Got the corporate job, signed contract, deposit – now they’re changing everything????

[Steve Wargo]

To begin, I have been screwed in every way possible more times than I even want to admit, so here goes…

It sounds like they are counting on you being hungry and simply caving to their new guidelines. Don’t do it.
Pick 135 out of the 190 and advise them that you are prepared to get going.
Cash the check. Do not deposit the check. They know how to stop payment and pull the money right back out of your account.
We usually go to their bank and get a cashier’s check. Cash the check and put the money in your accont in chunks.
Stick to your contract. Stick to your contract. Stick to your contract.

The VP or whatever you are dealing with is probably very good at getting employees to work overtime, give up days off, do twice what they were hired for, etc, etc, etc. He is probably a corporate con artist. And a very good one at that. That’s how he got to be VP, after all.

Read the book “Winning by Intimidation”. It will enlighten you on marriage, parenting, business and all aspects of life.

Don’t be afraid to fire them if they don’t stick to their end.

Read Ron Lindeboom’s paper on “Clients and Grinders” (help me here, Ron)

Find contracts to have clients sign as soon as they ask for credit. The contract must allow you to sue them, their spouses, their clients and everyone else under the sun as well as making them responsible for all reasonable attorney’s fees. Copyright law says you own the footage you shoot. When someone tries to stiff us, you should see how fast the check comes when we inform their client that they can no longer use the footage we shot for them. Sure, you’ll never work for them again but why would you want to. If they want 30 days credit, have then fill out a credit app and watch what happens when they need to put their personal financials on a piece of paper for your files. Get their Social Security number the first time they ask for credit.

Con artists get their way by smiling and making you feel like an ass for not wanting to do it their way.

Important: Do a daily Google on your self. You may be shocked to find your COW posts pop up when you look for info on yourself. Hey, if I’m reading this, they might be doing the same. We have no secrets anymore.

My biggest beef is when a client calls, describes a job and asks if you can get it done by X date. It’s two months away so you say “Of course”. It takes a week or so for them to make up their mind, another week to chat back and forth about the details and another week to get the paperwork signed. They send everything over except for the stuff you need to get started. A few more delays and you’re down to 3 weeks. You get it done in two weeks but Bob, who needs to approve the finished product has come down with a urinary infection and will out for a few days. He gets back to work but has a few changes. It takes a week to get the changes to you and you now have 10 hours of work to do and it’s the day before Chrismas Eve. Of course, they need it for the company party and you can get it done if you go without sleep and ditch the wife and kids to go all out for the client. The best part is when the big guy says “John, you told me it wouldn’t be a problem to have it done by the 23rd and we’re not happy”. I’m afraid we’ll have to dock you on your invoice because our shipping department has to work overtime to get the job out.

The out is to put a time element on their delivery responsibility. In other words, Job X will be completed 10 days after the last element has been received.

Do everything by e-mail. Have everything in print. NO VERBAL CHANGES. We NEVER take instructions over the phone. We did a custom DVD last year and the client found some misspelled names (theirs) on the 5000 units and demanded that we replace the DVDs at our expense. Their people spell checked the names. Because we only accepted tracable e-mail with attachments instead of written documents delivered by hand, we were able to prove that the mistake was theirs, not ours. DO NOT do it any other way. When it comes time for the hammer to drop, the client’s rep that was your very best friend in the whole wide world yesterday will let you take the blame for everything today.

I need to turn this into a small pamphlet on “How to keep from taking it in the shorts”.

After all I’ve said here, I still let some of my clients slide because I am actually a softie (Don’t tell Tichelli) and I have to have an office manager lay down the rules and enforce them. I got into this business to produce great product, not chase money, but we still spend way too much time trying to collect.

Steve Wargo

[Tim Kolb]

Steve has a lot of really great points…most hit way too close to home for me.

I think the key here is to have a system set up that prevents you from getting in a jam and enforce it unconditionally but unemotionally.

I’ve had a couple of incidents over the last 20 years when I let a project “mutate” for a bit because I personally knew and/or liked the client…then when the last straw was reached…I went off. It wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t professional, and all it did was make everything completely collapse.

If you approach these discrepancies as misunderstandings “…let’s reexamine the contract and you’ll see…” it always gives the client a fallback position (even if they were messing with you intentionally) and gives you both a way to continue to work together without losing face.

Again…be absolutely steadfast…just don’t assume motivation on their part.

I hope it all turns out for you.

TimK,

Kolb Productions,
Creative Cow Host,
Author/Trainer
http://www.focalpress.com
http://www.classondemand.net

[Bill Kaminski]

Thanks to all for your input & suggestions. It will be interesting to see how things turn out – the client needs the edit on DVD to show at a company anniversary dinner in exactly two weeks. They do highway construction & build bridges – perhaps today will be a test of building “bridges” in relationships. If things work out & I do the work, maybe the vice president will give me a hard hat to wear while I edit!

Bill K

[Bill Kaminski]

Things worked out. I had to leave a LOT of messages on Monday – my inquiry of when will the vice president be in was answered: “he is out for the next 3 days”. I explained the situation and was informed, “we will try to get in touch with him for you”. I got a call back & wound up revising the contract for the more involved edit with more images which was my first proposal. A company courier delivered a check for the difference in deposit amount & signed (revised) agreement.

Thanks to all who responded to this thread.

Bill K