The Letterville BullBoard: Okay. What DON'T you like doing?

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Posted by John Deaton (Member # 925) on :

What type of work don't you like? With me it's the windshield "stickers". Don't know why, but I hate doing em. Usually people come when I am really busy, and God forbid you tell them to come back later. Once I told a guy I don't do them anymore, and he said, Well what do you do? This while standing in my front office where my displays are. I upped my price considerably, so I will still do em, but maybe not as much.

So what's yours?.......

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John Deaton III
Deaton Design
109 N. Cumberland Ave.,Harlan, Ky. 40831 606-573-9101

john@deatondesigns.com
www.deatondesigns.com

Posted by Mike Pipes (Member # 1573) on :

Well... I dont like anything that remotely resembles work...

Luckily I havent ran across anything like that yet.

Today I went to a seminar on screenprinting.. learned something new that I can take to my business and have some fun with!

There really isnt anything I dont like doing as I find most of it to be fun in some way as long as there's some creativity involved.. I guess for me it's more of a "WHO" I dont like dealing with.. which is anyone that comes up and wants me to drop everything and do their crap just because they're there and they need it today.

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Mike Pipes
Digital Illusion Custom Graphics
Lake Havasu City, AZ
http://www.stickerpimp.com

Posted by Monte Jumper (Member # 1106) on :

Good post...I guess what I hate the most is doing vinyl graphics.You see... I learned the trade as a sign painter, doing everything with a brush... it was the trade I chose and will forever be in love with. Now don't get me wrong, I'm smart enough to recognize the fact that there is money in vinyl and I love the computer for design work, layouts and pattern making. In fact my main reason for getting involved in computers was to speed up the mundane tasks and use it as a tool for "painting" signs...well as time went on I fell further into the box. Now honestly I have no regrets,I still turn out what I consider to be good work in a timely manner...it's just not the work I set out to do so many years ago (1963 actually).So to counteract this dilema, I go in early and find little make work jobs that involve the brushes...you know small signs for friends or something to hang in the shop and another way to stave off the frustration I hand shade and or outline a lot of my vinyl jobs. The most enjoyable times I have are with a brush in my hand...I'll never leave the trade but I am truly envious of those that have found the right markets to continue the craft the way they learned as "brushmen and women".

The bottom line is no matter how you go about it allways give it your best..."There is no us and them" just different ways of achieving the task!

Oh how I love those "Brush days" and I have one tomorrow... (I'll be outlining a vinyl job).

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Monte Jumper
SIGNLanguage/Norman.Okla.

Posted by jack wills (Member # 521) on :

Anything over 10 or 12 times.
BORING................
Thas'it................Jack

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Jack Wills
Studio Design Works
6255 Brookside Circle
Rocklin, CA 95677
writer@quiknet.com

Posted by Ken Henry (Member # 598) on :

Hi John...good topic. What I hate with a passion, is getting a call from someone insisting that I've gotta go fix up a job that someone else screwed up...especially if it was a job that I quoted on and lost, because they chose to go with the cheapest price. I'll do it, but if they balk when I give them the estimated cost of fixing up the disaster, I tend to give them my viewpoint that it might have been somewhat less expensive to have had it done right the first time.

What amazes me is that they seldom call back the guy responsible to make good, but will attempt to make you somehow feel an obligation to help them out of the mess they're stuck with.

I know that they're essentially giving you a "second chance", but sometimes the knowledge that they chose to go the "cheap" route initially, tends to dampen my enthusiasm for working with them. I wonder if others feel this way in such situations?

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Ken Henry
Henry & Henry Signs
London, Ontario Canada
(519) 439-1881
e-mail kjmlhenry@home.

Some days you get to be the dog....other days, you get to be the fire hydrant.

Posted by Kathy Joiner (Member # 1814) on :

The BOOKWORK! I hate it. To make matters worse, I procrastinate and by the time I get to it I'm stressed to meet a deadline.

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Kathy Joiner
River Road Graphics
41628 River Road
Ponchatoula, La.70454
PH. (504)386-3313
casey@i-55.com

Old enough to know better...Too young to resist.

Posted by Donna in BC (Member # 130) on :

I hate doing a job twice. Meaning, I find it ok to letter and stripe one side of a truck. But to do it again on the other side? I'm yawning as soon as I walk over there.

We really should start desiging two different things on two sides to alleviate boredom in our proffession.

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Graphic Impact
Abbotsford, BC, Canada
gisigns@sprint.ca

Posted by old paint (Member # 549) on :

i agree with mikey....not so much what but the who iam doin it for.......and monty...my sentiments exactly....windshild banners are gold to me now.. with the mobile shop...sold 4 last sat at the mud bog races....$20 a pop, intermediate vinyl 4-5" tallx 28-36" long, cut weed and tape hand it to customer and get my $20.....dont like installin em..specially on the 2 story 4x4's.

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joe pribish-A SIGN MINT
2811 longleaf Dr.
pensacola, fl 32526
850-944-5060
BEWARE THE TRUTH.....YOU MAY NOT LIKE WHAT YOU FIND

Posted by Michael Boone (Member # 308) on :

Ken is so on the money....
In a small town,add a dash of friendship and the "everyone knows everyone".....still they hose ya!
And its always the ones with some bucks.....
Huh?

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Michael Boone
Sign Painter
5828 Buerman Rd.Sodus,NY 14551
Ontime @localnet.com

Posted by Adrienne Pereira (Member # 1046) on :

Obstacles!!!!! like bushes, mud, planter boxes, uneven sidewalks!!! I decided long ago the price doubles if there are annoying obstacles to deal with !!
A

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Adrienne Morgan
Splash Signs
www.splashsigns.com
"Rainkatt'on chat

Benicia, CA
707-550-4553
adrienne@splashsigns.com

Posted by Dave Grundy (Member # 103) on :

I'm with Kathy..I hate the bookwork...So I don't do it!.....I just pull stuff out of envelopes and take it to the bookeeper.

Unlike Donna...I don't mind doing the second side of a vehicle or boat. It usually goes about 3 times as fast because I have the "method" and "measurements" down pat.

As for doing anything over and over..like 100 trailers in a row. Well, it IS boring, but the paychecks sure are sweet and I get a lot of time to daydream while doing them.

Like Mike and Joe...people are probably the worst part...Especially the one's who can't make up their mind on exactly what they want until the day before their precious sailboat is being dumped into the water!

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Dave Grundy
AKA "applicator" on mIRC
"stickin' sticky stuff to valuable vessels and vehicles!"
in Granton, Ontario, Canada
1-519-225-2634
dave.grundy@quadro.net
www.quadro.net/~shirley

Posted by Felix Marcano (Member # 1833) on :

Clients standing behind you & telling you how they want the job done. [as you do it (as if they knew)]

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Marcano-Welch Signs Luquillo, Puerto Rico
787-889-6608

Posted by Bruce Williams (Member # 691) on :

I don't like phone tag, driving and pushing paper. If I did, I'd be a receptionist, a chauffeur or a bureaucrat.

Bruce Williams
Lexington KY

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Bruce Williams

Posted by Steve Barba (Member # 431) on :

RACECARS! I hate em! Owners always want a deal, then addin sponsors to yer list. Those things are never ending.

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Steve Barba is the proud owner, president, & sole employee of Sturgis Sign Works.
"B0LT" on the chat room thing.
209 Oak Drive
Sturgis SD 57785
sbarba2616@dtgnet.com
605-720-7667

Posted by Dave Draper (Member # 102) on :

IHi Heads,

I really hate customers who design their own signs with brush script cardinal red then put a black drop shadow behind it and then ask me what I think.....Cause I tell them. It SUCKS!

And then I hate myself becasue the last time it happened, It was for a fleet of 5 vans and 2 box trailers.....and I did the job because the money was good.

Now everytime I see those vans I have to look away.

When a sign artist can do top notch work and can only get crap jobs it just makes my blood boil!

I also hate those cheap ass customers that put up a $500,000 building, and will only spend $300.00 on a sign, or have the gall to tell me that SIGN-A-RIPOFF will letter their truck for $35.00 and if I want the job I better lower my price.

There is more, but this BB don't have enough band width to hold it.

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Draper The Signmaker
Bloomington Illinois USA
My Next Article In The April Issue of Sign Builder Illustrated covers step by steps on "digital airbrushing" YOU CAN DO!
309-828-7110
drapersigns@hotmail.com Draper_Dave on mIRC chat

Posted by cheryl nordby (Member # 1100) on :

I don't like doing signs with little teensie weensie letters. (I am impatient!)

Or I don't like making signs designed by a 'graphic artist' (who got paid 400.00 for a crap design that looks like it took 2 minutes to design)

And of course I don't like playing the "I can get it at cheap-ass sign co. for such and such" game. I usually tell them to GO then. (I have a bad attitude)

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surf or MoJo on mirc
Cheryl J Nordby
Signs by Cheryl
(206) 300-0153
Seattle WA.....!
signsbycheryl@hotmail.com
A day without sunshine is like, you know...night http://signsbycheryl.homestead.com/home.html
http://mojosignco.homestead.com/home.html

From sharp minds come sharp products

Posted by Stephen Deveau (Member # 1305) on :

Friends and Family
That think it will only take you a minute or two.
Never to say thanks! or ask or offer anything for your time out!
Don't get me wrong as I love to help out in ways but when it becomes a habit on thier part to assume....

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Raven/2001
Airbrushed by Raven
Lower Sackville N.S.
deveausdiscovery@sprint.ca

Posted by Wayne Webb (Member # 1124) on :

1. Laminating redwood panels. I hate messing with glue of any kind. After the epoxy sets up, though, the worst is over and it's all fun from then on.

2. Paperwork

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"autograph your work with excellence"

Wayne Webb
Webb Sign Studio
Chipley, FL
850.638.9329
webbsignstudio@digitalexp.com

Posted by Greg Gulliford (Member # 170) on :

1) Itty Bitty Teeny Weenie letters.
2) Lettring vehicles when they want stuff so big that it goes over doors, windows, handles, mouldings, humps and bumps etc... I can never seem to get them on wrinkle free!

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Greg Gulliford
aka MetroDude
Metro Signs and Banners
1403 N. Greene St. #1
Spokane, WA 99202
509-536-9452

mail@metrosignsandbanners.com

Posted by Brian Stoddard (Member # 39) on :

Certainly paperwork, Except, of course invoices

I used to hate doing things like directory strips and removing vinyl but after I started charging more for these type of jobs I feel much better about it!

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Brian Stoddard
Expressions Signs
A few puddles east of Seattle

Posted by Chuck Peterson (Member # 70) on :

Quotes. Can't I just do the job and bill you?

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Chuck Peterson Graphics
1860 Playa Riviera Dr.
Cardiff-by-the-Sea, Calif. 92007

Posted by Jerry Mathel (Member # 526) on :

Lettering on corrugated tin

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Jerry Mathel
Jerry Mathel Signs
Grants Pass, Oregon
signs@grantspass.com

Posted by Kevin Landry (Member # 1352) on :

Well like today. Installation in the snow and cold. Can't wear gloves. Aluminum is cold. It is slippery and my partner (who doesn't climb) is freezing. (I will wear this one tonight) Two days in a row now and one more tomorrow.
But the good point is it was a good paying job.

Kevin Landry
KnL Signs
Halifax NS

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Posted by Linda Silver Eagle (Member # 274) on :

This should be easy to figure out...

A bright and sunny (almost a hunnert degrees with all the glare you can stand and then some) kinda day

One (customer owned/abused) Rickety 6 ft ladder

Fear of impact

14 ft high truck

Steep grade parking lot with strategically placed potholes (apparently by Murphy, himself...hahaha!)

6ft by 10ft logo on vinyl (Horizontal/landscape format)

Melted roll of masking tape to hold (hahaha) the transfer tape to the vehicle (which is falling off the backing paper...thanks Mr Gravity!...not laughin now)

A Sqeegee 3 inches by 5 inches (yeah right!)

yer favorite exacto (with the last good blade in it...thanks to somebody "borrowin one" and fergettin to leave the rest of them in your kit)

And the guys who are supposed to write that big check when you're done,...watchin you fishin that exacto out of the grate it rolled into, because you stopped and thought better about one of them cuttin themselves grabbing it for you as it rolled across the parking lot at a high speed knowing your insurance doesn't cover stupid people.

Oh yeah...after all that havin one air bubble over a rivet that screws up...at the top, after you've packed everything back up, and you can't see where you're going from glare you've been staring at for the past hour...but they refuse to write the check till you go back out there and fix it.

The bubble was spotted by the bosses wife who lets you know, she's in a hurry to take him to lunch. Then, waiting on him to finally chase down the "girl" with the check for him to sign, listening to him mutter that he wished you'd had more bubbles to contend with so he wouldn't have to join her for lunch.)

(I don't even have to go into the concept of hot vinyl spreadin like peanut butter in this heat do I?)

Yeay! Summer is here! Woo-hoo!

The other thing I'm not passionate about going through again is the price gougers. I keep a mahl stick by the door of my office...leaning in the corner. If they come in spoutin insulting requests about how I might price my work, I gesture to the mahl stick and I ask them to have a seat until I get through with the payin jobs...if it's not a deal for me...it won't be for them...hahaha!

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DrQuill - Mural Woman
PEACE SIGNS
logodesign2@icqmail.com
Georgia, USA

Posted by Don Coplen (Member # 127) on :

I've gotta agree with Chuck...quotes are a pain for me. And gluing up wood sign blanks isn't one of the most enjoyable things I've done either.....

But I'm really surprised that this post has gone this far without anybody mentioning working at heights. For me, there's nothing like climbing up onto an 80 foot high catwalk to work on a billboard to make one think twice about what kinda career they've chosen.

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Don Coplen aka "SaintPete"
Coplen Designs
St.Petersburg, FL dcoplen@mindspring.com

[This message has been edited by Don Coplen (edited April 13, 2001).]

Posted by bill riedel (Member # 607) on :

No one mentioned how when a job was finished the customer was satisfied and paid, but then he called later to say his wife or brother-in-law found fault with it.
Then there is the bright lite that tells you that all the letters are not spaced exactly one hale inch apart.

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Bill Riedel
Riedel Sign Co., Inc.
Little Ferry, NJ
billsr@riedelsignco.com

Posted by Don Hulsey (Member # 128) on :

Bookkeeping!!!

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Don Hulsey
Strokes by DON signs
Utica, KY
270-275-9552
sbdsigns@aol.com

I've always been crazy... but it's kept me from going insane.

Posted by Deb Fowler (Member # 1039) on :

In all the years I have lettered, I have come up with these once or more:
1. Bushes in front of my work.
2. Bookkeeping when I don't have time.
3. People looking for an estimate when they
are just really wanting to see if they can get a better price than their competitor, and then badmouthing their competitor after you have given them your time. (then telling me I am too expensive.)
4.Bright hot sun on a horse trailor when applying vinyl
5.Quills that lose their hair(brand new) on
a smoothly painted surface
6. being out of supplies, or being rushed for any reason
7. customers that break appointments or are very late without calling (rare)
8. lettering water towers ( I don't )
9. and all of the dislikes you mentioned above too.

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Deb
Creative Signs

Posted by Glenn Taylor (Member # 162) on :

"Not being able to get the work done" like I need to due to....

*Walk-ins (customers, salesmen, relatives, lost dogs and so on)

*Telephone (its as if the person on the other phone knows exactly when I dipped my quill into the OneShot.

*Careless employees

*Missing employees

*Computer crashes

The list could go on and on and on and on and on and on..........

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Warning: A well designed sign may cause fatigue due to increased business.
http://members.tripod.com/taylor_graphics
walldog@nc.rr.com

Posted by Dan Sawatzky (Member # 88) on :

I don't like design by committee.

Been there done that and hated it and won't do it any more!

Now Im way happier!

-dan

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Dan Sawatzky
Sawatzky's Imagination Corporation
Cultus Lake , British Columbia
dan@imaginationcorporation.ca

www.imaginationcorporation.ca www.giggleridge.com

"Isn't it great to do what you love and love what you do!"

Posted by PKing (Member # 337) on :

The only things I don't like to do,are not sign related,unless you consider mechanical work on the shop vehicle sign related.That would be all I could think of.EVERYTHING thing else,is just a Challenge to be accomplished.Even the Tire kicker,non-paying,whinning customers.Are a Personal Challenge to me to see if I will let them control my emotions!!All in all,No complaints here.
Hope this helps

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PKing is
Pat King of
King Sign Design in
McCalla,Alabama
The Professor of
SIGNOLOGY

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