Service Select has a great deal of experience in variances and zoning approvals, and at times, that really comes in handy. More local authorities are putting tighter controls on sign rules and it is critical that a sign provider can work through the system to obtain the branding results desired and needed by all retailers.

A national grocery store chain was looking to add some additional signage to their stores in Louisiana. They were adding pharmacies to many of their stores and each pharmacy required an additional exterior sign. In Jefferson Parish, the local zoning code only allowed for one sign.

"Times like these are when we really befriend the zoning committee and try to work with them rather than fight them," says Mimi Olson, CEO, Service Select, Inc.

Rather than throw their hands up and walk away from the project, Mimi and her team persevered with the zoning board. "We explained things in a calm manner," says Mimi. "We showed the board how without the additional signage, no one would know the pharmacy was there. They listened."

By working with the zoning board and community to explain why the additional signs were necessary, Service Select was able to get the variances granted for their project.

"I tell my team never to give up, and this is a great example. By working with, instead of against the zoning board, we were able to come to a great conclusion that benefits all parties, including the consumer!"

A large regional grocery chain has been working with Service Select, Inc. for over 10 years. Service Select completes work for the company, from creating and installing new signage with branding updates to landlord approvals to sign fabrication and installations. Recently, Service Select went above and beyond their usual attention to detail to get a rush project done on time and mistake-free.

The grocery chain needed new signage for 10 locations done in six weeks, a project that usually takes three months. Against the odds, Service Select pulled out all the stops and got the signs designed, approved, permitted, fabricated and installed on time.

"The client was surprised and very appreciative that we were able to get this accomplished," said Mimi Olson, CEO, Service Select, Inc. "With our experienced sign team staff, we can accomplish great things for our customers."

"Knowing the right people helps," added Olson. "We have solid and long-standing relationships with our vendors and we recognize how the zoning and permit processes are key to understand and enable Service Select to deliver the results like these. Having close and long-term industry relationships pay off for our customers, especially when we have rush requests."

Service Select believes in getting the job done, regardless of obstacles and problems along the way. "Never think you can't get the job done. Anything can be accomplished if you have confidence, know-how and believe."

When a company is re-branded, a sign company needs to be prepared for swift landlord approvals, aggressive permitting approvals, quick fabrication and accurate install times. This has happened twice with a large national telecommunications company in the past few years, and both times, Service Select was able to rise to the challenge and deliver when it counted.

The first project was in Times Square, in the heart of New York City. The telecommunications company was changing its brand name at the same time of a national rollout of a major product line. Service Select was given 10 days to re-brand this store, which did not yet have any landlord, city or zoning approvals. The sign wasn't even designed for what was to be a very customized application!

"We had about 6 weeks to create new signs for the132 stores in New York City alone, including the very high-profile store in Times Square," says Mimi Olson, CEO, Service Select, Inc. "We used our connections and resources and got the job done ahead of schedule.

"Two days before the launch, we were ready for the unveiling. The work was all performed at night, which was a challenge in itself as Times Square never really slows down."

Additionally, Service Select was facing another unique challenge in Washington, D.C. The store in the middle of Chinatown needed to be re-branded, and it needed to retain the look of Chinatown while also look distinct enough to be recognized as the national telecommunications brand.

"When we first saw the very unique location, it had Chinese characters and a Rotunda top-which fit in well to Chinatown," says Olson. "The community was very concerned that the building retain its Chinese look and fit in with its surroundings. Our goal was to keep the flair of Chinatown along with the corporate branded look."

Service Select accomplished its goal, with the store in full compliance with zoning and Chinatown codes. The store is one of the most unique telecommunication stores in the country, as well as one of the most profitable.

"We like challenges," says Olson. "Bring it on-from Times Square to Chinatown, we have the ability to meet every signage need."

Service Select Signs is no stranger to deadlines when it comes to Marshalls and its retail parent company, TJX Companies. For the last four years, TJX has been relying on Service Select to provide their retail locations with signs and banners delivered at the time and place they are required. According to Jim Novack, Service Select Project Manager, TJX's stringent identity program requires not only strict and precise timing but also Service Select must ensure that each and every timeline is met in order to comply with the customers' expectations.

"The banner program extends over the course of many months and then again just days prior to the Grand Opening window, the series of four outside banner changes have an exacting schedule for deployment that can never vary. The series of four changes accommodates information changes, and they need to be in place at very specific days and times. The times and days of the week for banner deployment is the only varying factor which depends on which retail brand (Home Goods, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, and/or A.J. Wright) is being introduced to the community. Banners are usually required to be installed between 10:00 pm and 6:00 am, and we are fortunate to have always been able to meet these specific timelines," says Novack. "Our commitment and dedication to getting signage installed in TJX's approved manner is key in their reasoning for coming back to us again and again."

In addition to managing the well-timed shipment and installation of the banner program, Service Select has been providing a turnkey permanent exterior signage solution for TJ Maxx and Marshalls clothing stores for the past four years.

Of late, the company showed how fast and well they could deliver when challenged. Service Select has fabricated about 200 signs for individual Marshalls stores in the past three years and was assisting with the signage for a new store opening in Charlotte, N.C, when it was realized they had a problem. TJX did not have all the signs they desired for their new store, not realizing they had omitted from their site order an extra site sign until it was time for the ordered lot of signs to be installed. The TJX project management team was on a very rigid timeline for this Grand Opening. They had to get the store fixtured, merchandised and operational for the Grand Opening as well as a completed sign package installed to ensure compliance to the established schedule originally agreed to with their executive management team.

That's where Service Select and Novack came through. According to Novack, it usually takes about 4 to 6 weeks for a sign to be manufactured. "Marshalls put in the emergency sign request and Service Select had plans for them to approve within hours," says Novack. "The new sign was created and installed four days after the emergency request was put in."

Novack works by the mantra that "anything can be done", this philosophy helped TJX get the job finished by their original projected delivery date. "We know our customers can't take "no" for an answer, so we deliver as necessary. Our experience and knowledge makes us the "go to" sign company when you need a job done right - and quickly!"