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I guess that my concern is the upkeep. The current decals are easy maintenance and the only inconsistency I had was from corporate changing the fonts, etc.
My experience in life has been that the higher cost expendable items usually have a higher maintenance /replacement cost associated with them as well.
As with the lettering, once the vinyl has been compromised, watch out. It will begin to deteriorate and look terrible.
I hope you are right bag.
I would like to know how we clean bug juice and bodies off the vinyl on the front quarter panels, withour ruining the vinyl and having to replace is and pay for another panel and installation?
Also, how do we repair the back panels if they get damaged by whatever? With the old logo repair / lettering repair/replacement of a letter was very simple by the local sign lady…no problem at all.
He visited our RCA, Videodisc plant in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1983 I believe. I was the environmental, Health & Safety Manager working for the Director of Human Resources.
I was no more than 15 feet from him when he entered the facility and was a minor part of the tour.
Preliminary work for this man was awesome…Dr. Brandinger, VP Video Disc Operations, was a blithering genius and respected this visitor very much. Every Japanese in the world at that time had a camera when they travelled. They were all confiscated from the entourage when enteing the plant…but this guy was known to have a PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMORY!! They showed him only part of the process, the stuff they knew he could not do anything with. They asked to see more, knowing they were not seeing the entire operation.
Without cameras and a very scripted tour, it was short and the State Department was ticked. He had almost refused to enter the facility with no cameras being allowed.
He was indeed a very smart and wise man and widely respected. I personally think he respected Dr Brandinger even more…in some respects.
Probably when, not if, one of our brand new $1200 logo gets damaged by whatever…key, bushes, small to nothing ding, road stones, etc tear the vinyl, what do we do? Touch up paint, go to Sign A Rama or other sign place and attempt a fix, and then what happens if it becomes a disaster and looks like the devil?
The old logo was easily repairable for a few bucks. Heck I nearly replaced 50% of the new logo package because it was so different from the 3 year old one from corporate.
The new logo could be replaced under comprehensive insurance..but how many times are they going to shell out $600-$1700 for vinyl? Without raising rates?
Any ding at all is going to potentially pose a problem, maybe a big problem. Any suggestions? Are the panels sold separately?
Ans sorry Adam, I had contacted SAR before you had said anything as well.
Now I am befuddled. Patches on the sleeve and on the chest will look dumb to me and I would personally feel like an auto mechanic or tire changing technician…not a professional wearing it.
However, there will be no patch on the sleeve of the long-sleeved shirts? This is a step in the right direction to looking more professional.
Are the long sleeved shirts in blue or white or both?
I specifically asked Cody why a patch on the sleeve when we already had it on the chest (over the pocket where it would be obscured by anything sticking out of the pocket like the pen with the channel) and Cody replied so someone could see it from the side. I assumed that meant long-sleeved shirts as well. Also, both sleeves.
Is there a patch on both short sleeves then? Though many of us are on the right..many os us are on the left as well…hehe
Are the shirts permanent press?
I have been wearing blue, short sleeved dress shirts from Land’s End with the logo on the right chest area so as to be visible to anyone. Able to be worn in any company at all…Chamber meetings, 1 million dollar homes or in trailers or diners or very expensive restaurants, or on the floor cleaning a corner..anyplace and anywhere. Fully, multi-functional.
The appearance of this shirt, to me, in a Chamber meeting would be embarassing(sp), or giving a presentation to a group or coming to the door of a million dollar home. To anyone looking at me from anyplace Iwould look not like the professional, but rather the non-owner, hourly employee.
Do owners of successful franchises look like the auto technician or hourly worker who does the work? On one side of this coin we are supposed to upgrade our image (I thought mine was ok to begin with) and then on the other side drop our image to that of the level of an hourly worker.
Patches on the arm are an hourly worker work shirt, not the manager/owner/professional salaried work shirt.
I have had many positive comments on the appearance of my son and me, in that we look ver professional. Some are shocked by our look, “giving us the eye from top to bottom” smiling and then saying something like “you don’t look like carpet cleaners”. I would bet they had patches on their shirt sleeves. Sorry Cody…I do not understand the logic of this new look.
I guess I had better get used to long sleeves again…and yes, I wore them in August in San Antonio, Texas and then for 4 more months and in Southeast Asia for a year.
We have 2 Ford E-150s, one is ok with no windows on the passenger side doors, however the other does. I spoke with the local Sign-a-Rama guru and he said they can cover glass ok and it will last if it is perforated. Like the ads on glass with comercial buses. He said it is a special package for glass and then it can be seen through from the inside for safety purposes.
To replace the door is supposed like $500. I also asked about how forgiving the vinyl is with respect and he said rather forgiving from small dings and minor dents.
Of course, my main problem is the fact that the van is three years old and if the wrap will last 7 years…will the van last that long? And how about future mishaps with the wrap, ie: scratches, scraping by individuals by accident or on purpose, dings and dents and the damage to the vinyl and the resultant dapamge of carwashes to the damaged area(s)…claim on my insurance and see my premiums go up, Replace for $600/side (I hope), meaning I hope I would not have to purchase an entire package if only one side is damaged.
Personally, I would have hoped we could have had a van logo package easily installed by any one and kept the consistency within corporate hands…only consistent.
Buy a new van or wrap and hope?
Decision time in Lancaster, PA
ditto to Daves remarks…
Also, being originally from Indianapolis, I can tell you all this. McDonald’s would try out many different sandwiches over the years in Illinois and Indiana to test market them before going to the coasts and elsewhere. Many failed never to be heard from again!
McDonalds’s, never, ever to my knowledge ever would enter a new item to the menu without first test marketing it. And they never ever changed the golden arches since the beginning.
I like to clean carpet, upholstery and wood floors (in good repair). tile is not as satisfying at all and very frustrating and messy.
Ron,
The term taking “baby steps” comes to my mind. Giant leaps tend to be very risky and dangerous, yet if done delibeately, in a calculated manner very rewarding.
We can enjoy the ride though…hopefully.
Jeff…one more thing you commented on that does make sense…consistency.
It is apparent that over the years, the operators have different equipment and appearance due to changes from the home office as well. Our second van had totally different fonts and size lettering from the van package of 3 years ago…I paid to have it look like the original, 3 year old van, due to the two of them being parked at our home and larger jobs in nice neighborhoods….it would have looked absolutely dumb to have 2 vans from the same company with 2 different displays.
We took the initiative to change it to look like the other.
Consistency is important and this van logo change will make that happen.
I thought that carpet repairing lay more in the carpet installation area.
Jeff..I think they got the point.
I, on the other hand am wondering when the training was for dying a carpet, steretching a carpet and hole repairs in carpet was given in Rexburg?
Not to mention restoration and cleaning of carpeting from backed up sewers, etc.?
Does anyone remember the word “liability”.
On the HB website however, Cody does have the carpet & upholstery cleaning, tile & grout cleaning and wood floor cleaning and polishing called out as offered services. Do all franchisees offer each of these? We do, however, I doubt all do.
It might be appropriate to add in the website that perhaps not all franchisees offer all of the listed services…unless that is changing as well.
Jeff, by the way…the country is regionalized. What sells well in Texas may be a near dud in Pennsylvania…and vice versa. Shoo-fly pie might not go over so well in San Diego, but in Lancaster County it is a staple.
Will any of the shirs be for women. My wife, the owner of the franchise, cannot wear men’s shirts so well due to the cut being very uncomfortable.
She would like to see women’s shirts made available or alternatively have an account with something like Land’s End where we can order shirts with logos attached per HB instructions and that way, returns are no problem, sizing is standard and uniform for men and women and consistency is guaranteed absolute.
Both…I am from Indianapolis and was in the Pits and garages..the drivers had patches up and down their sleeves, chest, back and legs…the more prominent placement of patches, the supplier paid for.
Right….83% humidity today in Bryan exas is pretty high. Sweating cools the body, we are supposed to sweat in hot weather. Facts: in hot, sunny weather, one should wear a hat to protect the head and face from the sun…also should wear clothing to protect from too much cancer causing sun. Should drink plenty of water in order to keep body temp down and prevent dehydration. God made our bodies to sweat in order to control our core temperature.
I have been wearing an osford shirt with logo for several years now on jobs in all kinds of heat and it has posed zero problem. It looks professional and I feel professional. No logo on sleeve though..then I promise I would feel and look like an auto technician.
I think the problem boils down to this..many people just like like to wear t-shirts and that is their right…however, if they were a stockbroker, I can guarantee you that they would not wear t-shirts to work, regardless of what they like to wear. They would most likely wear the required uniform of tie, suit, shirt etc…that is their uniform.
Cody is attempting to upgrade our image to the public. Even driving around and eating, etc we are being observed and seen by potential customers.
However, wearing a silly patch on my sleeve is NOT professional looking, unless you consider the look we are trying to achieve is that of the auto technician….even they only have a patch over the pocket.
Well, we got our 5th buffer delivered, problems with the sticking button on a few machines and then a rhythmic noise in the machine when it was working, with a load. Nobles was good to replace due to related problems.
Something about a squeaky wheel comes to mind…in any event Big John and their supplier worked well to solve or problem, withno major glitches.
Only one issue left which they will not resolve, since I am not going to complain. the plastic buffer driver pad they provide free is worthless. Take the red brristle pad any day over it. Have it as a spare if required.
