Friends and family discounts.

[Batesmotel]

Do people hit you up for F&F discounts?

The granddaughter of an acquaintance wants a DEEP discount on some photography work. We are not family or friends. I’ve never met her. I did a portrait of her uncle years ago. I did it as a favor to his dad, my acquaintance.

Basically she wants $700 of work for $50. She thinks that’s fair for friends. She is only figuring on my time to photograph the actual portrait. No travel, setup, darkroom time, finishing, mounting and framing.

Because we’re “friends”?

I get this about 5-6 times a year. Do you get hit up with this crap in your area of expertise?

I’m especially ticked about this right now because there is a fight brewing on my wife’s side of the family dealing with one of my sons being pressured into working for family for free. He graduates in a couple weeks. Everything is going to blow up after that. I’ll report later. 

[geeorge]

Snap a single quick picture of her with your phone and email it to her, then ask for the $50

[ChuteTheMall]

Just give the best usual sale price to reinforce word of mouth advertising as if you had published coupons in the local birdcage liner. 

[ChuteTheMall]

Ask her if she would sleep with you for $15000. If she agrees, ask if she would do it for $50. Whatever she says, you have just agreed that she is whore and you are just negotiating price.

[Fog]

Yeah, that and vetern discounts.

Usually the vet is a guy who is fat as a barn, never left the country or saw any combat, lives at the VA for his "health problems", on disability because he threw his back out lifting a clipboard full of forms.

Real vets with real combat injuries don't ever ask for a discount, and if they need it I'll help them for free.

[Batesmotel]

22 minutes ago, Fog said:

Yeah, that and vetern discounts.

Usually the vet is a guy who is fat as a barn, never left the country or saw any combat, lives at the VA for his "health problems", on disability because he threw his back out lifting a clipboard full of forms.

Real vets with real combat injuries don't ever ask for a discount, and if they need it I'll help them for free.

I’m a post-Nam vet. 0311. Lots of nasty injuries just from training.

Still got spit on in airports. Had my Sea Bag pissed on outside of a buss station. Had to sit back by the toilets in restaurants. Had to sit in the back of busses and planes. Wasn’t allowed to go into nice clubs or concerts. Taxis passes by us.

Now everyone wants to give me free pancakes? Screw that. Screw them. 

[Fog]

3 minutes ago, Batesmotel said:

I’m a post-Nam vet. 0311. Lots of nasty injuries just from training.

Still got spit on in airports. Had my Sea Bag pissed on outside of a buss station. Had to sit back by the toilets in restaurants. Had to sit in the back of busses and planes. Wasn’t allowed to go into nice clubs or concerts. Taxis passes by us.

Now everyone wants to give me free pancakes? Screw that. Screw them. 

 

I'm not a vet, but was LEO, and had simililar albeit less amplified experiences. I moved away from where I worked, which is now a complete shithole, to a very LEO friendly area. They try to give me coffee, give me discounts, want to mention it at meetings, etc.

I'm nice about it, but that is not why I wore the badge and served. I know they mean well, it's nice and all. I tell them the best thanks is just for them to be good and honorable people, that's all the thanks I need.

Yeah, most of my injuries were from training too. We trained hard, because the fight was harder. I wouldn't change it.

[M&P15T]

11 hours ago, Batesmotel said:

Do people hit you up for F&F discounts?

The granddaughter of an acquaintance wants a DEEP discount on some photography work. We are not family or friends. I’ve never met her. I did a portrait of her uncle years ago. I did it as a favor to his dad, my acquaintance.

Basically she wants $700 of work for $50. She thinks that’s fair for friends. She is only figuring on my time to photograph the actual portrait. No travel, setup, darkroom time, finishing, mounting and framing.

Because we’re “friends”?

I get this about 5-6 times a year. Do you get hit up with this crap in your area of expertise?

I’m especially ticked about this right now because there is a fight brewing on my wife’s side of the family dealing with one of my sons being pressured into working for family for free. He graduates in a couple weeks. Everything is going to blow up after that. I’ll report later. 

 

I get asked for .mil discounts all the time. 

My response is that I have to eat too. I am not bashful about price/cost, and I tell perspective clients that their project will be expensive. And that it's up to them, based on their selections and decisions, as to how expensive it will be.

And I think we all understand, that it's the very people that ask for/demand discounts that end up being a PITA after the sale, during the project. 

[Mrs.Cicero]

I could give you an earful about friends expecting free legal advice from the family attorney... legal advice in a specialization which he does not practice, in a state where he is not admitted to the bar, and apparently (hopefully?) without any idea the HOURS it would take to research the answer their question(s), if he could even find an accurate answer with the one-sided information they try to give him...  The whole reason he is no longer a member of the bar in the state in which he resides is... so he can tell friends/family without a clue what they are asking him to do, that he simply cannot do it because he is not admitted to practice in the state, because so many people expected to much free work from him.  His experience keeps me from ever asking anyone for a friends/family discount, because I probably have no real idea how much work I'm asking them for. 

[railfancwb]

37 minutes ago, Mrs.Cicero said:

I could give you an earful about friends expecting free legal advice from the family attorney... legal advice in a specialization which he does not practice, in a state where he is not admitted to the bar, and apparently (hopefully?) without any idea the HOURS it would take to research the answer their question(s), if he could even find an accurate answer with the one-sided information they try to give him...  The whole reason he is no longer a member of the bar in the state in which he resides is... so he can tell friends/family without a clue what they are asking him to do, that he simply cannot do it because he is not admitted to practice in the state, because so many people expected to much free work from him.  His experience keeps me from ever asking anyone for a friends/family discount, because I probably have no real idea how much work I'm asking them for. 

I used to prepare tax returns professionally as a part time endeavor - at least partly to keep myself familiar with the law snd the forms. By any reasonable standard my service was not free but a bargain. For true family I charged only what the professional tax software company charged me for each return. After retiring I deactivated my CPA license and stopped professional tax work.

My daughter gathers her information, comes over, and uses my non-professional TurboTax asking questions as necessary.

I am no longer a resource on federal income tax beyond the narrow area relative to my situation. 

[tous]

6 hours ago, railfancwb said:

I am no longer a resource on federal income tax beyond the narrow area relative to my situation. 

Just ask Hunter Biden or Al Sharpton or Willie Nelson.

Al simply refuses to pay federal income tax, so he doesn't need to understand those racist tax laws.

Daddy will keep Hunter out of jail.

Willie was high and forgot.