Some people are really social clods….

[Briggsie B. Peawiggle]

I got a call from a guy I could barely understand, and he was speaking English, but had such a sloppy way of talking it really was hard to get what he was trying to say. My hearing is perfectly fine as any student in the schools where I teach will assure you. 🙂 He wanted to know if I was available on a certain date and what my fee was. I gave him my fee after checking the date and being available that date. He told me “I have to check this with my committee because, well times are hard right now, you know,” and there was a pregnant pause. I had a feeling I was supposed to give him a lower quote. Then he told me “I’ll get back to you because I’m going to call around and check everyone else’s fees.” HAHAHAHAHAHAHA…omg…..Actually my fee is perfectly reasonable based on what others are charging around here. I believe he will find this out. However, if he calls me back to book the date, I’m going to be booked.

Briggsie

[Misty Harrison]

This happens sometimes. Lately I got a call from a bride who was really young. She had this way of talking that seemed really honest but was insulting. She explained she didn’t budget for music because she has relatives to play but then she didn’t realize they would have to play for the whole ceremony and that’s too much for them so she has to hire someone and she was

[Karen Johns]

Misty,

Maybe the second call was a form of psychology? It almost sounds like the guy was trying to establish the “upper hand” in the conversation, and probably thought if he did that and dominated you from the beginning you would go along with anything he wanted you to do. I worked for someone like that once- it was a nightmare. I believe you did yourself a HUGE favor by not taking that gig!

Briggs,

I feel for you- I deal with these kinds of people ALL the time- always looking for a bargain, never wanting to pay full price for anything. It’s called “entitlement”, and it seems to be the way of the world lately. They believe it is their God-given right to be entitled to everything without either having to work hard for it or pay for it. Absolutely no sense of personal responsibility.

I had a lady use a coupon at my work the other day with “limit 3” on it- when I explained that meant it was good for only 3 items, she told me she thought it meant she could only use the coupon 3 times!?! Then she dropped three of the items (she originally had 6) on the floor next to her and never bothered to put them back. What this person doesn’t realize is that it takes money to pay someone to put those items back, and that has a trickle down effect that adds into the price of the items themselves. And yet these are the same types of people that will continually gripe about not getting a good enough “deal”.

This is just one example of where this type of “bargain basement” haggling goes on other than in the musician’s line of work. I’ve had a few of those as a harper too. People who charge

[Sylvia Clark]

Several things.

[Elizabeth Volpé Bligh]

Back when I used to do weddings (before I decided to let the younger people have a go at them), I had one bride ask for my qualifications. When I told her I had been playing principal harp in the Symphony since 1982, she asked if she could hear a sample of my playing before she decided. It took every ounce of restraint not to hang up then. I explained that I was not looking for these engagements and could only take them if my busy schedule permitted, so I was not putting up samples of my playing on my web site. Anyway, once she heard my price, (which was very reasonable), that was the end of the conversation.

[Mel Sandberg]

Sylvia, Ido everything you do and I agree with every word you said.

[janelle-lake]

Have you heard the story about when a lady called Liz Cifani to hire her for a wedding?

[michelle-winston]

I had someone tell me I could set out business cards and other promotional things or sell CD’s instead of being paid!

[unknown-user]

I don’t disagree with the other posts.

[Misty Harrison]

It’s true that some people don’t have the money but in my experience these people are usually very honest and not arrogant. They usually don’t act like they’re doing you a favor to let you play and “advertise” yourself adn they don’t put you on hold while they answer other calls and tell you stories about other harpists or say things like I decided to hire a harpist because then I only have to pay one person.

There are definitely solutions when people really can’t pay and are nice about it but I think this post is really about people who are rude, not whether they can pay or not.

[Author]

Posts