HOMEPODCAST
SUBMIT STORY

I'm an industrial and interior designer. For a client's research project, I designed and built an interactive installation, with VR and physical interactions. Everything went quite well for this part, but at the end when I offered to create promotional content (high-quality photos and videos), the client told me there was no more budget, and asked me if I could still create the content.

Client: I have no research budget for the photos and videos. Can you still do it?

Me: Well... I have to do it for my portfolio anyway... But it's going to be more "modest" than what I would have done with budget, and it's going to be focused for my personal use. But I can share the content with you once it's done!

Client: OK! I just need it for my PhD defense. 

Me: OK! If you don't mind I will ask you to pay the costs 50-50 with me. So just like 80$ to pay a photographer friend a little bit and rent some additional filming equipment. He will bring his cameras for free and we will be the models in the videos and photos.

We did everything and ended up with good footage and photos, which I shared with her right away.

Three weeks later:

Client: Hey! So, is the video done? I need it in 3 months.

Me: Well, it's not. I am sorry, but the thing is... I learned that I have cancer. So I will not be able to edit the footage and make a quality video. I need to focus on my health. But I can refer you a friend to help you with the video, it's due in 3 months, it's really doable.

Client: Oh, I'm sorry to hear that! But you put me in trouble, you know. I don't have any money to pay your friend. You told me you could make the video. I was relying on you!

Me: Well, like I said, I have CANCER. 

Client: I know and I am really sorry for you and wish you the best, BUT... When I tell someone I can do something for them, I try to be true to my word...

Me: Well... How long do you want your video?

Client: 10 minutes.

Me: What? Sorry, it won't be possible and I think there was a misunderstanding. I offered to share a video I would do for MYSELF, for my portfolio. Something 1 minute long, max. You can't possibly think that for $80, you would get professional quality photos and footage, and get me to work like 20 hours to make a professional 10 minute video, right? Already, you got the content and you paid practically nothing for it.

Client: WHAT? I paid nothing? I paid $80 and you told me you would make me a video! I was there for 4 hours when you filmed and took photos. I modeled. I worked and helped you, you know, it's worth something! 

Me: I was there as well, directing the video without a scenario because you couldn't pay me to prepare one. I was there for more than 4 hours, and managed everything. And... I HAVE CANCER, REMEMBER?

Client: If I knew you would drop me like that, I would just have taken pictures and videos with my iPhone.

What. The. Hell. 

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I’m a music producer. I was working with a friend to produce a song he wrote, and I did it for a HUGE discount because he’s my friend, he’s moving away soon, and I’m still building my portfolio. Big mistake. 

After I sent him what I thought was the final mix

Client: Can you bring the bass down slightly? Just a tad.

Me: (makes changes and sends it to him)

Client: Can you pan the rhythm guitar to the left and the lead guitar to the right? Also lower the bass a TINY bit. And can you BARELY lower the vocal effect volume?

Me: (makes changes and sends them to him)

Client: Actually I was wrong, the bass is too quiet. Can you bring it up just a TINY bit? Also I don’t know why you panned the rhythm guitar, can you center it?

Me:  You just told me you wanted the rhythm guitar panned. Also, we’ve been making tiny revisions like this for a month, so if you have any more tweaks you want me to make, these will have to be the final ones because I have dress rehearsals all this week for a show I’m in, and won’t be able to work on your song. I think the mix sounds great.

Client: Since I’m paying you, I want to have the option to make more revisions if I’m not 100% happy with the mix.

Me: (angrily stays up late making changes, sends them to him)

The last straw was when he texted me right as a show I was working on began its opening night.

Client: I don’t like how there’s no rhythm guitar in the intro. Can you copy and paste the rhythm guitar from the outro into the intro? Also I need this done by the end of today, I really want to release this song this weekend.

Lessons learned: don’t give your friends discounts, and for the love of God, charge extra for ridiculous amounts of revisions.

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This was, sadly, before I started using contracts and worked on a less structured level with friends.

A friend contacted me with a request.

Client: Hey, I need a new logo, are you available?

Me: Hey, remember when I did your last logo to your specifications and you declined to pay for it because you didn't wind up using it?

Client: What's the problem? We didn't use it!

Me: Look. If you want a new logo, I'll do it, but the catch is that you pay for it.

Client: Fine.

Me: Even if you don't use it.

Client: Yes, yes, fine!

I do the new logo, to his specifications, and he doesn't wind up using it.

Me: All right, whatever, that'll be $$$ please.

Client: Why should I pay for a logo I'm not going to use?

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This one time a childhood friend of mine asked me to photograph an event. Since she was a close friend, I agreed to do it for free before really thinking about it.

I wound up having to cut a vacation short to do it, but I’d given my word. I rebooked my return flight so I arrived just in time to cover the event. I showed up, took about 400 photos, and then went home and fell right asleep because I hadn’t slept in over 20 hours and had gone straight from a long flight to covering this event.  

The next morning I woke up to a Facebook message:

Client: Why haven’t you sent me the photos yet?

Me: I still need to process them! It will take a few hours and I was asleep.

Client: Well by when can you do it? I need to post the photos on Facebook now!

Me: I would say about a week but if you are in such a hurry I can look through them, choose some standouts, edit them and send them to you tonight.

Client: No, I need them all now.

Me: You wanted these edited. I can’t edit 400 photos in one night.

Client: But I need them all now!

Me: Sorry but that’s impossible.

Client: Well then don’t edit them all, just do, like, half of them.

Me: That still takes more than an evening for me, especially since I am busy with my day job besides. Best I can do is 4 days.

Client: Okay.

Half a day later:

Client: Why haven’t you sent me the photos yet?

I just ignored the message. The next day:

Client: Why haven’t you sent me the photos yet?

I hurried to do something and sent her roughly 40 edited photos and another 250 unedited. She was still complaining I was late and ended up posting badly over-filtered versions everywhere.

She didn’t say “thank you” once.

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I’m a freelance video editor. The “client” here is a “former” friend.

Client: I need a favor. I need a movie trailer for Sundance.

Me: I’m really busy on another project. I wish I could help you but I don’t have the time.

Client: I can pay you 180 per shift!

Me: …That’s really low.

Client: I need you to finish it in 3 days.

Me: First, that’s not enough time to cut a really high-quality trailer from the raw footage you have and second, I really, really don’t have the time.

Client: I need you to start on Thursday

Me: I’m on a shoot that day and the following days.

Client: This is a really great chance to impress my DoP. He shoots dozens of movies a year – this could lead to more work.

Me: I really want to help you but I don’t have the time.

Client: I gotta go, I have another call coming in.

Me: OK. Good luck.

A few days later I discovered he unfriended me on social media. I saw him again a month later and he was extremely rude to me for having the gall to actually be doing paid work I guess.

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One of my clients referred me to his friend for a new website for his retail store.

I met him at his store and we discussed what he needs and explained everything for almost two hours.

When I gave him an estimate of how much it will cost(very generous) he almost starts shouting.

Client: I am not paying you this much.

Me: Well, for the amount of work involved this is best I can do. You want an eCommerce store that supports 600 products that has to integrate with your POS system. It's a big job. 

Client: But my wife told me I can make a website with WIX for 20 bucks. You seem like a good guy so I'll pay you 100 dollars, but I need a website to be ready in a week.

I tried my best but had to say goodbye.

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I am a graphic design student and a few days ago I designed a resume for myself. It was in full color and featured infographics; I figured it should be eye-catching.

Later, I showed it to a friend who wanted me to do one like it for him.

Me: Okay, just send me what info you want on it and I’ll get started.

Client: Sure! I can’t wait.

He didn’t send me anything. About a week later:

Client: So how’s the design going?

Me: You haven’t sent me any information. I can’t design an infographic without it.

Client: Oh just design something and send it to me so that I can complete it.

Me: Or you could just send all the information and I’ll do it for you.

Client: Okay I’ll send you something.

Rinse, repeat. Eventually, he did send me some actual info and I made a simple design. I sent him the final result and he was really happy with it… until I got this text:

Client: Everyone criticized my new resume. They said I should go for something more conventional, so I’m just going to take your design and modify it a little bit. 

Needless to say, I’m not doing any favors for him ever again.

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I work in IT. A friend of mine who is clueless to anything you have to plug in was setting up their new shop and asked for help, promising me “some compensation.” He is loaded as hell so I figured he would be good for it.

I put in five hours work (by myself after hours with the main building a/c turned off) installing multiple terminals, networking them all, and running through basic set up and updates so that they could be turned on and ready to go, NOT TO MENTION a basic hardening of his network so it would be reasonably secure.

He gave me a bottle of coke.

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I usually work in animation, but I also do illustration commissions. A friend who is an up and coming model asked me to produce an illustration to post to her followers as a birthday gift.

Client: Can you draw a picture of me, one like the one you drew of yourself?

I produced a rough ink drawing. It’s not cartoony (like mine was), but I had a hunch she would prefer a more realistic drawing. Considering her modelling background, I didn’t want to be unflattering. It looked good.

Me: Ok, here’s a drawing I did of you. I hope you like it.

Client: Oh! It’s great.

She uploaded the illustration.

A few weeks later:

Client: so when are you going to draw that picture for me?

Me: What? I did.

Client: No, the real one. Like the one that you drew of yourself.

Me: Uhhhh…

I end up working on another, much more time-consuming piece. I ask for the client to provide photo reference and even pose reference of how they would like to look (since I know that they’re particular). I work on a more stylised drawing.

Me: Ok, here are a few sketches. Choose the one you like most and I’ll finish it.

Client: It doesn’t look like me. Can you make it look more like me?

Me: Less cartoony? More realistic?

Client: More like me.

I redraw the drawing in a more realistic style. I produce two un-rendered pieces to choose from because I know that my client is particular.

Client: You used the wrong photo. I’ll get you a different one.

Me: You gave me both of these photos and I drew both of them for you. Are you telling me they’re both wrong?

Client: Yeah. Let me get you another one.

After one ink drawing, two sketch drawings and two renderings I am actually tracing the photo by this stage. Shame on me but I am mad and not getting paid.

Me: Here is your drawing.

Client: It doesn’t look like me. Can you make it look more like me?

Me: This is actually traced directly from your photo. This is how you look.

Client: (a long silence) …Ok just change the eyes to look more like me.

I change the eyes to look less like her.

Me: Here. It’s you.

Client: It’s great! I’m really close to reaching my new follower landmark on my main page. How soon can you finish it by?

Me: Finish?

Client: Yeah, like, with color?

So now, apparently she expects me to color it. I move around my schedule to get it done, and hand it over. I say that I don’t have any more time for any changes the just have to have the piece as it is. I’m done. After a few days, I get a message from my client.

Client: The picture’s great! I’ve uploaded it now.

I check to see if the post got any attention. As it turns out, she uploaded the piece to her Instagram story. The piece is online for only 24 hours (less time than it took to draw it) and if they click her story, and then it disappears forever. It took me longer to make this piece.

I’m so done.

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So, I have a friend who is awesome but does not think things through and sometimes makes insane arbitrary decisions out of nowhere. To give you an example of how impulsive and big-hearted he is, he bicycled across the country to raise money for kids who have cancer. 

He asked me to film the whole thing with the idea that we were going to make a documentary. I was fresh out of film school and his promises of fame and fortune sounded decent. They were in a band as well and played for food and donations to the charity.

So, and this is important, there was four of us. Him, his wife, a guitar player and me filming. So we were filming him cycling, his band playing, some charity functions (which were part of the band playing) and basic interactions with all of us.

I put a whole lot of time and effort into this…and much of my own money. Basically, I bought a fast laptop so I could edit on the road and a bunch of hard drives and some equipment and took a month off of my life to do this.

Long story short, we made zero money – meaning I’d spent about $5000 dollars (all my savings) of my own money to do this. 

When we got back I was going to insanely start editing this massive amount of footage. That’s when my friend gave me a few stipulations: 1) Leave his wife out of the documentary because he did not want her to be harassed by fans. 2) Leave the band part out of it because he did not want to look like he was trying to get famous by using the charity.

His wife was in mostly 90% of the footage. The band was in 80%… including the 10% of the footage where his wife didn’t appear.

There was no budget and I was not going to try to make a documentary about nothing so the project died. Live and learn; just because your friend is rad doesn’t mean he’s going to be great to work with. We raised some money for charity.

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