Anyone need any discount remodedelling done?

[OWJones 1,981]

This is how the vehicle was brought to me this morning...

 

 

It was driven by a Bosnian named Saed (not sure where that figures into LJI) and he was complaining, in a thick accent about the "f'ing Mexican" who he'd hired to letter his van for $250 (both sides wrong).  There is just something hilariously ironic about that...

 

He wanted me to strip off the REMODEDELLING and replace it with the word HANDYMAN... and wanted to wait... and to help...

 

I wasn't sure how easy it was going to be to remove the misspelled word, but apparently people who can't spell can't afford good vinyl and must have used a house brand, because it took surprisingly little effort to remove.  About 5 minutes with a plastic scraper and a spray bottle of Oops! and the lettering and most of the adhesive was gone - went back again with more Oops! and a paper towel and it was all gone.  A quick spritz with RapidPrep and a few more paper towels and it was shiny, squeaky clean.  Saed helped the whole time.

 

Typical hinge application to install the new letters exactly where the customer wanted them (I would not have put them there, but it's what he wanted) and he drove off with this

 

 

and I still had time to meet the family for a Father's Day lunch and a trip to Menards with a fresh $50 bill in my pocket.

 

And... Saed now wants 20 t-shirts, wants to add "HANDYMAN" and his phone number across the nose of his van, and wants a quote for coroplast signs to put in the yards of his customers...

 

How did he find me?  I wish I could say it was through advertising or Facebook or something I proactively did, but it turns out that one of his helpers was the guy I recently paid to do some yard work and he asked me then about the big OTTUMWA DECAL across the back of my truck, and when his boss bitched about the lettering on the van, well he knew exactly who to send him to....

[xpaperman 719]

What a great story.... I single tear just ran down my face  

 

But it WAS something you did!  You talked to someone and someone told someone else.  I always try and work what I do into a conversation with out looking like I am fishing.....

[jaybyrd 3,770]

Before I read the below the picture first thing that came to mind is must be a mexican van. I was thinking owner not vinyl guy but I was half right. I can't believe he paid somebody for that crap and I have a hard time getting paid for decent work. Go figure and nice score on Father's Day.

[MadHatterGraphix 1,258]

He spells like me.

[jaybyrd 3,770]

You've been moonlighting over in Iowa haven't you? Blame the mexicans

[MadHatterGraphix 1,258]

Yeah it's the Mexicans fault yeah lol my issues are iPad who thinks it knows, and my vinyl spell.ing is due to late nights and early mornings.

[mr300s 1,272]

At least yours looks straight !!!

[xpaperman 719]

They should add spell check to all our programs  

[mabscotthandyman 1,410]

What yall tlking about I can spillle perfec. I would not let anyone park that on one of my jobs . My old wore out trucks and vans look like crap anymore so none is lettered . I belive if a truck or van is lettered it should be in a good shape to represent the company and good looking lettering .and correct spelling lol .

[jaybyrd 3,770]

The lettering represented the condition of the vehicle, piss poor.

[skarekrow 1,842]

"A lousy sign is a sign of a lousy business."

[OWJones 1,981]

The lettering represented the condition of the vehicle, piss poor.

 

Around these parts, where a majority of people are living at or below poverty level, most contractors drive their vehicles until they literally fall apart.  When I worked at the landfill, I saw trucks coming in held together with duct tape and bailing wire - no door handles, a pair of vice grips used to crank the windows down, etc.   We would literally have customers come in with a stick to hold the gas pedal down because their battery was dead and they couldn't turn the vehicle off or let up on the gas or it would die and they would be stranded.  One of the biggest floor covering install companies in town has a 1970's era dump truck with Saran Wrap side windows, is about 90% rust covered and has a major exhaust leak.  In Iowa, we do not have any sort of inspection policy for privately owned, non-commercial vehicles, so people can get away with issues that would never be allowed in other states.

 

I agree that his van is in need of replacement for a more professional appearance, but like so many of us around here, he simply can't afford it.

[skarekrow 1,842]

If the company is any good at all with drywall and painting (as they have advertised) they should be able to do a little something with it...

[skarekrow 1,842]

I dunno... on second thought, with the large number of dings and scrapes on the side of that van,

maybe they should save their money for some driving lessons ?

[jaybyrd 3,770]

No inspections down here either and you see some real crap on the roads, at least we don't have the rust issue they just drive till they puke and pull the tag off leaving their junk on the side of the road.

[BannerJohn 1,324]

You wouldn't believe how many people send me 'ready to use' files with misspelled words....bad punctuation,etc. "Remodelling' is one I've seen many times.

 

as for the truck..around here, you WANT to see a truck that looks like it's seen a lot of work.

[mabscotthandyman 1,410]

You wouldn't believe how many people send me 'ready to use' files with misspelled words....bad punctuation,etc. "Remodelling' is one I've seen many times.

 

as for the truck..around here, you WANT to see a truck that looks like it's seen a lot of work.

All of mine looks like they have been worked to death..........oh right they have been. If I have something good I keep it till it does not work any more . I have tools 35 - 40 years old and they still work great . why replace it if it still functions properly THAT IS WHY I STILL HAVE MY WIFE AFTER OVER 45 years lol . But I would not letter one of my old trucks if I ever break down and buy a new one I may . I just stick up a jobsite sign every now and then .

[sleeveofwizzard 104]

WOW that lettering is really bad! I can't make much sense out of the different slants between the various parts. The spelling is not so shocking but still funny. I cut out a line of text on 10 coro signs the other day. Took my wife to catch it, thank god (golf tounament). I recut just the word tournament and replaced it, worked out great. For me it happens when I get really busy or work on big projects I start to miss little things like that. 

 

I am a terrible speller but think it's cute how so many people ignore all the squiggly red lines under the words they type. I mean really in most any instance on a computer there is an auto spell check present and in other cases is an option to use. 

[galaxygraphics 26]

That is EXACTLY why I have the customer write down what they want! If I see a misspelled word, I will point it out. If they say that is what they want, that is what they get! But, if THEY write it down, then I am clean! I inform them that whatever THEY write, is what I cut!

Sometimes, a misspelled word, will catch the eye, too. I am SURE this isn't one of those cases where it was done on purpose, though!!!

[BannerJohn 1,324]

according to every dictionary I have been able to find, either spelling is correct.

[OWJones 1,981]

I made one sample shirt for Saed and one hat with a scrap of glow-in-the-dark Siser and left them for him to check out. He just called and said he wants 20 shirts and his wife likes the hat and he wants 4 hats, too. Score!

I'm using the Fruit of the Loom safety yellow shirts from WalMart (which I've been wearing as my daily wear shirts since January and they are holding up well) for $4 each + $1.25/shirt worth of Siser Easy Weed (I love that stuff), so my initial outlay is fairly low. Better order some more Siser while I'm thinking of it...

[xpaperman 719]

You wear Safety yellow shirts from Walmart everyday?  Is that for work/advertisement purposes?  Do they have your logo on them?  I wear shirts with my name but never thought about bright yellow to capture attention..... I always just tried sayings that might strike up a conversation or something..... maybe I will try yellow!

[OWJones 1,981]

Until recently I worked at the city/county landfill and wore safety yellow or safety orange tshirts to make me more visible to the large equipment/trucks and they were very comfortable (and cheap) so I wear them all the time. The only drawback is no pocket, but I can live with that.

Black Siser Easy Weed really stands out well on the yellow and either black or white work well on the orange.

[mr300s 1,272]

If you have AC Moore or Joann's Fabric their shirts go on sale a lot for 4 or 5 for $10.00 they are Jerzees 29M at Joann's 50-/50 and AC Moore is usually 100% cotton and both have the safety color...

[OWJones 1,981]

If you have AC Moore or Joann's Fabric their shirts go on sale a lot for 4 or 5 for $10.00 they are Jerzees 29M at Joann's 50-/50 and AC Moore is usually 100% cotton and both have the safety color...

 

Closest one is 80+ miles away, so any savings would get eaten up in gas costs.

 

I picked up 12 of the 20 shirts I needed at WalMart today - they didn't have a single Medium in safety yellow, and only 7 of the 10 Large I needed, so I'll have to get on www.walmart.com and get them ordered...  This will at least give me something to work on tonight...