Note to self 2

[bunn]

I take it all back.  Charge less for everything.  That way nobody will be expecting anything much or care if it goes wrong....

Comments

[sigisgrim.livejournal.com]

nobody will be expecting anything much or care if it goes wrong

Oh yes they will! I have recent experience of that. Put the price up and they will be pay and have just as high expectations. The hassle factor won't go down but the money will go up. That way you can have less customers therefore less overall hassle or more customers and more hassle and more money. Your choice.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

Well, there's an awful warning! Thanks.

I keep trying to not have as many customers but the more you try to put the buggers off, the keener they get!

[tena524.livejournal.com]

To quote a friend in a similar line of work: "The invoice is an excellent means of revenge." This was first quoted to me when a client's employee called him at home at 7 AM, hysterically demanding he show up immediately if not sooner to correct her problem - her speakers weren't working and she couldn't listen to music while she worked. He tacks on what he calls "nuisance charges", at a minimum of one-hour per level of irritation. I think the invoice reads something like "urgent services charge".

My old business partner and I have been known to raise our rates in the hopes of encouraging certain clients to look elsewhere. If they're making you crazy, do your best to laugh all the way to the bank.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

In theory I subscribe to this view wholeheartedly: in practice, I find it easier if I am feeling bumptious and confident. Any mistake I make knocks my confidence so that I end up wondering why on earth they are paying me at all.

Hey ho, as long as I bill well enough in mood 1, I should be able to coast through mood 2...

[wellinghall.livejournal.com]

A friend and ex-colleague of mine has now set up a partnership offering compliance advice to financial institutions. They get a steady stream of work at good (to them!) prices, despite the only "advertising" they do being a website giving only their contact details.