How to tell someone I don't want to work for them?

I had a client recently that took up two of my super busy Oct/Nov weekend shoots then proceeded to order only birth announcements and christmas cards (because I was running a special) and did not order any prints at all.

She said that she still wants to use me for her children's portraits in the future but honestly it's not worth my time if she's not going to order anything.

I have a min. print order in my information but am not going to really going to MAKE her order any prints because I know they are under some financial strain. Her pictures turned out really well so that's not the problem at all she just can't afford to buy them.

She is also good friends with many of my good clients so I don't want to start bad talk about me with her friends.

Just wanted to get some opinions of how others might handle this.

Charge an overly excessive high price they wont pay is the usual way {small job charge also}
or ... be an American and say in English FU.

Then you shouldn't have offered the special. She bought what you offered. Why is that her fault? Rather than having a minimum print order, have a package that includes prints. That way, you get paid whether they order or not. It's not your responsibility to worry about their "financial strain." If they can't afford the pictures, then they shouldn't be ordering. Simple as that. If they do book you, then take the money up front, which is what you should be doing anyway.

Yeah, but I don't want her to tell her friends that use me that I increased my prices.

I'm thinking about requiring her to purchase $XX in print credit at the time of the shoot if I do shoot for her again. OR just tell her FU ... Pretty sure I'm not even capable of saying that.

Tell them you're already booked up...

What I do is charge a sitting fee and give the client a voucher for purchasing prints on my site. This way I charge enough to cover my time, but it does not seem excessive to the client because they are getting credit towards prints on my site. This way if they never order, you are ok. If they do order it still costs you far less in your cost than the value they perceive they are getting in prints. Everyone 'wins'.

I'm not a pro, so forgive me if this is off base, but could you change your contact to include a "shooting" fee that is 100% deductible from print orders? You could put a clause in it that, if the client found none of the shots acceptable, you could discuss the reasons and setup a re-shoot .. but no money returned.

hairy_moth wrote in post #11463167
I'm not a pro, so forgive me if this is off base, but could you change your contact to include a "shooting" fee that is 100% deductible from print orders? You could put a clause in it that of none of the shots are acceptable, you could re-shoot .. but no money returned.

Yes, basically what I do, or if not 100% then 75%. So say if you figure that a typical 1 hour shoot you need to get $100 to pay for all your time and cost of doing business. you could charge a $125 sitting fee and tell them it includes $100 worth of prints on your site. They now think the sitting fee is really only $25 and they get $100 worth of prints. What a bargain! When that $100 worth of prints might only cost you $25 in lab fees and shipping. So you come out with your $100 needed and they perceive they got a great deal.

Dermit wrote in post #11463206
Yes, basically what I do, or if not 100% then 75%. So say if you figure that a typical 1 hour shoot you need to get $100 to pay for all your time and cost of doing business. you could charge a $125 sitting fee and tell them it includes $100 worth of prints on your site. They now think the sitting fee is really only $25 and they get $100 worth of prints. What a bargain! When that $100 worth of prints might only cost you $25 in lab fees and shipping. So you come out with your $100 needed and they perceive they got a great deal.

Yeah, I have thought about that but I think it just somehow doesn't seem AS MUCH to people if they write an $80 session fee check then a couple weeks later write another for their $200 prints. I feel like people are more willing to buy more after they see ALL of the cute photos. I usually get an email back saying they want them all.

I've NEVER had a problem with anyone not ordering in the 2 years I have been doing this ...

Maybe I'll just change it for her and just tell her I had to change it since she didn't meet the minimum order previously OR just say I'm booked when she calls.

asysin2leads wrote in post #11463104
Then you shouldn't have offered the special. She bought what you offered. Why is that her fault? Rather than having a minimum print order, have a package that includes prints. That way, you get paid whether they order or not. It's not your responsibility to worry about their "financial strain." If they can't afford the pictures, then they shouldn't be ordering. Simple as that. If they do book you, then take the money up front, which is what you should be doing anyway.

Sounds reasonable to me! So what's wrong with her telling her friends that you increased your prices? Is there something unethical about raising your fees? Tell her that you had to raise you minimum order so that you could afford to stay in business.

New year is 2 weeks away... Oh, I have new pricing for 2011... You should prob anyway...

Get rid of the discount! That way, you get paid for your time. Just inform the client that the discount was temporary. The ONLY discount you are offering now is with the purchase of a print package. If you state that upfront then they can choose, pay more and don't order prints...or pay less but have to order prints. Also, require the purchase of the package up front. So, that way, they can't back out on the package later.

Dermit wrote in post #11463160
What I do is charge a sitting fee and give the client a voucher for purchasing prints on my site. This way I charge enough to cover my time, but it does not seem excessive to the client because they are getting credit towards prints on my site. This way if they never order, you are ok. If they do order it still costs you far less in your cost than the value they perceive they are getting in prints. Everyone 'wins'.

^ I would do this.

This also sounds like a good idea for future reference. Clever business idea.

I would simple tell her about the minimum purchase, and charge a small up front fee. I offer a money back guarantee, so if there are no images they want they get it refunded, but if they order one or more prints the minimum purchase applies.

IMO, it sounds like the problem is more with your pricing structure. If you have a minimum order requirement, I think you should collect that money up front and then give the customer a photo credit. This will keep you from having to try to get people to order the promised amount so that you can actually make money. By collecting the money upfront, you'll save yourself time and hassle.
Once you do this, there's no need to worry about turning people away because they don't order enough afterwards.