Home · Register · Join Upload & Sell

Moderated by: Fred Miranda
Username  

FM Forum Rules
Wedding Resource List
  

FM Forums | Wedding Photographer | Join Upload & Sell

1       2      
3
       end
  

Archive 2013 · ....

  
 
Ian Ivey
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.3 #1 · p.3 #1 · ....


Chris, you've got a considerable response here, and most of it was collegial. I see that you just edited your OP to hide the contents. Unless you've got a lawsuit pending, I think it would be more appropriate for you to respond to the questions and thoughts in this thread candidly.

The best question, asked by more than one person, is: what part, if any, of the review was false?

If it is a fair and accurate review, there's not a lot for you to do. Despite the sanctimony from one or two in this thread, your decision to collect the balance was legal and warranted given your description of the contract and circumstances.

Had you booked the date, a partial refund would certainly have gone a long way toward smoothing ruffled feathers. The client is obviously unhappy about your decision not to refund any money, and your alleged unwillingness to allow them to apply the fee partially to other services. That's your decision to make, and these seem to be the consequences (again, assuming the review was not false).



Oct 22, 2013 at 11:19 AM
myam203
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.3 #2 · p.3 #2 · ....


Whatever the case, I feel for the guy. It's a crappy feeling to have an unhappy client out there badmouthing you. Whether or not he should've taken the final balance can be argued to no end, but they agreed to it, so...


Oct 22, 2013 at 11:38 AM
SloPhoto
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.3 #3 · p.3 #3 · ....


I just want to add.


OP, it is not that I think you should not have collected. It was in your contract, they signed it, that is your prerogative. What I do think you should realize though is that doing so left you with a customer who had a poor experience. If the remaining portion of that fee was worth the loss of referrals and possible poor review, then it was the right choice.

Looking at the opposite side of the equation, this girl had been stalking you for years. She might have continued to do so until her next engagement and, if you had left her with a good experience, likely would have suggested you to several of her friends as well.

Finding some way to make her feel better about how this all ended may be a good takeaway from this experience. (even if you still collect the remainder, it might be nice to find a way to soften the blow)



Oct 22, 2013 at 11:52 AM
divamum
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.3 #4 · p.3 #4 · ....


I hope I'm not the "sanctimonious" one! Certainly not intended. All musical contracts (including strong, well-paid, union ones) are "pay or play" - in other words, if the gig doesn't happen (for any reason) you don't get paid (that applies to Union as well as smaller-gig contracts) - so that's what I'm used to! When cancellations have occurred I've been told by lawyers that it's extremely difficult to enforce contracts for services not yet rendered. Just my experience - certainly not trying to sound holier than thou, but hopeful that a perspective at a slight angle might be worth contributing. Sorry if I've overstepped!

PS Somebody mentioned airlines: they actually WILL refund or rebook if you paid full fare for the ticket - it's only the consolidator/budget fares that can't be rebooked. And, sometimes, they will cut you a break on those (I once had stomach flu the day of a flight and couldn't even get out of bed - with a doctor's note, they let me rebook for the following week).



Oct 22, 2013 at 11:59 AM
Micky Bill
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.3 #5 · p.3 #5 · ....


divamum wrote:
PS Somebody mentioned airlines: they actually WILL refund or rebook if you paid full fare for the ticket - it's only the consolidator/budget fares that can't be rebooked. And, sometimes, they will cut you a break on those (I once had stomach flu the day of a flight and couldn't even get out of bed - with a doctor's note, they let me rebook for the following week).


Not to go too off track but I have always been able to rebook or change a flight for $ unless it was SWA...cheap tickes or no.



Oct 22, 2013 at 02:58 PM
Littleguy
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.3 #6 · p.3 #6 · ....


I don't think we should be using Airlines as a benchmark for customer satisfaction. It maybe legal to do a lot of things but don't be surprise when customers display their dissatisfaction to others.

Airlines ranked below the national customer satisfaction average score of 76.5 (Airlines scored 69), which was just a little ahead of the US federal government (Feds scored 68.4). The lowest ranking industry with a score of 65 were ISPs and we all know how the contracts with ISP allows them to do a lot of things legally.

Source:
http://www.theacsi.org/national-economic-indicator/national-sector-and-industry-benchmarks




Oct 22, 2013 at 03:47 PM
RichardLavigne
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.3 #7 · p.3 #7 · ....


SloPhoto wrote:
I just want to add.

OP, it is not that I think you should not have collected. It was in your contract, they signed it, that is your prerogative. What I do think you should realize though is that doing so left you with a customer who had a poor experience. If the remaining portion of that fee was worth the loss of referrals and possible poor review, then it was the right choice.

Looking at the opposite side of the equation, this girl had been stalking you for years. She might have continued to do so until her next engagement and,
...Show more

I agree 100%

Littleguy wrote:
I don't think we should be using Airlines as a benchmark for customer satisfaction. It maybe legal to do a lot of things but don't be surprise when customers display their dissatisfaction to others.

Airlines ranked below the national customer satisfaction average score of 76.5 (Airlines scored 69), which was just a little ahead of the US federal government (Feds scored 68.4). The lowest ranking industry with a score of 65 were ISPs and we all know how the contracts with ISP allows them to do a lot of things legally.

Source:
http://www.theacsi.org/national-economic-indicator/national-sector-and-industry-benchmarks



Exactly... if you're basing your customer service experience off what the airlines do, I think you're in fora world of bad reviews. Most people I know would give the airlines bad reviews even with services rendered.

For me... the simple solution is... treat your customer as you would want to be treated. I think keeping the deposit is fair, but collecting on full balance for NO services rendered just seems silly. Its not how I'd want to be treated.



Oct 22, 2013 at 07:11 PM
1       2      
3
       end




FM Forums | Wedding Photographer | Join Upload & Sell

1       2      
3
       end
    
 

You are not logged in. Login or Register

Username       Or Reset password



This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.