Meet the SmartSign team: Marco Silva

Marco Silva is a salesperson at SmartSign. Raised in Queens, New York, he’s worked at SmartSign for a year this August. For the last eight years, Marco has been a dedicated MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) fighter. He also recently got engaged.

Charity: Tell me about what you do at SmartSign.

Marco:   My job mainly consists of picking up the phone calls and getting a customer’s order. I’m there to help them get exactly what they have in mind. I keep in touch with them throughout the process, sending them proofs and letting them know that their product is ready.

Charity: Let’s pretend that I want a no dog poop sign with a customized message that says “Do Not Mess with Me” on it.

Marco’s Waterhog mat made it through Hurricane Sandy on his front porch, no worse for wear. View the mat here.

Marco:  All right. Now my questions to you will be: “What size? Reflective or non-reflective? Do you want it with a post or without the post?” I can add the customized words in seconds while we’re on the phone. I’ll edit the format depending on how many words you want each line to have.

Charity: What if I have a special anti-dog poop logo I have created? Can you put that on my sign?

Marco: That’s when the art department gets involved.  You’ll just email me the logo, and I’ll have them add it. After the order’s processed, I send the customer art a proof so that they have a preview of how their sign will look. After approval, you’re set.

Charity: So approval means a happy customer.

Marco: Yes, customers love that they can see a proof and finalize the sign’s look.

Charity: Next, I get my sign in the mail. Looks awesome. So how do I attach it?

Marco:  If anything is bigger than a nine by twelve you need to get the post separately. But if it’s a nine by twelve, they usually come with a three foot post, included with the price.

Charity: What kinds of questions do you frequently get from customers?

Marco: People want to know about the lifespan of a sign, its durability. For a standard aluminum sign, that’s about ten years. They also want to know a sign’s gauge–how thick it is–which is 40-80 mil depending on the size. And of course, customers want to know about shipping. They’re always happy to find out that anything over $25 is free.

Marco’s favorite custom sign. View it here.

Charity: Good to know. So, what do you think makes the customer service so great at SmartSign?

Marco: We’re very efficient and transparent. It’s a great perk that customers don’t pay until they see that proof and total cost. That way, someone definitely knows they’re getting what they want.

Charity: That’s vital information. So tell me, do you own any SmartSign products?

Marco: Yes, I have a Waterhog mat. It’s one of the most durable things I own. It’s on the front porch. Actually, it went through a flood when we had Hurricane Sandy come through. It actually survived that–it’s not moldy or damaged.

Charity: I want one! Do you have a favorite custom sign you’ve seen?

Marco: Someone has ordered a sign from me that said, “Trespassers will be shot, Survivors will be shot again.”

Charity:  So, what’s it like to work at SmartSign?

Marco: It’s a great place to work. Everybody is just like a family. I’ve made good friends here. I actually hang out with them outside of work. It’s a great environment and we joke around a lot. We get pretty competitive, too, and we get on each other’s case in a friendly way. One time Gerson, another salesperson, went to lunch while I was beating him. He came back and I asked, “Hey, Gerson what did you get for lunch?” He told me a burger and I asked him; “Oh did that come with a side of sales?”

Charity: That’s awesome. And finally…I hear you recently got engaged, congratulations! Could you tell all of our readers how you proposed? We love that stuff.

Aided by the SmartSign art department, Marco created a custom menu to propose to his girlfriend.

Marco: Okay. Now my girlfriend; she’s from the Dominican Republic. I was planning the proposal for about two months. I spoke to one of her best friends out there. I told her pick out a restaurant, and told her how I planned to do it.

This is exactly how it went. I sat down waiting for her and I went to the bathroom. The waiter came in with the menus. Her menu was given last; it had a little message, a letter, that the SmartSign art department designed for me.

Then the second page of the menu was a collage of pictures of us throughout the four years that we’ve been together. She was surprised when she saw her picture there. Then the song “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz came up, and that was my cue. I had a plate full of roses and the ring.

Charity: Well done, you!

Marco: And then of course I went down on one knee and proposed.

Charity: Congratulations! Thanks for sharing, Marco.

Marco: My pleasure!