Need Advice....

[WhiskeyDreamer]

we have a customer that we quoted an illuminated box sign....customer said do sketch and gave deposit on drawing....did drawing, make a revision....and waited and waited and waited.....finally the customer got back to us and said he decided to get the sign with one his clients instead (he's a chiropractor if that matters)....no prob...but told him we wouldn't refund the deposit cause time was invested...he was okay with that...

my boss drove by his office today and saw the new sign (1/2in pvc)...he went in but the owner wasn't available so he left our card and asked for the chiropractor to give us a call....

while the boss is out, the chiropractor stops in our shop...check in hand, wanting to speak with my boss...i explain he's not in, but i can get a call back to him....chiropractor's okay with that and says just to relay to my boss that he knows he owes us and realized he was wrong....

so to me, this means he read the writing on the bottom of our sketch sheet and knows we own the design and he had to right to have it reproduced by someone else....

so here's the question....when we give the call back on monday...and he asks for a $$...what would you say??? the original quote for the illuminated box was $1900....

 

[Gino]

I might be missing something here, but if you guys agree to charge him for the sketch and he paid for it.... doesn't he only owe you for the sketch ??

He decided to get the can made somewhere else and your boss didn't squawk at the time, so I would tend to think he only owes for the sketch and can do or go with it where he wants with his paid sketch.

 

[Billct2]

Yea, if i read it right you kept the deposit to cover the work done, which I would expect included the sketch. So you want to keep the deposit and get paid for the design on top of that? How much was the deposit, we get 50% on jobs like that.

 

[Mosh]

????What? You got a deposit, then the guy went somewere else? Then what? Chiropractic who?

 

[WhiskeyDreamer]

Yea, if i read it right you kept the deposit to cover the work done, which I would expect included the sketch. So you want to keep the deposit and get paid for the design on top of that? How much was the deposit, we get 50% on jobs like that.

for a sketch, we only take $60, and had more time in then the $60 was worth....

originally, the guy asked if he could get his deposit back and we said no....but never gave him the rights to the design....since the $60 didn't cover all the time involved....

Edited to Add: it was not billed out as a design...we made it clear on the invoice that he did not own the design and that our company still held the rights to the design....

 

[Gino]

Sorry, it sounds a little to sticky to touch.

You're now mentioning some technicalities that weren't perhaps clear from the beginning.

I would imagine if he agreed to pay for the sketch and he still owes you something for it.... charge him accordingly. His not getting the sign from you shouldn't give you the right to keep something you didn't furnish.

As for not giving him the rights to the design.... why ?? He offered to pay. I still don't see where your customer was wrong.

I know giving back deposits are rough, but if you didn't do something, how can you believe you deserve to keep it ??


Possibly figure out what you want for handing over the rights to your/his design and be careful he doesn't take it to a lawyer. There seems to be grey area here that might backfire for you.

 

[WhiskeyDreamer]

i agree gino...i wasn't involved in most of the process...my boss quotes these jobs and usually does the designs for them....i think it was pretty much left at "no, we're not giving you back your deposit. here's a receipt for your records."

aside from us noting that he didn't own the design, nothing much else was done until my boss saw our design on someone else's sign......

the guy hasn't out right offered to pay yet...that's what i'm expecting will come when we make the return call next week....

 

[Gino]

Maybe I'm still missing something.

This deposit you speak of.. is it the $60 or half of the $1,900 ??

 

[onesource]

As I understand, deposit...cabinet investment...gets another sign elswhere
resell the sign and don't worry about the drawing

 

[WhiskeyDreamer]

Maybe I'm still missing something.

This deposit you speak of.. is it the $60 or half of the $1,900 ??

deposit was only $60, not half....obviously we didn't start production on the box itself...only did sketch work...but it was still a couple hours invested with the design and revisions...

i know it's a live and learn kinda thing...just wondering what you guys would say if this was your customer...

 

[Jon Aston]

I`m a little confused with the story, but I would be looking at this as an opportunity to win the loyalty of this customer, and - with it - the lifetime value of their signage and referrals.

 

[Ken]

Oh..leave it up to Jon..to turn this ship around...I love that!
You know ,fenris...as you said..a live and learn experience...as long as it is not forgotten...is worth the price. When the Chiro guy comes back...take the 60 bucks...
Cheers!
Ken