But I'm your friend!

[slyfoxxy]

Hi everyone, long time lurker here.

I think I posted in Sightings a few months back about something my fiance had to put up with but now I thought I'd join in as well.

I am a self employed photographer and I work out of a home studio. The amount of people I get asking me to do free photoshoots because I am their friend is mind boggling. This just happened to me recently though and I am no longer 'friends' with this person.

Friend: I let a coworker of mine know about your photography and directed her to your page.
Me: That was nice of you, thanks.
Friend: Yeah, I told her you were really good and you'd give her a discount if she mentioned she knew me.

-record scratch-

Okay, hold up, what? Not only did she not have the right to do this, I'd never even given HER a 'friend discount' what made her think I was going to give it to a complete stranger?

Needless to say I told her off and she got pretty butthurt, blocked me on facebook, not that I care. I felt bad when the girl did end up messaging me and I had to tell her my 'friend' was mistaken and I didn't do discounts. I have four kids, they eat A LOT.

Anyway, it was really nice to get that off my chest.

[RobertM]

Yes when I first went into retail in the early 1970's it was amazing how many people thought I would give them a discount just because I knew them.

Now I have my own business I have a friends rate and the discount is ZERO%

[Kanalah]

I get this all the time.

Random strangers will come up to me at a show, see a quilt that they like, and then ask "Well, is there a friends and family discount?" Uh, I've never seen you before in my life, so no.

[KuariKaydrith]

There is only one person I give a discount to - my kid. And that is largely because he 1) pays for my fabric store membership, 2) buys me fabric for my own projects from time to time, and 3) doesn't demand or expect any sort of discount. He knows how much work goes into anything I make because he's watched me work.

Anybody else? Yeah, they pay full price. If they balk at it, I happily invite them to go price out what other people would charge for the same thing. I have lost track of how often they have found somebody cheaper (and I don't charge an arm and a leg) and had their commission made only to come back to me to fix the mess that somebody else made, often ending up with them paying double what they would have if they only went through me.

Honestly though, I don't really sew for other people all the much these days. That's largely because I hate the inevitable argument over how much everything costs or how much time it might take, especially for items where I have to create a pattern because one doesn't exist anywhere.

[eltf177]

My cousin was an amateur photographer and got roped into doing the wedding of her "friend" Q - for free. Ended up a fiasco of monumental proportions...

And your "friend" has now blocked you on Facebook? Sounds like a good excuse for a party, who needs "friends" like this?

[catcul]

I read about an IT professional who was in a family of doctors and lawyers. This family agreed that they would not ask for professional advice. However, they kept asking the IT pro for advice. When IT told them about the professional agreement, the told them that Information Technology was not a true profession.

Somehow, there wasn't an unfortunate punchdown incident. Unfortunately, he has been ostracized from his family.

Disclaimer: I do not know the veracity of this story.

[dalesys]

If they are real friends and true family... They pay list plus 15% because they care about you.

[catcul]

If they are real friends and true family... They pay list plus 15% because thay care about you.

The sad part is that it's still probably much cheaper than what the big boys charge.

[Marmalady]

If they are real friends and true family... They pay list plus 15% because they care about you.

Funny you should say that. Last year I made a wedding cake for the son of a very old friend of mine (guaranteed to make you feel old, when you can remember the day that the groom was born) I've just made a 40th anniversary cake for the brother of the same friend.

In both cases, because he is such a good friend, I only charged cost. In both cases, he gave me a considerable amount more.

[wolfie]

A friend of mine sells e-bike parts. When I get around to elecrtrifying my bike, the only "specials" I'd ask for would be to pay cash and pick the stuff up in person (he takes PayPal and ships everything). After all, if I'm over at his place every few weeks anyway, it wouldn't be an issue of a stranger wanting to show up at his door.

[ReverendBSB]

I worked at a high end grill store as a salesperson. I used to get people asking for a discount because they were friends with the owner. The first few times I went to the owner and asked him. He finally told me to tell them to call him on his cell and that if they could not they were not friends enough to even ask for a discount.

[Jack T. Chance]

I say you quote "normal prices" that are as high as you're comfortable "overcharging", and then give her a "discount" down to Your Actual Normal Rate + an additional "Friend of a Friend Tax" of, oh, let's say, 10%.

[Slave to the Phone]

I was at a local arts and crafts show, talking to a seller that I know when someone came up and asked about her friends and family discount. Her awesome response? "My friends and family know how hard I work so wouldn't ask for a discount."

SC grumped off while I almost died laughing.

She did once offer me a discount, but that's only because I buy her wonderful lotion bars in bulk so she can make them up all at once instead of mixing them up in small batches which is easier and less time consuming for her. Plus, I preorder them and I'm her pusher. I took a bar to work, cut pieces off and handed them out. Everyone wanted to buy more, so my order is usually 30-40 bars at a time.

I refused her discount because I want her to keep making them. If she stops, not only will I not get them, everyone at work is going to hate me.

[earl colby pottinger]

New Doctor

My ex-girl friend son has just finished all he needed to do to become a doctor, I just had some blood work done and have the papers which I am going to ask him to look over in-case he spots anything they may have missed.

I will be his first person asking for his advice since becoming a doctor.

However, I am also giving him $100 at the same time, and I will insist that not only he takes the money, but also he MUST charge anyone in the future (except his mom) if they want his help.

As a computer tech, I wish I had always charged for helping people when I was younger and I want him to start on the right footing.

[slyfoxxy]

The only people I do photos free for are my kids, and they don't even ask for them lol. I used to do everything free when I just started out, but then of course you get everyone asking because they see you doing it for everyone else. It got to the point I was doing so much for 'experience' and actually spending money on it so I finally put my foot down.

Now, I just quote my prices the same for everyone, unless it is a fair trade thing. One friend owns a tutu making business, and in exchange for making my daughters tutus, I did merchandise pictures for her. This isn't the norm for me though, I do prefer money lol.