On the Ropes - Engraving Etc. Forum

From:	Ed (EMANA)	15 Sep 2005
To:	ALL	7 of 13

1959.7

What's an 8 Track? Just kidding.

David,

I think you did the right thing. Whenever I am told about "future work", I always tell them that I would be happy to offer them some sort of discount on that "future work", but right now, do it by the book.

As for the lost work, think of it this way: If you are fair in pricing (which I assume you are) then you could have taken that time to do $1000 worth of work instead of $800 for someone else. Or, you could take that time to find $1000 clients instead of the $800 ones.

A 20% discount for a PITA customer....no way!

PromoCreation, Inc.

How do you PromoCreate? =)

From:	sawdr73	15 Sep 2005
To:	PenTrophy (PENINSULATROPHY)	9 of 13

1959.9 In reply to 1959.8
You missed this one. An 8 track is the railroad crossing about a quarter mile to the north of my place, and a 4 track is the crossing just west of me. We also have a "mono-rail" ( single rail crossing) 100 yards east of me. Any "redneck" from Arkansas can help you if you need further assistance. (devil)

From:	Stunt Engraver (DGL)	15 Sep 2005
To:	ALL	11 of 13

1959.11 In reply to 1959.10
==UPDATE== I knew it would go this way, but I didn't want to count my chickens. I received a call from the "economy-minded" company today, saying they'll go with me at my price. I doubt they did any shopping, but if they had, I'm sure they discovered what I could have easily told them: 1. They couldn't find an engraver willing to take a risk on expensive items. 2. Of those engravers willing to take the risk, they couldn't find one who knew how to hold this item in their machine. 3. They couldn't find an engraver who would have the items back within 3 days. 4. They couldn't find an engraver who would engrave the items for less than my price. Could have been one, or all of the above. One thing they did discover -- I'm not the person to run the grind card on. :-) David "The Stunt Engraver" Lavaneri DGL Engraving Port Hueneme, CA
EDITED: 17 Sep 2005 by DGL

From:	Stunt Engraver (DGL)	15 Sep 2005
To:	Ed (EMANA)	12 of 13

1959.12 In reply to 1959.7
Ed, quote: As for the lost work, think of it this way: If you are fair in pricing (which I assume you are) then you could have taken that time to do $1000 worth of work instead of $800 for someone else. Or, you could take that time to find $1000 clients instead of the $800 ones. There was a time, when I let people grind me so often, and so hard, that I was on the verge of being evicted from my (rented) home. Your suggested mindset, was what I had to employ to work my way off the ropes. This time around, it was easy for me to dismiss this company. I actually have substantial jobs waiting in the wings. It wasn't always that way. When I was struggling, I didn't have those types of jobs on deck. Regardless, my attitude had to become one of confidence and I would bluff as if I were swamped. It became important to advance the notion that I was a skilled craftsman, in high demand, and the quality in workmanship and level of service I offered made my pricing a bargain. Naturally, all that is true, but in the days when I was on the ropes, the only person who didn't believe it was me. David "The Stunt Engraver" Lavaneri DGL Engraving Port Hueneme, CA
EDITED: 17 Sep 2005 by DGL

From:	Cindy (CINDYM)	23 Sep 2005
To:	Stunt Engraver (DGL)	13 of 13

1959.13 In reply to 1959.1

You know there is nothing that will get your back up better and faster than a client "telling" you what you will charge. To me, that is insulting and I'd just as soon not complete the work for them with that attitude. Add in the other state payroll, which to me equals 60-90 day payments, and their price would be higher than $1,000.

Good for you David for standing firm. We need to have some dignity and belief in our work value.

Cindy M