Do Not Touch.

[HOTFR8]

OK here is the story.

Yesterday this guy calls me and asks if he can see my Teardrop Camper as he wanted to build one himself. Me being a nice guy said OK and he came and had a good look.

I have plenty of signs in my Shop saying Please Do Not Touch, Tap Rub or Rap anything - After all you do not know me that well and Look and Admire but Please Do Not Touch yet I went away for a moment and came back on hear a Snap I had no idea what happened but after this fellow had gone I noticed he had broken something . Now I have no idea what to do I guess I will just have to fix it and wear it but what annoys me is the Sign saying do not touch was right in front of his eyes.

What do you do ? Not let people in or do I put up more Bolder signs saying do not touch ? The signs I have now are A4 Paper size and easy to read.

 

[RickP330]

Dude,
You cannot control what other people will do no matter how hard you try. I think you just have to accept it. Make them pay for it - or eat it and keep quiet. After all our toys don't heal on there own. They will always be in a state of disrepair no matter how hard we lock the doors.
JMO
Rick

 

[bmwpower]

My rule of thumb is don't let strangers in my place. Not sure if your guy was a stainger or not. If you break rule #1, then you watch them like a hawk. Didn't you ask him what the sounds was or what snapped?

In the end, rules don't really matter because once I had a friend of a friend over and he was looking at one of my cars. While I was working in the engine bay, he decided he wanted to try to take off the fuse panel cover....snap! The ****** didn't even ask to replace it. My friend felt so bad that he bought a replacement cover for me.

 

[PAToyota]

Sort of what is done is done... Especially if he was gone by the time you found the damage. I don't allow just anyone into the shop in the first place and anyone I don't personally know will own up to a mistake is watched like a hawk.

 

[HOTFR8]

some people are eternally children

True an yes I will be watching like a Hawk in future. I have learnt a lesson from just trying to help a guy out. I will have to Eat it unless he comes back to me wanting more information.

I need a bigger Shed / Works. that way I can move things so people can not touch.

 

[bobs409]

Reminds me of a good story I have on how well people read signs. When I was a teenager, I worked at a self serve gas station. Just a little booth about 10X10 or less.

At night, we shut out the canopy lights, sign & pump lights and hung 3 closed signs in the windows. I would often get people come to the window while I was closing up/counting money, etc and while having to look around the closed sign, ask me if I was still open.

If you want to see stupid people, work in anything retail related. I'd like to say it's funny but most times, it was just aggravating!

I work for myself now and things are much better. I love my boss and the job!

 

[gahi]

I make signs for a living, and I can tell you first hand, that people dont read signs that tell rules or warnings. Or they read them, but dont comprehend them. Either way, the signs ar good ammo. "Didn't you see the sign?"
So, what did he break?...

 

[TonyMazz]

reminds me of a story....I was building my house and they had completed putting tar paper on the roof and left for the day. I bring my step daughter and her ditzy boyfriend along....we no sooner turn around and we find my step daughter and her dip Sh*t boyfriend on the freakin roof .."look at what I can do..." standing on the tar paper, tearing it, etc... that was the day I spoke in single syllabuls by the paragraph....but they were teenage "experts" and say a ladder which communicated that they had to climb it.....idiots...

 

[gotta56forme]

I was at an outdoor car show a couple of years ago with a friend who has a $$$ show car. Most people know by looking at the car the last thing you should do is touch it, but there is always those few. The car has a beautiful white leather upholstery. He understandably doesn't want people touching that what with the oils or worse on their fingers & hands. A guy looking at the car squeezed the driver's seat back like a loaf of bread.

"Please don't touch the car." my friend respectfully asked.
"There's no sign saying I can't." the guy snapped back.
<pause>
<pause>
<pause>
"I see...Is your wife here today?" my friend said slyly.
<pause>
The guy smirked, nodded his head, and walked off...

 

[73super]

Have you ever noticed how some people are like "pods"... they live in their own little world and really are clueless to the others around them. You know the kind of people I'm talking about.. you see them out driving around all the time. I don't think it matter's what you say to certain individuals.. I'm serious.. they are totally clueless.. don't know why.. it just is what it is.

 

[duggie]

I had a similar incident at a car show with someone leaning on my truck .... I eventually saw this and walked over to him and the following conversation ensued:

"Do you have $40,000.00 ??"
He looked at me confused and asked "Why ??"
I responded "That is the how much I want for the truck ??"
"But I do not want to buy your truck"
"Well, you are leaning against it, so you must own it"
"No I don't, it is your truck"
"If you continue to lean against it and scatch it .. then you will be buying it, now get off the truck"
"Geez, you don't need to get rude" ... and he walked away grumbling about my attitude.

Unfortunately, we cannot control or eliminate stupidity ... *sigh*

 

[wildcat]

I have a sticker on my bike that reads "If you value your life as much as I value this bike, don't F@*K with it!"
Looks like I may have to make a sign for the garage.

As for the person that broke stuff in your garage. I would have been pissed if I had a sign that asked people not to touch and then he broke something. I fully believe that someone should own up to thier mistakes. When they don't my eye for an eye instinct takes over. I also respect other property and demand the same for mine.

You have more patience for idiots than I do. Hope it was something you can repare or at least replace cheap.

 

[flexysteve]

I've been to car shows where parents (and I use that term loosely) let their kids roam unsupervised and the kids will end up climbing in the cars to play with the playstation and whatnot. One guy had a International CXT with huge dollars put into it and kids were climbing on it like a jungle gym and the parents were no where to be seen.

 

[Vincent Vega]

My personal favorite at car shows is the occasional "Ute" with the huge black pants and metal rings. Clanging around everbody's show cars. WTF?

 

[z28toz06]

so wtf did he break? Put this under the do not touch or else sign:

 

[HOTFR8]

So, what did he break?...

He broke the power inlet fitting on my Teardrop Camper that he came to see.
I have fixed it now but was very pissed over it. A small tube of loctite 454 ( super glue ) did the job but if that did not I would have had to pull the fitting out and replace it all and to reseal it and weather proof it would be a major hassle as we all know it is hard to reseal and weather proof these fittings.

 

[HOTFR8]

"Please don't touch the car." my friend respectfully asked.
"There's no sign saying I can't." the guy snapped back.
<pause>
<pause>
<pause>
"I see...Is your wife here today?" my friend said slyly.
<pause>
The guy smirked, nodded his head, and walked off...

I have Signs on all my cars

Please Don Not Touch Tap Rap or Rub Anything.
After all you do not know me that well.

As well as that on the T Roadster I have a Remote Control wired to the Klaxon Horn and if I am at an out door show I have no Hesitation to use it and I can tell you many a friend has pissed them selves laughing when some Kid trys to get in and I blow the Horn. The Parents usualy go off the deep end and say we told you not to touch it.

Have you ever noticed how some people are like "pods"... they live in their own little world and really are clueless to the others around them. You know the kind of people I'm talking about.. you see them out driving around all the time. I don't think it matter's what you say to certain individuals.. I'm serious.. they are totally clueless.. don't know why.. it just is what it is.

Yes this guy was one of those.

z28toz06 Sorry we have Gun Laws here in Australia that will not allow us to own that sort of security. A BaseBall bat Would work for me but then that is not Australian, I need a Cricket Bat. .

 

[Elky]

i LOVE people like the ones you guys are talking about!
its great to come back to your car after walking around a show to find hundreds of handprints on the windows and black paint (yes i know there is a casket indthe back, but do you have to put your face and your piece of pizza on the window to see it?) yes i did find a pizza print on my car one day!!

at one cruise night, i met this guy who had a beautifully restored '59 Eldorado.
i was parked next to him and heard his car door shut, when i turned around there were 3 kids inside flipping switches and pushing buttons and swingint the steering wheel back and forth.
be fore i got the chance to say anything he came over and went off on them, they scrambled out of the car and slammed the door so hard i thought it was going to break the window.

did i mention how much i LOVE people?!?!?

 

[alfadan]

I was sitting out in the driveway once after just riding my old kawasaki around. It was nice and hot and my cousin's kid(who's not the sharpest bulb in the shed) comes up and asks "who's moder-cycle?" about 7 times. "mine, just like every other day you ask me that" Then he runs up to it and grabs the cam cover, "THAT'S HOT! whaaaaaaaaaaa!" dumb kid, whatever; I was too busy sitting and drinking iced tea.

 

[Jey]

even my friends are guilty of this type of behavior, the ones that own cars and trucks as nice as mine.

I would have people over in the garage and we would hang out and eventually someone would be leaning against the truck. I have a general fear of jeans and the often riveted pockets.

Had the tail gate off once, and had it sitting on the floor ontop of a blanet on two tires, and a blanket on top of it. My buddys girlfriend came over and sat on it. It was too late, and i told her to move, but she said "oh, it's fine..."

Too bad I had to replace the tailgate because there was two fat-*** cheek marks on the gate.

it just amazes me that people I know, who feel the same way about their rides, to it in general.

 

[bmwpower]

even my friends are guilty of this type of behavior, the ones that own cars and trucks as nice as mine.

I would have people over in the garage and we would hang out and eventually someone would be leaning against the truck. I have a general fear of jeans and the often riveted pockets.

Had the tail gate off once, and had it sitting on the floor ontop of a blanet on two tires, and a blanket on top of it. My buddys girlfriend came over and sat on it. It was too late, and i told her to move, but she said "oh, it's fine..."

Too bad I had to replace the tailgate because there was two fat-*** cheek marks on the gate.

it just amazes me that people I know, who feel the same way about their rides, to it in general.

Oh, that's the best comment - I love to hear all of 'em: "Oh, it's fine" or "You'll NEVER see that" or "I wouldn't worry about that"

I will now you stupid SOB.

 

[73super]

How about a sign that reads "Please don't touch or I'll shoot you dead!", and then put a chaulk outline next to your car..

 

[duggie]

I just remembered another "gene pool accident" episode ...

I live next door to a man who buys old bicycles, re-builds them and sells them in his driveway and we also live on a busy street with parking on the opposite side.

Well, one day I was out in the garage and some "tool" parks his car on my front lawn to go look at the bikes next door. I walked over to him and asked for his address ... "Why" was the response ... "So I can go and park my truck on your front lawn".

"But I'm just going to be a minute" ... he says

"I will too after I tear up your lawn with my truck"

And people wonder why we get angry ...

 

[PAToyota]

"But I'm just going to be a minute" ... he says

Yeah, I LOVE that response. Like the guy who parked in front of my driveway the other weekend when my neighbor was having a garage sale... I can't get out of my own driveway because HE shouldn't be inconvenienced...

 

[alfadan]

I watched one of my parents' neighbors slash a work-van's tire cause it was blocking his driveway.
My dad got a ticket for parking in front of his own driveway too. What a world!

 

[alfadan]

kind of surprised no one mentioned this one; how about people who try to be cute and SCRATCH "wash me!" into you're paint and glass when its a little dusty. likewise, those who stand there shooting the breeze with you and run their finger along you're paint and dont even think about it.

 

[cc_rider]

Go to your local sporting goods store and buy some paper targets. Take them to the range. Practice shooting until you have some nice groupings. Then post one or two of the best ones below your sign(s).

I'm thinking about doing that below the 'No Trespassing' signs at our country place...

c.

 

[bahamasair]

Try installing a couple of hundred feet of railings if you want to attract assholes. As soon as you finish cementing them and have everything straight as an arrow everyone passing will ignore the caution tape all over everything and shake the closest post to see if its solid. If you are lucky it will only be the next 4 sections on each side of the one they "tested" that need to have to be redone. Ive put wet paint yellow tape all over railings to see if that would help but they will still touch it. I even got some bio hazard tape and tried that and they still touch it. I watched some guy rub his hand along a section with the bio hazard tape round it then sniff his hand lol. I had one of my workers run over to him and explain that the coating on the rails was very toxic. My worker apparently has a vivid imagination and a really bad scar on one of his arms. He had the guy believing that there was something on the rails that reacted with a membrane under the skin causing it to come off in sheets lmfao. He told him thats how he got the scar and was so convincing even I almost believed him lol.
Ive had to redo jobs 4 and 5 times because people have to see for themselves if it is solid or the paint is wet etc.

 

[BoCRon]

I was at the MINI Cooper yearly gathering at the Dragon a few weeks back. On Saturday night it's a tradition to do a midnight run, everyone meets and compares all the cool night time silliness we can put on our cars. Then we drive up to a big gravel area and at midnight everyone lifts the bonnet on their MINIs (that's the hood to non-MINI folks ). MINIs (up until the 2007) have the headlights as part of the bonnet so when you lift them, everyone's lights shine up into the sky. It serves no purpose, just fun. Anyway, my car usually has a crowd around it at this point since I cover it with very carefully placed neon lights and glowies. This year a woman came over to check it out and just oohed and aahed over El Kabong. I noticed she was handicapped and walked with canes. Since it was so crowded in the lot, she couldn't use her canes and was using her hands to support herself and leaning on everyone's cars. I couldn't really say anything but was actually cringing as I watched her leave to go back to her car. I felt like a total heel for wanting to tell her to leave her rings at home next time!!! But I didn't .
Annette

 

[bmwpower]

I was at the MINI Cooper yearly gathering at the Dragon a few weeks back. On Saturday night it's a tradition to do a midnight run, everyone meets and compares all the cool night time silliness we can put on our cars. Then we drive up to a big gravel area and at midnight everyone lifts the bonnet on their MINIs (that's the hood to non-MINI folks ). MINIs (up until the 2007) have the headlights as part of the bonnet so when you lift them, everyone's lights shine up into the sky. It serves no purpose, just fun. Anyway, my car usually has a crowd around it at this point since I cover it with very carefully placed neon lights and glowies. This year a woman came over to check it out and just oohed and aahed over El Kabong. I noticed she was handicapped and walked with canes. Since it was so crowded in the lot, she couldn't use her canes and was using her hands to support herself and leaning on everyone's cars. I couldn't really say anything but was actually cringing as I watched her leave to go back to her car. I felt like a total heel for wanting to tell her to leave her rings at home next time!!! But I didn't .
Annette

I would have. Doesn't matter is she's handicapped, she shouldn't have done that. If anything, she should have asked. It's just common sense/courtesy.

 

[ZRX61]

The sign in my garage reads "Please do not touch the cars. Fingers will be removed"

 

[wildcat]

I came home from work last year to find a city hydro truck parked at an angle on and blocking BOTH of my driveways. So I parked in front boxing it in and knocked on neighbors doors trying to find this parking genius to no avail. I waited an hour, no-one came for the truck so I called the hydro office and explained that one of thier truck is on my property and it looks like some kids are starting to strip it in my driveway. The driver showed up out of breath from running down the street and found me with my plasma cutter in hand. I kindly explained that if another truck entered my property that isn't doing work on it. The offending truck would be cut up and sold for scrap. He drove away after spouting obcenities not noticing the nicely plasma cut pieces of his licence plate on my driveway. I got a call the next day asking if I knew where the plate was. I answered "That's what those kids were after then."

 

[Steve V.]

A guy I know has a really pristine '55 Chevy hotrod. It's tubbed and has a blower

and all of the other goodies. Not to mention a great paint job. One night he was at the local Saturday night show as were about 30 other cars/trucks. He was away from his car and I happened to be walking by it and noticed that someone had deliberately scratched the paint on the left rear quarter panel. It looked like someone took one of the bottle openers that people carry on a key chain and gouged the paint (to the bare metal) about 1 1/2" long. I went and found him and told him about it and he left the show. I think he stayed away from shows for a while after that. I sure wish I would have walked up when the scumbag was doing it.

Steve