Signtronix Snotty customer support. Torrence, California

You, or "the sign owner" didn't buy the sign from signtronix, so what makes you, or "the sign owner" think you're a customer of signtronix? It's also interesting that you use the term "reseller". What's your definition for reseller. Did he buy someone's contract? I suspect you're attempting reprogram or work on a used sign that someone bought. That's like someone coming to my shop and complaining that the seiko watch they bough from someone else doesn't work and what am I gonna do about it. I'm more then glad to help them, depending on their attitude. But someone with an attitude problem, demanding to speak with a supervisor about a used sign isn't gonna get real far. That said, based on my experience with them, I sure wouldn't buy a new sign from them either.

This is actually a great company. If you are not receiving the type of support you feel you need, PLEASE call back and ask for the President of the company. I am sure he or one of his assistants would be more than happy to speak with you and get your concerns addressed promptly. I am a former employee and assure you that the President of this company will not allow a few spoiled apples to ruin the basket. He really is a good guy. Try this and please post your outcome.

This is actually a great company. If you are not receiving the type of support you feel you need, PLEASE call back and ask for the President of the company. I am sure he or one of his assistants would be more than happy to speak with you and get your concerns addressed promptly. I am a former employee and assure you that the President of this company will not allow a few spoiled apples to ruin the basket. He really is a good guy. Try this and please post your outcome.

Signtronix is currently an ESOP (employee stock owned company) and was founded over 45 years ago. I am a Regional Manager (and now part owner of the company) with over 20 years of personal service to business owners all over the southeast. In fact, Signtronix has served literally hundreds of thousands of customers over the past 45 years. We fund research and information on street advertising to help small businesses connect with the buying public, have worked closely with the U.S. Small Business Administration, as well as having our Chairman Of The Board sit on the board of directors of the International Sign Association. I can say with confidence that I can produce twenty happy customers to every one unhappy one you can find.

That said, 1 in 20 people having a less-than-positive experience is still reason for concern. If you have a problem with a Signtronix employee or sales rep, you may have a local office listed in your local phone book (as was the case with "raisedbydingos"). Had this person called our local office, I can personally assure that help or direction would have been given, even though the sign was not purchased directly from Signtronix.

Signtronix also has a toll-free 800 number (posted on all products when manufactured), and concerned calls to the President are taken very seriously. When you trash Signtronix, you are trashing hundreds of legitimate people who are feeding their families by helping small businesses to prosper. Irresponsible general comments about a company based on one irritated employee's actions can hurt hundreds of families, both at Signtronix and in the small business community. I take that personal.

I welcome your call.

I notice that you say you are a regional manager an you would welcome a call from a customer, but not only do you not leave contact information, you don't even sign your name.

Typical Signtronix "beating around the bush"
I hope your employee owners are ready to share in the huge fines you are about to receive!!!
Finally a SMILE for all of us who have been abused by your company!

Why do Signtronix dealers have the need to bring up the subject of "feeding their families" when it comes to a complaint? Every person on the planet has the need to take care of their family so why do you feel the need to throw that fact in a persons face like your situation is special and above all others?

Are you saying that since you have a family to feed, and a person has a complaint (maybe even a complaint directly related to you), that this person should sit down and remain quiet just because it will otherwise affect you? (while putting the family of the person making the complaint in jeopardy)

Do you explain to your children exactly (truthfully, and without sign and sales jargon) how you make the money to the buy food as they are forking it into their mouths? I know a few dealers did in fact take courses in psychology while in college but is psychology also a part of the Signtronix training course for those that missed out on that learning? Because all of you sure lay it on rather thick at times.

The person wanted help with a cable, got the customary horrible customer service, and ends up getting sales rhetoric from a 'regional manager' as to how reputable the company is. It is by luck that any service was had at all from Signtronix. Employees there are the Kings and Queens of hanging up on a person, as well as not returning calls... on ALL levels, from dealers to headquarters.

Even though the person was not the original owner, you would think that a reputable company would not be rude, and totally unwilling to help with something so simple and, in doing so, chance it that they may lose a potential future customer. There is no logical (or business) sense to it

I am doubting you could just call any dealer, regional manager, or district manager and that person would be helpful when it comes to anything of a technical/electronic nature to begin with.

The sales person that I had the privilege of meeting knew nothing technical of the signs that Signtronix is selling, and that was just dealing with an outdoor backlit sign (something simple). Before a reply is made that this sales person must have been new or not very good, he is listed on the Signtronix site under "success stories", so save the excuses. This person should be knowledgeable.

Any sales person SHOULD know the product they are selling, inside and out. Signtronix sales people claim to know the product but stating the obvious such as, the frame is metal, the face is plastic, and when you plug it in it lights up, does not cut it.

Not that I would receive an honest answer but does Signtronix even manufacture the LED/programmable signs? Or are they simply a reseller with this product?

To claim it is an irresponsible comment based on one irritable employee in this situation is rather ironic. How many irritable employees do you have to talk to with Signtronix before it becomes a responsible comment? Because I have witnessed a person going through several 'irritable employees' one after the other, in a single 'customer service' phone call. Let me guess, it was not the fault of Signtronix or it's employees? You will probably say that the person (customer) I am speaking of had a case of 'buyers stupidness', or some other 'inside' sales term, and deserved it.

What does the ESOP/NESOP have to do with any of this? Stock options do not make a company reputable

45 years and most people don't even know the company exists until they get cold-called by a sales person. You would think that being around for such a long time, and being the leading producer of signs, people would know the name. Besides that, the company was not always operating under the name Signtronix. How long was it using the name Gulf Industries before it started using Signtronix? Or the name Signs For Faith? The division of Signtronix that sells to churches.

By the way, why do churches buying from Signs For Faith and getting the same sizes and types of signs as a business would from Signtronix, get a lifetime warranty and a business only receives ten years? Also a church gets a $200 referral bonus yet a business only receives $50. Why is that? Makes me wonder how large the price difference is for the same size sign but sold to a church instead of a business.

Signtronix does not fund research to help small business. It funds very one-sided 'studies' to use as a tool to make the 'sale' look more appetizing and ensure a quick sale (if the signs were so good at bringing in new customers as the sales people say they are, why not put that in writing? put your signature where your mouth is)

Using the SBA as a means to claim your reputation is outstanding really does nothing. Although I am not disputing the fact that Signtronix supplies the SBA with sign information, the SBA does not endorse any one company so why exactly are you trying to make it sound as if it does?

You say that complaints are taken seriously and if the President of Signtronix would actually help, why would you as a Signtronix employee not pass the word to him that maybe he should visit this site and answer these complaints? even if they are, as you say, 'irresponsible'.

Also, more than one person mentions "president" but won't even mention his name. Why is that? You will tell a person to call him, yet you won't give info? That would be silly... calling up a company and saying "ummm, I don't know the name of the president of your company but I would really like to speak with him please". Tom Johnson is the President, correct?

Why do you not list the toll-free number like it is some secret? It is posted on just about every other Signtronix report on this site so what would it hurt by listing it yourself?

If you "can personally assure" that by calling your office, help or direction would have been given, why not state your full name AND contact information so that a person that may have a problem come to you for help? THAT would be a reputable thing to do! Not just mentioning for a person to call and leaving it at that.

You say that when a person trashes Signtronix, hundreds of people and families are being trashed. Well how about this... This country was built on the foundation of small business. Every time a person from Signtronix trashes a small business owner, by your way of thinking, you are trashing this country in more ways than one. It's funny how you trash the thing you claim to care so much about, and that everything you do is helping small business prosper. Your words are hollow

If Signtronix is so reputable, why are they using Northern Leasing Systems as it's leasing company? Northern Leasing is far from reputable, and I doubt it is just a coincidence, or that Signtronix does not know what they are doing by being associated with NLS (which goes by many other names, such as MBF Leasing, Golden Eagle Leasing, etc). Do not try to claim you know nothing about this fact because any time you call in the lease/credit application for a customer, you know exactly what company you are dealing with. I would be more than interested in hearing your answer to this question, as I am sure others would be as well

Lastly, when you state "I can say with confidence that I can produce twenty happy customers to every one unhappy one you can find", what exactly is this supposed to prove? I know it is just your way to make the situation sound much better than it actually is but it is all smoke and mirrors dealing with odds. Odds which are stacked in your favor, by your own wording alone

Let's break it down here. You have been with Signtronix for over twenty years. In that time, you have more than likely crossed paths with countless 'customers' in a who-knows-how-big area of travel. Now look at your average small business owner who probably does not go very far outside of his/her locale, as you do for your sales. The business owner, unless traveling, would be VERY lucky to run into say, ten other businesses with a Signtronix sign in his/her area. Even if all ten of those would be unhappy customers, you could easily make your claim look truthful.

You never even stated these twenty 'happy customers' would be your own personal customers and seeing how Signtronix is nationwide, you could easily just throw out customer names from locations all over the United States just to thump your chest and 'prove' to people the honesty of your words.

I have found several businesses in the area with a Signtronix sign and I have contacted the ones that are still in operation (probably half were out of business). Out of all of the people I have contacted, only one has sounded even remotely 'happy'. With that one all that was said was " be sure to tell Signtronix we sent you", and I could tell all that was about is the referral bonus the person would get if I bought a sign from Signtronix.

So bring your 20:1 challenge to this area. Not that you would admit to it, but I have the confidence it may slightly deflate your ego in the end

I remember this particular individual. He was calling in asking for the pin assignments. I told him that we do not have that on file, and that if he prefered he can purchase the cable he needs. How can we provide information when we don't have it? The tech support department helps direct signtronix customers and non-direct customers all day long. Don't complain when you ask a question that we can't answer.

Mr/Mrs/Ms Anoymous, I assume you are attempting to say that you work in the 'tech department' with Signtronix?

I also assume that "Anoymous" was meant to be Anonymous? You living in Fdgdsrg, California added to the assumption (anyone ever hear of this place? I can't find it on a map)

I normally do not point out spelling mistakes but it has direct bearing here. If you work in the tech department it says a lot about the problems at Signtronix. People in that line of work should be a little more detail-oriented, and I am sure everyone else would agree

How can you call a person a liar when you are actually backing up the person's claim? It was said that nothing was known about the cable outputs and guess what, you came out and said that Signtronix did not have that information on file aka, nothing was known (real 'tech-geeks' in an electronic-based business would have this info in his/her head. no need for finding a 'file')

So what you are saying is that a if Direct customer, or even a non-direct customer, would need this information, there would be no way to receive the help needed. In a way it is great that a Signtronix employee finally comes out and admits a piece of the inner-workings of this company (is this the reason for being anonymous? you don't want to get 'fired' for sharing inside information, or lack-of in this case)

It is crazy that you try to use the excuse of Signtronix not having the information on file. You sell signs and supposedly have tech-support... for the signs. It is the technical department... for the signs. If a customer calls for tech-support on a sign and none is to be had, guess what... you will get complaints! It is rather simple logic so don't say things like "don't complain when you ask a question we can't answer"

If for some strange reason you don't have the information, find it! Call up the up the LED sign supplier for Signtronix, Optec Displays Inc, and get the needed information. Don't leave it at 'well if we don't have the info, you are out of luck... even though we sold you the product'. Or is this ignorance excuse simply used to make even more money by selling a cable?

Maybe the tech support should be renamed to "non-technical-no-support-sell-you-a-part-instead-department"