The Letterville BullBoard: Combat Pay?

This is topic Combat Pay? in forum Old Archives at The Letterville BullBoard.

To visit this topic, use this URL:
http://www.letterville.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php/topic/13/3113.html

Posted by Adrienne Pereira (Member # 1046) on :

I just got back from a window job in San Diego last night.
I'm stiff and sore and have scratches all over my legs and arms and the burcitus in my left arm is killin' me.........
All the splashes I have done for this particular company (in 8 yrs) have been fairly uneventful....little or no ladder work, wide concrete sidewalks, big overhangs.....
I fly down, have to haul heavy paints to the job site on the trolly (they were going to pick me up at my hotel, but now are too busy) and walk another 15 minutes to get to the store (not a problem really) but I get to the store and find that they had not cleaned off the windows from thier own attemps at painting them with poster paints...as promised AND the entire area to be painted is surrounded with 3 1/2 foot bushes (with thorns (they never mentioned the bushes!)....there is broken neon glass on the ground around where I have to walk and what appears to be some sort of excrement (eeww!) the ladder they give me is an 8 ft fiberglass (rather heavy when you have burcitus) and could I come back and do it tomorrow as that would be better (from the speed at which one of her employees was smearing off the poster paint I could see this was going to take awhile...)
With a heavy sigh (in my head) I said i would be back in the morning to start.
(so much for my day seeing the sights of San Diego)

The windows were still smeared, but I got started, resigning myself to the fact that one: this job had to be done today, my flight leaves this evening, two: I have been painting for this company all over the western states for over 8 years and would like to continue giving them excellent service and three:....I need the $$$
So......5 hours later, drained, scratched from the bushes, shakey from not eating lunch (I'm diabetic) and only having fruit juice available, my arm really hurting......I finish the job.
Now one of the company's execs was there (I've known him a long time, nice guy) and i told him how I usually charge a 'obstical fee' for these situations and would he think the co. would pay that extra fee, he said have them call him if they had any questions and he'll see I get it.... which was nice.

OK....for those who are still reading and having wondered off to something more interesting....

Am I right to ask for extra payment on a job that is particularily difficult or inconvienient?
I charge them a flat fee for any of the jobs i do for them wheather I have to fly and stay over or drive 20 miles from my house.
Some of the ones I do for them are too easy, but I figure it's a big nationwide company and my fee for the advertising they get is nothing in thier budget.
Belive me, this one was a real bear!!
A

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

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

[This message has been edited by AdrienneMorgan (edited May 12, 2001).]

Posted by roger bailey (Member # 556) on :

I think these are what we call "bad days".

Life should have a balance, without a little
bad, you wouldn't appreciate the GOOD so much !!

Roger

------------------
Roger Bailey
Rapid Tac Incorporated
Waikoloa, Hawaii

Posted by Si Allen (Member # 420) on :

LOL Roger! Wipe that smirk off your face when you say that!

------------------
Si Allen #562
La Mirada, CA. USA
(714) 521-4810
ICQ # 330407
"SignPainters do It with Longer Strokes!"

Brushasaurus on Chat

Gladly supporting this BB !

Posted by roger bailey (Member # 556) on :

Si, what we need here is 2 photos,(for good balance) 1 with a smile, 1 without.
No smirks though ! Ha ha ha ha ha ha h

Roger (the smirk)

------------------
Roger Bailey
Rapid Tac Incorporated
Waikoloa, Hawaii

Posted by Karen Tighe (Member # 1541) on :

Balance.... Balance..... I like the sound of that. I hope it comes my way soon - I'm overdue having some good stuff happening to me.

------------------
"Every time I paint a portrait, I lose a friend" - John Sargent

Karen Tighe,
Strandhill,
Sligo in the Wild Wet West of Ireland.

mIRC = cafe_cruiser

Posted by Pierre St.Marie (Member # 1462) on :

Absolutely, Drennie! Besides, your work is worth the extra bucks anyway. BTW.............why IS Roger smirking? I just really noticed that. He definitely knows something we don't...................like maybe what's REALLY in that stuff he sells?

------------------
St.Marie Graphics
& Makin' Tracks Sound Studio
Kalispell, Montana
stmariegraphics@centurytel.net http://www.stmariegraphics.com
800 735-8026
We're chiseling every day of the week! :^)

Posted by cheryl nordby (Member # 1100) on :

ahhhh Adrienne....I have days like that too. Life's a beach sometimes. Chocolate does it for me when I have days like that. Have a hunk.

------------------
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 Si Allen (Member # 420) on :

Pierre....ya think he found a stash of "Maui Wowie" when he moved there?
That would put a smile on my face!

------------------
Si Allen #562
La Mirada, CA. USA
(714) 521-4810
ICQ # 330407
"SignPainters do It with Longer Strokes!"

Brushasaurus on Chat

Gladly supporting this BB !

Posted by Pierre St.Marie (Member # 1462) on :

He must've found SOMEthing................just don't know if he's drinking or inhaling it!

Posted by Stephen Deveau (Member # 1305) on :

Adrienne
Yes you do deserve the extra pay in the time put in.
Why Not!
If your customer made a promise to have this and that ready but didn't.
Then that's down time for you! and you're out of town standing still!
You could be in your shop making some money but your not!
Bill them for the Extras and if something is said tell him why.
Knowing that you have dealt with them for over 8 years I am sure they will understand.

The next job will be spotless and the Red Carpet will be on the ground for you.

It's not your fault that some lazy employee did have time to prep your work area.
I would think you gave them more then enough notice before getting there!

But still (Better Luck next Time!)

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

Posted by roger bailey (Member # 556) on :

Actually its these Papya and(just figured out what this one was) Avacado !!!
Yesssss, Yessss !!
I have 12 Papya trees(eat them in the a.m, or with some crab and Italian dressing !!)

But today I realized what these weird fruits are on this little 5 ft. tree.
If you have ever seen a mature " Hawian Avacado" then you know how happy it would make a real Avacado lover !!
They get bigger then Grapefruit, and I have about 25 or 30 on the tree(bout the size of mainland style) but they have another month or so to mature(ripen).

Roger
PS. Si, going to Maui next week, will be thinkin bout you,Pierre,Joey.

------------------
Roger Bailey
Rapid Tac Incorporated
Waikoloa, Hawaii

Posted by John Deaton (Member # 925) on :

Yes Adrienne, you are due the extra hazard pay. Ya done right. I applaud you, and love your work!

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

john@deatondesigns.com
www.deatondesigns.com

Posted by Adrienne Pereira (Member # 1046) on :

Thanks......I don't know how much....10%? 25%? In any event, yeah, I called her on my cel from the airport as I was boarding, from the airport when I arrived, from my hotel so I knew how to get there and once again from where the trolly dropped me off so I could find the store itself...yeah, she knew I was on my way.
Adrienne

Roger, when can I come visit???

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

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

Posted by Michael Boone (Member # 308) on :

Haaaaa.
wait till you see my dining room...the designated wall for a mural....
yer gonna need a lawyer just to go fer lunch!
Better gitcha some chaps!
The northeast is purdy rugged!
Ask Bruce....

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

Posted by Adrienne Pereira (Member # 1046) on :

MICHEAL!! I thought you were sending pics of the wall and what you want on it!! So????

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

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

Posted by Tyler (Member # 2093) on :

I can tell you why Roger is smirking at us all the time. He lives in Hawaii and we don't. I'd take that over Cleveland Ohio any day.

------------------
Tyler Malinky

A Step Above Signs
Cleveland, Ohio
440.479.8129
440.842.1894 fax

www.astepabovesigns.com
tmalinky@astepabovesigns.com or exmayors@aol.com

Posted by Rick Sacks (Member # 379) on :

A, how much extra time did you put it than you would have if there were clean windows and no bushes? Double time sounds good.

What would you have done if you knew what you were getting in to? Suppose you had seen a photo of the obsticles and had the opportunity to prepare for it? Could the shrubs have been trimmed on the building side to make room for you? How about if you had staged a plank over the bushes across some step ladders ? What would have made it an easier job?

------------------
The SignShop
Mendocino, California
"Where the Redwoods meet the Surf"

Posted by Adrienne Pereira (Member # 1046) on :

Rick it was twice the time, the bushes were far enough from the window to barely get the ladder in, if I had known ahead of time I would have charged an obsticle fee, but don't see any other way the windows could have been done.
I'm still so sore I can't work today and have put off two customers till next week.
I have an appt to get cortizone shots in my left arm.
Looking at the invoice I sent, I used an old one that didn't include the 'obsticle clause' so am not sure how to go about asking for the extra money.

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

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

Posted by Valerie Connot (Member # 76) on :

Adrienne,

IMHO, I would send a supplemental invoice charging an additional twenty (DeWayne says thirty) percent and include any photos you have of the job as well as the name of the exec. as a reference.

DeWayne says to carry a chain saw - works great for bushes! (hehe)

Valerie

P.S. The lions, and tigers, and bears are waiting!

------------------
Valerie Connot
DOA Flatliners
North Wales, PA

UBB.classic™ 6.7.2