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I was wondering if anyone uses the cost workshop forum on here?...... I don't want to post something in the wrong spot.
After reading about the dentist post, I replied, then I got to wondering what you guys would charge for this project... ballpark. (don't you hate that word....lol)
It's a 30 S/F Double Sided Illum Cabinet with all the Electrical and 6 Individual Digitally Printed Panels. Layout Design. Qty 2: 12 Steel Posts & 2 Man Installation. Customer has electrician.
Just wondering if any of you have any input. Thanks! Still can't believe this old customer (our dentist) after all the work we've done for him... is getting 3 other bids now AFTER he signed our contract. It's fine. I think my price is in the ballpark. I guess this is the name of the game. He's probably so tight after all of his building, etc... Hoping I get this job, can use the cashola but if not, I guess my price was too high.
THANKS!! Have a great weekend! Loving the posts. I'm finally on here and having some time to read.
-------------------- Summit Signs 231 Victoria Rd Venice, Fla 34293 sales@summitsign.com http://www.summitsign.com Design Is The Difference. Posts: 271 | From: Venice, Fla | Registered: Mar 1999
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Wait...he already signed a contract with you for the sign and now he's going out for competitive bids? Doesn't he understand the concept of a contract?!
-------------------- Brian Oliver Paxton Signs Fort Collins, CO paxton@peakpeak.com www.paxtonsignsofcolorado.com Posts: 237 | From: ft. collins, colorado,usa | Registered: Mar 2001
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A local restaurant asked us for a bid after they had already ordered their sign from another company. His reasoning was that he wanted to make sure he wasn't being ripped off.
I asked him how he felt about his customers calling on other restaurants to look at the prices on their menus after they had already put in their order with him. Then he got mad when I told him that since it was going to take me a few hours to put the quote together, he needed to pay my up front first to cover my time spent on a job I know I'm not going to get.
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How do you know, Glennn... His cousin owns the restaurant.
-------------------- Bruce Bowers
DrCAS Custom Lettering and Design Saint Cloud, Minnesota
"Things work out best for the people who make the best of the way things work out." - Art Linkletter Posts: 6451 | From: Saint Cloud, Minnesota | Registered: Jun 1999
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quote:Originally posted by Diane Malesky: Still can't believe this old customer (our dentist) after all the work we've done for him... is getting 3 other bids now AFTER he signed our contract.
I don't see how that even happened. Your customer calls you and tells you to go ahead and build his sign, and doesn't ask a cost, and now he is watching pennies, and wants a breakdown.
So what happens after he gets a bid that is $100 below your cost, and then demands you shave at least $125 off your price? (With a signed contract, no less)...
I wouldn't be comfortable with the Bass Acwards approach...So what happens after you start construction / purchasing materials, and then he shows up with a bid that is lower, and then wants a discount, or he is going elsewhere...
-------------------- Mark Kottwitz Kottwitz Graphics Ridgely, MD www.SeeMySignWork.com -------------------------- Imagination is more important than knowledge. -- Albert Einstein Posts: 746 | From: Ridgely, MD | Registered: Oct 2000
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Exactly!! THANK GOD I didn't trust his signature. He's annyoed us so much in the past, with his rushes and gazillion and 1 changes, etc... He went ahead an had his new logo designed by someone else... and it really does not pertain to dentistry. I should post it. it's 2 faces and looks exactly like the theater logo (2 faces).. good idea but doesn't work from an advertising point - i.e. I think people are going to think it's a theater or acting lessons are offered....
.....He's just a weird dude...getting weirder by the moment. But now he's annoying and really screwing around with pennies.
I'm really looking forward to seeing how this pans out. Good lesson learned here.
Thanks so much for your comments. It really helps. I know we're not crazy....LOL!!
Have a good weekend! Cant wait to get out and plant some trees & work on the new shop landscape. Dirt and nature solve all problems. (ok, that's my corney gardener talking). LOVE Springtime!
-------------------- Summit Signs 231 Victoria Rd Venice, Fla 34293 sales@summitsign.com http://www.summitsign.com Design Is The Difference. Posts: 271 | From: Venice, Fla | Registered: Mar 1999
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I wish I would have named this post differently. Maybe I'll repost it and see what other people would do too.
I didn't get a deposit, because he's been my customer for like 8 years and he's our dentist. I've seen his kids be born, etc... It's nuts. I have a 3" thick file on him.
He still hasn't gotten back to me. It's really going to suck if he doesn't use us. I will learn another lesson the hard way. You just can't get personal with customers.... can't take anything personal and never work for free!! Maybe this is just what I needed.
Also, he's actually a PIA to deal with... many changes, etc.... so maybe it's a blessing in disguise. Maybe he can go bug another shop. Maybe he'll see the light... I dunno.... we'll see! Thanks!
-------------------- Summit Signs 231 Victoria Rd Venice, Fla 34293 sales@summitsign.com http://www.summitsign.com Design Is The Difference. Posts: 271 | From: Venice, Fla | Registered: Mar 1999
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Diane, there is an old Arab proverb: "Live like brothers, but do business like strangers."
Since you didn't get a deposit, odds are he feels like a signed contract means nothing. Unfortunately, its an all to common occurrence. Getting a deposit brings a certain seriousness and finality in the mind of the client.
Several years ago, I had a client who wanted to cancel an order the day after signing the contract and paying the deposit. She canceled because she found someone else to do the job for a few dollars less.
She asked for the deposit to be refunded. I told her "no problem". I would just deduct the cost of the material that had already been ordered.
I thought she was going to explode.
I just kept my mouth shut until she ran out steam and then told her to read the contract. Since the material was already cut-to-order, the supplier wouldn't accept it back. I told her the material was hers and that she could take it to the company that would be doing the job. Naturally, I included all of my time she wasted when I made out the refund check for $5.00.
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