Recently, a catering company approached me in need of several different services. These services ranged from logo design to online marketing and menus.
He had explained to me that he had a budget of about $700.00 and was wondering what my marketing company could offer. In lieu of this info, I decided it would be best if I pick up a phone and start calling around. Here is what I found.
I opened up the local yellow pages to page one of graphic design companies. Now mind you these are not even agencies and do not handle ALL aspects of marketing.
So I posed as the Catering Company and gave each design company all the info which my client had supplied me, so hopefully they could make a fair determination of what they could offer me. Please note that I also highlighted the fact that I had several partners in this venture and that there was definitely more work to follow for the right graphic designer. Well as you will soon find dangling that carrot did not get much more.
Out of about a dozen designers which I talked to 9 of them would not touch a logo for less than $700.00. One real pompous ass claimed she might not even finish a logo for that amount. She did great work and coincidentally many logos were in the restaurant industry. Just what I was looking for MINUS THE 'TUDE. She got all huffy and whiny like she needed to go use the "little girl's room." At which point I asked her if seeking her "high and mighty services" was inconveniencing her (not in those words though...lol). She replied she had to get back to a party. "Well now," I replied, "party on (sarcasm)." Apparently she did not need my money and honestly I would be caught naked in the coliseum of drunk Giants fans before giving her a red cent...lol.
Other designers were kind of hit and miss. There were a couple that would do it for around $400.00 but I asked to see their portfolio online. One guy did not have one. I asked him if I should give him the money now and I could put a blind fold on. That would probably look nicer, eh. Another guy had a real stinker of a website and his logo work was not up to par. Apparently, all he wanted to do was talk about the perils of artists and get all existential on me. I existed stage left really quick.
One designer took the cake when he offered to do my logo for $75.00. My ears perked up and I said I was interested. "Could I see your website please?" I asked. "Yeah sure," he said..."go to dub dub dub dot my space dot..." Oh no I will cut that one off right their I said to myself as I smiled and nodded. I think coupled with that and the fact that he offered to do as many revisions as I wanted was just not happening. I even asked him what would happen if the revision process would stretch into my "senior years." I sarcastically laughed and mentioned if I needed bedside assistance would he offer that too? He did not laugh one bit...this bloke was serious. For $75.00 I would have my own indentured servant of a logo designer.
Here is a real clencher though...I made it a point to mention to these designers that there was an agency called Blastoff Studio and they did offer to design my logo for $200.00 as well as provide much more service for the whole $700. Each and every one of them had the same reaction, almost as if it has been a programmed response. They scoffed and said that it is probably Microsoft clipart...well I guess that under the guise of a caterer I could not do anything but agree. Afterall, I was the "clueless" potential client that took their word for gold...lol. As a designer / marketer / advertiser I probably would have made them eat their words for desert with examples of this "clip art."
A week later:
Safe to say that out of the more than dozen of these characters, all have promised to send me samples and none have replied. They are quite the savvy bunch...funny thing that they are all listed in the yellow pages. This made no sense whatsoever. 'Nuff said.
So when you are looking for a logo design company and you have read this, I ask you to look no further. Blastoff Studio can provide you more service at a more affordable cost. The proof is apparently in the pudding.
