Complaint Review: Bill Smunk - Kingstree South Carolina

Bobby, Again I think we're just going to have to agree to disagree. If anyone is considering hiring Bobby I am only providing my experience. I am not saying I am right or wrong. Clearly you can see their has been some serious miscommunication. If any of my comments have have left you with questions of his integrity I am sure Bobby will be happy to provide a list of references. If anyone is considering doing business with Smunk Laydon please contact us for a current client list or list of references as well. No more games Bobby! Matt Laydon 843-568-1222

Obviously, Mr. Laydon and Mr. Smunk have gone to great effort to form a rebuttal against my original claim. I feel compelled to explain a bit deeper. After meeting with Matt, I did indeed inform him that I usually based estimates on the amount of time I thought it might take to complete a job, and that if the job took significantly less time, I would reduce the price based on time spent. I provided a quote and Matt told me that the price was more than they wanted to spend, so I then reduced the price significantly, as this was a freelance project (I'm employed full-time as an advertising art director) and I had the time to do it. None of the work was done during my "regular business hours", but I did email from my business account from time to time for convenience and to send files. I've designed hundreds of corporate logos, and many have won top awards locally and regionally. Matt has a complete lack of knowledge when is comes to understanding how logos are designed. Upon starting to work on the logo, Matt told me that he know exactly what he wanted, and sent me an illustration of a golfer and directed that I use that in their logo. I informed him that this art was likely COPYRIGHTED material and that we could not use it. I found a similar photo and told him that we could have an illustrator render something similar in scratchboard for an additional cost, or I could illustrate the figure in a different style. So, I then spent many hours above what I'd estimated to illustrate the logo, and give the client what they wanted. I provided many options, but he apparently knew exactly what he wanted, even though I felt they were somewhat sub-standard design choices. I just wanted them to be happy so that we could move on. Matt needed a photographer, so I recommended some of my contacts. I also explained that my estimate did not include any time for art direction of photography. Matt informed me that was fine, he would take care of it. Apparently Matt is also not aware that I did indeed speak to Wilson Baker TWICE regarding their photoshoot, trying to explain how golf might serve as a metaphor for financial planning advice. I was not contracted to be present at the actual photoshoot. Wilson did a nice job though. I then WAITED for weeks to be provided with new copy for the brochure. Matt provided me with a really crummy powerpoint document and said "this is what I want".. Well, I provided a much better layout, which they revised, asked me to make really bad design changes, etc. etc. We finally COMPLETED the design, they were PLEASED with it, and then wanted to know how much it was going to cost. I felt that the work had been done well, and I should be paid the full estimated amount. That's when things fell apart. They said they were not going to pay me anything, so I decided to take a very small kill fee instead of filing in small claims court. Regardless of what they claim they can get bargain-basement design work done for, the bottom line is this folks: I gave these guys a fair price, they agreed to the price. I never agreed to work "by the hour". The work was done according to their directions and they were very happy until I informed them that they were going to pay the full amount. So, now that I've posted here, on this website, they're angry. Are those strong-arm tactics? No.

The Real Story I was hired by Matt Laydon of Smunk Laydon as a freelance artist to originally design two booklets for their company and then recently hired to design a biography page, letterhead, and redesign a brochure. I am an in-house graphic artist for one of the fastest growing churches in the U.S. and work as a freelance artist on the side. I have spent a total of 15 hours including design time and revisions on the bio, letterhead, and brochure. My experience with Smunk Laydon has been very professional. They have been very easy to work with providing clear direction in the projects, quick responses to questions and proofs, open to creative input, and have paid me in a timely manner to all of our agreed upon rates. If approached to do future work with Smunk Laydon, I would be very open to the opportunity. Based on my experience, I would recommend them as a reputable company to work with. Ashley Mt. Pleasant, SC U.S.A. HI Matt, I enjoyed working with you and Bill on your new business brochure. The shoot went very smoothly with the locations and subjects all being very professional - easy to get to and easy to work with. I was very impressed with some of the images we produced and included some on my website. Please send me a few brochures when they are completed, and thank you and Bill for prompt payment. Wilson Mt. Pleasant, SC How professional is bobby? Not very! Bobby was referred to us by a close personal friend in the printing business. I told him we wanted to develop a marketing piece and he suggested I contact Bobby. I spoke to Bobby over the phone and he was a very nice guy. He told me to do a brochure it would take about ten hours and he charged a $100 per hour. I met with Bobby for lunch and showed him some samples I had from another company and he assured me his work would be better. I informed Bobby we were on a tight budget for design work. He submitted a bid and it was more than we had to spend. I told him I thought he was a nice guy and since my friend recommended him I wanted to work with him, but budget was the main issue. He said that the bid he submitted was an estimate and then lowered it. He told me not to worry that I would only be charged for the hours he actually worked. I trusted him to track the hours and the work began. Bobby submitted three or four logo designs that were extremely weak. He originally showed me some samples done by Cognetix (not by him) that looked as if an artist had sketched the logo. I was very impressed but later learned the designs were not his designs but done by an artist in Atlanta. He told me it would get very costly to use the style he originally showed me and he didn't even know if the guy was still around. (I forget the term for it etchboard maybe) I moved forward trusting he would come up with something we would like. He never did. Eventually I had to take the bull by the horns and designed a logo myself. He did digitalize it and put it into a usable format. Bobby thought it was good and remarked that I had good taste. I paid him in full for the logo design and we agreed to start working on the brochure. I first hired a photographer Wilson Baker who did an excellent job. The photos turned out great and we wanted a quality design to compliment the photos. Bobby submitted a version of the brochure which my partner and I were not crazy about. Contrary to Bobby's testimony I had worked with a professional designer before and felt Bobby lacked vision. There was little design work only the photos formatted and laid out with the text I wrote myself. Bobby was hard to contact, he would not return my e mails, and frequently said he was out of town. That is why he couldn't respond promptly. I know he was working full time for Cognetix and I was unsure if he was doing our design during his work day or after hours. I would assume he was doing the design on their dime because when he did respond it was through his Cognetix e mail account and during business hours. I wonder how Cognetix, his employer would feel about that? I began to feel the job was a nuisance to Bobby. I finally confronted him about the brochure and told him we were not happy. He hastily challenged the notion he was not giving us his all by listing his industry credentials and how many design contests he had won. Who was I to question him? As you can see in his post his ego is massive. ? I am unsure how a design contest has anything to do with keeping your word. We eventually took the piece to a graphic designer at my church and she looked at it. I asked her opinion. She thought maybe the design would have taken 3 or 4 hours instead of the 23 Bobby was billing us for. I explained to him that we were unhappy with his design work and his response was "we are so close to the end let's just get it over with." Not to inspiring! The job was heading south. Bobby then started to threaten and pressure me saying he was going to take us to court and sue. He said he would win because he's done it before. I had never been to court before, but thought do I really need that headache. The only thing we wanted from the beginning was a decent looking brochure. With his threats looming I felt our hopes of getting something we could use were out the window. I called Bobby and told him I felt he should be compensated for his time and we should all go our separate ways. He agreed and I sent him a check. He said he was not upset and agreed to part ways on good terms. He did however let me know that I was extremely lucky and he could sue me. I didn't feel lucky as I was two months past schedule, out the kill fee he demanded, and had absolutely nothing to show for it. I guess he felt I was lucky paying him for nothing but wasted time and frustration. As far as who is right or who is wrong I am not sure. Bobby and I negotiated a deal that worked well for both of us when we agreed to disagree. I then learned from my girlfriend I was on some rip off report. I don't recall him disclosing that to be part of the agreement when I again paid him. I am not going to say you need to avoid Bobby or Cognetix. I am not going to slander him, but I will provide my opinion and experience. I feel his work lacked vision, and our job was at the bottom of his priority list. I think he was working full time and when he had a minute or two would throw something together to get me off his back. Why was my job less important? Did my money not spend the same as his high net worth clients? We weren't satisfied with his work and with him wanting to get it over with. We felt it was in everybody's best interest to do as he said kill the job. We sent him the check for what he had done and that was the end of it. After two months we had to start over as we had nothing to show for our efforts. Who do you think lost more? I spent 15-20 hours of my time designing power-point files to show Bobby ideas to consider. This included one entire Saturday that I was supposed to spend with my son. I can barely check my e mail let alone do graphic design. He was hired to do the design and I did it. I came up with the layout and the logo. I wrote the text for the brochure. He told me I had no idea about the process and how much work was involved. I think I would know more than he would. The other designers I spoke to estimated it would take 3-4 hours however he billed us for 23. Sorry Bobby, It's not all about you. I am happy to report that we found an awesome designer named Ashley Schuermann who gave us two different versions and reported the total design time to be just under 5 hours. She went on to design several pieces in half the time Bobby reported he spent on one. She was very easy to work with and always responds to correspondence in a timely manner. Finally the photographer who was involved in the job was also a delight to work with as well. He was a perfectionist and looking back may have set our expectations to high, thinking Bobby would bring the same passion to the job. In conclusion, we simply could not cave into Bobby threats and bullying antics. He continually boasts to be a professional yet slanders someone on the internet after cashing their check. He kept all the files and left us with nothing. I know he spent some time working on the brochure and he was compensated for it. What about my time Bobby? Is it less valuable than yours? If you want the truth contact Wilson Baker. Bobby was supposedly the art director and on the morning of the shoot had not talked to Wilson. Wilson and I were scrambling around trying to think up shots to use. Wilson and I met at my home and discussed the shoot for an hour a few days before. Bobby had no input because he was not there. Wilson Baker can explain the frustration I had with Bobby and what he added as the art director. Nothing! If I was truly unscrupulous as Bobby claims why would I pay him for his time spent? I tried to treat the guy with respect and do the right thing. He agreed to the price, cashed the check, and then ran to the internet to slander us. That was a cowardly move in my opinion. If he was unhappy with the terms of the deal when it went south is that not the time to grind your axe? As for Bobby next rebuttal let me do it for him when he says he did not tell me we would only be charged for the hours worked it is a bold faced lie. I will go to any court of law and swear on a stack of bibles as well as my life, and the life of my child that that is exactly what he said to me! Involving my child is a bit extreme but is the only way I can begin to express how adamant I am about him misrepresenting the facts. Please see the posts of the other people involved with the completion of the job. Admit it Bobby you tried to take advantage of us by misrepresenting your time. Matt