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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
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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! :^)
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He must've found SOMEthing................just don't know if he's drinking or inhaling it!
------------------ 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! :^)
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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
Posts: 4327 | From: Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia, Canada | Registered: Jan 2000
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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
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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
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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....
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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"
Posts: 6806 | From: Mendocino, CA. USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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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.
A
------------------ Adrienne Morgan Splash Signs www.splashsigns.com "Rainkatt'on chat
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
Posts: 138 | From: North Wales, PA, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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