Need a Vacation

[Tim Bateson]

I think I need a vacation!
In the past 2 years, I've only screwed up 1 order. Now, 2 in 2 days! The first was a Cermarked flask - I managed to re-align it just right and somewhat resolve the issue - enough the customer was very happy, but I wasn't. The second, a simple rowmark plaque (supplied by the customer). I had some similar material and re-did it right.
The first one was trying to produce a decent graphic from a poor one – doable, but I should have spent more time on the details & the second was letting a customer that had already missed their deadline rush me.
Sometimes we do our job so many times we take the little details for granted and they come back to bite us.

[Ron Chapellaz]

I hear ya Tim! Nothing worse than a rush job, especially on a customer supplied item. Sometimes, if you goof it up you're done! At least you managed to keep the customer happy and in the end, you didn't send out a sub par job, and that's what counts.
By the way, Canada is beautiful this time of year! 7.5 hrs. gets ya to Niagara Falls!

[Larry Bratton]

Hummm..1 order in two years huh? I wish I could say the same. My wife and I work on projects together and she made the statement "Gosh, we could do pretty good at this if we didn't have to do so much of it twice!". Maybe I am my own worst critic, but I don't put out anything that doesn't please ME. I wonder if a vacation would help??

[Martin Boekers]

It sometimes amazes me about clients and time frames.

It seems there is not enough time to do it right, but
"miraculously" there is time to do it over.

Marty

[Joe Pelonio]

Tim, you may jest but truly, a vacation will do wonders for you. In late June we took our first since 2004 and it really did help a lot. You just have to tell your regulars ahead of time that you will be gone, and plan for no sleep for a week or two when you return!

[Mike Null]

We took our first vacation in several years in May. It was a real treat though I gave up some business to do it.

Mistakes are part of the engraving business. Many are carelessness but some just happen. Most often mine are with diamond drag where the material wasn't secured properly or the center wasn't where I thought it was.

[Steve Clarkson]

We took our first vacation in several years in May. It was a real treat though I gave up some business to do it.

Mistakes are part of the engraving business. Many are carelessness but some just happen. Most often mine are with diamond drag where the material wasn't secured properly or the center wasn't where I thought it was.

Only two in two days?????????? Geez......I made two before my second cup of coffee this morning......

[Liesl Dexheimer]

Can I join you? I need a vacation too. We just lost one of our top customers, well sorta lost them...we still do some work but lost most of their facilities. Tried to contact them 3 times (2 phone calls which went to voicemail, left voicemail with no response back & sent 1 email), they completed ignored us! Yet, we always produced their products on time and notified them if we saw duplicate orders. I even made samples free of charge since they were always such a good customer. It seems there is no decency left in this world.

I definitely could use a longggg vacation.

[James Terry]

This seems like a good time to create a biannual Midwest Engravers Convention, which of course is just a bunch of guys getting together along the river with campers and beer... No phones, computers or lasers allowed, just campfires and beer.

[Bill Cunningham]

My wife and I Just got back (yesterday) from a 5 day cruise up the Trent Severn Waterway in our boat. I try to take at least 1 week off every year..When you work for yourself, there is NO such thing as a vacation. It's more properly called periods of no income.. I'm back in the shop on Tuesday this is a long weekend here, and I have a load of stuff waiting for me. As for rush jobs? I will never do a job while the customer waits, and usually have a 3-5 day turn-around for most jobs. This eliminates the need to 'rush' on any job..

[Frank Corker]

I had 9 days in Spain and came back feeling pretty refreshed. Like Tim, my life was far from rushed, however the break did me the world of good. Freshens up ideas in your head and makes you think of other opportunities, not that any have come along mind, but hey! It's the thought that counts.... so I'm told.

[Mark Winlund]

..When you work for yourself, there is NO such thing as a vacation. It's more properly called periods of no income..

Ahhh... the voice of experience!

Mark

[Randy Walker]

My wife and I took a weekend and went to Chattanooga 2 weeks ago. We stayed in an old train car, went to the aquarium, and saw a movie (Avatar in 3D) at the I-max. It was refreshing and we came back with an improved outlook. I think vacations are the best way to keep from burning out when your self-employed.

Randy Walker

[Scott Shepherd]

What is this vaaaa kaaaa shunnn thing y'all keep mentioning? I think I used to hear it a lot when I worked for someone else, but the meaning of it eludes me these days.......

Vaaaaa Kaaaaa Shunnnn....... VaaaKaaaShun.....VaaKaaShun.....Vacation....there, I said it Now what is it?

[Bill Cunningham]

While cruising the Ontario Waterway here, We met a fellow in a 45foot steel hulled sailboat (with the mast down, can't travel the waterway with it up).. This boat, and the crew left 'France' 5 years ago,(looks like they brought everything they owned with them) they spend 3 months cruising, then fly home for the winter, and back at it the next spring.. They were headed through the Trent, to Lake Huron, and Michigan, then down the Mississippi, through the gulf to Panama, then home by plane to do the next hop across the Pacific next summer.. Now THAT'S a Vacation...