Every sign we build is tested and photographed on test before it's packed. Most jobs never need this page. When one does, here's how we handle it: what we do, what we need from you, and where responsibility sits.
Our priority is always the same. Get the sign repaired, replaced or working again, so you can put your client right.
If a fault wasn't caused by you, you shouldn't be left carrying it. That works exactly the same way round for us.
Everything below is simply how we tell the difference, quickly, and without either of us having to argue about it. Whichever way it falls, the sign gets looked at first.
We know these things almost always land at the worst possible moment. Short notice, last minute, a deadline already on top of you. That's the world we work in too, so the aim is to move through it as efficiently as we can and get your client sorted. What we won't do is quote you a turnaround before we know what's actually wrong, because that depends entirely on the fault.
The research, the legwork and the conversations that establish what actually failed. Knowing why matters as much as knowing what. It's the difference between fixing this one and stopping the next one.
Sometimes that's parts sent straight out to you. Often it's faster for the sign to come back here, and if you can get it back to us that's usually the quickest option of all. We can arrange to collect it instead if that suits you better. Where something needs remaking, it takes the time it takes, and we'd rather tell you that than promise otherwise.
What we found, what we propose, and a date we can hold to. By email, even when we've already talked it through, so you can pass it straight on to your client.
Nothing moves until you're happy with what's proposed. If we're waiting on something from you, we'll say so rather than letting it go quiet.
The issues that get sorted quickest are the ones that arrive complete. Send whatever you can of this:
If we're waiting on something from you, we'll say so. We won't leave it to go quiet at your end.
Neither takes long, and between them they remove the grey area for both of us.
Look at the pallet and the boxes before anything is unwrapped. If there's any obvious damage:
Very often the sign inside is perfectly fine, and it's worth knowing either way before it goes anywhere near site.
Why it matters: with a photograph and an unchecked signature, transit damage is straightforward. We repair or replace whatever's needed to get the job working. Without them we'll still help you, but we can't carry the cost, and there may be a charge for the corrective work.
Put it on test on the bench and take a photo or a short video of it lit. If it's being delivered direct to site, test it there before it's fitted.
It can feel like a faff on a job that's already tight. It's an expensive sign, and fitting one that later turns out to be faulty costs everybody far more than the test would have.
Why it matters: we photograph every job on test before it's packed, so we can always show it was working when it left us. Your photo does the same at your end. Between the two, if anything does go wrong, it's obvious where it happened and nobody has to take anybody's word for it.
We don't see many issues. Of the ones we do, most happen after the sign has left us, and nearly always in the same two ways.
A knock while it's being lifted, or a scratch while it's being fixed. It happens on the best-run jobs.
On illuminated signage this is the big one. When the wires are drawn back through the wall, that last hard pull takes up the slack and strains the connection. It'll often light up fine on the day and fail a short while later.
We build the cable entries as robustly as we can, but on flush-fixed letters there's very little room for a mechanical anchor. A firm tug is no problem at all. It's the hard pull that does it. A quiet word with the fitters about easing the wires through prevents most of what we see.
If an issue leads to additional costs, and you feel the fault sits with us in whole or in part, we need to be part of that conversation before the spend is committed.
Not because we're looking for a way out, but because it's the only way to agree something fairly while there are still options open. A cost we've talked about is one we can help with. A cost that arrives afterwards is one we're already disagreeing about.
Either way, getting the job rectified comes first. That doesn't change, wherever the fault turns out to sit.
Plainly, so nobody has to guess. In every one of these cases we'll help you get the sign working. This is about who carries the cost, not whether we get involved.
Ours to put right. We'll repair or replace as quickly as we can. A repair here is often faster than a remake, so we'll usually ask you to send it back to us, which is the quickest route. We can collect instead if that's easier for you.
Ours to put right. It may not be our fault, but we appointed the carrier, so it's our responsibility to sort out. This is the case that the photograph and the unchecked signature protect.
The transit is yours from the point it's collected. We pack it, and it's tested and photographed working before it's packed, so it leaves here right. Once you've appointed the carrier, that leg sits on your side.
Yours. That doesn't mean we won't fix it. We will, and we'll get to it quickly, but there may be a cost for the work.
And the limit, plainly: our maximum liability to a trade customer is the value of the sign supplied. That's standard for trade supply and it's set out in full in our terms and conditions, which this page doesn't change. It just puts the everyday parts into plain English.
Your usual contact here is the quickest route. They'll log it and pass it to Operations. Or come straight to us at operations@thesigngroup.co.uk. Photos, the job number, and where the sign is now are the three things that get us moving fastest.