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Business & Tech

Sign Wavers Point the Way

'It's great pay and you only stay here for four hours,' explains Kevin Melendez, 18.

With summer’s arrival, San Fernando Valley motorists are cocooning themselves in air-conditioned cars, their windshields hot to the touch. As drivers accelerate along baking asphalt, distant moving figures blur into the wavy mirages on the horizon. But far from being illusions, many of these sign-waving solicitors are employed by Chatsworth-based Sign Image, including Kevin Melendez.

“It’s great pay and you only stay here for four hours,” explained Melendez, 18, as he twirled an oversized, blue, arrow-shaped “NEW HOMES” sign at the intersection of Rinaldi Street and Porter Ranch Drive on the southwest corner of the Porter Ranch Town Center.

Melendez struck an energetic pose as he tried to divert drivers towards the new townhouses at the Aldea gated community down the block.  

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“I like techno music,” said the CSUN history major, who was sporting white earphones to drown out traffic and ease boredom. “Nothing slow.”

With temperatures in the 80s, heat was not among Melendez’s concerns – yet. But in contrast to his short wavy black hair and afternoon shadow, Melendez donned the mandatory uniform of a white T-shirt and pants, along with optional white sneakers and sunglasses that reflected the countless cars and SUVs humming by. He’s learned to keep cool in the shade of lamp posts, trees and, this past Saturday, traffic lights. But any discomforts don’t bother him because of the “handsome” wage offered by Sign Image, a real estate marketing company and sign manufacturer on Corisco Street.

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Paid a weekend rate of $120 to hold a sign Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., including a 45 minute break, the Van Nuys resident has worked most weekends for the past year. Sign Image’s service area, which in the Los Angeles region stretches to Simi Valley and Santa Clarita, has taken Melendez far and wide. For long commutes, the company covers his gas.

He’s caught plenty of eyes.

Of the 15 to 20 prospective buyers touring the townhouses on a Saturday or Sunday, about half of them usually indicate they visited after seeing the sign wavers, according to Marisa Solomon, a real estate agent showcasing homes at Aldea.

“I’m carrying a sign and wondering how many people are buying houses,” Melendez said. “But you’d be surprised. I get questions.”

Sign wavers range from 16-year-olds to people in their 60s, according to Melendez. Many of them are Latino immigrants.

“You don’t need too much English,” Melendez said. “As long as you can stand for a really long time and you’re always moving.”

There are guidelines, however. Solicitors must stand and not lean. They can listen to music, but may not talk or text on their phones or smoke. If they are tired, they can sit briefly. When nature calls, they may venture to the restroom at a nearby business. While some sign wavers entertain with their dance moves, it’s not required.

Because Sign Image only hires him on weekends, Melendez moonlights as a kindergarten teacher’s assistant at Van Nuys Elementary School weekday mornings. It’s his first step towards greater aspirations.

“I plan on being a university teacher,” said Melendez, who wants to pursue a doctorate and teach college history or political science. “I can start off teaching high school and move up.”

In the meantime, Melendez is content with waving signs to pay for college. When the heat waves arrive and home hunters are driving by, air-conditioners blasting, he won’t sweat it because he has a time-tested strategy for surviving hot days.

“Bring water,” Melendez said.

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