In need of help! Wanting opinions from experienced wrap installers on this Transit

[Think713]

Customer supplied the design. Before installation we discussed whether to follow body lines or install level to the ground, and agreed on ground level.

Customer is ok with the driver’s side but says the passenger side looks like it runs uphill. I’ve measured both sides from the ground and with a laser and it’s very close to exact level.
He wants the passenger side reprinted and reinstalled because it looks funny to his eyes.
My concern is that reinstalling the same artwork is going to give us the same visual result, and tilting one side to compensate doesn’t seem like the right answer either.

What would you recommend to the customer?
I’ve shown him the measurements.
I’ve done another install on a larger model with essentially the same design he was happy with it. His artist revised the design to fit this smaller model and he has another one of the same he wants done.
What is the best way to handle this and keep my customer happy?

I personally think the job looks good. Sometimes I would tell the customer, "hey look, no one whom is going to pay for your services cares about this little detail." I find a lot of people are concerned about their personal image to the world they are trying to sell to. Its about optics. Hence the wrap to begin with. So if their customer realistically wouldnt care, then why should they? Its obviously their money, but from what I see, yall did the job. The wrap looks great. And as mentioned above its a revision, not warranty work. There isn't anything wrong with the wrap. So I'd say either make them pay for the rewrap of the side, or convince them to keep it, and on the next van make the change with a little bit of a discount for the inconvenience." If they insist on it being changed, then As mentioned above do both sides probably because they'll both need to be adjusted. And if you hit them with an extra 2 grand or something cause their van is basically getting entirely re wrapped, they're likely to stick with the first go around.
We deal with this from time to time at our shop, and we usually just convince customers to go with it. And all of them have come back for more work. We just sweeten the deal a little bit money wise.

 

[dannyd1962]

Install it as it was approved on the customer proof.
Thats a binding contract along with the email reply from them.
That's on them, not you.

 

[Foremander]

Install it as it was approved on the customer proof.
Thats a binding contract along with the email reply from them.
That's on them, not you.

That's exactly what I say every time. I usually design to go with the body line, but always match the customer's proof

 

[signheremd]

Passenger side is running uphill compared to the drivers side - look at where the color meets the top and bottom of the front doors. It is a small amount, but the customer is correct. during install, rolling body lines on an angle can pull the text slightly up or down. One thing we have done is use cut vinyl on white text (solid color) to ensure text angle meets layout. But yeah, your installer rotated the right side of that passenger graphic upward a bit.

 

[dannyd1962]

It either follows the bodyline or it doesn't.
The customer's decision BEFORE production & installation.
Does anyone still use proofs and layouts that are approved by the customer anymore?

 

[Think713]

It either follows the bodyline or it doesn't.
The customer's decision BEFORE production & installation.
Does anyone still use proofs and layouts that are approved by the customer anymore?

My thing is too, and I've been trying to get the shop I work for do this as well..
SET CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS...There is no such thing as a perfect wrap.. and if you aren't charging perfect wrap prices, then customers don't have the leverage to be telling you what is or isnt right... You are there providing YOUR SERVICE to THEM...
They want something, thats what they got... (And that attitude obviously doesnt do YOU good if the wrap is bad... im not saying stand by shitty work. Dont do that.) But what I am saying is, IF a customer signed off on a proof, a decision was made, and then they simply dont like a little discrepency at the end because theyre being nitpicky about something that really doesnt matter...Then charge them for it, and don't feel bad about it. Too many shops in my experience let the customer make the decisions. In what other industry does this exist? This isnt serving food.
On the contrary, if the customer is spending good money they want their wrap done right, and the confidence that its going to last and help their business. And thats where expectations come into play. If you cover your bases with what I call a 90th percentile, and revision/warranty clauses in your proof paper, then stand by those things and make sure that customer understands before paying a deposit.

 

[Stacey K]

I'm changing my mind on this. I think it looks fine and he should just drive it around a while and he will get used to it LOL

What a terrible vehicle to letter, there's nothing to go off of except your eyeballs. Looks like this would be a good candidate for this angled style of lettering. But, it sounds like it was part of a fleet and it's tough to do one truck different that the others.

 

[RazorsEdge]

This is simple: just follow the body line
View attachment 183004

Agreed, simple if done in the design phase.

 

[RazorsEdge]

I personally think the job looks good. Sometimes I would tell the customer, "hey look, no one whom is going to pay for your services cares about this little detail." I find a lot of people are concerned about their personal image to the world they are trying to sell to. Its about optics. Hence the wrap to begin with. So if their customer realistically wouldnt care, then why should they? Its obviously their money, but from what I see, yall did the job. The wrap looks great. And as mentioned above its a revision, not warranty work. There isn't anything wrong with the wrap. So I'd say either make them pay for the rewrap of the side, or convince them to keep it, and on the next van make the change with a little bit of a discount for the inconvenience." If they insist on it being changed, then As mentioned above do both sides probably because they'll both need to be adjusted. And if you hit them with an extra 2 grand or something cause their van is basically getting entirely re wrapped, they're likely to stick with the first go around.
We deal with this from time to time at our shop, and we usually just convince customers to go with it. And all of them have come back for more work. We just sweeten the deal a little bit money wise.

Kinda my thoughts too. If the customer is willing to compromise I will offer a fair deal to each of us.

 

[MrDav3C]

Interesting to see how so many people say always body lines.

To me this is very much vehicle dependant, a lot of body lines these days aren't straight and are heavily angled downwards towards the front of the vehicle.

For vehicles like this we often put a physical chalk line on the vehicle from the top of each wheel arch, then level everything from this and we never seem to have issues doing it this way.

To me, the worst thing about this wrap is the text placement / size. Often we install logos and lettering as a separate entity on top of the wrap which prevents distortion where the wrap is stretched and gives us complete control over placement.

I think in this instance the proof is key. Print it off & hold it Infront of the vehicle with the customer, if they look pretty much identical and the wrap is good then you have done exactly what's been agreed and approved. If they want to make changes from this then it's at their expense, not yours.

If you haven't provided a proof of this exact vehicle and had it approved by the customer then there is definitely a lesson to be learnt there!

Obviously we all want happy customers that keep coming back but on the same token if you rewrap this F.O.C. based on a "now I see it in reality, I'm not entirely happy" type comment, you are setting a president that this customer can do this again in the future and any agreed proofs aren't worth the paper they are printed on.

Perhaps explain to the customer that you have followed the proof and their artwork, what the cost would be to remove and rewrap either one side or probably both so they are consistent and as a gesture of goodwill offer them a discount on this that you are comfortable with and let them make the decision.