1988 - The Fax Machine

Initially, my mistakes in signmaking were frequent as most orders were read out over the phone and just one mis-spelling or incorrect digit could make a sign worthless. I clearly remember one very costly mistake in making a large sign that was erected by crane on a rooftop five-stories high in the city centre which had a single wrong digit in the phone number. Unfortunately, the incorrect phone  number happened to belong to a rival competitor of our customer! For me, at least, the phone Fax machine was the greatest invention since the sliced pan as it made a huge improvement both in terms of accuracy and time saving. It was probably my next biggest investment at that time with a purchase cost of 1,600 pounds + tax!  Now, at the time of writing this, Fax is virtually an extinct dinosaur but back then computer business email had not yet arrived in Cork!

McDonalds had recently opened their first fast-food outlet in Cork. I went to eat there but the thing that impressed me most about their operation was the speed of service. As a regular patron of Jackie Lennox’s fish and chip shop it simply confirmed my belief that fast-sign service must be a priority in our business also.