I think you handled that situation perfectly Jay. I would have done the same and gotten out of Dodge. I also agree that had the birthday kid appeared it would have been a different story.

I would prefer showing up to a cancellation rather than the bad check since there is usually a fee that the bank will charge you for the bad check and your chances of getting that back are slim.

"Well lady, unless I get gas money home, I'm moving in," will usually get you a little something. Beats nothing at all.

But seriously, I think I would of suggested a check. Even a postdated check would be better than nothing.

Speaking of checks and I never complain about it, but honestly I don't like doing business with people that insist on getting paid in cash only. That tells me they don't trust me or either they hiding something. Makes me think they most likely not paying taxes too.

Of course I do understand doing business out of town where you do need to be extra careful.

Still, I wish I had a million dollars in bad checks. Ninety percent of them can be collected fairly easy if you go about it right. Takes a little time in some cases but you can add a late fee and a bad check fee for the trouble.

Tom

I would have walked for even 2/3 my price. No negotiations the day of the party! She should have called you to let you know she was short on cash.

I think you did right but I would have asked for a check as well and done the show

just so all of you know - you can take that check to the persons bank and cash it for free there.

Now if the money is not available the bank will tell you that but you can check back each day (yes I know a bit more work on your part) but the moment the moeny is there they will honor the check, then if money is not there for other things for that client well that's not your problem.

sam

In response to Tom: to be clear, I actually don't tell clients "cash only". I tell them I prefer cash, but a check is acceptable if they don't have the chance to get to an ATM. I got that exact phrasing from listening to my wife sell a birthday show for me. It's clear, but subtle, and usually it works.

Sam
My bank will only cash a check for free if you are have an account at that bank, but checking their bank every day is a beautiful idea. That way you get the last laugh.

Has anyone had experience using the credit card reader for the iPhone? I talked with someone at the Apple store about one. That seems like a great way to have an alternative for these kinds of situations.

Horrors.

Can't forget to pay taxes to a government that smokes it all away and puts us trillions of dollars in debt.

I say buy that person a drink and shake there hand.

I wouldnt have walked away.

Leaving the venue eliminates options & possibilities, as well as leaves you open to slander. Like you said, no one had seen you yet...the mother could simply say that you never showed up, or canceled at the last minute. (If she's shifty enough to weasel out of paying, I doubt LYING is beneath her) This has happened to me 4 times, that is, the mother approached me & admitted that she didn't have (or didn't QUITE have) my fee, but I did the show anyhow, and whats more I gave it my all. In one case, the mother actually took up a collection from the other parents and got me all but $15 of my fee. Another time I was 'paid' with 2 tickets to Disney, which I sold for $130, and another time it took 4 months, but the father eventualy contacted me and gave me my fee + $50, and thanked me for not having "Impunged his honor" at the event. Ony once was it simply 'sorry Charlie' and I walked away empty-handed, never to hear from them again. Oh, and in all 4 instances, I got at least 2 contacts / bookings.

So my personal advice is to just do the show & see what shakes loose.

I did show up at an outdoor festival on a particular occasion, contracts had been signed, money was agreed upon, etc....I find "the lady in charge", and goes to get the checkbook. I'm supposed to do an hour of balloon work, a family show and another hour of ballooning. Everything is set up, EZ-Up, sound, show stuff, too. I'm determined to be paid BEFORE I do any work. So I wait....and wait...I go off and find the lady sitting in a chair watching a gospel group. Said she'd be back with the check. Supposed to start at 11 a.m., and it's almost 11. By 11:30, she's still a vanishing act, so I start packing up. She immediately APPEARS (POOF!) and asks what I'm doing. I explained the situation and she dashes over to get the checkbook. At this point, I've been there for at least 2-2 1/2 hours. Stuff's packed up and I'm leaving, she hands me a check for 1/2 of the agreed amount, which I figured would bounce, but it didn't.

Few months later...SAME TOWN...I'm hired by the local elementary school for 3 shows in the auditorium. It's the kind of shows where the students pay a buck and see the show. Lots of students, sweet gig. First show, aside from starting 15 minutes late, goes without a hitch. We reset and we're ready for round 2. Principal comes backstage and informs us that that was all the kids who brought money. There was a total monetary amount agreed upon, and she says they don't have it. She disappears and I spend the next 35 minutes trying to find her again. Finally got a partial check, had a wasted day on that one.

I have a friend (and Café member) who lives there, and he did warn me that the people who live in this particular town are mostly not an honest bunch...should've listened to him. I did get a third high-paying outdoor (like a summercamp kind of show) gig there, went off without a hitch and I got the payment prior to the show, and in cash. Must be one honest person there.

Steve

Jay, I did not fully understand your situation. I thought you have been offered a check. With no offer of payment at all, I cannot fault your decision. I might have made the same myself, or tried to negotiate. Difficult to know without being there. Sorry for any implied criticism in my earlier post. Tony

I accept cash or checks and have only once had a check bounce --so far. After a couple of calls to the people and no response, I just "happened to be in the neighborhood" and stopped by to get another. The lady was surprised to see me, but did come up with another check--which I took straight to her bank. On the first attempt, there were insufficient funds to cash it. So I waited a few days and tried again. Viola', the money was there and the check cashed.

There are two I know of, and I use them both. There's the reader from Square, and the one from Intuit. I use Square's reader the day of the show because it's smaller and easier to keep in my case. I use Intuit's to take deposits because you can process a payment without a signature (not so with Square). As there is no membership fee for either, and both deposit funds in my bank account pretty quickly (usually within a day, I believe), this has been a great way for me to easily collect deposits over the phone and accept payment from anyone lacking a checkbook and cash.

As to the issue of showing up to perform and being told there are no funds, I would have doubled back to my car and left immediately. To me, there's a moral issue with performing a show for somebody who is trying to weasel out of paying me even a dollar of the fee we agreed upon. With most people, if they tell me they're in dire straits, I'll work something out with them when they book me. That's the time to tell me you can't afford my entire fee, not after I've carved out several hours for you. Especially if I turned down other shows for that slot on account of the booking.

But now that I take deposits, I don't worry about situations like these. The deposit will have always cleared before I show up, so refusal to pay part of all of my fee is a cancellation and I keep the deposit as a cancellation fee. It's been a loooong time since this has happened (not since the last time I took deposits, maybe ten years ago). Once you've been paid half, they'll make *** sure they don't lose that investment. This doesn't guarantee no bad checks the day of the show, but it stops most people from canceling last minute and gives you satisfaction that you've been paid for not doing a show for the ones who do.

You can actually do deposits with square. You sign it yourself 'Phone Auth' or 'Internet Order'. They have instructions on their website. https://help.squareup.com/customer/portal/articles/11857

I would make sure to use the option of adding a photo to the receipt. Take a picture of your show setup with enough surrounding area that it can be recognized as their house or the venue the rented.

Not sure why most USA folks accept cheques. I thought these days most people are cashless. Here in Aussie land cheque books are going the way of the dinosaur, and yellow pages book. 90% of the time I get cash for my work, after the show. The only times I get cheques are for government work, or libraries, schools etc, with most now paying directly in my bank account, after sending an invoice. I probably only get one cheque a month.

It's only happened to me once...fairly recently...at a close-up small company event. No cash. No cheques (That's "checks" in the USA) but a client who seemed very evasive to me. I didn't feel right about the way she was talking to me...she wanted the show but went WAY out of her way to tell me she had no money...no cheque.

"And I know you don't take credit cards," she said. Which is true.

"But I DO take PayPal...and PayPal takes credit cards," I told her. Then I went to the hotel lobby and waited for my notification that the fees had been paid. Sure enough...ten minutes later...the cash was in my account.

I understand sometimes mistakes happen...and sometimes there's an honest error made. In those cases I always work with the client to save them from embarrassment.

But when the client signs an agreement that clearly lays out your expectations...and you follow up with a WRITTEN document that explains (among other things) what they can expect from the show and what you expect from them -- things ALL laid out in the agreement....AND you follow all that up with a quick confirmation phone call -- again laying out what time you'll be there and when you expect the balance of your payment etc...and they STILL don't have payment??? Hmmm.

Nope. Most of the time it's an honest mistake...but once in a while....

David

This is good to know. When I started using Intuit, Square still didn't support deposits. Thanks!

I would have stayed and done the show, then accepted whatever she could pay at the time. I might have agreed to do a smaller, shorter show if the funds were significantly lower than agreed. But I'd never walk away, because the one who will suffer is the Birthday child.
I am paid mostly by cheque, and have only had 3 bounce in ten years. Two of those were immediately replaced, the clients even called me to tell me they had bounced before I got the letter from the bank. The last client who bounced a cheque kept telling me she would send the money, but never did. I eventually sent her a pleasant but firm letter asking her to call me to discuss a payment plan over several months, as she was obviously struggling with finances. I added that if she kept avoiding my calls and leaving my letters unanswered, I'd have no choice but to pass the matter over to the Equity lawyers. A good cheque was sent by return.

I'm actually finding more and more people "forgetting" their checkbooks these days. Since folk don't use them everyday like they used to they forget to bring them with them to the hall or park where they are having the party. The last time it happened the birthday mom couldn't pay for the cake when it was delivered either because she had left her checkbook at home. I'm not sure what she did but she convinced the guy to leave the cake. I had a show in the area the next day so I could swing by her house and pick up the check. Otherwise I'd have just had her mail it to me.