Re: difficulties with clients

This all happened to me about 20 years ago. A gal had hired me to produce a dog obedience video for too cheap. But I was excited about getting a job that paid $5,000.

This thing went on way too long and she just quit working on the project. I had twice as much time invested then what we agreed on and I sued her, in small claims court, for the rest on my money. She sued me in superior court for ruining her life. She obviously never met my first wife.

The superior court wanted to refer the case to an arbitrator because this was obviously a squabble, not a court case. No one's life was "ruined".

But, instead of an arbitrator, the judge took us into his chambers for a private pow wow. He agreed that we would never get the job finished and we had to settle on money. His decision was that I had done a lot more work than I had gotten paid for and she she was actually way ahead in the deal. The training tapes were 90% done. He asked if I (the defendant) would be willing to hand her the tapes and walk away. I said yes and we were done. She and I shook hands and she never did put her product on the market.

Now this: I got a call a few days later from the state bar association asking me to bid on their "Continuing Legal Education Program". I bid on it, got it and had that contract for 10 years. I found out later that the superior court judge put my name in the hat. Being ethical, honest, and standing your ground will get you noticed by the right people. And the most important thing is to admit when you're wrong. Just try really hard to never be wrong. That's probably easy for you. Your original post presents you as being in the right but not wanting to make waves, a good attitude. We all just need to know when it's time to speak up. None of us want to throw money out the window. Well, not me anyway.



Steve Wargo
Tempe, Arizona
It's a dry heat!

Sony HDCAM F-900 & HDW-2000/1 deck
5 Final Cut (not quite PRO) systems
Sony HVR-M25 HDV deck
2-Sony EX-1 HD .