-
Ethics and Money Question…
-
I just recently went through the same thing. Your “friend” needed a sucker who was desperate for work and you were it. He lied about the pricing of the job to take advantage of you. DRW was correct, this is not your friend. He is a user.
I would have a meeting with the client and ask them for a written offer. Then, take it. At some point you have to tell them that you have been working on their job. Above all, never say anything negative about the other guy. He may try to smear your reputation, so be prepared for that. If necessary, have a letter from your attorney ready to present to him.
Plan on catching hell from the rip off guy. Before all of this transpires, have your response ready for when the phone call comes. When the call does come, simply say “While I appreciate the fact that you thought of me and gave me work when I needed it, I don’t appreciate the fact that you weren’t forthright about the money involved.” You do own him that much but nothing more.
As for my story, a “friend” approached me about a project in Mexico. He explained that the client didn’t have a lot of money right now but they would be a gold mine in the future. Knowing that this is always a scam, I offered to work a little extra, out of the country for my local day rate , but only if it was exactly what he was charging them. He agreed and away we went, twice.
The client called me direct 100 days later and explained that they had never received anything from the producer and that they had given him almost $50k. They sent the contract to me and he had charged them 2 1/2 times my rate for my labor. I knew that something was up when the producer never picked up that HDCAM tapes. He simply blew them off. He had also charged them for three crew position that were never filled. I shoot with an F-900 and he charged them $450 a day for a tape operator, just to give you an example.
My point is that these crooks are always caught and those who operate in an honest, ethical, manner owe the thieves in the business nothing.
Steve Wargo
Tempe, Arizona
It’s a dry heat!Sony HDCAM F-900 & HDW-2000/1 deck
5 Final Cut Pro systems
Sony HVR-M25 HDV deck -
Kenzo,
I forgot to say that I’m happy that you’ve recovered and are back to work.
-
Don’t you dare offer to do the work for less money.
-
Based on the evidence, I’m sure your “friend” is less than ethical but think about the situation if he were JUST a client and not a friend.
Would you really question how much a producer is making on top of what they are paying you? Is it any of your business to do so? I think all the producer is entitled to tell you on the front end is exactly what they want to pay for exactly what they need you to produce. It’s then up to you to decide if you want to do the work for that amount or not. If you realize at a later date that you aren’t happy with what you are being paid, it’s up to you to renegotiate your terms or to simply quit working for the producer….as long as you have fulfilled the terms in your agreement.
In this case, you asked for a raise based on increased responsibilities and he told you that the client’s budget wouldn’t enable him to pay you more money. At that point in time, it was up to you to either do the extra work for the same rate or to quit working for him altogether. It was your choice and you chose to continue working.
Then the call came from his client that ultimately revealed how much money he was making on the job. You then quickly compared his money to your money and didn’t like the result. In reality, his client is calling you because they want to pay less for the work. So, your client (in a way) was telling you the truth when he said that he couldn’t pay you more because his client wouldn’t pay him more.
But this pissed you off because you felt betrayed that he was making more money than you when you were doing all the work. But, WAS HE REALLY MAKING MORE MONEY? Remember that a producer spends a lot more money than they make because they have to hire out just about every skill set required to complete a project. Plus, you have no idea what is required financially to run his business.
Now let’s talk about his client for a minute. If you have known your friend for a long time and have never had a reason to question his ethics or values, then why would you let one call from a client you’ve never met allow you to question all that you know about this friend?
If I were in your shoes, I’d sit down with your friend and discuss everything with him. I’d tell him that based on all the information you have, you believe he has taken advantage of you by asking you to do more work for less pay. Then, see how he handles the situation. If you don’t like his reaction, then you can decide on your own if you want to pursue the client’s business. If he handles it the way a good friend should, then I might think twice about going around his back directly to the client. So what if the client called you instead of you calling them. Your job as a friend is to protect your friend. Your job as an editor is to protect the producer or agency that brings the work to you.
It’s a dicey situation but as a producer, I’d never hire an editor that even remotely indicated that they’d take my business if the client were to call them directly. Then again, I pay my freelancers industry standard rates so maybe that’s why I don’t run into these problems.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do. If it turns out that your friend will remain a friend but will lose the client’s business anyway, you may want to figure out how to get the business for yourself but hire the friend to do some work for you. This way, money still flows his direction but you are in control of the lion’s share of the budget.
Just my thoughts.
Kristopher G. Simmons
Video Business Coach
https://MindYourVideoBusiness.com -
well sure ya gotta submit a bid. Freind or no friend, he knows what ya do for a livin’ and this is part of making one. A little competition amongst friends is always a good thing.
I handed a freelance buddy of mine six figures a year worth of bidness a couple of years ago. Now we compete on a regualar basis. I see it as fun and healthy. Makes us both have to be worth what we charge… which is two very different rates.
-
I agree completely with MindYourVideoBusiness.
Many artists get angry when they see how much the producer/production company is making, but that is only half the story. The producer may have a profit margin of 5% due to all the costs of managing the job, other artists, the cost of landing the job to begin with etc.
Reacting based on one slice of information (and information provided by a client looking to pay less for the job) is foolish, and going behind the friend to take the job is just as back-stabbing and ethically bankrupt as the producer is being accused of engaging in.
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up