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LET'S ALL VENT A LITTLE
Posted By: SVP Neon Equipment In Response To: Re: Cry Cry the Neon Man (neontek)
Date: Wednesday, 20 January 2010, at 1:40 p.m.
> Darryl,
> It wasn't my intent to make you look like a
> prick (unless of course.....you are one -
> lol).> I just wanted to point out that many people
> are in a different situation and your
> solution does not always work everywhere.
> I have also tried to educate others about
> using alternative power supplies, but there
> are actually many in the Sign Industry who
> really don't care.
> Power Consumption is one of the big
> "rants"/lies to sell LED's, but
> not the main (hidden) one in my opinion. I
> believe the "hidden" agenda of
> many full service sign companies is
> simply... More Profit and eliminating the
> need for trained craftsmen.
> A sign business in my area would rather
> misinform the public (the end customer) with
> led propaganda in order to completely strip
> neon and transformers (12v./electronic/or
> conventional types)from channel letters and
> retrofit with LED lighting. Why? MORE PROFIT
> to sell a whole new lighting system than
> just fix/improve the existing neon job. Tell
> me. How do you "win" as a
> wholesaler in that type of situation ???> Your subject line still sounds strange to
> me.> I have a diversified background too, but
> don't feel the need to list my credentials.
> My main passion is NEON. This is a NEON
> site.> Furthermore, I devote a SMALL percentage of
> my week to "pissing and moaning" !
> I find it provides me with some sort of
> "balance". ;) If we can't bitch
> about LED's at a NEON SITE, then where can
> we ???> Thanks,
> Tony D.Tony,
Go ahead and piss, moan and bitch all you want about LED's. As you said, if you can't do it here where can you do it? I did it one time on signindustry.com, who had a lot of advertising from LED companies at the time, and literally had my posts edited or removed! That is why I, as well as others, don't go there any more.
The frustrations and anxiety I mainly hear from neon people is centered around two things: 1) The false advertising approach by most LED suppliers / manufacturers and the fact that sign companies have taken the bait hook, line and sinker, and 2) The fact that any "trained monkey" can stick LED's in letters, which eliminates the need for skilled labor. This of course is one of the major reasons this country is in the shape it is in: Most of our manufacturing jobs have been deported. Some of it is the People's fault and some is our elected officials fault. But I won't get in to the politics of it here.
Regarding the first issue of false advertising, in a better world there would have been numerous class action law suites brought against some of the LED suppliers / manufacturers demanding that they either prove their claims or print retractions about the false claims. Along these lines, I was under the impression that this was one of the things "The Neon Group" was going to do, which would have somewhat justified their exorbitant membership fees. However, I have seen no evidence of this happening, nor much of anything else. If it is, then they certainly need to let everyone know about it. It may actually increase membership interest. But so far I have seen little more than a couple of poorly done adverts in some magazines and some articles added to their website. But when you consider who is at the helm of the organization (the board members) it should not be surprising that not much has been accomplished.
The second issue of using unskilled labor is another big problem with this country, and it boils down to what you touched on: GREED! Unskilled labor = less wages to be paid which, as you said, = MORE PROFIT. Many sign company owners couldn't care less about what happens to this country, much less the neon industry. They have one thing in their sights: Mo' money. If you can show the sign company owner how neon can make them more money, they may be inclined to listen. But presenting the up-front costs to them won't do it. The higher price of LED's actually works to their benefit: It increases gross sales numbers, which makes their company profile look better on the books.
There is no easy answer for the neon industry, but I am still alive and fighting and a long way from giving up like another well known company in our industry has recently done. I hope the rest of you keep fighting too.
Mark
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