Kent McMillan, post: 389484, member: 3 wrote: Absolutely right, Tommy, er, should I say Carbon-based lifeform 2139-7732-9115? The ideal firm name should be one that leads the consumer to believe that no actual people will be involved in the performance of the service or even in any way *responsible* for it.
So, there's
R2-D2 Geomatics,
Commander Data Mapping,
HAL 9000 Survey Expertise,or, better yet, just abstract ideas like:
Distilled Surveying,
Gravity Associates,
Mathemagical Mapping
Super Speedy Geomagicians Inc would have that topo done by now.
Dave Karoly, post: 389490, member: 94 wrote: Super Speedy Geomagicians Inc would have that topo done by now.
Yes, those of us who require a signed proposal in hand tend to wait for the starter's pistol.
No matter what I typed. It sounded bad. So insert a humorous saying here, please
Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
On reflection, I think that the obvious solution is for staff to adopt colorful, easy-to-remember names to avoid the situation about which Tommy complains. I mean, if Tommy had identified himself as "Sir Mapsalot" or "Bubba Savage", would the person on the other end of the line have forgotten his name so easily?
Allen Wrench, post: 389327, member: 6172 wrote: I'll pick something that everyone can understand over the phone without me spelling out my first and last name every damn time, same goes for the website - I don't want to have tell people how to spell that over and over either.
Good idea. I get pretty tired of telling people how to spell my last name and then explaining that it is "surveying" not "survey".
Well myself and a colleague of mine have been have been tossing the idea around of doing our own thing for a few months now, and we got a business plan, worked out a equipment rental schedule, I've already got software and hardware ready to go, we are basically just tasking it slow at the moment to see how our economy goes (politically it ain't going good here, might get a credit downgrade end of the month), so we don't want to jumping into anything.
My wife, being a graphic designer, quickly got us to get a name so she could play with business cards, logos, letterheads and a website. My colleague and I ha to think, do we go for his previous employer generic type of name or for our current setup which is principal named? We eventually went the generic route and with reason. My name is Dirk and my surname Uys. My name is pronounced Du-r-k, like when saying duh, and my surname is pronounced like Ace. Colleagues name is Derick, easy enough, and Badenhorst. Remember we live in a country with 11 official languages. My name always becomes "Derick" to 95% of our population, and yes it is getting on my nerves. His surname is also very irritating, as no one can pronounce the damn thing.
So what do we do? Eventually we will need a telephone (only if we actually want to get any business) and then a receptionist. Chances are she will be part of the group of people that cannot pronounce my name or his surname. If the business is named "Badenhorst & Uys Surveys" or something in that line, the first line of receptionist conversation will make it sound like we have a 4 year old answering our phones. Just as bad if we use our first names "Dirk & Derick Surveys" will become "Derick and Derick". Simply put the average person cannot pronounce the names needed in our business and what would the point be of having a fancy shiny signboard made with words on that no one can pronounce.
Would I like my name on the door? Yes. Is it a plausible idea? No.
We eventually decided on something, that sound probably very generic, but the situation doesn't allow actual names. If I think of the really big players in our country in survey then its about 50/50 about owner name vs generic name. We have Trail Surveys, 5D Surveys (company part 1 that is work for), ACS (Africa consulting surveys), AAM (used to be global geomatics but was bought out by Australians), CADmapping, Southern Mapping and then there is the owner named Lloyd & Hill, CDJ Landsurveyors, Wimberley Surveys, HL Wattrus and associates, Kirchhoff Professional Surveyors (company part 2 that I work for). I don't really see the difference as long as the profession is not brought into any disgrace by name choice. I'm not going to go into too much details there
Any input on our name suggestion would be nice.
Cheers
RSAsurv, post: 390400, member: 10950 wrote: Well myself and a colleague of mine have been have been tossing the idea around of doing our own thing for a few months now, and we got a business plan, worked out a equipment rental schedule, I've already got software and hardware ready to go, we are basically just tasking it slow at the moment to see how our economy goes (politically it ain't going good here, might get a credit downgrade end of the month), so we don't want to jumping into anything.
My wife, being a graphic designer, quickly got us to get a name so she could play with business cards, logos, letterheads and a website. My colleague and I ha to think, do we go for his previous employer generic type of name or for our current setup which is principal named? We eventually went the generic route and with reason. My name is Dirk and my surname Uys. My name is pronounced Du-r-k, like when saying duh, and my surname is pronounced like Ace. Colleagues name is Derick, easy enough, and Badenhorst. Remember we live in a country with 11 official languages. My name always becomes "Derick" to 95% of our population, and yes it is getting on my nerves. His surname is also very irritating, as no one can pronounce the damn thing.
So what do we do? Eventually we will need a telephone (only if we actually want to get any business) and then a receptionist. Chances are she will be part of the group of people that cannot pronounce my name or his surname. If the business is named "Badenhorst & Uys Surveys" or something in that line, the first line of receptionist conversation will make it sound like we have a 4 year old answering our phones. Just as bad if we use our first names "Dirk & Derick Surveys" will become "Derick and Derick". Simply put the average person cannot pronounce the names needed in our business and what would the point be of having a fancy shiny signboard made with words on that no one can pronounce.
Would I like my name on the door? Yes. Is it a plausible idea? No.
We eventually decided on something, that sound probably very generic, but the situation doesn't allow actual names. If I think of the really big players in our country in survey then its about 50/50 about owner name vs generic name. We have Trail Surveys, 5D Surveys (company part 1 that is work for), ACS (Africa consulting surveys), AAM (used to be global geomatics but was bought out by Australians), CADmapping, Southern Mapping and then there is the owner named Lloyd & Hill, CDJ Landsurveyors, Wimberley Surveys, HL Wattrus and associates, Kirchhoff Professional Surveyors (company part 2 that I work for). I don't really see the difference as long as the profession is not brought into any disgrace by name choice. I'm not going to go into too much details there
Any input on our name suggestion would be nice.
Cheers
I would use Badenhorst & Uys Surveys but if it looked like it was becoming a problem you could change it to B & U Surveys or something similar fairly easily along the way.
The way I see it people will remember Badenhorst & Uys Surveys because it is unique whereas B & U Surveys could get lost among the other companies with just initials.
Allen Wrench, post: 389327, member: 6172 wrote: I'm planning on going solo, and I won't be able to use any part of my name, since the last name is rarely pronounced right and never, ever spelled correctly. I'll pick something that everyone can understand over the phone without me spelling out my first and last name every damn time, same goes for the website - I don't want to have tell people how to spell that over and over either.
Good luck with that. You can't fathom how many times I have to spell out "Young" over the phone.
Make it yours, but change it up just a bit. Call it B. U. D. D. Surveying. or maybe D & D Surveying.
Two D or U B, that is the question. (Shakespeare is spinning in his grave)
How about something like Chocolate Professionals. (Everybody loves chocolate.)
Pie Are Squared Surveyors
Maybe UBD2 Surveying. (America's CH2M Hill has been around for decades)
A huge firm in the US is Brown and Root. Maybe surveyors could name their firm something like Orange and White.
Totalsurv, post: 390402, member: 8202 wrote: I would use Badenhorst & Uys Surveys. The way I see it people will remember Badenhorst & Uys Surveys because it is unique whereas B & U Surveys could get lost among the other companies with just initials.
Yes, I agree. Badenhorst & Uys sounds like an old, established firm, whereas B & U is the sort of moniker that the fly-by-night outfits favor.
Holy Cow, post: 390412, member: 50 wrote: Two D or U B, that is the question. (Shakespeare is spinning in his grave)
How about something like Chocolate Professionals. (Everybody loves chocolate.)
Pie Are Squared Surveyors
Maybe UBD2 Surveying. (America's CH2M Hill has been around for decades)
A huge firm in the US is Brown and Root. Maybe surveyors could name their firm something like Orange and White.
Stantec bought KBR
Mark Mayer, post: 389334, member: 424 wrote: All I can say to that is that one of the largest engineering/land surveying companies on the west coast, with hundred of employees and dozens of offices, is David Evans & Associates.
At one time, they had an office in Birmingham. Their survey department manager offered to buy me out and offer positions to me and my crew. They had great benefits and competitive pay, but I declined because I was afraid to work for a company with a main office that far away that could very easily decide to close a remote location. The manager who made the offer was Jeff Lucas, who began working toward his law degree when they closed after 9/11.
