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toomuchmagic Special user 534 Posts |
I was supposed to have a show today... Booked about two weeks ago. I sent away my performance agreement, and waited but it never came back. I tried calling at the beginning of the week a few times and got no response. I called one more time last night, and finally got a voice mail this morning, saying there was no party. When I talked to the guy he said he did get my contract, but never sent it back and assumed that was enough for me to understand they were not interested.
The party is still going on but they all of a sudden chose not to go through with the entertainment. The way he said it was like he asked his wife about it last night and they decided against it. I am pretty mad. This is the first time this has happened to me. (Should I not complain)? And yes, of course, I had to turn away another show because I had this one. What do I do here? |
Dennis Michael Inner circle Southern, NJ 5821 Posts |
I would have taken the other show after I have given the 1st person three calls.
Don't get mad, this stuff happens. No contract (Agreement) no show in this case. I do call the night before and if it is cancelled, (rarely), than that's the price I pay for not having an agreement. Even with an agreement I would not persue the issue of getting paid. It is not worth the headache, aggravation, and court time. It also may cost me more jobs in bad mouthing me as an individual.
Dennis Michael
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toomuchmagic Special user 534 Posts |
It was unfortunately too late for the other one.
I don't think I feel ambitious enough to pursue it anyways. Just wondering what I could do. I appreciate the advice. |
todd75 Inner circle 1277 Posts |
Make your contract due back by a certain day and make sure they understand that if it is not, you will remove them from your schedule. Do this or....get a deposit and you'll never have to worry.
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kimmo Inner circle Sheffield 1193 Posts |
Write it off as experience and move on. These things happen. It's a pain but these kind of things are few and far between.
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chris mcbrien Inner circle Chicago 1235 Posts |
Todd's got it (as usual!). Make that contract due by a certain date, otherwise no show. Also, get that deposit...just like Todd said. And if they cancel...do NOT return it even if they beg you....they wasted your time and you could have booked another show and made more!
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jlibby Inner circle 1044 Posts |
There have been occasions where an agreement I sent out wasn't returned and the prospect became non-responsive. In those cases, I figured the show was cancelled, but just to cover myself I would send a short letter or e-mail that very nicely cancelled THEM!
That way, they couldn't call me on the day of the show and scream, "Where are you? Everyone's waiting on you!" Oh, I guess they could anyway. But you can only do so much. Joe L.
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KC Cameron Inner circle Raleigh, North Carolina 1944 Posts |
As Forest Gump would say, s**t happens.
I don't use contracts for small gigs like birthday parties. In reality they are (nearly) worthless. I am not going to take them to court if they break the contract, it is not worth the time and aggravation. I charge a booking fee. This insures I will be there and is NON-REFUNDABLE. I tell them first come, first served. If they don't send a check right away, that is their poor planning, not my problem ( I don't say this!*G*). If I do get another party that wants that slot, I first try to get them in another time slot. If that fails, I call the first and tell them if they immediately PayPal me the booking fee, the time is theirs, otherwise another will get that time. Of course, I apologize for the issue, and explain I can't wait because I have to feed my family. They realize they were slow and usually PayPal me immediately. If not, then I have no problem giving the time away. On the rare occasion when someone wants to back out of a gig after paying the booking fee (because of a death in the family or other good reason), I will try to work with them and try to re-book so they don't lose the booking fee, but I never tell them this up front. From another perspective, Cesar does not charge anything up-front, and that works well for him. I imagine the tips are better too. |
Dave Scribner Assistant Manager Lake Hopatcong, NJ 4849 Posts |
Quote:
I don't use contracts for small gigs like birthday parties. In reality they are (nearly) worthless. I am not going to take them to court if they break the contract, it is not worth the time and aggravation. I don't think any booking is too small for a contract. It's not a matter of taking them to court for breach of contract but more of a protection for the performer and his time. As mentioned, the contract should have a "return with non-refundable deposit" date. After that date, you are free to book another show. I think all too often we, as magicians, tend to think "oh well, things happen" and forget that there are too parts to a job. The entertainment portion and the business portion.
Where the magic begins
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Potty the Pirate Inner circle 4632 Posts |
My approach is to be positive. If this happens to me, I just think: "Hey, I got the afternoon off!" and don't care a jot that I've "lost out." If you'd taken a deposit, the hirer would probably have come up with some excuse like his kid's been rushed to hospital.....what are you gonna do? Keep the deposit?
If this was happening to me all the time, I'd be worried - about how good my show is. If it's a rare one-off, I don't see it as an issue. Good business sense tells me it's more important to keep good customer relations than to squeeze every last dollar I can out of my work. |
KC Cameron Inner circle Raleigh, North Carolina 1944 Posts |
Dave,
I only have a problem with a extremely small portion of my shows. I would spend more time sending and posting contracts than the time/money I lose by not using them. Also, I have found, for some strange reason, some people are scared of contracts and more hesitant to book if I insist on one, which is why I have a non-refundable booking fee. I get a nonrefundable booking fee upfront - and it is non-refundable the moment I touch it. That holds the time better than any contract. Until I receive it, it is first come first served. I may hold a date for a few days for the check to arrive, but just a few. This motivates them to get the check in fast, or pay via PayPal. Before I started the "non-refundable booking fee" policy, I found that some unethical people would hire multiple performers to insure they had someone for the date, then cancel all but the one they wanted, generally the cheapest. Now that never happens. I do send out contracts to little gigs, but only when they request it, and then only to make them feel secure. That, and corporate & goverment work that requires a contract. I feed my family on my earnings, so the business portion is VERY important to me. I am not the best business person, but I do think about it all the time. |
Dave Scribner Assistant Manager Lake Hopatcong, NJ 4849 Posts |
I agree. It's really a no-win situation. No matter what you do, something is always going to happen in spite of your best intentions. You make a contract and as Potty says, you get a last minute call about an emergency. Do you take the hard line approach or leave the door open for future bookings? I'd take the latter.
I think like most situations we run into, it's gotta be handled by the individual performer and what he is comfortable with.
Where the magic begins
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KC Cameron Inner circle Raleigh, North Carolina 1944 Posts |
Dave, it happens so rarely . . . I do a hard line at the booking. If they really have a problem, then I may refund or more likely reschedule it. This means more to them because they know they have no right to a refund. On the other hand, if they are trying to take advantage of me, I always take the hard line.
Still, this is a very rare situation. |
Potty the Pirate Inner circle 4632 Posts |
`A lesson I learned long ago, is to see the positive side of every situation. That's why I would think "hurrah! no work this afternoon!"......
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nucinud Inner circle New York, New York 1298 Posts |
Quote:
On 2007-06-27 17:53, Potty the Pirate wrote: It also means no food on the table, or rent/mortgage money, car payment, etc.
"We are what we pretend to be" Kurt Vonnegut, jr.
Now U C It Now U Don't Harry Mandel www.mandelmagic.com |
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