Dear Colleague,
shy_mel_photo@xxxxxxxx wrote:
First time this happened to me,
First times are for lessons you hopefully won't repeat :-)
Next time you'll say something different, right? Something like, "Sure, that's OK -- if you can pay me the deposit in cash anytime between now and the rehersal that would be fine."I had an initial meeting with a prospective couple who knew in advance that a deposit was to be made at the time of this appointment. When they arrive, she says, I left my checkbook at home, can I pay you at the rehearsal? Without thinking I said Okay.
Later I thought, The rehearsalIt may just have been an honest mistake. They *may* also be out to get something for nothing.
is at 6:30pm the night before the wedding on a Saturday. This means I
will get a check I cannot collect on before I do the shoot! The check may
or may not be any good.
But remember, their wedding is a significant moment in their life. I'm sure they want the photos and I'm sure you won't give them up before you're paid in full.
At best, you'll get a *good* cheque at the rehersal
At worst, the cheque will be bad, they won't pay and you'll be out of pocket for your time and expenses. But they won't have any photos either.
A more likely "bad" scenario is that it takes them time to pay you. Perhaps (and this is just a perhaps) they are running short of money and they are waiting for their pay to go into the bank before they write you a cheque.
The important things for you are:
1) You agreed with them, so you'll look bad if you change your mind -- how bad depends on how you approach them
2) Bad deals *do* happen, this may be one for you. How you handle bad customers is just as important (perhaps more important) than how you handle good ones
3) Remember this and don't let it happen again.
Has this happened to anyone in this group and how did/would you handle this problem?
People who have comissioned work and not paid for it -- sure.
A client asked for some work to be done. A person lower down in their organisation was authorised to deal with us on a day-to-day basis handling the specifics of requests. He asked for some work to be done that their upper management later refused to pay for. They had in their hands previews of that work and other work. We simply refused to hand over any finished work until they paid. We didn't make a song and dance about it, and we were never rude about it.
(We had copies of his requests, and his authority to make those requests in writing)
It turns out the company was running short of cash. About 4 months later a cheque arrived and after it was cleared we pulled out all the finished work, packaged it up, and sent it off. We also called the client and asked if it was complete to their satisfaction, and whether we could provide any further assistance (with the unspoken condition that they'd be on a rather short leash). They only required a very small change which was done gratis (!).
Although we have yet to get any more work from them, we have heard reports that they are saying good things about us in the marketplace.
The lesson *I* learned about this is that for a relatively small job (this was around $10K) there is nothing to be gained by geting nasty or embarassing the client. People *hate* to be embarassed and will probably harbour bad feelings later. If you can treat them well -- even while you're refusing to turn over their work -- they'll see the transaction with you as a happier or more successful one.
All of this presumes that you will have something they want. If another photographer shows up, or if Aunt Mary is always standing behind you snapping your shots, then beware because you'll have *far* less to bargain with. So, on the nastier side -- be protective about your posing and group shots.
Best UnBob (Steve)
p.s. One thing you could try (for the future) is jack up your prices by (say) 10% and give everyone a 10% discount for payment on schedule. Whilst you may have difficulty ever collecting that extra 10%, it provides an extra incentive for people to pay on time, and if you have to ask for the additional 10% you can even sound apologetic while you're doing it (and hey, you're a nice couple -- if you can pay me this week I'll still give you a 5% discount...)
