Monday, September 6, 2010

*Labor Day

*Happy Labor Day.  A cautionary tale from the world of design consulting.  Every designer/firm has a client that has not paid.  My good friend Harald Belker warned me of this and indeed, even he has a tale of one famous retired auto exec that is in non-payment.  Big dreams, big fail, morally, ethically and of course business wise.

My fail is from a start-up company that was going to produce a amazing supercar!  (old story that).  Ronnmotors never paid the balance on the work DELIVERED.  If you order the meal, eat it, like it, PRAISE it, and then only pay the agreed half, that is wrong.  Got the usual excuses: "money is tight" (so what?!  you ordered the work!) "money is coming soon" (again...so what), "we will pay you soon" (outright lie).  Of course plenty of time was given for the benefit of the doubt...but really.

Unless you are working in kind or for equity, that is a totally different story, but this is a straight business transaction.

This company continued to tour, put out press releases and act is if nothing is wrong.  Sorry, you are representing my hard work and using it to gain a business advantage, which is all fine if you had paid what was written and agreed to.

Advise getting it all in writing and of course securing a deposit on the job to be done, but even then it does not mean the people/company will live up to legal/business obligations...

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