Steps For Stellar Customer Service and More Sign Tips

“Leadership is a choice one makes.” — DOLORES HUERTA

COMMUNICATION Modern Talking

1 Signarama Brighton (Brighton, CO) has implemented smaller, short “huddles” in place of full staff meetings following the Signarama World Expo in July. “Workflow and output have increased with [fewer] meetings. Fab/production/install getting more done,” says owner Dawn Homa. Across the country, Cody McElroy and Commercial Signs (Houma, LA) frequently talk with other signshops to see how they approach installs and fabrication. “We also do a lot of follow-ups with emails and phone calls,” McElroy adds.

FABRICATION Jig Puzzle

2 During a job that required hanging multiple irregularly shaped pan-faced signs, Caleb Miller and Signarama Sugar Land (Stafford, TX) made a jig from coroplast that was sturdy enough to be reused, and which also had perfect placement for the multiple brackets at varying heights. “This significantly cut down the time on site and even improved the installation team’s attitude, all while making the install very profitable!” Miller remarks.

SOFTWARE For Hard Solutions

3 Kelley Cambell of Specialty Graphic Solutions (Vancouver, WA) finds Topaz Labs to be a great tool for projects where the customers provide low-quality or low-resolution art elements. Meanwhile, Dennis Schaub of FastTrack Signs (Bellefontaine, OH) uses pricing software to look back at the shop’s records from a year ago and to follow up with customers from that period for future needs.

CUSTOMERS Spirit of Service

4 Paul Williamson and Art Sign Works (Murrieta, CA) strive to maintain stellar customer service. They create up to five iterative proofs, and provide in-process as well as final photos for customers to review. “If they want the colors changed, we do it free,” Williamson says. If a customer approves a proof containing an error the shop should have caught, such as a misspelled word, they split the cost 50/50 to remake the sign. They also help track shipping, take small and rush orders, and give prompt quotes to every inquiry.

PROJECTS Plan Ahead

5 Matt Robinson, Eastern Sign Tech (Burlington, NJ) recommends creating a preventative maintenance and service agreement to accompany your proposals, which would allow the project to generate income after installation while maintaining client investment for years to come. “Who wants their label on a neglected product anyway?” Robinson says.

GOAL SETTING Always Be Adjusting

6 There’s a concept in aviation called the 1-in-60 Rule. It says that a one-degree error in navigation will cause a plane to miss its target by one mile for every 60 miles flown. Small miss now, large miss later. The rule highlights the need for real-time course correction and adjustment, whether you’re a pilot or a business owner, says Jeff Haden in a recent INC.com column. It’s useful to adjust every quarter or so. For example, if your monthly sales target is $40,000 and you find you are on average $2,000 short (5% deviation), analysis would quickly show this shortfall could lead to a significant miss of your annual target. Then, just as a pilot makes small heading adjustments to correct their course, a sign business owner could make small, strategic changes to their shop. This could involve refining marketing strategy, adjusting pricing or any number of things. The key is to be able to make small adjustments before you find yourself in a place you don’t want to be.

Tip Briefs

• Diversify to other trades for downtimes. Framing, window tinting, window cleaning, maintenance, painting… You have the same equipment; use it. — Myke Baugh, Roughrider Signs & Designs, Jamestown, ND
• We have a lot of clients use our services specifically because they want to be highlighted in our social media. We have over 20,000 followers on our Instagram account. It is a great marketing tool. — Jim Sutterfield, Signs Plus Inc., Bellingham, WA
• Call or email back ASAP. It makes us all feel important. — Cindy Gillihan, Gilly’s Super Signs, Placerville, CA
• Use AI to help write potentially lengthy contracts. — Jeremy Vanderkraats, Signs by Van, Salinas, CA
• Don’t sleep on AI. There are a ton of new options for sign companies including a virtual site survey where the customer can see the sign on location. — Torey Rouillon, National Branding, Troy, MI