I Lost a Photo Job

This week I lost a photo job because of a dispute over how much I charge per mile driven to and from an assignment location. This job had been scheduled for over a month and I submitted my formal estimate once the final shoot date was determined. I could not do the estimate until then because I did not know the location. In a city the size of Houston one must take this into account. I have had assignments with over 600 miles of driving and never left Harris County. So, if a location is way out past yo momma's house I need to factor it in.

The location for this assignment was relatively close by Houston standards, about 25 miles round trip. So I put a line item in my estimate for 25 miles at .75 a mile for a total of $18.75. A couple of days after submitting the estimate I got a call from a client bean counter who informed me they never pay more than .40 a mile. I justified my price based on the current cost of fuel and even proffered that the IRS had just raised its allowance to 58.5 cents a mile. My car is a diesel model and diesel costs almost a dollar more than gasoline. The BC would have none of it and said I would have to speak with the Director of Marketing the following Monday (the day before the assignment). I never got to speak with this person because early Monday morning I received an email that stated: "we cannot meet your requirements of payment of .75 per mile" and "will, therefore, not be needing your services at this time...".

So, because of $8.75 in expenses I lost the job. I sent an email reply and noted that the amount in dispute equaled a couple of lattes at Starbucks. I signed off with the rather snarky remark:

"Enjoy your coffee..."