Unrealistic requests/deadlines

[gnubler]

I got an email and voicemail last Friday after 4pm asking if I could install decals on a plane that's going to be grounded for one day before flying off to its customer. The plane was just painted and the graphics are being overnighted, with a request to install them tomorrow so the plane can be delivered the following day. I passed on the job.

Would any of you have taken on that job, and with any special conditions or surcharges? What's the craziest or most unrealistic request you've ever gotten, and did you get it done or laugh it away?

 

[White Haus]

We get ridiculous demands all the time, usually just say no thanks. I'm actually just about to fire a customer that continues to pester me with last minute time-wasting jobs.

 

[Solventinkjet]

Installing an unknown vinyl from some unknown shop onto a plane that is regulated by a federal agency sounds like a liability to me.

 

[Gino]

If you don't feel comfortable doing the job, ya did the right thing. Otherwise, most people with experience under their belt will tackle something like this, but there will be conditions and a high price to pay when having to stop everything to do a 'rush' job on-site. Ya probably could've charged quite a bit and still gotten the job. It's the possibility of messing something up, that stinks.

 

[gnubler]

We get ridiculous demands all the time, usually just say no thanks. I'm actually just about to fire a customer that continues to pester me with last minute time-wasting jobs.

I hope your firing goes well and that we get to read the finer points about it in the "Fired a customer" thread.

 

[gnubler]

Installing an unknown vinyl from some unknown shop onto a plane that is regulated by a federal agency sounds like a liability to me.

No kidding, not to mention the stress of doing it the day before final delivery with no ability to reprint graphics...what could possibly go wrong?

 

[jfiscus]

For jobs like this price it so that it is worth it to you. Airplane decals aren't cheap, and neither are emergency or rush jobs.

On a related note, we did emergency/rush decals for an airplane a week ago in a similar situation.
However, we just had to recreate the artwork (for EVERY decal on the plane) and get them printed and shipped over to Milan by the end of the next day...

 

[Gino]

The OP here doesn't have any means to reproduce anything, should something go wrong. Without any equipment to recreate, it would be putting anyone out, who hasta provide them, should they mess up. Nope, smart decision to pass, based upon your recent 6 month record of other things, which aren't/weren't near as delicate.

 

[Johnny Best]

Normal request, just charge the crap out of them for it. Kind of jobs you wait for to show up at your door.
Your in business to make money, not to sit on your a$$ waiting for regular things to pass in front of you.
You complain about every day situations every week.

 

[Gino]

 

[Geneva Olson]

I got an email and voicemail last Friday after 4pm asking if I could install decals on a plane that's going to be grounded for one day before flying off to its customer. The plane was just painted and the graphics are being overnighted, with a request to install them tomorrow so the plane can be delivered the following day. I passed on the job.

Would any of you have taken on that job, and with any special conditions or surcharges? What's the craziest or most unrealistic request you've ever gotten, and did you get it done or laugh it away?

I took a sign job that was through a 3rd party. I do not like 3rd parties and I tend to get out of those.
This particular one was last november. It was for a gym. Huge distressed graphics on the wall in matte black and matte white. The third party guy was new to the business. I think the customer and I figured that out. When he ordered the graphics he said white but sent it to me in black. when I cut it in black and brought it in, he told me he wanted matte white..which was never part of the deal. When he started the order he told me it was a new gym opening. I asked him if it was freshly painted and he told me it had been a week since painting. I told him we had to wait for outgas. then he said, 'no my dad said they willl stick". I'm not real sure why his dad was an authority. But we conceded because they had a deadline but we did not warranty the install. It's a good thing we didn't. We got in their and were watching them paint the walls. I was so frustrated with the whole ordeal. Apparently the owner was too because at the end of the project, the 3rd party guy called me up and asked if we had installed the last of the graphics. I wanted to ask him why he didn't call the owner. But I already knew the answer. He pissed off the gym owner too.
Sometimes experiences will make you shy away from the next projects. This guy tried to call for another order and I overpriced it on purpose.

 

[Stacey K]

I live by Road America, I get requests often for same day decals. I usually do them. They don't care how much it costs, they have never once asked.

Those kind of install jobs can always be done after shop hours. You decide how much your personal time is worth. If I have nothing going on that night then sometimes these kinds of jobs can be fun and good money makers.

 

[CanuckSigns]

The older I get, the more cynical I've become, I pretty much ignore any tentative due date given to me by a new client. I've come to realize that for 99% of projects, I am not the one holding up the project, i'm always very clear with my deadlines and I stick to them. This is the way it usually plays out:

Client: I need this in 3 weeks
Me: OK, the timeline is pretty tight, but I can squeeze it in, let me send you a quote, once that is approved I will send you a proof to approve, once that is approved I will need 2 weeks for production
Client: OK sounds good, I'll make sure the proof gets approved right away, it's very simple and I think I have print ready artwork as well
15 revisions and 2 weeks later
Client: OK I think that's good, can we still pick it up next week.

Once you agree to do something in the client's eyes it's now your problem, not theirs, they've offloaded their stress onto you, along with any urgency on their end, they no longer see the need to get back to you in a timely manner or to make clear concise emails with their requests because you said you could do it, anything after you said after yes was completely ignored.

I recently had a project for 25 gemini plaques the client came to me needing them in 4 weeks, we got the job, but in the end it was 9 months later when they actually pulled the trigger and ordered the job lol.

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

Emergency jobs after hours or weekends are a minimum of $2500. Most people will soon figure out if they really have an emergency or not. I have only had one taker and in their case it truly was an emergency. Their sign was hanging on by one bolt ready to fall over a sidewalk of busy foot traffic.

 

[cshook]

I got an email and voicemail last Friday after 4pm asking if I could install decals on a plane that's going to be grounded for one day before flying off to its customer. The plane was just painted and the graphics are being overnighted, with a request to install them tomorrow so the plane can be delivered the following day. I passed on the job.

Would any of you have taken on that job, and with any special conditions or surcharges? What's the craziest or most unrealistic request you've ever gotten, and did you get it done or laugh it away?

We do stuff like this all the time, if it is on a Saturday, emergency job, and I might get have to recreate something......we charge big bucks.

 

[Boudica]

I got an email and voicemail last Friday after 4pm asking if I could install decals on a plane that's going to be grounded for one day before flying off to its customer. The plane was just painted and the graphics are being overnighted, with a request to install them tomorrow so the plane can be delivered the following day. I passed on the job.

Would any of you have taken on that job, and with any special conditions or surcharges? What's the craziest or most unrealistic request you've ever gotten, and did you get it done or laugh it away?

I don't know anything. But I suspect the "end client" has deep pockets, and an expendable income. Charge accordingly and handsomely for your inconvenience.

 

[AKwrapguy]

We did plane graphics once for a bush plane. Simple stripes on the fuselage and wings. Should have been 3 hour 1 person job. Turned into 3 people total 15 hours. It was a canvas skin plane that was re-painted, and done so poorly. We had to re-cut material and the even then had to use knifeless tape for some to get it to look right. Sometimes you just don't know what you're getting into.

 

[Stacey K]

The older I get, the more cynical I've become, I pretty much ignore any tentative due date given to me by a new client. I've come to realize that for 99% of projects, I am not the one holding up the project, i'm always very clear with my deadlines and I stick to them. This is the way it usually plays out:

Client: I need this in 3 weeks
Me: OK, the timeline is pretty tight, but I can squeeze it in, let me send you a quote, once that is approved I will send you a proof to approve, once that is approved I will need 2 weeks for production
Client: OK sounds good, I'll make sure the proof gets approved right away, it's very simple and I think I have print ready artwork as well
15 revisions and 2 weeks later
Client: OK I think that's good, can we still pick it up next week.

Once you agree to do something in the client's eyes it's now your problem, not theirs, they've offloaded their stress onto you, along with any urgency on their end, they no longer see the need to get back to you in a timely manner or to make clear concise emails with their requests because you said you could do it, anything after you said after yes was completely ignored.

I recently had a project for 25 gemini plaques the client came to me needing them in 4 weeks, we got the job, but in the end it was 9 months later when they actually pulled the trigger and ordered the job lol.

Isn't that crazy! I made 3 - 20' signs and 2 indoor acrylic signs for a local company. They were on my A$$ about getting them finished. That was 2 months ago and they still didn't hang them up. The right deadline got me a little stressed out for nothing LOL

 

[petepaz]

we deal with a lot of government jobs, print brokers, event/party planners and just customers who wait till the last minute to do stuff.
first we need to make sure we can actually do the job. (have material, have people to run and install it) then we price accordingly to the situation (do we have time to do this during normal hours, do we need over time, do we have to knock another job down or put on hold and so on) so depending on the situation we may just jack the unit price and or add rush/expedite charges and if the customer needs it as bad as they say they will pay. sometimes they come back with "when can you do it without the rush charge" in which case they were just busting my balls and it's not an emergency but most of the time they just pay whatever it is and we get it done

 

[gnubler]

We did plane graphics once for a bush plane. Simple stripes on the fuselage and wings. Should have been 3 hour 1 person job. Turned into 3 people total 15 hours. It was a canvas skin plane that was re-painted, and done so poorly. We had to re-cut material and the even then had to use knifeless tape for some to get it to look right. Sometimes you just don't know what you're getting into.

This was my main reluctance for this request, also for a bush type of plane. I'm not against taking on rush orders as long as there's a contingency plan in case something goes wrong, this wasn't one of those cases.

Does anyone here routinely do installs using third party graphics? I thought it was generally something to be avoided.