This was what I quoted:

16 signs @ 3.47 sq.ft each.
55.52 sq. ft @ $25/sq. ft.= $1388

2 signs @ 19.13 sq. ft. each
38.26 sq. ft. @ $25/sq. ft.= $956.50

2 NEW signs @ 3.47 sq.ft. each
6.94sq.ft.@ $72.50/sq.ft.= $503.15

Remove 16 old signs, haul to the shop, return and reinstall all 18 signs 50 miles round trip $320

Job total: $3167.65

The customer calls back to tell me that someone else bid $576 FOR THE WHOLE SHEBANG! I thanked her for calling.

So, Saturday, I thought I would swing by the place and check it out.
Some of the signs had been "restored" and the two new ones were made also.
The repainted ones looked like they had slopped the paint on in globs with a cheap polyester bristle brush. There are runs, sags, thick and thin spots and numerous places where the lettering paint is slopped over into the background. They don't look like they even bothered to sand any of the loose paint off. Just painted over it.

The two new signs don't look much better. They used FLAT GRAIN wood which looks like maybe cedar.
The paint is slopped on in the same manner and there are not enough coats of paint to cover the primer. Looks like one heavy coat. In the layout, there is more negative space in the lettering than between the lettering and the border. The font also doesn't match the other signs. They could not have used a level when reinstalling.

I hated losing the job at the time but, at the same time, still couldn't comprehend how anyone could restore all those signs and build two new ones to boot and still do a decent job. I wonder if the customer is satisfied with it?

We installed one a block away, just 2 weeks before, and the customer knows this. Maybe they will use us next time.

What would you have charged for this job?
 

When this job goes bad in a year...maybe you will get the next restoration! But don't hold you breath waiting!

[ November 12, 2001: Message edited by: Si Allen ]

let that hungry turkey do the signs for that price.

it still perturbs me when i spend time doing field measurements and some a-hole bids low.

at the same time, some a-hole customer's will tell you they got a quote a lot cheaper.

just smile and say, thanks for letting me bid on this job, if i can be of help in the future with any of your sign needs, don't hesitate to call.

mark

don't play their game.
 

Wayne, I believe I would have had a LOT more than that to say. In fact I KNOW I would have because I was in a similar (but not nearly as blatant) situation just today, and got pretty defensive about it. And we were only talking about a 20% lower bid, not 80%. I had to assure my prospect that the other bidder could not possibly match the quality my bid represented.

Your price looks reasonable to me. It is so rich that the job turned out to be a hack. That alone should be some consolation, but I'm not sure I would be able to resist finding a way to rub it in the client's face somehow. Just a little bit.

I disagree with Si's opinion on purchasing agents being motivated by price solely. That hasn't been my experience. If there is a God in Heaven, the agent must be horrified at their choice and in some trouble for wasting the company's money like that.
 

Si, it IS atrocious. I don't see how they could
be satisfied.

Mark, This person must either not have any experience restoring and making signs or simply takes no pride in his workmanship. If he did he would have known that he would be making less than minimum wage on the job. Might have been somebody's nephew.....Hey! OH NO.....I'M somebody's nephew Thanks for the encouraging words.

Thanks John, In our quote was the description: "will be washed with bleach/water solution, scrubbed/brushed down, rinsed clean with water, allowed to dry, then primed and topcoated" This was for repainting the structure which the signs are mounted on. On sandblasted signs we do that first and then sand all raised areas, lettering , borders, fix any dings, checks, splits, cracks etc. and then prime and paint. Our two new signs were described as "vertical-grain redwood" These ain't VG and they ain't redwood.

Joe, In this particular situation, it wasn't like that at all. The lady who corresponded with us was very nice and simply relayed the proposal to the MD in charge of the medical plaza. Though she was the person who initially called us, he was the one who made the decision to go with the cheap job. I think she was just letting us know what was going on when she called to tell us that they had gone with the other bid. I have no hard feelings toward her. Left up to her, we might have gotten the job. I took it as a thoughtful gesture and appreciated it.
But, the Doc can probably see by now that there's a difference between professional and amateur. I ain't gonna rub it in. No Need.

Joe, That sounds mighty devilish... and tempting! Thanks
No, I told them when I went to survey/measure the signs that we were doing the other docta-shop down the street. They know where it is.

But....there's another sign company from Alabama who's doing excellent work in that town. Sandblasted, gold leaf, CNC routed, nice layouts, really nice looking signs.....They're the ones I'm worried about.

I believe there's plenty of work for everybody though.

[ November 13, 2001: Message edited by: Wayne Webb ]