I could have sworn that there was a "Dealing with clients" type section to this forum, but oh well... Maybe we can create one?

I need you all's advice and ideas on how to deal with cancellations. I called a client today whose wedding we were supposed to be photographing on April 9. The client proceeds to tell me that they had been meaning to contact me about the fact that the wedding was being postponed due to a relative's health. All the client had paid was their deposit, and their balance was due (actually overdue by a few days - our policy is that the balance is due one month prior to the wedding date). I don't have anything in the contract about cancellation or postponement of weddings (I will be adding that now), so technically, the one thing that the client has broken in the contract is the fact that they have not paid the balance a month prior to the wedding . Should I just be nice and work with them on a new date? Do I play the tough person and tell them that they are going to have to start from scratch, put down a new deposit, and pay the new prices that I am now charging for our wedding packages? How would you handle this particular situation?


And how do you have your contracts worded in dealing with cancellation? Do your clients have to start all over and put another deposit down? Do you make them pay the balance on the wedding photography as was stated in your contract, even though you are not actually shooting the wedding?

I may have lost a good deal of money from this situation, as I could have booked another client with our newer, more expensive wedding packages... I've learned from this situation (at least as far as making sure that I now deal with cancellation in my contract), but I would like some ideas from you all on how to handle this particular situation, as well as what I might now add to my contract in dealing with cancellation.

And to end on a positive note, here is an image from a wedding that didn't get cancelled, the wedding that we shot on Saturday.

Nathan

Here it is...

Nathan --- Personally I would go ahead and shoot the wedding on the new date. Since you had nothing in your contract about cancellations, you have nothing to hold them to. I know it sucks that you could have gotten some more expensive packages from other clients, but better to keep a good working relationship between you and the couple then burn a bridge and get some bad press...

---Gregg

Nathan,
That's a tough situation, but you should do your best to keep the client. Offer to transfer the deposit to a new date, but do not refund it. Then, change your contract to include a cancellation clause. You can word it any way that suits your business and then go over it with each new client so that they have a good understanding of what happens if they cancel.
Christopher

I agree with the previous posts...

Personally, I HATE it when businesses screw over their customers and try to squeeze them for every dollar. I think this is a chance for you to really give grace to this situation. Whenever you help someone out in this way, it always comes back to help you whether you realize it or not.

I know it feels bad because you could have made a lot more money, but those situations will come up from time to time. For me, I've tried to make my ULTIMATE business goal to "help people." Obviously, I need to make a living, pay my bills, take care of my family, but I think, as DJ has said in the past, if you're goal is to help people, you'll never be short of things to do and business to be had.

(as a side note, just a few weeks ago I had a couple call me and want to book me for a date that I had already booked. The particular wedding that I had already booked was basically a favor to some friends of mine and I was doing it quite under budget. The new couple would have paid me almost FOUR times the amount these other people are paying me. It was quite tempting as you can imagine to figure out a way out of the other wedding, but as I had just signed the contract (less than a week before this) there was not much I could do and besides that I had the gratification that I was really giving these guys a great deal and a gift that they (literally) couldn't repay.

Let us know what you decide.

Great advice from everyone!

We just had a tough situation like this where I had actually backed out of another wedding that would've been incredible to shoot a two weddings here in SB. One was for some people I knew from Westmont...I shot their engagement pictures, had about 50 prints rushed to them before Christmas and I had put off the contract/date reservation fee and YUP you guessed it! Last week I got an email that they had called it off. He offered to pay for the engagement pics, but the few hundred dollars I could charge him for that would've left a bad feeling with me so I told him not to worry about it.

It's such a tough situation...I definitely agree with what the others said...transfer the deposit and preserve the relationship. That'll pay off far more in the long run. By doing this you're giving something undeserved to them...Chris is definitely right - it'll come back to you!

We're all learning lessons... ... also, you may want to switch your wording of "deposit" to "date reservation fee" because what I've heard is that a "deposit" is a pre-payment on services, so if the services never happen they'll be entitled to that back...a "date reservation fee" is a charge for holding the date. As soon as you type their date in the calendar the charge is justified.

QUOTE (Musicmanchris @ Mar 14 2005, 11:13 AM)

...as DJ has said in the past, if you're goal is to help people, you'll never be short of things to do and business to be had.

those are actually the wise words of my Pops!

Nathan - Great picture btw!

It might be helpful to remember that for us this is a business. For our clients, it's their wedding. That's an extraordinary difference; The main one being that from our perspecitve, we're dealing with a transaction. For them, whether they know it or not, they're dealing with a melodrama of enormous proportions. Offering grace (the real undeserved gift type of stuff) is what will be remembered for life.

This past fall I had a groom cancel a wedding after he'd paid in full (it was about a month before the scheduled date). I had to do a little investigating but found out that his fiancee left him because she became concerned with his depression. To my shame, I wrestled with whether or not to refund him the money. Contractually, I wasn't obligated in any way. But, I thought, what would I want done to me if I were in his shoes (always a decent question to ask)? He didn't demand anything but said that anything I could do would be appreciated.

Well, I gave him everything back in full thinking (from a business perspective) that if he ever married again, I'd be a shoe-in. Then something happened that I would have never imagined.

Buckle your seat belts ...

He committed suicide about a month ago. His struggle with depression overtook him. Absolute tragedy. I realize that the whole situation has nothing to do with me personally. In fact, we were only acquaintances at best. But ... there's just nothing adequate to say. It's just awful.

What a sobering wake up call to what we are documenting. It is no small thing.

Of course, what we mostly bear witness to is pure joy. It's very rarely as potentially tragic as what I'm describing. But, let's not forget that there's, at least, more going on than can be captured with our cameras from our limited perspective.

Perhaps it would be helpful to keep in mind how privileged we are to be able to do what we do for a living. It is such a gift. Running the risk of being taken advantage of here and there, in my opinion, is worth the chance of tangibly blessing the unexpected when Providence allows for it ... whether we or they know it or not. Man, I hope I can remember this.

What would it look like if that was what our industry were known for:-)?

Sorry for the sermon friends. I actually hope it's helpful somehow. You people are fantastic!

Grace on you. Grace on us all!

ds

Dane thank you so much for giving us that sermon, I know it was much needed for me. In my head I try to justify things as "well that's the way it is", but in my heart the Lord has put such a deeper compassion in me than that. Thanks for the little wake up!
Tricia