LAMA-SILVER ISSUE - Ever fail to fulfill a customer's need?

[Bill Stearns]

Hey all:
I am, mostly, writing to give you a heads-up on a product called LAMA2-silver.
Engraving photographs is one of my specialties: mostly on wood, or AlumiMark. A walk-in customer spotted a photo I had engraved, some time ago, on a product called LAMA1-gold. (Purchasable thru Johnson Plastics: a laser engravable anodized mirrored aluminum material.) As their catalog states: “... results produce a frosty white text/image ...” What I’ve come to call a “ghostly mirrored” image; kinda neat, kinda different.
My customer wanted her photo engraved on their LAMA2-silver, which I had never used. So, I ordered three sheets.Try as I did, using umpteen different speed/power settings, 600 dpi, even repeated runs, I couldn’t even get a mark on the silver! - nothing showed! - zip! I even took the material to a local shop that uses an Epilogo “fiber” laser; they couldn’t engrave on it either. (If you’ve had success with this product, please let me know how?)
A very helpful rep from Johnson later admitted they, apparently, had experienced issues with the LAMA2-silver. I took this to mean: it being unengravable. (He okayed my returning two of the three sheets.) Got my customer to OK my using LAMA-gold ‘stead: turned out “ghostly faint” as I figured it would; similar to the sample she had seen. After all my time ‘n efforts, she didn’t care for the “look”!
So, at this point, I’ve got my Photoshop time, material & shipping costs, test engraving time, plus time running round town, and NO SALE to show for it! Ever take on a project you wish you hadn’t? (Still, I’m not all that upset with myself ‘cause the photo was of the lady’s young son who had recently died in an accident; hence my efforts! - I’m thinkin’ some issues, in life, are simply greater than others, uh?) - Bill

[John Lifer]

If the rep said they've had issues with it, I'd be asking for refund on all three sheets. Not just two! And yes occasionally. It happens. In this situation, I'd have probably made her one on wood and let her have it cheap, or free. Word of mouth would be worth it. Yep, more time spent, but I not let her walk out empty handed.

[Kev Williams]

"Ever take on a project you wish you hadn't?"

Glad I wasn't drinking coffee when I read that... :D

After 43 years, wishing I'd never seen THAT job is about as common as the trips to the bank to deposit the checks from the GOOD jobs :)

And I swear this is true, as I was reading this just a few minutes ago, the wife came down and says to me
"She (a friend who shall remain nameless) got back with me, and she said...." **more to follow**

--Last Tuesday or so she sent a pic to my wife's phone, of a personalized wooden nameplate she found for sale online, with a separate family name carved from other wood (or laser cut), affixed to the main wood, with some laser engraved anchors on the ends- pretty nice piece actually, and only $39...This would be a placard you screw to your boat dock to mark your boat slip, which they just got one of at a popular lake this year. She wanted it for her husband for fathers day, could I make "something similar to this" by then? So last night about 11:30, time running out, and I have zero wood and even less ideas on what to do... I'm wracking my brain for ideas... and I come across a 12x24" piece of blue 'Lazrmirr' I got a couple of years ago just to check it out.. so my bright idea is, laser etch a family photo (ended up on the left side) and a pic of their boat (lower right corner), from the back which I painted black afterward, then lasered their last name in 4" tall letters on the front and a "chain" border around the perimeter... other than the pics could've been better, a bit much power I think but they still look good, it turned out really nice! Setting it on the ground the beveled edges pick up lots of sunlight and make surface engraving just light up, and reflecting down makes the engraving look 3 dimensional. Really eye-catching, and very unique. All I had left to do was buzz on over to HD and pick some wood to screw it to, after reading a few posts on the engraving board :cool: .....

The rest of the phone conversation: " -she got back with me, and said they're selling their boat [now the boat pic is wrong], and she was expecting something more, generic- she wanted one like the pic she sent." ...

THEN
WHY
DIDN'T
SHE
JUST
BUY
ONE
OF
THOSE
???

These are friends of ours, so it's hard for me to get too ticked off, but--
how do you explain to friends, and anyone else, that while I'm very good at turning your ideas into art, I'm NOT good at mind reading!

Nor is learning to remember that, obviously! :D

Sorry for the War & Piece hijack... ;)

[Bill Stearns]

HEY JOHN & KEV,
Guess I didn’t give you the full details. My engraving her deceased son’s photo on a wood plaque wasn’t a choice: the LAMA-gold, or silver, photo, 7” x 9”, was to be placed in a large professionally-made shadow box, ‘long with other displayed items belonging to their son.
She fully understands ‘n appreciates how much time ‘n work I’ve put in to this project; nice lady. She’s gonna stop by to discuss other possible options. One possibly being: black AlumiMark, engraves grayish white. (I’ve done quite ‘few of these for memorial benches ‘n such with good results.) She doesn't like the idea of a “black border” round the photo. Suddenly struck me! I can, somehow, bleed the photo past the material’s edges - so that no black border shows! May be the answer; we’ll see.
Gonna go ‘head and engrave one; see what she thinks. - ‘cause, at this point, it isn’t ‘bout time ‘n cost any longer, it’s ‘bout my providing something special to folks who have lost their son! BTW: turns out her husband “liked” the LAMA-gold photo I did; he's gonna frame it for his office! Also: I did think ‘bout asking Johnson for ‘refund on all three sheets; I’m sure they would’ve; I just let it go.
Yeah, Kev - for sure, sometimes doing special projects for friends turns out to be a hassle! - know what you mean 'bout being able to read minds; would sure help, especially, with friends! Have one that feeds me his instructions one email at a time! - often, after I've finished engraving his project!
Signing off - Bill