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Reading about painting the bottom of a swimming pool brought this to mind. Funny what some of us old timers and maybe even some of you newcomers will take on as a job when business is slow.
About 25 years ago, as a newcomer to California and a sign painter of only about three years,..I got a call from a Roman Catholic church, the lady (sister someone) says they need to have their playground game lines repainted. Yup,.they have an asphalt playground with basketball and other game lines painted on it,.and they are faded.
I give her a price and promise to be back in three days to do the job. In the mean time I find out what kind of paint they use for that, and figure to do it with a three inch roller on an extension stick, I just have to trace what's already there,.sounds easy!
So,.....the day before the job, I start coming down with what seems like the flu,.......yup,..next day BIG TIME flu,......but we needed the money to pay the rent , so I went and started the job.
The hardest part, (aside from feeling like warmed over death) was sweeping up around the existing lines. I could not remain upright for more than a half hour, then I had to lie down for half an hour. a day and a half job turned into a three day job, but I finished it,.and it nearly finished me!
I presented the bill to sister sourpuss and she wrote me a check. I ran to the bank,.......it bounced.......I went home to sleep it all off! Next day I had to go to the church and confront the good sister about her bad check,..she apologized and made it good.
Anyone have any GOOD stories?.......thats the best I can do for now!
-------------------- James Caley JCI Int'l 655 State College #19 Fullerton, CA USA 92831 jamez31@msn.com 714-773-9048 Posts: 16 | From: 655 state College #19, Fullerton CA USA 92831 | Registered: Feb 2002
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Well, there was the time when I was 8 mos. pregnant with my 3rd kid, up on a scissors lift at a glass plant, paintin' away...then the plant manager came out and said "When you're done with that last letter, please get down- I don't know if our liability insurance covers pregnant women." and...about 5 months later, a gypsy with a concession trailer pulled in to my driveway on a Sunday & wanted it painted with about 75 liscensed Disney/Warner Bros. characters. My no-good-ex hubby barely ever worked, & we were broke, so I was Sign Slut personified. I painted non-stop for 8 hours, in a 100 degree trailer, with the stinky gypsy guy watching my every move. Milk was leaking down my shirt, my kids were mad and/or crying, and I was fuming. In the end, he paid me $250- all in ones- and tried to cheat me out of a buck! Chalk it up to stupidity on my part. Also, if Warner Bros./Disney is reading this post, please go after the gypsy dude & not me! (if you can find him) Love- JILL
-------------------- That is like a Mr. Potato Head with all the pieces in the wrong place. -Russ McMullin Posts: 8834 | From: Butler, PA, USA | Registered: Jan 2001
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Hey Jill....I remember delivering a sign one time with baby spit up on my back and I didn't realize it. Also the day after I had my first baby....there was a customer knocking on my door wondering if I could letter a couple 4x8's real quick.
Posts: 3729 | From: Seattle | Registered: Sep 1999
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this little old guy shows up at my door one day in sarasota.....bfore i had the vinyl cutter and all signs were hand painted.....hes askin all kinds of wierd question ...how do you feel about death, are you a "religous person"....i looked at him and said "whata ya want"? the he tells me hes been turned down by a couple other sign places because of the organization he was with...i told him dont care if your a commie..you need a sign ill make it! he smiled and said good these signs are for the HEMLOCK SOCIETY!!!!!!!!
-------------------- joe pribish-A SIGN MINT 2811 longleaf Dr. pensacola, fl 32526 850-637-1519 BEWARE THE TRUTH.....YOU MAY NOT LIKE WHAT YOU FIND Posts: 11582 | From: pensacola, fl. usa | Registered: Nov 1998
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I think you might have me beat by those stories,..hahahah!
How about this one;.....THE BANK JOB
About the same time as my previous story and in the same location,......My brother and I were working for a guy who had a chain of Vaccuum cleaner stores. We were poor as church mice and were working all the day in the heat of a July day in Southern California,....down to our last two cigarettes by the time we finished the stinkin' job. Thinking about getting a couple double cheeseburgers and a couple packs of Camels.
We get the check about 15 minutes before bank closing time, and we drive fast to the nearest branch,..where I give the check to my brother as I park the truck,.so that he can get the money before they close.
I park the truck in the nearest space,..right in the space of someone who is pulling out very quickly. I go to the bank entrance and find that the doors are locked and notice that several cop cars have pulled it into the bank parking lot right behind me.
They wouldn't let anyone in or out of the bank, because it had just been robbed by the folks who had provided me with a parking space!
Took an hour to get my brother and our cash out of that bank,.....we had a big laugh over it later ,.over a couple beers!
-------------------- James Caley JCI Int'l 655 State College #19 Fullerton, CA USA 92831 jamez31@msn.com 714-773-9048 Posts: 16 | From: 655 state College #19, Fullerton CA USA 92831 | Registered: Feb 2002
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all this talk about checks reminded me of one when devo and i first got married and moved to new zealand
being non-locals we didnt know the history of one customer as well as everyone else in town so of course took the much needed job (read money) that he offered
when the work was finished we rang the man to say come pick up the board... and bring your money with you
this guy turns up with a very large friend that looked like he would rather break your arms than shake your hand and the negotiations started, i truthfully wasnt concerned about the minder or any intimidation tactics because i was unaware that such a thing could happen... and after all most of my close friends looked way worse than this bloke and they were all pussy cats
i was simply a mother needing money for food so this fella's story about how he needed the sign now but couldnt pay for it till later didnt sway me at all from my task of getting paid for the work we had rushed thru for him
at one point he tells me that if he paid us then his kids would have to do with out, i responded with 'well buddy if you dont pay me i will be droping my 3 kids off to your house to feed till you do'!
this went round n round for sum time with devo keeping the 'minder' busy talking bout old times when bike chains were used for more than turning the back wheel and all the fun they used to have breakin heads in their youth
the end came when old mate said (in defeat) ok what's the total i owe?
devo said x amount if your paying by cheque and a lesser amount if its cash, feeling pretty sure that cash was the right thing to insist on with this bloke (i cant even recall how much it was now)
the customer got out his cheque book and wrote a 'cash' cheque .... umm?
he paid the full price and took his sign less than a moment after he drove out of the car park, devo jumped onto our bike and rode 2 streets away to the customers bank presenting the cheque over the counter and got our money
the story didnt end there
when later that day we were talking to other folk in our workshops complex, just shootin the breeze, one bloke mentioned seeing our reluctant payer's car at our shop earlier and warned us to be real carefull cause everyone in town new this man was untrustworthy
seems he owed every tradesperson in a 50 mile radius for work and most just gave up trying to get their money
devo pulled the cash out of his pocket and said 'not us' they were all dumb struck and just stood looking at the cash as if they'd never seen money before
the next week we bumped into our customer's bank manager at the local pub, he was laughing and said that the fella had rang to cancel his check 5 minuts after devo had presented it to the teller and that the whole bank had cheered when the manager had told him it was too late the cheque had been processed
we never worked for him again, even though he asked us too many times... i guess he wanted to get back his reputation
i personaly liked the fact that he paid the full price but we ended up with cash money anyway, and to this day i think we are still the only people who ever got paid
cheers gail
-------------------- Gail & Dave Hervey Bay Qld Australia
gail@roadwarriorproducts.com.au
sumtimes ya just gota! Posts: 794 | From: 552 O'Regans Creek Rd Toogoom Qld 4655 Australia | Registered: Nov 1998
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Back in the early eighties I painted billboards on location for what was then 3m National. We were painting a 20'x80' sign just across the state line in South Carolina from Georgia. Now this sign was on a hill that was probably a hundred feet or more above the expressway and you could read it for at least a half mile before the exit.The first day we painted the logo on the left side for a major motel chain and rolled out the remaining background.Next day as I study the layout I decide to start the copy from the center as it is 14' high letters with 2 or 3' strokes and I possibly can save myself some extra werk moving the swing stage and rope falls by starting my layout in the center.The copy read,..THIS EXIT NOW,...with a tag line beneath that read TRUCK PARKING. Well on the way up with the stage we drew the copy and went ahead and painted The tag line.As I started to paint the letters I had drawn,This small chevy (S-10) with a camper comes rumbling up the hill thru the brush and weeds honking the horn.Out comes Grandpa in his white flowing robe and 4 big guys,... one in a suit.All of them are yelling stuff to me and my help to stop.I yell back down to them to hang on and let me finish these letters then I can come down and talk(we were about 4 stories up on the sign).This does nothing to calm them down and they yell even louder"NO NO NO YOU HAVE TO CHANGE THAT!", pointing to the sign. Well I had a work order and approved art that I was not allowed to change so I yelled back down that I couldn't do that.To this they started throwing rocks and screaming even louder.Well when the rocks started flying it got my dander up somewhat and I started stomping down the ladder to settle them down.When I finally got to the ground Grandpa in the white robe points across the way to the expressway exit and says "LOOK!".You could see the parking lot full and trucks parked on the side of the road in front of the Motel restaurant.I asked him what the problem was,and he replied "LOOK" pointing to the sign. I turned around and the sign read,... S EX in 14' high letters with TRUCK PARKING underneath in 3 ' copy.Needless to say,... they didn't find any humor in the unfinished sign and the sudden influx of truckers crossing the state line,....
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