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"I'm am normally paid in full 100% before I ever do anything."
I do not know what you do, but I have never heard of paying all upfront costs before a service is done. A deposit at the most, or depending on how large the project is, money at different stages of the project.
Sorry, but here and everywhere, it is do the job then get paid, not the other way around. That is not a Miami thing, that is a human thing.
"I'm am normally paid in full 100% before I ever do anything."
I do not know what you do, but I have never heard of paying all upfront costs before a service is done. A deposit at the most, or depending on how large the project is, money at different stages of the project.
Sorry, but here and everywhere, it is do the job then get paid, not the other way around. That is not a Miami thing, that is a human thing.
I think we should have a Miami Rant thread instead of having many of the same realm. Everyone is entitled to complain as much as they want, so having a thread where everyone shares the same feeling is more welcoming (to the "haters") than opening threads where you are at the mercy of the Miami "lovers".
I'm neither one of you, let's just say I'm an spectator.
"i'm am normally paid in full 100% before i ever do anything."
i do not know what you do, but i have never heard of paying all upfront costs before a service is done. A deposit at the most, or depending on how large the project is, money at different stages of the project.
Sorry, but here and everywhere, it is do the job then get paid, not the other way around. That is not a miami thing, that is a human thing.
Agreed.
I never pay up front 100% for a job, maybe 50% max - I don't care if you're from Miami, Mesquite, Mansfield or Midlothian.
You ain't gettin the cash until you prove that you are competent.
A referral gets you through the door, nothing more...
Agreed.
I never pay up front 100% for a job, maybe 50% max - I don't care if you're from Miami, Mesquite, Mansfield or Midlothian.
You ain't gettin the cash until you prove that you are competent.
A referral gets you through the door, nothing more...
Go try and hire a wedding photographer with that attitude and likely you'll be taking self portraits.
Here's how it works and why.
Bride calls and books a date usually months in advance. There is a non-refundable retainer paid from 30% to 50% to hold that date. We only have so many Saturdays we can book in a year and if we hold the date, we have to turn down customers for that date. The balance is due 30 days prior to the wedding so that if they do cancel at the last minute we are not out any lost income be could have booked. Call any real wedding photographer and ask them their terms and you'll see it's industry standard. Only in Miami have I been asked if I would really show up.
Regarding the counterfeit money. I don't know what ATM I got the money out of. I needed cash pulled over and got some. I have no idea if it was really counterfeit but the guy seemed very sure about it. If he knew what he was talking about I don't know. He did take it and it didn't cost me anything but I didn't like being questioned about the validity of my cash.
The car: Bought a car that was said to have cold AC. Test drove it but didn't check it. Paid for the car, drove it around the block and tested the AC, it didn't work. Went back and was told the car is sold as is. My fault for not checking it but it likely didn't break in a 1/4 of a mile.
Let's see what else...
Oh, where we ended up living. Here's what happened. We came here and found a place in Surfside. We DID ask the manager if dogs were allowed and he said yes because there was another dog in the complex. He heard some little yap dog barking and so we didn't think anything about it. Went back to Dallas and the OWNER told the manager no. Not only could we not have dogs but the owner told the manager that the person who had the dog we heard was going to be evicted. We didn't like the owner for that anyway.
At this point we are back in Dallas. My son has already transferred his job here and had to start 8 days from the time we heard the news about the dog.
So now, we have to be in Miami in 8 days for my son's job, 4 of that is driving and the rest packing plus we were both working our butts off in Dallas. We needed a place so I contacted a realtor. The Realtor sold this place as Upper east side and MiMo not Little haiti. When I looked at UES and MiMo it looked fine to me. The clincher was how great this place looks on the inside. This place rocks for the money. Given the fact it's 10mins from my sons work, looks awesome on the inside, was a over under duplex with a backyard, no pet deposit and we needed a place now, we pulled the trigger. We love the place we live, just near us is bad on our side of the street. Cross US1 and the homes are very expensive. Like everywhere in Miami, the good is not far from the bad.
So we didn't get the place we wanted but this place does meet much of our criteria. We've really had no problems here so far and when I asked the neighbors they have not had any problems here either. Now, go two blocks west and it's a different world over there but on my street NP at all.
That's how we ended up here, we wanted Surfside (on Harding Ave BTW) but once again we were told one thing and ended up with something else through no fault of our own.
Let me just say this too. My son and I have invested heavily getting to Miami. We didn't have to come to Miami, we both had good jobs in Dallas but could do our jobs anywhere in the country. We needed a change due to a recent loss of a close loved one and decided moving to the beach was a good idea. It was either Miami or NYC, Beach or City.
It took months to do this. First, I had to prove my business model would work in Miami. I booked some Weddings in the Keys. Next we had to answer the question if my son could get a relocation. He did and so we were set on the jobs front.
The next thing was the logistics. We both had to time the move when both our leases were up in Dallas. Mine was up first, so I moved in with my son until his was up.
He had a large Belgium malinois, I had an Australian Shepard and a Border Collie. As we knew we could'nt handle 3 large herding dogs in a 2 bedroom apt, something had to give. We had all our dogs since pups and it was a very difficult decsion but we made the tough choices. My aussie was rehomed to a Vet, the Mal went to a working farm. We're dog people and loved our dogs very much but our situation forced us to make difficult decisions. We think we made the best of it and found wondeful homes for our pets. I kept one dog, my CGC red merl Border collie. His name is Jax and he rocks! Someone questioned my character because I rehomed my dogs, read this and it should say something about my commitment to my animals. Jax got his CGC!
I say all this just to say, we paid a heavy price and worked hard to get to Miami and do it the best we could. I had just lost my Mom after a long and painful illness. We actully had to make the decision to remove life support and we were there when she passed. Those memories are back in Dallas now and it's why we are in Miami. We came to Miami for a fresh start and were hopeful our future would be bright.
Our future is bright here. My son's job is going extremely well. Better that we could have even imagined. He got a raise and a promotion here and brought the Dallas work ethic to Miami. He's kicking butt here and getting statewide recognition here already. There is already another promotion for him in the works.
He's starting to date now, one girl from Sweden and had a new girl last night. They had drinks at Bayside Bubba Gumps last night. Blonde red dress he said. When I asked him about her he said she was American and pretty hot. He'll do fine here with the ladies. We're father and son but roomates too.
My job is what got us here. I'm working too but right now is the slow season for what I do. From November to January people don't get married much and only until Feb. do things pick up. It's been that way for the past 10 years I have been doing this and the trend appears to be similar in Miami. I don't think I'll have any problems because I have already shot 2 weddings in the Keys, plus some corporate work here. We're doing fine on the financial front, bills paid, money in the bank. We'll make it here just fine because we both do what we say we will do when we say we will do it. The fact that we moved here during my slow season was another consideration in timing.
One of my biggest gripes here are the crooks. While we have our share of people who would take advantage of you back in Dallas, they are not at every turn like here in Miami. It wasn't something we had to consider on a daily basis and that's all new to us and we don't like it. Cops take no mercy on the criminally inclined in Texas and homeless are rarely seen in the suburbs. Hookers are never seen walking the street and when people call the cops, cops actually do something.
We can deal with the higher costs of things here, but the seedy is another matter entirely. We're in Miami now for the next few months because we are under a lease but looking north to FTL already. My son even said yesterday, let's look at NYC too.
We're both good guys, just trying to re-carve out a new life after a bad experience. We work hard, are trustworthy and do the right thing by people and live up to our obligations. We're good for Miami, but Miami has not been the best for us and that's where we stand today. We worked hard to get here and are actually doing just fine. Disappointed in the fact Miami is so unscrupulous to a degree we never anticipated but still hopeful SoFlo has a silver lining somewhere if we can find it.
Someone made a comment about my musical taste and I find that odd.
My Mom was an accomplished oil painter, my grandmother was a concert violinist. I have been around music and art my entire life. My son was a part-time DJ in Dallas and I like the music he plays. Just because I'm not 20 doesn't mean I can't appreciate music with an honest soul. I like a lot of different music. Brazilian Gypsy music from the likes of B-tribe, Karunesh, Putumayo from the world genre and yes progressive house. Hell, I like Hindi and native American music too. Walk in my house and I might be playing Tibetian remakes like Waterbone or Frank Zappas Waka Jawaka, Macie Gray or Billie Holliday, my favorite radio station here is 90.5. I think I have about a 1/2 dozen Cafe Del Mar Cd's from Ibiza I use for late night wind down and Govi goes well with Sunday brunch Mimosos. I even like some rap and Snoop too. What that has to do with the validity of my opinions I express here I don't know. I just asked about House clubs. Space will work fine.
So I hope that clears some things up abot my point of reference. Dallas is never called home at our house. Miami is home and Dallas is just a place we used to live. We're 100% vested here for the good or bad and I have a right to go off on this place because I'm one of you now or, at least until we get completely fed up like so many before us and leave.
Another beautiful day here today, let's all get out and enjoy it and Merry Christmas Eve to all!
I have been to more than a few weddings, including my own, never heard any of them, including myself, paying up front the full cost for a photographer. I even called some people to make sure just to respond to this.
Not saying people do not ask for full up front or pay it, but I have never heard or encountered it. Service industry is service industry, whether you are a painter, plumber, or photographer. Service first, then payment.
The OP contradicts himself a lot. Sorry, but he did say in a previous post he heard a dog barking in the building he rented and ASSUMED dogs were allowed and did not ask about dogs. Now he says something else.
And who buys a used car in FL and doesn't test the AC? In fact spend the money and have a mechanic check out before buying the car.
OP has made a lot of poor decisions and doesn't "think" before acting. People like that run into trouble in LA, NYC, Miami, Dallas, and pretty much anywhere they go.
JM, thanks for sharing. I think your posts are genuine. I also think you may be a bit too swayed by initial impressions. I remember reading your initial posts a few weeks ago and thinking all that positive vibe can't be true. I now feel you're being the opposite and too down on yourself. Yes, there are too many people in Miami out to con you, you really should not even trust things in writing without triple-checking, but after a while you learn to put your guard up and you'll be less of a victim.
Now if we can only do something about those drivers who should never have been allowed behind a wheel...
I could give 10,000 links, but what the point. I know my business well. It's been my full time job for 10 years. If I don't shoot I don't eat.
It's not the way wedding photographer works. If you book me for a Saturday in June in January and you change your mind in May, I have turned down business for your date in June because you booked me. I might be able to rebook but maybe not and if not I don't get paid on that date. There are only so many Saturdays in a year and even less in peak wedding season. Albums are paid up front too as well as an allowance for any travel expenses if it's a destination wedding.
What makes us honest is our reputation. If we don't show we're hosed for good. It's not worth it if you want to stay in business because **** off one bride and everyone on the planet knows it.
For me personally I would never let anyone down or haven't yet anyway. It's an important day and I feel the responsibility more than need the money. The money is ok, but people are counting on me. As a matter of fact, I call my brides during the week before. I call my brides on my way to the wedding to let them know I'm on my way.
I'll share a quick story. I was on my way to a wedding and called the Bride and told her just I'm on the way, she said you're sick today? LOL. We laughed about that at the wedding that day. We had a bad connection on our cell phones.
I'm the least hard wedding photographer ron the planet to reach, two cells phone, I text, IM, yahoo messenger, I have over 1000 friends on facebook. Google me and you'll find 100's of link to my website and glowing reviews everywhere. I answer emails from my phone. I'm not hard to reach and my past customers know it.
I had a large referral base in Dallas and I gave that up here. I still book and shoot back in Dallas but I'm trying to focus more on Soflo. I'm also considering opening up in NY and I could never do any of that if I failed to show up even one time.
Now if you get a photog that's in it for a one shot deal, that's the customers fault. They need to select a wedding professional not a local numnut that has a point and shoot and does weddings in his spare time. Pros will be there, even if they are 1/2 dead. It's a code of ethics we have.
Hell, we have insurance for such a thing. The pros do, the fly by nights, don't. Like all things you get what you pay for.
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