VO-BB - 19 YEARS OLD!

JeffK · T-Shirt Joined: 22 Dec 2005 Posts: 276 Location: Oz

I know I should be happy for a great time in Maui instead of whining that it is the last day and we have to go back...then I make the mistake of checking email and get this about a job I had already done for an agreed upon $500:

BenWils · Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 5:08 pm Post subject:

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SoundsGreat-Elaine Singer · Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 5:36 pm Post subject:

Am I wrong in thinking that you should receive the full $500? You did the job you were asked to do. That they've now decided not to use it is not your problem. Unless you feel that it's worth the $250 in goodwill, I would tell them that the original sum stands.
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mcm · Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 5:42 pm Post subject:

The trouble with the Modern Age is that you are not able to look at this person while he is asking this outrageous thing of you. If you were face-to-face, then you could just look at him expectantly as if waiting for him to laugh, punch you in the shoulder and say, "just my little joke".

Dave · Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 6:06 pm Post subject:

Jeff,

Your are totally correct. This does inhale exceedingly!!!!

FWIW, I learned a valuable lesson from my agent some time ago. I did a job and the client changed their mind after the fact. My agent called and told me the situation....but continued...."You hired Dave for a job and you will pay him for professional services rendered...the fact you changed your mind does not release you from your responsiblility....period."

It's only happened a time or two since then but I gave the same response as my agent each time and was always paid as agreed. Don't be reluctant to stand your ground...if you never hear from them again you're most likely better off given how fickle you now know them to be.

In other words...

If you hired someone to paint your house and after they finished the job you decided you wanted a different color than the one you told the painter to use...would you expect the cost of the job to be discounted 50%? Yeah, that's what I thought....

Dave
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Rognog · Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 6:09 pm Post subject:

"Good one! So when do I get my $500 check?"

mcm · Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 6:12 pm Post subject:

I told your story to hubby - his eyes got big, his jaw dropped, and he said "tell 'em 'kiss my grits and send me $500!'".

btw Dave, I've experienced the paint scenario. The grey paint I chose came out white on my house. The very idea of expecting the painters to pay for that!

anthonyVO · 14th Avenue Joined: 09 Aug 2005 Posts: 1470 Location: NYC

Service rendered. Invoice amount agreed upon.
Someone f*d up, but it wasn't YOU.

-Anthony

Drew · Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 6:51 pm Post subject:

Same thing happened to me. I was hired to voice and produce several car ads. When I was hired, the producer asked me to send just one ad first, as a spec peiece for approval by her client. I agreed and did so. I got a, "That's great! Do the rest plus I'll send more to you later today." The others came later that afternoon. I did all the spots and sent 'em over. Then I heard nothing.
After two days I called her. "Eh, well, um the client decided to go with a female for some of them, and the guy they used to use for the others"

She went on to tell me that I'd HAVE to accept a discounted price. "NFW! " I thought to myself and asked to be put over to the agency boss. He was pretty arrogant and obtuse with me until I explained that the spec peice was approved by his client and his underling sent the rest of the ads for voice and production.
"Um..let me get back to you after I talk with...."

Well, I never did hear back from him. The deal was $800 and I invoiced him for that amount last week explaining that I had "no privity of contract" with his client and that he assumed the risk that his client could change his/her mind.

We'll see if I get a check. I'll probably have to take him to small claims court.
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Spacegypsy · Guest

What a #$%^&*()@!

The agency who hired you has to explain to the client that since they changed their mind, they have to pay for another talent too - that change midstream from them should cost them, and it's not for you to pick up the tab.

If the hiring agency don;t have the balls to charge their clients accordingly, then it isn;t you who should suffer.

You can explain that nicely to them of course Smile

dhouston67 · Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 9:31 pm Post subject:

Politely refuse the compromise and request that you be paid the agreed-upon amount for services rendered.

Keep Drew's advice in mind, and save all e-mails; they can serve as legal records should you decide to pursue it that far.
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Drew · Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2006 4:33 am Post subject:

Indeed. All emails pertaining to this deal are saved.
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JeffK · T-Shirt Joined: 22 Dec 2005 Posts: 276 Location: Oz

One of the concerns I have is that my client, a production company, has been the middle man and my main contact. I knew from the start that I would be invoicing his customer directly. There have been, and I firmly believe, will be future business (not necessarily with this shared client). It is obvious to me that his client should be liable for the full amount but I don't want to put my client in a position that would jepordize the relationship with his client and bruise our relationship, even though my ego has been bruised. However, I realize that if I waiver, I could appear wishy washy and less professional. To add insult to injury, I used a local recording studio because the company that this video was for is a large global company. My intent was to deliver the best quality possible but that now seems to have backfired especially since the cost was nearly as much as what they are offering. Ouch!! ...just cut myself trying to open a coconut. Maybe I should try to sell a softer fruit!

Apageloman · Guest

Jeff You stated in the original post that the company expressed their satisfaction in your workupfront even thought they were not going to run it. all fine and well that's their perogative, however you are a contractor, given the fact that the service was duly rendered to their specifications for all practical purposes, I don't see you on the hook for this one. Now your point about goodwill is well taken as well as your concern for being looked at as a professional. To me, that issue has to be put to the recording studio or brokering agent (whoever it was that found you for the spot.) If the issue is goodwill are you as quick to accept a job and have goodwilltoward a source that's gonna flake out on you as soon as services are rendered and it's time to be paid? I would put it to your contact that it's their reputation with their client that's at stake if they don't stand up for you on this and politley ask their client to hold up to their agreed upon responsibilities,
As far as them asking youi to take a short deal so they can hire someone else, that's bogus for two reasons, 1.) if it's a large clielnt as you say the differenceof $250 even when working within a budget is really pretty negligible and can be written off as the cost of their uncertainty, it doesn't really consitute a big hit in the larger corporate scheme of things. For example I used to sell cars for a living, even right after 9/11 when the entire industry was down and I was working for a small family owned dealership the owners were still profitting fairly handsomely in a difficult economic climate. Tehy'd give up $250 dollars to get a deal done fairly frequently. In Your case, the end client has to ask themselves how much faith do they have in the ad concept overall that they'd be willing to risk the bad blood all along the production chain, ending with you of course, over what to them I have to think is a reletively small amount of money.
2.) How do you know thisisn't someone at the end client tryint to scam your agent? or for that matter your agent trying to scam you/ I don't want to be a conspiracy theorist here but my question is then what happens next time there is a 'screw-up"? How do you identify and prove that that was the case? I just think it's a bad precedent all the way around that the contract negotiation iis re-opened after the service is delivered. To me I'd rather the client said up front. " Well we'd like to try to have you read this but we're not certain you're what we want going to have another talent do it too and choose read which best meets our needs." and offer me the $250 upfront, rather than this bait and switch.

Well I've soapboxed on this plenty long enough, sorry for that but just some of my thoughts on the situation.

mcm · Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2006 7:01 am Post subject:

How comfortable would you be going to that professional recording studio where you recorded the spot and telling them your client decided not to use your work and therefore you would only be paying them half of what you owed them?

I don't think you should be worrying about jeopardising the middle man's relationship with the end guys. Sounds like you and the middle man would be well rid of them. And the middle man doesn't seem too worried about jeopardising your relationships or he would never have passed this preposterous request on to you.