Clients and payment

John Estcourt · September 10th, 2012, 03:04 PM

Chris, I think you have been extremely fair with them and you have done more than most would have.
For them to even ask for a screening without having paid a penny for your services, is beyond belief.
I would politely tell them that unless payment is made, as per your contract, then the footage will remain unseen.
john

Don Bloom · September 10th, 2012, 04:19 PM

Katie,
I agree 100% about not getting referrals from a mad bride because we just don't show up if not paid--but here's the thing. IF you (or me or anyone) as a business person TELLS the client at the time they sign up and SHOWS the client in the service agreement what it says about non-payment and SHOWS the client again in the form of email reminderd or TELLS the client in phones calls to them about the fact that, per the service agreement which THEY signed, you won't be there if payment isn't made prior to the event then they have nothing to beef about.
Now that I've said that I don't want anyone to think I'm a totally heartless non caring SOB, well maybe I am but when it comes to social event clients I try to be reasonable and work with them.
Don't have all the money 30 days before the event? OK how much do you have that you can give me now? How long will it take you to put together the rest? Can your parents help out? Can you give me 50% of the balance now and the rest on the day of from the envelopes you're going to get at the wedding? If all else fails, and I LIKE the couple and they're nice kids, I'll shoot it but not do a thing with it until I get paid. That has happened once or twice in the last 20 years. A friend of mine puts it this way. 'I'm running a business not a loan company'.
His company still shoots over 250 events a year so I guess it works for him!
PAY ME!

O|O
\--/

D.J. Ammons · September 10th, 2012, 07:35 PM

A few years ago when we started doing Wedding Videography I did research on this forum and others about established videographers practices, policies, and nightmare stories.

As a result of that we require a $500 deposit at booking and the final balance paid in full two weeks before the wedding.

Oh, and there are no preliminary edits based on customer approval. In our contract and in our conversations with the couple we make it clear that we maintain creative control regarding the edit.

What we do is consult with the couple before the wedding to make sure we know any special things they want captured (like footage of a 90 year old grandmother, etc)

We let our demo reel speak for itself when people book and so far that has worked. If they love our demo reel they have confidence in us and don't mind not having control over the edit and also don't mind paying before hand.

Katie Fasel · September 10th, 2012, 07:55 PM

Same here, D.J. NO preliminary edits. Most anyone who books us has seen a friend's video, or watched numerous demo samples online, or asked us for a sample of what the final product looks like.

About a week before the wedding, I have a timeline that I sit down with our brides and go over of every event, anything extra they want covered, and explain what we will be doing when and where...they know how we work and what to expect of our final product.

Paul R Johnson · September 11th, 2012, 05:45 AM

I understand completely and agree that with weddings, it has to be this way - and perhaps after all, in contrast with industrial work, what wedding couples get is style - as in your style. They pick you because of your past jobs - so they buy into how you work. With me, I do the reverse, I have to produce to their shopping list and I often have to accept that I don't wish to do it their way, but the client is always right, even when they realise they got it wrong and it's going to cost to fix it. Brides are quite different.

September 10th, 2012, 03:04 PM	#16
John Estcourt Major Player Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Scotland, Ayr www.amour weddingvideos.co.uk Posts: 305	Re: Clients and payment Chris, I think you have been extremely fair with them and you have done more than most would have. For them to even ask for a screening without having paid a penny for your services, is beyond belief. I would politely tell them that unless payment is made, as per your contract, then the footage will remain unseen. john __________________ john estcourt www.amourweddingvideos.co.uk

September 10th, 2012, 04:19 PM	#17
Don Bloom Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,609	Re: Clients and payment Katie, I agree 100% about not getting referrals from a mad bride because we just don't show up if not paid--but here's the thing. IF you (or me or anyone) as a business person TELLS the client at the time they sign up and SHOWS the client in the service agreement what it says about non-payment and SHOWS the client again in the form of email reminderd or TELLS the client in phones calls to them about the fact that, per the service agreement which THEY signed, you won't be there if payment isn't made prior to the event then they have nothing to beef about. Now that I've said that I don't want anyone to think I'm a totally heartless non caring SOB, well maybe I am but when it comes to social event clients I try to be reasonable and work with them. Don't have all the money 30 days before the event? OK how much do you have that you can give me now? How long will it take you to put together the rest? Can your parents help out? Can you give me 50% of the balance now and the rest on the day of from the envelopes you're going to get at the wedding? If all else fails, and I LIKE the couple and they're nice kids, I'll shoot it but not do a thing with it until I get paid. That has happened once or twice in the last 20 years. A friend of mine puts it this way. 'I'm running a business not a loan company'. His company still shoots over 250 events a year so I guess it works for him! PAY ME! O\|O \--/ __________________ What do I know? I'm just a video-O-grafer. Don

September 10th, 2012, 07:35 PM	#18
D.J. Ammons Major Player Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Nashville, TN Posts: 506	Re: Clients and payment A few years ago when we started doing Wedding Videography I did research on this forum and others about established videographers practices, policies, and nightmare stories. As a result of that we require a $500 deposit at booking and the final balance paid in full two weeks before the wedding. Oh, and there are no preliminary edits based on customer approval. In our contract and in our conversations with the couple we make it clear that we maintain creative control regarding the edit. What we do is consult with the couple before the wedding to make sure we know any special things they want captured (like footage of a 90 year old grandmother, etc) We let our demo reel speak for itself when people book and so far that has worked. If they love our demo reel they have confidence in us and don't mind not having control over the edit and also don't mind paying before hand.

September 10th, 2012, 07:55 PM	#19
Katie Fasel Major Player Join Date: May 2011 Location: Grand Rapids, MI Posts: 236	Re: Clients and payment Same here, D.J. NO preliminary edits. Most anyone who books us has seen a friend's video, or watched numerous demo samples online, or asked us for a sample of what the final product looks like. About a week before the wedding, I have a timeline that I sit down with our brides and go over of every event, anything extra they want covered, and explain what we will be doing when and where...they know how we work and what to expect of our final product.

September 11th, 2012, 05:45 AM	#20
Paul R Johnson Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Lowestoft - UK Posts: 4,045	Re: Clients and payment I understand completely and agree that with weddings, it has to be this way - and perhaps after all, in contrast with industrial work, what wedding couples get is style - as in your style. They pick you because of your past jobs - so they buy into how you work. With me, I do the reverse, I have to produce to their shopping list and I often have to accept that I don't wish to do it their way, but the client is always right, even when they realise they got it wrong and it's going to cost to fix it. Brides are quite different.