine and if they still felt the need to discuss this they knew where my store was and if they felt lucky they were welcome to see how many I could shoot before they got hold of me. I guess they didn't like the idea of a fair fight cause they never showed put damn if I don't want my $200 from them. I saw on the local news last week they convicted 16 SC Hells Angels on felony charges and that's the parent club for these guys so I guess they got their just rewards.

[AAndrews19 53]

Yeah.. exactly the situation I'm looking to avoid.

[jaybyrd 3,770]

And a lesson well learned on my part. This is why nothing leaves w/o payment in full and I no longer cater to outlaw clubs. Good money but lots of baggage comes with it.

[Promise 38]

 There are many things that carry a street meaning completely different than the " defined " meaning . I remember the " discussion " a long time ago on this forum about this very subject . Turns out there is a 3rd group that uses it as I described ... of course all this is over the internet , so it has to be true .

 

/rant on

 

Ok so does anyone seriously believe that a pedo group would use a symbol so mainstream and recognizable to communicate with each other?

Its would be like flashing a big neon sign that says I have illegal porn... 

 

All of these "scary warnings" about the pedobear menace remind me of so many absolutely ridiculous urban myths when I was growing up. One WAY TOO conservative mom heard about pedobear one day and took it completely wrong and shared her opinions at the local PTA meeting who all took it as fact and spread the fun.

 

I think I heard someone sum it up best by saying if you see a person in a pedobear costume or carrying around pedobear paraphernalia, its not a pedophile its a nerd who spends way too much time on the internet. 

 

/rant off

[Rodger 527]

I always err on the side of safety/prevention . I have seen myself some things that are blatant , so YES , I ACTUALLY BELIEVE SOME GROUPS LESS THAN HONORABLE , USE MAINSTREAM SYMBOLS !!! . BTW , I also think it is funny when anybody has to go on a " rant "  because of something like this . Ask a local kid trying to act ghetto what his pants 1/2 down means & it will be much different than the origins of that style in prison . Everybody is welcome to copy whatever they want , but I stay away from anything connected to unhonorable things . FURTHER MORE , I watched a show on tv about internet kid porn & what they used to " communicate " was very blatant . I heed what my dad told me " Don't believe anything I am told & only 1/2 of what I see and I would be about 1/2 right " . I don't care to have anything to do with unhonorable things and would rather miss out on some things than to mis-represent my values .

[TimnAng 56]

Oh my goodness, this thread really has been all over the place, hasn't it?!

[Smokem 35]

Exactly what I was thinkin Ang

[jaybyrd 3,770]

Kinda like a trip around the world, never know what you'll see or where it'll stop along the way. I like it that way kinda has a life of it's own.

[Promise 38]

I respect that Rodger.

 

And I do apologize for the rant it wasn't directly pointed at you, just the whole pedobear thing.  Witch hunts like these piss me off.

25 years ago when I was a kid I had long hair, listened to heavy metal, and played *DUN DUN DUN* Dungeons and Dragons. Oh no I was going to hell! Oh no I worshiped satan. I was gong to kill my family then myself! Dungeons and dragons was the gateway to devil worship! Devil Worshipers used it as a way to communicate with each other and spread the way of satanic magic. 

There were press conferences, police warnings, trials and even... TV shows.

 

Sound familiar. Public hysteria fuels media hype and nothing sells news like kids in danger.

 

 

 

 

And sorry to derail the thread please continue on with your regularly scheduled programming. 

[jaybyrd 3,770]

But this program is just getting interesting. Besides the original topic has been beat to death already and all I learned was Ang OW and me are out to make profit not change the design world. So please feel free to distract and rant away

[Promise 38]

But this program is just getting interesting. Besides the original topic has been beat to death already and all I learned was Ang OW and me are out to make profit not change the design world. So please feel free to distract and rant away

 

And all I learned is there is apparently an untapped bestiality market that needs exploiting!

[mabscotthandyman 1,410]

I got a phone call like that once, some guy told me if I didn't quit seeing his "old lady" that he was going to hunt me down and kill me.  Turns out he had the wrong number...

 

 

P.S. If anyone calls you under similar circumstances, saying "You're going to have be more specific and tell me which lady it is I need to quit seeing" is really not the proper response...

That would be scary ...the one that called me about his wife had the right number that was even more scary lol

[sleeveofwizzard 104]

It should be required for new members to read this entire thread ha ha, just kidding. The Pedo Bear I am aware of was a cartoon bear placed into pictures downloaded from the internet that probably should have been there. For example teenagers in swimsuits, or trying to look provocative. A person would edit the picture and insert the Pedo Bear in it kinda saying this is the type of person looking at your "sexy" picture. That being said I would not cut this character out for anyone.

 

I monitor my children's internet use as much as I can but they don't always make great decisions on what they should or should not post on the internet. Unfortunately adolescents go through transformations from innocent child to whatever the heck a teenager is and feel the need to get attention / feel mature. My biggest concern is having a child molester or other type of attacker view material posted by one of my children. 

 

I would definitely not ever serve a customer that requested anything related to child or animal abuse. I don't have a list of things that I won't do but I am sure there a handful of things that I would say no to on principle. I agree with the last posters in that if a customer does not want to pay for me to design their work or for me to fix it then I will make what they have. 

[stickerman 28]

Would love the fins and fur decal if your willing to share.

 

Thanks

[TimnAng 56]

Sure.  I need to do some tweaking on it though, I'm not really happy with the deer that I used, the more I see it, the less I like it.  I'll shoot ya a message and let ya know when I'm finished with it and then I'll share.  Unless you prefer it the way it is.

[skarekrow 1,842]

I somewhat disagree with a few sentiments here. I have principals about the quality of work I want to produce.

If the potential client's opinion is going to get in the way and severely compromise the final product,

I'll pass on the project. (In my mind, I fired them!)

 

...and I don't lack work either.

Yeah... about that. What I said back there sounds real good on paper. Real High & Mighty. Fact is, I have looked over this thread a few times over the past week. I've thought back over some of the customers and jobs I've had over the past 27 years. One thing stands out real clear to me now.... This ain't about me. It's about that person who comes to me with their project for my expert, professional opinion and hopefully, a solution. Whether they trust my ideas & what I have to say or whether they stick to their own, preconceived solution is not my concern. It's up to me to provide them with my Best. My Best workmanship. My Best price. My best advice & solution.

My satisfaction has to come from knowing that I have brought my Best to the table. Their decision, Good or Bad, is all theirs... They are paying for that privilege. If they're happy then I was successful.

 

So, I guess what I'm offering here is a recant, of sorts. Thinking it over again now... Would I have offered Moore's Tree Service any less than my Best? No. And if they stuck to their guns about what they wanted, would I have still done the job for them? Most Likely. 

 

Was just so high up on my horse that I couldn't see clearly? Hell's Yes.

 

Okay...

[jaybyrd 3,770]

Welcome to the dark side. We all have jobs we won't do and things we'd rather do but you're right (bet you didn't expect that from me) all we can do is give 100% and hope they come around.

[sleeveofwizzard 104]

I think there should be times when we use our sales skills to persuade customers into making certain changes to what they want. For example the guy I helped recently that demanded black vinyl for part of his logo on dark office windows. Two of the windows had external lighting and it worked out but one of them is not lighted. I told him flat out that you won't be able to see that black vinyl on the window but he didn't want it any other color. Sure thing I installed it and the next day he tells me I was right. 

 

The only thing I think might have fixed the situation is recommending a white layer underneath or on the inside of the glass. I did this for him after the fact but I would not be surprised if he would have gone for this idea in the beginning. "have to have black, ok but the only way it will work is if we put a contrasting color behind it"