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Quiel Bros Signs News & Articles

Table of Contents

“10 Questions You Should Ask Any Sign Contractor Before Signing an Agreement”

“10 Questions You Should Ask Any Sign Supplier Before Signing an Agreement”

Glossary (PDF)

“10 Questions You Should Ask Any Sign Contractor Before Signing an Agreement” PDF (122kb)

Don’t become one of the thousands of people deceived by contractors every year!

1. Does the company have a C-45 & C-10 California State Contractors License?
   Unlicensed contractors pose a risk to your financial security because they expose you to significant financial harm in the event of injury or property damage. Unlicensed contractors DO NOT have bonding or worker’s compensation insurance (worker's comp). Quiel Bros. Signs possess C-45 & C-10 licenses to cover all your electrical sign needs. To check the contractor’s license, go to www.cslb.ca.gov/consumers or call 1.800.321.CSLB.
   
   
2. Make sure the contractor has worker’s compensation and liability insurance coverage.
   Beware of any company that is not willing to show you a certificate of insurance. Ask for the name of the contractor’s insurance carrier and agency to verify that the contractor has insurance. If a worker is injured working on your property and the contractor doesn’t have insurance, you’ll be required to pay for injuries and rehabilitation plus open yourself to civil litigation; this just adds to the cost of your project. Quiel Bros. Signs is covered by a $5,000,000 liability policy.
   
   
3. Is the company certified U.L. (Underwriters Laboratories)-approved and a licensed sign manufacturer?
   A small initial savings is not worth years of expensive maintenance.
   
   
4. Does the company have the ability to secure city permits?
   Do they have a city business license? Do they have the experience and support to present secure approvals for your project? Don’t have the city come by and make you remove your sign because it was not properly permitted or is illegal for any reason — size, height, etc.
   
   
5. Do they design, manufacturing and install in-house?
   Don’t rely on companies who do not have manufacturing capabilities and have to buy your sign from another company that may even be out of state. Don’t lose all control over quality and delivery dates. Deal with a company that does it all — design, manufacture, installation, and service. Recommendations can be found at the Small Business Administration website at www.sba.gov.
   
   
6. How long have they been in business?
   Make sure they will be around to complete your project and not run off with your deposit. How much experience does the sign company have with manufacturing the type of sign you are looking to purchase? Quiel Bros. is involved in many community activities like chamber of commerce and trade & business associations.
   
   
7. How many skilled employees do they have?
   Does the company have enough skilled people to do your project? Companies without worker’s comp are telling the state that they have no employees. How do you install a sign with no employees? They do it with employees who have no experience, no worker’s comp insurance and most likely no liability insurance. This means you are now financially liable for anything that happens at your site.
   
   
8. Visit the company’s facility or website!
   Make sure they have their own equipment and don’t have to rely on renting equipment with inexperienced operators.
   
   
9. Warranty?
   Make sure your sign comes with a warranty and that the company will be around to honor it. This is how some companies sell at such a low price; they plan on making it up in repair work.
   
   
10. Satisfied clients?
    Have they built the company on superior customer service and can they provide a list of satisfied clients?

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“10 Questions You Should Ask Any Sign Supplier Before Signing an Agreement”PDF (169kb)

Don’t become one of the thousands of people deceived by sign suppliers every year!

1. Does the company have the ability to secure DSA Approval?
   Do they know the procedures that DSA requires for a school project? Have they ever submitted plans to DSA before? Do they use a structural engineer that can provide stamped civil and structural plans? Do they have a facility in California where they can perform DSA inspections that are required for school projects?
   
   
2. Do they design, manufacture and install in-house?
   Do they ship the sign to you and make the install your responsibility? Don’t rely on companies who do not have manufacturing capabilities and have to buy your sign from another company that may even be out of state. Don’t lose all control over quality and delivery dates. Deal with a company that does it all — design, manufacture, installation, and service. Recommendations can be found at the Small Business Administration website at www.sba.gov.
   
   
3. Does the company have a C-45 & C-10 California State Contractors License?
   Unlicensed contractors pose a risk to your financial security because they expose you to significant financial harm in the event of injury or property damage. Unlicensed contractors DO NOT have bonding or worker’s compensation insurance. Quiel Bros. Signs possess a C-45 & C-10 License to cover all your electrical sign needs. To check the contractor’s license, go to www.cslb.ca.gov/consumers or call 1.800.321.CSLB.
   
   
4. Make sure the contractor has worker’s compensation and liability insurance coverage.
   Beware of any company that is not willing to show you a Certificate of Insurance. Ask for the name of the contractor’s insurance carrier and agency to verify that the contractor has insurance. If a worker is injured working on your property and the contractor doesn’t have insurance, you’ll be required to pay for injuries and rehabilitation plus open yourself to civil litigation; this just adds to the cost of your project. Quiel Bros. Signs is covered by a $5,000,000 liability policy.
   
   
5. Is the company certified U.L. (Underwriters Laboratories)-approved and a licensed sign manufacturer?
   A small initial savings is not worth years of expensive maintenance.
   
   
6. How long have they been in business?
   Make sure they will be around to complete your project and not run off with your deposit. How much experience does the sign company have with manufacturing school signs? Does the company support school associations, such as CASH, CASBO, and California State PTA? Is the company a member of the International Sign Association, World Sign Associates or the California Sign Association?
   
   
7. How many skilled employees do they have?
   Does the company have enough skilled people to do your project? Companies without worker’s comp are telling the state that they have no employees. How do you install a sign with no employees? They do it with employees who have no experience, no worker’s comp insurance and most likely no liability insurance. This means you are now financially liable for anything that happens at your site.
   
   
8. Visit the company’s facility or website!
   Make sure they have their own equipment and don’t have to rely on renting equipment with inexperienced operators.
   
   
9. Warranty?
   Make sure your sign comes with a warranty and that the company will be around to honor it. This is how some companies sell at such a low price; they plan on making it up in repair work. Do they provide a maintenance agreement or an extended warranty?
   
   
10. Satisfied clients
    Have they built the company on superior customer service and can they provide a list of satisfied clients? What kind of customer database do they have? How many school projects have they completed? Are references available?

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Glossary of commonly used signage terms

Please click here for a PDF of our glossary of commonly used signage terms (182kb)

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