What would you do....?

[brian oliver]

New customer orders a set of magnetic signs for his work truck. He's a neighbor so I drop them off on my way home. We go to see how they'll look on his ride and it turns out his truck is 2017 Ford F350. You know, the one's that are all ALUMINUM. Obviously, the mags won't stick. He wants to know what I'll do about it.

Anyone have a reasonable way to mitigate this issue?

 

[Gino]

Wanna keep a friend..... a friend ?? Just tell him ya can't use them, but you'll take them back. It's only 2 sq ft of magnetic and some vinyl. Not worth ruining a friendship over.

I generally ask a customer who will not bring the vehicle in, to make sure a frig magnet will stick to it. They understand.

 

[Moze]

I would say you're supposed to be the expert, not him. If it were me, I would consider it a lesson learned, eat the cost and cut free vinyl replacements if he wants them.

 

[Solventinkjet]

Unfortunately the first question you should have asked is what type of vehicle is it going on. As stated above, offer a cheap replacement of cut vinyl or something like that and keep a good neighbor relationship going. Maybe he will need something down the line and he will know he can trust you to do the right thing.

 

[d fleming]

Going to run into that more and more. Now you know. Always make sure a magnet will work for it's intended placement. It's a buddy, just eat it and move on.

 

[CanuckSigns]

It depends on how much you want to keep the client, on one hand he should know that magnets don't stick to aluminum, did he tell you the type of truck? I was under the impression that only the F150's were aluminum, I guess not.

Offer to redo it in vinyl, ask if he has any steel work vehicles he could use the magnets on. at the end of the day the $10 in magnetic material isn't worth the potential argument.

 

[HDvinyl]

What business owner can't find a place to stick(or magnetize) some self-promotion?

 

[DerbyCitySignGuy]

Tell him he'll have to buy a new truck.

 

[Billct2]

I'm supposed to know which vehicles have aluminum doors? I guess, but it seems like we are supposed to keep track of a lot of stuff that is constantly changing..."oh, now vinyl won't stick to paint", and "geez that material used to last 5 years or more guess I missed when they reformulated it" Anyhow, I'd suggest he duct tape them to the door like I saw the other day...naw, swap him a couple prints and you can always reuse the mag.

 

[brian oliver]

It depends on how much you want to keep the client, on one hand he should know that magnets don't stick to aluminum, did he tell you the type of truck? I was under the impression that only the F150's were aluminum, I guess not.

Offer to redo it in vinyl, ask if he has any steel work vehicles he could use the magnets on. at the end of the day the $10 in magnetic material isn't worth the potential argument.

It depends on how much you want to keep the client, on one hand he should know that magnets don't stick to aluminum, did he tell you the type of truck? I was under the impression that only the F150's were aluminum, I guess not.

Offer to redo it in vinyl, ask if he has any steel work vehicles he could use the magnets on. at the end of the day the $10 in magnetic material isn't worth the potential argument.

Wanna keep a friend..... a friend ?? Just tell him ya can't use them, but you'll take them back. It's only 2 sq ft of magnetic and some vinyl. Not worth ruining a friendship over.

I generally ask a customer who will not bring the vehicle in, to make sure a frig magnet will stick to it. They understand.

Four square feet but who's counting?

 

[papabud]

yes basically i would shake his hand, let him keep the magnet for what ever he wants, eat the cost of the whole thing. and offer to do some cut vinyl for his door if he buys the beer.

 

[Gino]

4 Square Feet, excuse me..... but you still should just take them back without much hassle.

 

[GAC05]

Have a good laugh with him, offer him something else for his truck and tell him to use the first set on his Corvette.

wayne k
guam usa

 

[brian oliver]

Thanks everyone. Looks like I'll have to bring the salt and pepper with me when I talk to him, 'cause I'm eating them.
Hopefully he'll need much more signage in the future as his business grows.

 

[SkyHighJK]

That's a bummer! Like everyone else said, best to just eat it in this case ............ BUT, there's a solution:

-jk

 

[Johnny Best]

I know that BigFish carries a product called "idot", I think that is the name. It will adhere to the truck and can be removed and then reapplied. I have used it and you can print on it and laminate over. You just cannot use it like the magnets as far as taking off and putting them on the back seat and next time you use them throw them back on the doors. The idot material has to be put on a backing paper and placed somewhere where it won't be damaged by being folded or creased because it is vinyl.
Just saw the bearded guy from Gans put up the video.

 

[SkyHighJK]

I fully, 100% endorse being "the bearded guy from Gans" btw!!

And, to Johnny's point --- he's totally right. Best thing to do would be to grab a bit of XBase, slap that on a foam board, and BOOM you now have a perfect place to keep your iDot door decals between uses!

 

[BigfishDM]

New customer orders a set of magnetic signs for his work truck. He's a neighbor so I drop them off on my way home. We go to see how they'll look on his ride and it turns out his truck is 2017 Ford F350. You know, the one's that are all ALUMINUM. Obviously, the mags won't stick. He wants to know what I'll do about it.

Anyone have a reasonable way to mitigate this issue?

 

[CanuckSigns]

Four square feet but who's counting?

Right, so around $10 like i said, but who's counting.

 

[studio 440]

Office Depot® Brand Jumbo Aluminum Magnets, Silver, 1", Pack Of 8 Item # 387573