Temporary lines

Miracles do happen!

I am off line for a few days and come back to find I am getting ditzed on the forum. Oh well. Apparently stripeitok doesn't appreciate my humor. My comments were made in jest and that is why there was a little at the end of the post. Here is a definition for you: gullible adj 1. easily deceived or duped. I would never, ever think of doing what I previously posted. I wouldn't be caught dead sending the inspector an anonymous note. I would call them up.

I see what every side of this subject is saying . I would still tell this customer too call someone else . What is right is right in my book. I'm not putting my name on something that may come back too haunt ME!

When the customer tells you that he knows that what he's asking to to do is against the law --- how can it be anything but wrong to do it ? You are signing on to become his "accomplice". You have agreed to assist in an illegal activity. There are not enough possible disclaimers to have the customer sign that will change the simple fact that you are: willing to knowingly circumvent the law. The supporting comments are rationalizations to justify doing what is clearly wrong. "take the money" -- I can be bought !!!! and in this case for "cheap" "give the customer what he wants" -- taken up a level gives us Dr. Kevorkian and the Columbian cartel "maybe a big referral" -- this customer will always refer to you as the guy who would "bend the rules" -- your reputation is built on the little things --- if you can't be trusted on a $ 300.00 issue, how can you be trusted with more ? If the City wanted to put me on their payroll to oversee the job that would be another story but until a Branch of government is willing to put me on there payroll they can do there own inspection and make sure the lot conforms to specification. --- How does government function if every person needs to be on the payroll in order to be expected to comply with the law ? Do we need to be "paid" for everything ? After 24 years in business, I'm fortunate enough to be able to say that for me --- "I would politely decline". Of course, it's nice to take th e high moral ground when it's not my "best customer" asking. Discussing Ethics issues in theory is a fine intellectual escape; but reality often makes us behave differently than how we talked.

Hmmmmmmmm, In reading the headline for this website it says that this a place to learn more about this wonderful business and to improve quality, efficiency and profitablity. Is this how new people learn? To go out and do shady things for shady people??? The terms and agreement page states in part that your joining the lastest version of pavement striping professionals and you agree not to post anything false or inaccurate? ? I am totally and completely lost then. If this is how the professioanls do things then I am scared to death to hear what kind of advice unprofessionals give. You can have the customer sign as many waivers and disclaimers you want but they are not going to mean a thing in a court of law. The bottom line is YOU are the professional and YOU are expected to know whats right and what is wrong, not the customer. There was a civil lawsuit some 10 years ago in my state in which an elderly man slipped on some oil in a bank parking lot walking to the front door and got seriously injured. Of course he sued everyone he could think of including the striper who did the work. The background on the case was the bank asked the striper to come up with a design which he did. Part of the design was to cross hatch the area by the front door and label it "NO PARKING". After reviewing the design, the bank said they did not want that and to just leave that area unpainted ( sound familiar here? doing what the customer requests?). In turn, since there was nothing striped in this area, all the fat lazy people who did not want to park in a legal spot and walk would pull right up to the front door. This lead to gas and oil and everything else leaking on the ground over a period of time. The day the elderly man went to the bank, there were 2 cars parked in this area that he had to walk between. Well, you can probably guess by now that out of all the people sued, only the striper was found negligent and ordered to pay damages. The banks defense was they are not in the striping business and the contractor who striped the lot should have known better. The plaintiffs argument was if the area was properly striped in the first place, no fluids would have leaked onto the ground and he would have been better able to see where he was walking. My advice would be to be very careful who you take advice from on this forum, especially from people who advocate participating in illegal activity.

Harley wrote on Jul 9, 2005:Go to #25

My advice would be to be very careful who you take advice from on this forum, especially from people who advocate participating in illegal activity.

My advise, be very careful of people who do not list the email or any other info.

More stump broke gobble de gook.

You can get a lawyer to sue for anything....one of my sweeping customers got sued by someone who slipped on (I swear) a broccoli spear in the parking lot. I had GPS printouts that showed we had swept that area at 5:22 that morn...so no liability for me. I imagine it got settled for $700 or so, most of which went to the lawyer.... Hmmm...whatever happened to "the customer is always right"? Did lawyers sue the person who wrote that? Do lawyers sue you for doing what the customer wants? After all, I am just a "contractor" who "contracts" to do the work the "customer" desires me to do. I think the striper in Harley's "case" lacked the intelligence to acquire the services of a lawyer.... OMG! I participated in illegal activity just last weekend! I had three teenage girls consuming alcohol on my boat last weekend.....with their parents approval...and direct oversight...and yet it was illegal! I guess all my advice is now questionable. (I was stopped by the U.S. Coast Guard*, and two separate N.C. Wildlife officers and none of them saw fit to "observe" the illegal activity...they just checked out the girl's...er...the boat's "equipment" and wished us a happy Fourth of July. So just because something is against the law, does not always make it wrong. Common sense should factor into the equation). Another tangent: Customer says "stripe these lines". Customer calls back and says "blackout/remove these lines". What is the difference between that and putting down temporary lines? *which is now an overworked and underfunded part of the Department of Homeland Security.

Harley wrote on Jul 9, 2005:Go to #25

Hmmmmmmmm, In reading the headline for this website it says that this a place to learn more about this wonderful business and to improve quality, efficiency and profitablity. Is this how new people learn? To go out and do shady things for shady people??? The terms and agreement page states in part that your joining the lastest version of pavement striping professionals and you agree not to post anything false or inaccurate? ? I am totally and completely lost then. If this is how the professioanls do things then I am scared to death to hear what kind of advice unprofessionals give. You can have the customer sign as many waivers and disclaimers you want but they are not going to mean a thing in a court of law. The bottom line is YOU are the professional and YOU are expected to know whats right and what is wrong, not the customer. There was a civil lawsuit some 10 years ago in my state in which an elderly man slipped on some oil in a bank parking lot walking to the front door and got seriously injured. Of course he sued everyone he could think of including the striper who did the work. The background on the case was the bank asked the striper to come up with a design which he did. Part of the design was to cross hatch the area by the front door and label it "NO PARKING". After reviewing the design, the bank said they did not want that and to just leave that area unpainted ( sound familiar here? doing what the customer requests?). In turn, since there was nothing striped in this area, all the fat lazy people who did not want to park in a legal spot and walk would pull right up to the front door. This lead to gas and oil and everything else leaking on the ground over a period of time. The day the elderly man went to the bank, there were 2 cars parked in this area that he had to walk between. Well, you can probably guess by now that out of all the people sued, only the striper was found negligent and ordered to pay damages. The banks defense was they are not in the striping business and the contractor who striped the lot should have known better. The plaintiffs argument was if the area was properly striped in the first place, no fluids would have leaked onto the ground and he would have been better able to see where he was walking. My advice would be to be very careful who you take advice from on this forum, especially from people who advocate participating in illegal activity.

Fat and lazy? Kinda like you Harley riders who park on the sidewalks right outside the stores right?

I think some of you are reading more into this then is needed. First painting temporary lines is not ilegal anyware that I know of. removing lines is also not illegal. not having lines at all may make the owner liable for a fine if not corrected. There is no moral issue involved here. What the owner does after you have finished the job you were hired for has nothing to do with you been liable for his actions. If I were hired to shoot a strawberry milkshake through my striper onto the parking lot I would do it for the right price. that does not make me a criminal? It is our job as professional to do the job to the best of our ability weather it be paint yellow. green, pink, orange, temporary, epoxy, or water as requested by the owner and nothing else. We can advise, we can offer, but we have no right to require or force the owner to do anything they want with there property. If you feel the public would be better served if you refuse to do a job so be it, that is up to you. To pass judgment on others for not fallowing your beliefs is wrong. ( is that an oxymoron?) Dwan

Another good post Dwan. (Not an oxymoron....more of a redundancy.)