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All of you employers who make postings for " Experienced Professionals "
but then only offer helper pay to seasoned journeymen make me sick. Why don't you hire some guy fresh out on parole or some helper to run your jobs for you ? Then you can afford to send them back 4 or 5 times to get a completion because you pay them BULL***T!! Those of you who blame low pay on " current economic conditions " are full of SH*T too, did you forget that your employees make you the money ? Has it been that long since you actually worked for a living that you forgot what it was like before you owned a shop ?
On the other side of the coin, are the owners whom hire the true professionals, for a commensurate wage, to turn their business around, because of a lack of self control by buying all the personal toys and such. Has anyone here seen your promised bonus, for your efforts,drive up in the driveway of your parking lot? And then your released, because they are back at square one. (BROKE) I'd be happy to name names....
I can't express how much I have wanted to post something like this, my hat is off to you,and to all you owners who seam to think you can get by with a 7-8.00 an hour guy with 30+ years under his belt, may you smile as you sink with your ship.After all it is that well seasoned well tought craftsmen of yesteryear that made you so much money you forgot what it was all about to pat a guy on the back and tell him what a great job he has done for you, Instead you take away everything he has worked for and bring in some worthless employee who's only concern is how to get out of doing anywork and still get paid and rewarded for his efferts.The sign buisness has truely gone to the dogs.Woody
They think benifits are the fact that they give you a job is!!! your benifit
I moved here to work for a local company. But in the 30 days that it took to liquidate my co in missouri and move the down turn was in site here. When I went to work I could tell they were behind the eight ball and the $1000.00 Per week wasn't happining for them.I lasted two weeks befor he told me he could hire someone for $8.00 an hour to do the job. So loaded my shit and went lookin! Guess what? Left me with no choice but to open my own again.
So I just warn you that re locating and workin for the other guy I,d just be a little more carefull than I was!!
If you got work in florida look me up
I also agree but the main promblem with the industry today is anyone with the money to buy a plotter and a truck can start a buisness, for example I know a guy who has been in buisness 6yrs straight from being a accountant who thinks hes gods gift to the sign buisnesses and expects you to be grateful for the 7.50 per hr hes willing to pay. also what happen to the days of working out of town and reciving some sort of per deim?? been doing this since 84 and have seen this industry go to the dogs and the wannabes.
Yeah this biz is changin. Any street thug who is willing to work for low wages can now run a channel letter machine and crank them out all day long. I see a real problem with management in this area. No wisdom when it comes to dealing with ppl. They will hire anybody and let them act pretty much anyway they want and totally destroy shop moral. The experienced guys are just scratchin thier heads wondering which shop to work at next.
Alot are gettin out. I am thinking about it myself. I didn't come this far to end up working in a nursery.
One thing is for sure....Custom fabricators and good hangers will be missed.
My uncle really got me into this business years ago. When starting out near Buffalo N.Y. there where no sign jobs to be found. I sent my resume to a few shops in Atlanta in 96, I had job offers to hire me without me even being in the state yet.
But last Nov. I was let go and replaced by the shop formans son with no sign or CNC experience. I have sent out many, many resumes and e-mails. Most of which never got a reply. The couple that did, didn't want to pay anything.
I love crafting signs, and for somebody to work in this field just to get a paycheck. Well it just makes me sad.
I am at my wits end trying to find work." :cry:
Yes, you guys are correct, let me say I got hit for about 20 grand last year, the owner made me not only get my own tax ID number to avoid unemployment, workers comp and having to take and pay taxes on me, But then underpaid me for all the jobs he quoted by 200 to 400 dollars per job. Each time crying and complained he had to pay for gas and hotels, but gets a hotel right next to an airport for 89 to 125 dollars per night. He had me build him a website, he was to stupid to get a twitter so had me build a twitter for him, and had me get him a forum as well and did not pay for any of that either. FYI I had him in the top 3 listings on 15 search engines in less than 3 days to, no pay per click crap either, and now he the 1st in his search, and he is competing with vinyl siding companys, vinyl flooring companies and vinyl tile companies in his search results. He is now and still remains to be number 1 on most of the search engines because of my search engine optimization. He also had no clue about how to work in Photoshop or illustrator but wanted to design so I gave him training on what I knew how to do in photoshop as well. Then the idiot, at the end of the year, while he was on a cruise, or vacationing in St Thomas, I can not remember which one he was doing at that time now, has me searching through his invoices to put pictures in the invoice and send out to a client because 1. he did not know how to import them into the invoice program, and 2. could not import the pics and invoice into photoshop and place them onto the invoice and export that as a jpeg. His client said they were getting the invoice but not the pictures and refused to send payment until pics were received. He needed me to get the check and deposit it for him so he could have more money while he was away. His problem was he failed to give me an invoice number, because he could not remember it. He told me it was ok look thru the invoices and find it for me since you can do all that. low and behold I found a job we did for 63 tractor trailor graphic installations he made $27,860.00 dollars on and paid me $3300.00, and another job we did he made $9760.00 and paid me $750.00. I snapped, and now he won't return my calls, and since he made me set up my own business, that I already had, I went ahead and have been invoicing him for underpayment of those jobs since he paid me less than he quoted, and invoiced him for his website and all that other crap to. He just ignores me and wipes his butt with the invoices. Remember we were just an installation company, no production of the graphics on the jobs listed here.
I am finding out this industry is cut throat and the farther south you go the worse off it seems. I would like to see someone go up to Ohio and try that crap. yea right our yankee arse would stop that with a 2x4 or a bullet I promise you.
And yes the peeps down here seem to not want to pay for perfection, quality or experience, And most of them here havenot even been in business for a year so they want all the info from you they can get for free. But we can not do much, it is either work for nothing and make a crappy paycheck, or go out on your own and struggle for installs or other business.
What can we do?
well then inreponse to our friend from Ohio belive it or not most of the lowballing employers in the south came from up north, And from across the pond as the brits like to call it. Ived lived in the south all my life and have made decent money till the invasion, maybe its time we lobbied like everyone else for more control over the industry that we love , I have always no matter were I have gone Ived always been proud to say to my family that I installed such sign. As a whole we are craftsman and enjoy what we do its not like working in a plant or any other job. Not to mention have other trades are jumping over into out work such as the electricians, we as installers should have our own certifacations then this might slow down some of this mess we are currently in. This should also include the owners, they should have to be qualified thereselfs then they might appreciate us more
This is a true saying:
Pay peanuts and you will get monkies. I have found that the low wage shops have the most stressed out keyed up owners too. Breathing down your neck about every little thing, even flat out yelling on a constant basis. I say let them have thier kids and thier whole package of negative energy.