posted
Hi there. How do you politely tell people that have nothing else to do that your shop/office is not a hangout? Personally I'd love to put my foot up their butt but I don't think that'd be proper...
------------------ Marcano-Welch Signs Luquillo, Puerto Rico 787-889-6608
[This message has been edited by Felix Marcano (edited February 14, 2001).]
Posts: 2274 | From: Luquillo, Puerto Rico, USA | Registered: Nov 2000
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posted
Instead of giving them the boot, give 'em a broom (or something)! Say, "HEY! as long as you're here I could use your help! Could you grab the other end of that _____." or "Can you hand me those_______." Would you mind wiping off that ________?"
they will either work while they talk, or get the hint....
B
------------------ Master's Touch Signs & Screenprinting Clinton AR 5017456246 ICQ 17430008 "Imagine the Possibilities..."
Posts: 2500 | From: Clinton, AR USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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I had a problem with a friend of my employee who would drop by and want to hang out. He's basically a rich kid with a bipolar disorder, and collects a disability check. Never held a job (he's in his thirties) and spends all day wandering around with nothing to do, smoking dope, causing problems, usually of the minor vandalism sort. His father's a big-time local attorney, and uses his juice to keep "Sonny" out of trouble, while Mommy makes sure he's never out of money. All and all, he's not a bad guy, mostly just an annoying pain in the *ss. Just running him off was a risk, because he's the sort who, when provoked, could cause a lot of problems; including vandalism and so forth, that would be hard to prove unless caught in the act. After telling my employee - several times - to make it known that he was not welcome around the shop, I finally told him I would dock his pay a half-hour every time "Sonny" came around. That seems to be working so far.
------------------ "A wise man concerns himself with the truth, not with what people believe." - Aristotle
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. - Raoul Duke (Hunter S. Thompson)
Cam Finest Kind Signs 256 S. Broad St. Pawcatuck, Ct. 06379 "Award winning Signs since 1988"
Posts: 3051 | From: Pawcatuck,Connecticut USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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Tell them if they aren't bringing you money or making you money, they need to respect your ability to do that for yourself. Tell them you're in the red, compared to what you'd projected and you need to stop farting around and buckle down to serious work. That means no visitors or distractions.
Tell them, with them being there, you're running through your supplies faster than usual...send him to the store for coffee, toilet paper, whatever they use, and tell them to chip in and "buy this round."
Put a sign by the coffe maker, with a ridiculous per cup charge!
Clean your gun when they arrive and go on and on about how clumsy you are...hehehe!
(that last one is for laughs only!)
------------------ Linda Silver Eagle Silver Eagle Graphix Studio Georgia, USA
ICQ# 60434646
Signwriters never die...they've always got 1-Shot left!
posted
Ahhh... the joys of bein home based and having a neurotic hyperactive over protective dog.. =) I dont have to deal with people like that, they dont hang around my house too long cause the dog scares them with the way her hair stands up along her back and.. oh, those BIG teeth! When she starts chasin her tail spontaneously for no reason, they run.
------------------ Mike Pipes -----trapped in a box with a computer and a slice of cheese-----
Posts: 145 | From: Lake Havasu City, AZ | Registered: Dec 2000
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Why not just be honest? My shop is at home, so friends often drop by on thier day off. Most of the time I'm too busy to stop what I'm doing. I just tell them the truth. Thanks for thinking of me, great to see you, but unfortunatly I have a full schedule and really need to keep on going today. They usually smile and say "Sure, no prob, I'll catch later!".
Other times, I may be slow and welcome their company for a visit. As long as your honest there should be no reason for bad feelings on either side.
------------------ Brenda Beaupit Classic Graphics Kemptville, Ont CANADA
Posts: 346 | From: Stittsville, ON | Registered: Dec 1998
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Thank you all guys, I feel much better now. I think I'm gonna go with Brenda's response, since I'm the "almost really honest" type of guy. (almost!) Plus you sound like my good friend Laurie & she always tries to point my wife & I in the right direction. Oh by the way, check out her site http://www.paradisestore.com
------------------ Marcano-Welch Signs Luquillo, Puerto Rico 787-889-6608
Posts: 2274 | From: Luquillo, Puerto Rico, USA | Registered: Nov 2000
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We have a great way to fix this. We are a family operation and we have a big room where my kids all hang out during the day. We have two still in diapers. If we dont want you to hang out we just hand you a kid. The little ones love the attention and we get a free babysitter. This way you ether help out or leave.
------------------ Robert Davis Sticky Sam's Signs (828)488-1715 mttropic@dnet.net The Great Smoky Mountains Bryson City, N.C.
Posts: 133 | From: Bryson City, N.C. US | Registered: Jul 2000
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Felix Your friend has a great website! I love tropical exotic flowers...she must do well in her business. What do you mean "almost" honest..hahaha
------------------ Brenda Beaupit Classic Graphics Kemptville, Ont CANADA
Posts: 346 | From: Stittsville, ON | Registered: Dec 1998
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We've had the same problem at our shop over the last couple of years and have had limited success with blowing them off without hurting feelings, but our latest cure has worked without fail since we implented it last month. When our usual "visitors" drop by to waste our time, we simply tell them to put there hands above their head... and ZAP THEM WITH A STUN GUN! At first we felt bad, but after the annoying smoke clears and the visitors stumble to the door in pain, shock and disbelief, it's over... there gone and won't be coming back any time soon.
Good luck and I hope this may help out a bit.
------------------ Kurt Gaber Signguy7 33 East Willow St. Chippewa Falls, WI 54729 Supporter of the Letterheads Website
Posts: 315 | From: Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin USA | Registered: Dec 1998
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posted
This one is too simple... Just ask the person to loan you some cash! "Can I trouble you for a twenty dollar bill?" or how about: "Do you have a few bucks. I seem to have run off withour any cash today." or: "Hey, who is on the ten dollar bill?" They pull one out to show you and you put it your pocket and smile.
Now for the opposite type who hangs around with no money...Loan him some! You will never see him again!
------------------ Preston McCall 2516 W 63rd St. Mission Hills, Kansas 66208 913-262-3443 office 816-289-7112 cell
Posts: 1554 | From: Santa Fe, New Mexico | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
This is exactly one of the reasons that I have been considering becoming home based. The area that my shop is in is where I have lived all my life. I have 2-3 people come by my shop to shoot the breeze everyday. Most of the regulars will stop only if my truck is there. On very busy days my wife drives the truck. She does alot of the running for us so that helps keep them away.
I don't like to be mean to people because that's what we have built our business on is being friendly to all people.
We have one guy that started out as a customer, he's a developer, now he had been coming in every other day to let us know what's going on in the community. But he only came by when his boots were as muddy as he can get them and walked all through the show room area, not giving a crap about the mud. A couple of weeks ago he came in muddy and I gave him a mop and he hasn't been back since. He did actually clean up the mud on the floor before he left.
I figured if I was home based this wouldn't happen as much. Maybe I can go bug the crap out of them at their place then!
------------------ Eddie Kitchens Signs, Etc / Pro Comp Motorsports Grafix Atoka, TN EKitchens@aol.com
Posts: 30 | From: Drummonds, TN, USA | Registered: Jan 2001
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Geez Eddie why would you want them at home?...lol
I just walk to the front door when I think their visit should be over...rarely do I say anything, they just seem to float out the door (never knowing what happened to them)I've gotten so good at it that when they leave, the wife applaudes and scores me between 1 and 10...it's actually become an art form as well as "shop joke" (lol... ya head to be there)pun intended.
"Werks fer me,it'll werk fer you"
------------------ Monte Jumper SIGNLanguage/Norman.Okla.
posted
My shop and customer lounge is separated by a locked door my wife runs the office which has a door that the top half is all that opens to the lounge with a desk in behind the door so there's no way to get in my shop or around my wife. She politely tells friends I'm busy but I don't have a problem with to many stopping by because I implemented this policy from the beginning, almost 15 years ago. I know friends don't mean it this way but I think people who drop by often is disrespecting to my business, I'm very busy and don't have time to shoot the bull. If they worked at Sears or Walmart what would they say or their boss if I dropped by to spend the day with them or just to bulls--t.Well my business is just as important as Sears Or Walmart to me anyway but people who have never been self employed wouldn't know they think if your self employed this means you can screw off all day and you don't have a real job anyway. Tell me you've never heard that in one form or another???
------------------ Alan,Ladd Atlanta,Georgia
[This message has been edited by Alan Ladd (edited February 17, 2001).]
posted
I sometimes get a kid or two (teens) come seeing, out of curiosity what kind of work I do. Before entering the shop, they have a sense judging by my sign on the building that I'm into some kind of art. Those that do enter are already interested in art or have an art class. I can pretty much discern rotten apples from a bunch, being that I grew up as a young man in a community of the sort. Anyway, what I've dicovered is that these kids are in the stage of developing their lives where they are sort of 'feeling the grounds' of things that may be of interest or advantageous to thier desires of developing in what they may somewhat want to be. I personally would'nt descourage that process of human development. After all, how did you all come into your line of work? I would think it started with a desire of the heart along with a bit of mentoring. Then in the process of time we eventually make an intelligent decision whether or not this is what we would like to do in life. Now I understand the 'money is time' element here and am not condoning we take in anybody walking in that front door. But I am incouraging a change of our mentality that would see the possibility of young people today having a hidden potential of becoming or transpire into being the finest generation sign artists of tomorrow. It would seem that way due to their own creative juices that knows what would be appealing in the artistic sense, what a coming future world find impressive even in a sign. Personally, I believe that our trade or the quality of it should be looked at in the sense that it's survival is dictated by the process of education through mentoring, encouragement and outright productive human relationships. Society is built on stuff of this nature. This perspective builds not only a productive group of future generations, but also just as or more importantly gives these people a sense of worth of which the world is somewhat void of these days. Remember when Gerber was the only market that would sell their computerized sign making equipment? It was "proprietary", meaning that their machines were designed to where it would not work with any other software or cutters/printers. That concept of doing business is not happening anymore and is due to increase market sales through having a product that is generic in user sense. Now Gerber calls it, "open archetecture", meaning for example, by having a fastboard installed to a cutter (say Gerber 5b), you can now use any generic p.c. in the market for dollars less! It was said that Gerber did lot better holding the market cause there were a lot of sign shops having to deal with their existing plotters and some software that was now compatible with Gerber. My point here, is that we should not hold on to the mentality that sign making is proprietary. We need to be willing to 'open up' our trade or our minds, to allow the continuity of fresh creative enginuity to flourish into maintaining it's existance into the 21st century and there of. Or in lay-man's terms......passing the baton to keep it running. Remember now, these kids are very much technology oriented than we were and will find thier creative juices make that transition into the art world (signs in this case) much more smoothly to say the least. For us, the introduction to computers made sign production faster and easier. To this generation however, computers or the medium to express their artistic abilites is secondary compared to their desire to simply being creative. A recent poll (1995), shows teens are more concern about being productive and making money than they are finding a way of getting high like in maybe was the sort with some of us. What we do see in the media (news) is just a small percentage of drug usage among the young. And even with this group, which is the minority in the sense of per ratio drug use, is due to the fact of them having this sense of feelings of 'who cares about me' and 'i'm not worth anything to anybody' mentality. Yes it is truth, that a mind is a terrible thing to waste especially if it's hidden desires are to be creative and productive. Let's not allow drugs to be the mentors but rather a sign shop that is willing to take a 'little time' in at least saying.....you're worth a whole lot as a person and as a potential creative contributor to society. Society in my mind, is unawared of losing it's ferverance to appreciate a generation who got lost in a society that has made itself out to being proprietary. And that, I might add, is applied not just in the pro-agressive business world, but unfortunatly in the homes of america and abroad.
------------------ de signs
Posts: 84 | From: Kaneohe, Hawaii | Registered: Dec 2000
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posted
Maybee you're not reading them right. Some folks are just bashfull with needing a job,so always begin a request with"Gee, we're kind of busy", could you....grease the shop truck...or send them on an errand 2 or 3 towns away, like pick up my laundry for me and then......realize that these people may know potential customers, so be genuine in your attitude. After a while the freaquency of visitations will decrease, or you will have a new helper.
------------------ Creative communication since 1959
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