How important is communication in signage

The Importance of Communication in Signage

At first glance, it may seem contradictory to discuss communication in relation to signage since signs are inherently designed to communicate messages — albeit silently. However, the real value of communication often emerges during the process of developing signage that effectively conveys its intended message and achieves desired outcomes.

Key Events Highlighting the Need for Communication

Two recent experiences at SignForce underscore the critical role of communication in signage creation.

1. Color Accuracy Challenge
In one instance, SignForce mixed paint based on a client’s specified color. However, discrepancies arose when comparing the color on (1) the computer monitor, (2) the provided swatch, and (3) the actual paint. The monitor displayed what appeared to be black, while the swatch seemed a dark off-green, and the paint looked distinctly green.

Effective communication with our client — located outside South Africa — prevented a potential installation disaster. By communicating and clarifying these differences before proceeding, we avoided unnecessary costs and ensured the client was satisfied with a correctly colored sign installed on time.

2. Banner Design Enhancement
In another case, SignForce was tasked with printing a banner. Upon receiving the initial artwork, we felt it did not optimally serve the client’s goals. Through a series of discussions (communication) with the client, the design was refined, resulting in updated artwork that was more likely to capture attention and act as the intended, effective silent salesperson.

The Subtle Nature of Sign Communication

While signage communicates messages, it often does so subtly. For instance, a dirty or damaged sign can send a negative message that detracts from your brand’s image. The impact of these subtle cues can be profound, affecting customer perception and engagement.

Partner with SignForce for Effective Signage

If you’re seeking signage that truly works and delivers your desired outcomes, look no further than SignForce. We prioritize clear communication throughout the design and production process, ensuring your signs communicate effectively.

Contact Us:
Email: info@signforce.co.za
Phone: +27 (0)11 440 7525
WhatsApp: +27 (0)82 558 6413

Learn More:
Visit us at SignForce for all your signage needs. Let us help you create impactful signs that resonate with your audience!

The Power of Emotions

Power of Emotions

Not too long ago I was approached by a man in a store who was looking for some assistance. We had a brief chat where he mentioned he was a businessman from the DRC and here in South Africa for one more day. He mentioned he was looking for businesses in South Africa to partner with.

We had a good chat. He gave a brief outline of his business and asked if it was something I would be interested in. He said he would get hold of me when he was back in the DRC so I gave him my number.

True to his word he contacted me 2 weeks later and told me more about what e was looking for.

During the discussion’s he mentioned how much money I can make by partnering with him. [This is a standard sales technique, so not much interesting there, but money is very often an emotional trigger].

I am a firm believer in karma and serendipity, and am also have enough gray hair to always question “why me” as well as “what’s in it for me”? I am also a bit of a sceptic, so I also keep asking myself if there is a catch, where is it?

Certain things didn’t make sense to me, but I was not invested and played along in order to find out if there was a catch, where the catch is or would be. The man outlined what he required and the process. He said he would do certain things, and he did them on time and kept me informed.

The short version is a member of the man’s business would be coming to South Africa and he would appreciate it if I could collect the man and take him to his destination, all simple enough, and apart from some time (which I was prepared to invest as I was having fun), very little cost to me that I could see.

When I met the man I was advised he had been on the road for a while so I took him to lunch where we had a pleasant chat. I was then contacted by his ‘buyer’ and told what time we could meet.

Now it is important to add that at this time while I am still wondering why me, is there a catch and if so what is it, I have dealt with a total of five different individuals, with the main person always as close as a call away. They did mention that they would pay for my time and fuel and reimburse me for any expenses as the man needed some work clothing and a few other things which were in my line of business.

Everything seemed to be running smoothly from my outsiders perspective, remember I was simply acting as a driver for a business man needing some assistance. I am a frim believer that if something is too easy, there needs to be a catch, and somewhere there is a problem. Not sure if I am a realist or a sceptic?

We eventually get access to a VERY secure building where the deal is meant to take pace. The building is definitely appropriate for the type of business, yet also not the most secure building I have ever worked in.

I go with the man to his buyer where the product (some mineral) will be tested and purchased with bank transfer’s taking place. I get asked if it is possible for them to transfer the money into my account because there was an issue with the sellers account. This was the first red flag I saw. I asked which bank they bank at and was told it didn’t matter as they would do an instant payment from their bank. They did mention I could take a handlers fee for them using my bank account. This was a bit of an orange flag as I figured if the money is in my account they are more at risk than me.

Then the fun began. The buyer wanted to ‘test’ the quality of the product. Here is where there were only red flags, possible because of my specific set of skills and experience, but the most important thing was the EMOTIONS they were eliciting.

Everything they did was to (a) make me feel comfortable and at ease, (b) entrench the legitimacy of the business and (c) elicit emotions, especially because they were talking about a LOT of money and how much I could have for assisting.

I was observing and making notes (in my head) that (1) they asked the seller the weight and never weighed the minerals. {In my experience when I was the seller of minerals the first thing the buyer did was WEIGH what I had and then give me a copy of the weight so there was no disputing later. I don’t care how many times you deal with a buyer, in the mineral market, where payment is per weight, you weigh the product !!!!

While the ‘specialist’ was ‘testing’ the product (which I found quite amusing as he opened the sealed package (not vacuum packed but sealed with packing tape) he took out a scissors and a magnifying glass and declared the grade to be excellent. At this point the ‘buyer’ handed me a piece of paper with the supposed value of the mineral – it was in excess of R11,000,000. A very large number, definitely large enough for the bank to flag the transaction and certainly large enough to make almost anyone feel some emotion.

The ‘specialist’ declared he had one more test to do and would like us (the seller and me the observer) to accompany him while he placed the mineral sample into his x-ray (I cannot remember the name he used) device to ensure he was correct about the grade.

I suppose this is a good time to mention I am a talker. I love talking! That said, I like to think my mama raised no fool, so I also know when to keep my cake hole SHUT. This was one of those times, as the mineral was placed ‘inside’ the computer – what I witnessed was the specialist placing the sample BEHIND the computer box and turning the computer on.

He explained that the computer would analyze the material and as long as the grade was below 53 on the LED screen on the box, they would be happy to release the payment.

It is important to mention here what I saw was a desk top computer box wrapped in aluminium foil. The box had it’s own LED screen about the size of a small cell phone and a red and green light. The lights flashed and the LED screen flashed numbers until it settled on 52, which is below 53.

We were then asked to go back to the other office so the transfer could take place. The specialist told the buyer that it was all good. The buyer then asked for the certificate of origin, which the seller said he did not have. He said he could get it as it was with t he transport that brought him into the country.

This is where the real FUN began. I asked the seller why he didn’t bring the document with him. He said he ran into a snag at the border as he did not have sufficient funds to pay the import duty, so the driver of the transport paid the import duty and he kept the paper as security in order to ensure he was refunded for his payment and assistance.

The import duty was US$3,500 (about ZAR 63,000). Here is where the con lay.

I was asked to please assist – remember as far as I was concerned I was there as a driver for someone I did not know and the only identification I have of him is his cellphone number. I asked why the driver could not simply bring the document to the office where we were so the payment could be released and he could get his money. I was told it was his boss that would not allow him to come as his boss was UPSET he had helped the seller.

Long story short I let them know this was there issue, so I took the seller and his goods back to where I found him, and I left to carry on with my day, and left them to con someone else.

The reason I am relaying the story is because of the POWER OF EMOTONS. These cons were superb at playing on emotions, asking for assistance, promising to pay, tempting with HUGE sums of money, explaining how this was important for their families, SO MANY EMOTIONAL STORIES.

In sales we are taught that EMOTION SELLS and people justify on logic. This is so true, as when the correct trigger or emotion is activated, even intelligent people will often throw logic out the window, sadly, too often with dire consequences.

My personal red flag for a scam comes from being caught. So when I feel something is too easy, not my issue, too exciting, elicits emotion, too coincidental and any combination of these, I tend to be a LOT more aware than I may usually be.

I was advised that I was still mad to go along as long as I did and meet with t he people alone as they may have been armed, and that is true. I did take a chance and while I did assess the situation each step of the way, it did carry risks, even though there were people who knew where I was.

The whole story is to try explain the emotions. I cannot express how well these people work. They are professionals and their business is to help you part from your hard earned money. They are ruthless and are expert manipulators, using every trick I am aware of from the psychology of selling.

I am fortunate that among my experiences, on the 4th of September 2015 I had what I now refer to as my lifeaversary. With my accident something in me changed. Remember I have mentioned how much a person’s emotions impact your body. In my case, after my accident I cannot get overly excited – that is a positive and a negative. Whether I get too excited because I am beyond happy or I get mad because something has happened, either way my body responds in the same way – I begin to shake uncontrollably. The emotion is not relevant, it is the intensity of the emotion that triggers my body.

I am very aware that many, if noit most people, do not have such a refined warning mechanism, but I also know that most people do have some warning mechanism – whether it is to keep what they are doing a secret or that funny feeling in their gut – that tells them something is amiss.

When your warning system starts talking, PLEASE BE AWARE.

This post has nothing to do with signage – unless one is referring to the signs and signals one’s body is giving off, but is more of a public service to remind people that their emotions are their friends, especially in situations which could have a negative impact on life.

If you want to deal with a signage business that is made up of people that care, contact SignForce now on info@signforce.co.za or call +27 (0)11 440 7525 or WhatsApp +27 (0)82 558 6413

Find out more about SignForce at http://www.signforce.co.za

The value of Experience

Site Plan for Signage

Site plans – for signage projects

At roughly 13H00 on the 4th of September 2015 after cycling down a rutted sand ‘road’ (think wide track) at 70km per hour and passing a cow so close I could have patted her without either of us (me or the cow) having to move more than a few centimeters (read that as inches if you are not on the Metric system) I told my I told my cycling partner that doing what we do either makes us ballsy or stupid or both – what we do being unaccompanied long distance cycling – as things that should logically ‘scare’ us, no longer do.

It is possible the same could be said about work.

When you have been doing a specific type of work for long enough – this writer has been in the signage industry for more than a quarter of a century – there are very few NEW challenges that have not yet been seen. More common are variances of challenges, some of which provide very interesting challenges.

An example of such a challenge was when SignForce manufactured a sample sign for Adago restaurants. The sample was 600 mm in diameter and was SPECTACULAR. So much so that the company decided that wanted the same type of sign as the main sign for that flagship store. It was quite simple. Double the diameter and off you go. Well that is the theory anyway!

In reality the 1,200 mm diameter sign is FOUR TIMES larger than a 600 mm diameter sign – who saw that coming? – and the simple elements that worked extremely well on the 600 mm sign were not as happy or attractive on the sign that was four times larger – the larger sign did not allow for simple expansion because among the issues the open spaces became too large to allow for the same wiring (did I mention this sign was internally illuminated) as the smaller sample as the wiring and lights became visible. This was a wonderful challenge to overcome.

The point of my writing is that experience counts. Especially when the experience has RELEVANCE TO WHAT ONE IS WORKING ON.

If for some reason you follow the SignForce blog you may have noticed that more than once I have referred to SIGNAGE being a SIMPLE INDUSTRY – that is until it IS NOT.

Most folk see signage as shop signs (simple) or billboards (large and not necessarily simple but only engineers and government workers give the structure or location any thought) or street signs (simple and the same as billboards, but signage often includes things we see that assist us to get where we want to be but we really do not pay attention to – such as door numbers, toilet signs, fire signs and other similar statutory or directional signs.

The plan shown with this blog is a sample of simple signage being less than simple, not because of the signs themselves, but more because of the allocated time and the necessary planning to get the approximately 2,000 meters of vinyl cut and applied correctly ON TIME. The modern name for this is PROJECT MANAGEMENT. Welcome to SignForce where we do this all with pleasure.

If you have a signage project that needs to be managed, SignForce is available to assist.

Contact SignForce now on info@signforce.co.za or call +27 (0)11 440 7525 or WhatsApp +27 (0)82 558 6413

Find out more about SignForce at http://www.signforce.co.za

How does one bill for your experience

How does one bill for your experience

1 Classie Africa

3D fabricated sign by SignForce

Selling ‘products’ is a relatively simple business model. One simply has to purchase your ‘product’ at the best price possible, calculate the cost of your fixed and variable costs to ensure you sell a sufficient quantity of your product and add on a markup – traditionally 100% – so yo can make a PROFIT on your sale.

The same basic process is required when selling a ‘SERVICE’, except that when selling a service the COST of the service can be a lot more complicated to value.

Lets look at two simple examples.

Example 1 – selling a product.

Cost to buy product – 100 (this value is obtained from supplier’s invoice)

Markup (100%) – 100

Selling price – 200

Example 2 – selling a service.

Input cost of service – 100 (**)

Markup (100%) – 100 (except more often than not prospects and clients will go mad when they believe the supplier is intending to make a profit)

Selling price – 200

(**) The input cost (equivalent to cost to buy product when selling products) is more difficult to calculate as it must cover all expenses including the time, cost and effort from attending the University of Live, as well as all other input costs – include the cost of training, experience, cost of any equipment used to provide service and insurance to name but a few of the input costs.

As the person responsible for keeping our small business alive and afloat, the task of costing can often be daunting and overwhelming, because among the many balls being juggled are (a) ensuring the continuity and sustainability of the business so the team keep their respective roofs over their families heads and food on the family tables, (b) keeping the cost low enough for the prospective client to find it attractive – especially in a difficult economic climate where it almost always seems prospects are more interested in cost than quality – and (c) making sure ALL input costs (including but not limited to those listed above) are accounted for – and with some prospects also ensuring there is sufficient wiggle room to give a discount they are compelled to negotiate.

With all these factors to take into consideration, how does one explain to the price over sensitive prospect that your offer, while possibly requiring a higher up front investment – would be in their best interests in the long term. And always keeping in mind that we don’t know what we don’t know – and this includes who we are competing against, which can influence no less than product, price and relationship.

At SignForce we tend to give the advise for free. It may be built into our costing but if so this is not intentional, because we are all about educating our clients and prospects so that they get the best signage to suite their stated objectives.

If you are in the market for signage, calling SignForce may be your best move yet.

Contact SignForce now on info@signforce.co.za or call +27 (0)11 440 7525 or WhatsApp +27 (0)82 558 6413

Find out more about SignForce at http://www.signforce.co.za

What is the VALUE of PEACE OF MIND

At Height Work

Working safely at height

Is there a price for PEACE OF MIND?

Lets talk about everyone’s favorite topic, INSURANCE, the commercial phrase for PIECE OF MIND.

I once heard a person say if you want to break up a party, simply walk in to the largest group and tell everyone I SELL INSURANCE! If you are lucky you may get as far as asking what they do before there is no one left to talk to.

While the story may not be entirety true, it does have some relevance, as does insurance, the major grudge purchase businesses have to buy.

Why do businesses need insurance – well mostly because of those pesky things called accidents, also sometimes referred to as black swan events, or simply unplanned – and unplannable? – events.

Accidents happen, and how prepared you are for them may have a massive impact on the future of your business, and possibly on your future too. Why, because if your business suffers a catastrophic event, and you do not have sufficient cover – whether it is money in the bank, insurance or a friendly banker – not only can the event destroy your business, if you are financially reliant on the business for your income, if the business has to close, your source of income will most likely immediately dry up as well.

Hence we purchase insurance.

Now what does INSURANCE have to do with signage. The answer is both A LOT, and NOTHING – yes, extreme contradictions.

Insurance for signage can relate to both insurance cover – as in the type of insurance you pay for to cover your sign in the event your sign gets stolen, or falls down in a severe storm and needs to be replaced, or the insurance you take out should your sign at the top of the building that was shaken by a storm, fall ON someone and injure or kill them. This is ALL insurance taken by the OWNJER of the sign to cover potential accidents.

There is also the second type of ‘insurance’, that is the insurance gained from having PEACE OF MIND. Peace of mind is the ‘insurance’ one gets when using a reputable supplier who you feel you can trust to get the job done without any issues – delays, accidents, errors, or any of a number of potential issues that could you upset as a client.

Here is a story that is a great example of where peace of mind could be seen as insurance. SignForce were recently asked to quote to remove a number of signs from a five story building. Most of the signs, even though they were high, looked to be simple. There was however one LARGE (estimated 6 x 3 meter) sign that was in poor shape which could pose some safety risks, mostly as a result of the sheer size off the sign. The last sign however posed some potential visible threats. This sign stood about 6 meters high, going up from the third story of the building and the steel as visibly rusted. Now the rust may have been superficial which would mean it is not an issue, but when removing a large vertical structure, one would be ill advised to ignore such visible risks.

Now that you have the background, when the SignForce sales person followed up on the prospect to see if they were going to go ahead and use SignForce to remove the signs, the representative was told in very un-Christian terms that SignForce had quoted WAY too high as the prospect could get the job done for about 4% of the quoted fee. The prospect informed the representative that this impressive (potential) saving would be achieved by finding unemployed people looking for piecemeal work and giving them some rope (the cost of the rope was not included in the perceived, supposed 96% saving). One could argue about the time value of money in finding people who would be happy to do risky fork at less than minimal rate, but this blog is not about the wide range of competition SignForce faces.

Now it is probably true that using the unqualified, inexperienced , homeless people the prospect would exploit he would have a 90% chance that he would have been able to do the work at 4% (excluding the rope and anchors) of the quoted fee. He would have been happy and would later be able to recount the savings he made.

However, life being life, the unknown 10% – the possibility of the rope breaking (which could happen if cost saving, incorrect rope is used) or the sign falling (which could happen if rope fail or rope is not correctly secured to the wall anchors or rope is not correctly secured to the sign – this is an art that the qualified ropers are taught – or someone falls off the roof or the ladder or whatever lifting equipment they are using . . . the possibilities are close to endless.

IF the 10% happened the perceived 96% saving could vanish and be replaced by HUGE hospital costs, MASSIVE legal costs, EXORBITANT medical costs and laborious labour issues that no landlord wants to face. This is the PEACE OF MIND ‘INSURANCE’ that comes from dealing with reputable suppliers who are responsible, are qualified and have every intention of working safely to feed AND SEE their families on a daily basis, even it if the price to client is slightly higher than reasonable, similar competition.

While the SignForce quote may be perceived as high, it is all relative to what the cost is being compared to. Yes, SignForce cannot compete on price when comparing us to unqualified homeless people who are prepared to work for a meal, and SignForce do have the added costs of ensuring that the equipment we use and the suitably qualified people we send to site ensure the work is done in a manner which is safe manner so everyone can sleep peacefully at night.

If you are in the market for signage – whether to design, manufacture and install, or to maintain or remove, SignForce is available to assist.

Contact SignForce mow on info@signforce.co.za or call +27 (0)11 440 7525 or WhatsApp +27 (0)82 558 6413

Find out more about how SignForce can serve you at htttp://www.signforce.co.za

What PROBLEM does your sign solve?

What PROBLEM does your sign solve?

Trying to locate an existing physical business that has no signage can some-times prove extremely frustrating.

Can you relate to the experience of following your GPS to your desired location, and when your GPS politely advises you that you HAVE ARRIVED, you look around and have no clue where the store / factory / warehouse / house / business [fill in your own location] is, because there is no number or no signage to let you know that you are actually where you want to be, because we all know GPS’s are not always perfect and can certainly assist us to get to the incorrect location in the fastest way possible.

If you can relate to this scenario, then it should make it easy to understand that a relatively small investment on a sign would have made the above experience more memorable for the RIGHT reasons, possibly retaining customers or even making the prospective visitor more relaxed, calmer and more pleasant to deal with when they do eventually get to you.

At SignForce we make sigs that help get feet through your door

Contact SignForce NOW to get your obligation free quote by emailing info@signforce.co.za or calling +27 (0)11 440 7525 or WhatsApp +27 (0)82 558 6413

Find out more about SignForce at http://www.signforce.co.za

Why Sign and Why SignForce

Illuminated signs

Candice Berman shop front sign

Why Sign and Why SignForce

Many years ago this writer was taught to ask two questions of every client.

1. Why do you want a sign? And

2. What do you want your sign to achieve?

These may seem like stupid questions because everyone is supposed to know that a business without a sign is a sign of no business (well at least offline), but there are times when signs are not going to fulfil or achieve your desired outcome. This is one reason this writer has been heard telling prospective client’s he is a poor salesman, as I will tell you to NOT get signs if I do not believe they will achieve your desired outcome.

If you are looking for a sign to get feet through your door or to boost your visibility or to enhance your ego, SignForce is definitely available to assist.

Why SignForce?

SignForce has been in the signage industry for over two decades under it’s current management, with many years of marketing experience before getting into signage. What this interprets to is we at SignForce can assist you to ensure your money spent on signage is an investment that will both achieve your desired objective(s) AND where necessary, your signage will increase your turnover, and hence your bottom line profit.

This is where I also mention that SignForce is not the cheapest but we do give value for money. Unfortunately , while this is the truth, we have certainly noticed that prospective clients are more swayed by short term price than they are by the prospect of longevity or quality or the benefit of advice. It is also worth mentioning that the vast majority of SignForce’s work is for on-sellers.

So why use SignForce?

At SignForce we focus on you, our client.

We know we have the experience and expertise to make great signs, and what we don’t know, we are fortunate enough to be able to tap into our local and international resource’s to find out.

It is because of this confidence in our experience and our network that we strive to make your experience when looking for signs a painless, seamless one, where you can tick one item off your list because SignForce will project manage the signs for you, ensuring our quality exceeds your expectations and that you can take a back seat and relax knowing your signage issues are being handled in a professional manner, with constant communication and updates because we know that your signage is most likely a very low priority, even though it is a high ticket purchase.

Why not be like our existing clients and some of our competition and give SignForce a call and see how we can assist you

Call SignForce now on +27 (0)11 440 7525 or WhatsApp +27 (9)82 558 6413 or email info@signforce.co.za

Find our all about SignForce at http://www.signforce.co.za

Is there any value to Experience

Is there any value to Experience (and if there is, how can one bill for your experience)?

Illuminated Signs

Custom, old fashioned, illuminated signs

 

Becoming a more seasoned member of the signage industry – one with slightly over 25 years personal experience – I have begun to notice that there are certain things I SEE that are not always visible to others.

This is not clairvoyance but I do believe it comes from experience.

A simple example that showed this point happened recently. SignForce were asked to assist with the installation of a later large (6 x 3 meter) sign. When we went to the site inspection we noticed that the plan that the contractor was looking at was great, but flawed. The sign needed to be carried through three doors, however the third door had restricted access, so only half the sign could go through the door, and then – nothing.

I am pleased our client was not a blind believer, so he tried his method and then called me to tell me he had tried and it had failed.

Experience – defined by Google as “1. the fact or state of having been affected by or gained knowledge through direct observation or participation. 2. a. : practical knowledge, skill, or practice derived from direct observation of or participation in events or in a particular activity. ‘ is generally gained from the university of hard knocks. The hard lessons that come with doing something more than once, and failing often.

Experience is earned and while it can be passed on – which can be called advice, and, as a friend’s father kept saying. Advice comes from experience. When you receive the advice you have two choices, take heed or roll it up and shove it wherever it fits.

The value of experience tends to come from the little things. For example. When making a sign, how does one calculate the weight of the sign and the size of the fixings – bolts, nail in anchors, whatever – that will be necessary to make the sign stay in place once it is fixed to the wall?

This writer has inspected a sign which looks phenomenal. It creates a great impression and I am sure the client will be super impressed. As long as the sign works as intended, everyone will be happy And that will be perfect in maybe 95% of cases. In the remaining 5% when something goes wrong – say in the case of a light box when all or some of the lights stop working (which will happen, but it may, and hopefully will, take some time), or if a weld breaks (which is possible but low probability if they are done properly). When the 5% happens someone is going to have to spend time or money or both to make the sign good. This is where it can get complicated.

In the case of the sign mentioned above, the face of the sign has been fixed directly t the frame of the sign. This is a great way to keep costs down, however, if the lights inside stop working, or anything else inside goes wrong, there is an extremely high probability that the face of the sign will need to be removed, which means replacing the sign face. This can be a very costly exercise. The industry standard is normally to have an internal frame to hold the face. This allows for ease of maintenance without any additional costly spend, because the [maintenance] cost has been absorbed into the initial capital expense of the sign.

The difficulty with making the sign resilient, is it adds costs to the up front build which many businesses in South Africa are reluctant to do. They would rather take their chances on spending less upfront and then pray that their spend lasts as long as the higher investment (on invisible safety and possibly redundant features) that may save them money in the future.

At SignForce we call this the cost of peace of mind – like having an insurance policy you hope to never have to use.

When you are looking for signs that work, contact SignForce. We are happy to share what we do and why we do it as we believe in creating signs that work, signs that last and lasting relationships.

Contact SignForce now on info@signforce.co.za or call +27 (0)11 440 7525 or WhatsApp +27 (0)82 558 6413

Find out more about SignForce by visiting http://www.signforce.co.za

What is the cost of compliance

The Cost of Compliance

Or maybe the title should be how does governance help or hinder economic growth and employment.

As someone who is involved with running a small business in the current South Africa, I often look on with amazement at the number of requirements (you could read that as hurdles) that the business has to jump – sometime crawl, sometimes squeeze – through in order to be compliant.

Around 2010 we completed a survey which asked how much of the management teams time was spent on compliance. At that stage it was around 10 – 15%. To honestly answer the same survey today would be in the region of 130 – 150% of the then management’s time, meaning that an entire team of people had to be employed for no additional benefit to our clients of the business, other than to remain compliant. This can be considered a pure stealth tax.

While we understand and agree with rules that DO make work safer, we also are of the opinion that you cannot legislate stupidity – or stupid away. We know that our team want to go home to their families on a daily basis, even when things are tough at home, so we don’t believe in treating them like immature idiots who are brain dead. If they are not up to the task they are encouraged to stay home or seek the necessary help, but in the opinion of this writer, creating rules that try make idiots into rocket scientists – or at least prevent them from putting their heads into a microwave oven that is on – is not going to prevent them from being stupid.

It was once said the principal difference between intelligence and stupidity is there is no limit to stupidity!

Compliance seems to be a world wide trend (although I do question how China still allow bamboo scaffolding or some African countries have not heard of a safety file – which, as an aside, may be more to do with political beliefs and control – as in communism – versus looking to create jobs and let the government do what they promise to do – look after the people of the cou

 

ntry and facilitate job creation. In South Africa the current ruling regime – also known as the anc – seem to believe that bums in seats, paid for by the tax paying citizens, is job creation. This writer believes this could not be further from the truth as when people are employed according to the Peter Principle and paid according to Ohm’s law, the result is low productivity, job reservation and artificial job security – the employed know they can never be fired or removed – and subsequent poor customer service, low motivation and an over burdened tax paying population.

At SignForce we believe in paying fairly for WORK DONE, we know the reason for meeting deadlines and working after our 16H30 closing time when the job requires it. This is one of the reasons our clients trust us to meet their deadlines – even when they are EXTREMELY TIGHT.

If you are looking for a sign supplier to team up with to make sure you and your business look GREAT, SignForce is the team to call.

Contact SignForce now on +27 (0)11 440 7525 or email info@signforce.co.za or WhatsApp +27 (0)82 558 6413 to get a fair, no obligation quote.

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At what point can a prospect or client’s behavior be considered abuse?

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At what point can a prospect or client’s behavior be considered abuse?

As a small business every person in the business has to pull their own weight, and possibly a little more. It is assumed this is common knowledge, but if that is the case, why do some prospects (and some client’s) still ask for reduced pricing or other benefits to them that they are either not prepared to pay for or that they should understand will cost the supplier.

It is often said in the retail sector that the client is ALWAYS right. Is this true or is it simply a cop out to make businesses cater to the possibly outrageous requests of a prospective client or an existing client? Even if the saying is correct for retail stores, would it apply to other business to client (end user) businesses?

As a small business we ALWAYS strive to give the best of ourselves. We WANT the business as much as we need it, so we tend to go the extra mile (and then some) to deliver the best products at the best prices – on time and on budget.

And yet, even with this attitude we find existing clients and some prospective new clients who are looking for signage that will ask for the (almost) impossible, and then feel ‘let down’ when the lack of planning on their side results in predictable failures by the suppliers. The question is why should a lack of planning on the side of the prospect or client result in an adrenalin rushing emergency for the supplier, especially if the supplier is not getting paid for the leg work and probably will not get the work in the long run.

How do we as small businesses let the abusive client down in such a way that we don’t necessarily burn all bridges – although this may sometimes be necessary – while not feeling guilty about not doing what the clients want.

There is a lot of information around talking about how everyone should be an entrepreneur, yet there is very little support or information letting people know about the down side of entrepreneurship, the constant work, the constant striving to better everything – service, training, products, customer experience – the self doubt and the loneliness – and lets not forget the RESPONNSIBILITY. The buck ALWAYS stops at the top – unlike politicians who will always promise but never deliver, as they are not always held to account.

This writer is currently feeling alone and struggling with this exact issue – if it is not already evident – and yet we must make decisions and move on.

If you are looking for sign maker and sign installer that will give you their best service and expect payment in return – starting with a deposit to confirm commitment and ensure the business can survive – that would be an entire book, not only a blog – contact SignForce and let us help take away all your signage stress.

Contact SignForce now on info@signforce.co.za or call +27 (0)11 440 7525 or call or WhatsApp +27 (0)82 558 6413