What you get for giving freebie

[RDKirk]

Originally Posted by tomj

"I'll ask the question again because I don't think your answer was clear: did they ask you to do the advert?"

Good question. If this is something they didn't talk to you about, or didn't want, they may actually feel awkward about it, maybe even see it as presumtive on your part.

My experienced is that giving a customer a little freebie (little being key) is a way of showing your gratitude for their business that they can appreciate. A gift of substantial value may be viewed as inappropriate on several levels.

In some countries, grocers have the the habit of what they call "the extra dash" for good customers. The grocer measures out the requested amount of beans, grain, sugar, whatever...then tosses in a half scoop more with a smile as "the extra dash."

The actual worth of the dash to the customer is miniscule...but it's worth a great deal in terms of customer satisfaction.

[Luckless]

I've known a few people who have been burned in the past for going above and beyond what their customer wanted.

Likely the worst was a friend (certified electrician) who took a call to fix a light in the home of a senior. Job just took a few minutes to fix, but while he was there he noticed some other electrical issues that could become fire hazards. It being a slow day, and him being a great guy, he asked the woman if he could fix some of the other issues.

She said no, she didn't want him making up work just so he could get paid more.

He explained it was actually dangerous and offered to do it for free. It wouldn't cost her a penny, and he could do everything he needed in a few hours with the stuff he already had with him in his van.

She said no again.

He tried to tell her that if he didn't do the work it could cause a fire, and tried to show her where there was already minor signs of scorching.

She chased him out of her house with a broom.


Moral of the story? Be very careful when trying to be nice to people.

[Mark0159]

sometimes it's nice to do something just because you can. if the other party is being a dick about it doesn't mean you shouldn't be nice or give a customer something for nothing.

But like any business dealing you need to learn when too and when not too. For example this customer didn't understand that you went above and beyond what was asked. You now know next time for this customer not to do it.

However sometimes when you come across a customer you may think it would be nice to for me to go that extra mile because they are nice people and you feel like doing it. But when you do don't expect them to know unless you tell them.

If your shooting a family portrait or personal photography for someone you don't have to be a total scrooge about it. You are providing a personal service and depending on the customer sometimes going beyond what you would do can help.

As for the above story, I thought the moral of the story is that you can't always help old person across the street.

[Thorrulz]

I get "invited" to weddings and all sorts of family gatherings all the time. Even to the family members I don't really know all that well or get along with. I would be naive not to suspect that it's because my wife will insist on going and me bringing my camera to take a few photo's for her.
In fact this past Saturday we were both invited to my Sister-in-laws daughters wedding, who I may add that I do try to avoid due to past conflicts and history. Well I got drug there on one of my vacation days and was forced to bring the camera for the wife's sake of getting some family photo's of relatives from out of town.
I show up and sure enough the paid photogs have minimal equipment and are fumbling through the whole ceremony out of position especially during the ceremony itself and I already know what's coming as I am shooting for the wife.
As soon as the Pyscho sis-in-law gets back the pics from the paid photogs she will want copies of my shots. And she will offer as before to pay for the developing cost at the local Wal-Mart or Walgreens so I won't be out anything. Sure is nice of her isn't it? Well, I already have my price list and am ready to hit send the moment she contacts me. Since she is the outspoken (LOUD) one of the family I already know she will demand that the pics taken at a wedding she paid for will automatically become the property of her and her daughter. And she also works for a law firm so I am sure she will have their full backing and support.

^^^Point of this is family freebies are over unless agreed to beforehand like any other arrangement.^^^

Now the reason for me posting this is that I don't think the OP should have gone over the line and did anything that he wasn't being paid for. Now most likely the word will spread that he's an easy mark for freebies and trust me that you don't know how hard it is to shake that rep once you have it. And if you expect more than a simple thank you for what you did than you don't know when you are being worked for the next job.

Gotta go, it's about time for this seasons "Family Wars"

[Steve of Cornubia]

Originally Posted by Thorrulz

.......Now most likely the word will spread that he's an easy mark for freebies and trust me that you don't know how hard it is to shake that rep once you have it. ....

Somehow, after reading your little tale, I suspect you're NOT speaking from experience here.

[EmyB]

Originally Posted by Thorrulz

I get "invited" to weddings and all sorts of family gatherings all the time. Even to the family members I don't really know all that well or get along with. I would be naive not to suspect that it's because my wife will insist on going and me bringing my...

Wow that's a lot of bitterness over the possible act of doing something nice for your wife's family. I have to say you really come off sounding like an ass.

[Christopher Steven b]

I'm pretty familiar with this phenomenon in the context of presumably more personal work--weddings, portraits, engagement shoots. Some people gush. Some treat it as if they've just purchased something at the grocery store--ie., they paid the money, they have the product, and their 'thank you' reflects that kind of anonymous exchange.

My lesson from this: people are complicated. They respond in different ways; and we just don't fully know their circumstances in most cases.

[Thorrulz]

Originally Posted by EmyB

Wow that's a lot of bitterness over the possible act of doing something nice for your wife's family. I have to say you really come off sounding like an ass.

I don't have any bitterness at all whatsoever to any family members, though I do see your point that it could be mistaken for that the way it was posted.

I do expect other family members to understand though that if I am spotted at one of the family get togethers and I am not the hired photographer that my personal photos are just that, my personal photos. Don't expect me to go through the arduos process of making sure I have photo's of every possible scenario that develops and individual/s that was at the event and then throw in the processing and CD creation on top of everything else.

With a price list that is fairly priced for the family and can only be purchased through my choice of lab I keep control of the quality of the images received and the gossip of who received what and how many.

Keep in mind that a typical family reunion in my wifes family occurs 3 times a year with 100-125 people and I'll bet that is a very conservative number to say the least. Top that off with all the weddings, birthday parties, graduations and every other special moment that comes along and I could shoot family events every weekend all year long and go broke at the same time.

[teaco]

Sorry for late reply. The guys at the opticians needed the extra work, which was realised as i asked them for more details about the requirements. I also offered to give them a few extras to help them with displays, which they were really keen on. I offered as they had recently been broken into, and also have had a very slow year. They are great guys so i decided to throw them the extra work for free, which took me just under day (prob 6 to 7 hours) to complete. Some of this work took a bit longer than expected due to a few difficulties i had, so i didn't realised it would take me quite that long. Anyhow, I decided to be a nice guy.... and that's the background to it.

It's not a huge deal and the world is still turning, so i'm not losing sleep. I guess i have learned to not expect too much gratitude, to make sure they know how much work is involved in the extras, and also to realise that people are different!

Photography is a sideline for me and mainly for fun. If i was full-time i would have probably been a bit more upset. It is nice to get everyone's comments on this and also thanks for the PMs received.