Requests after images delivered

[sanet1]

<p>Hi everyone,<br>

Would appreciate if you could give me advice on how to handle "requests" or comebacks after wedding photos have been delivered.<br>

For instance, I've had a client specifically ask for mainly black & white images of their wedding which I delivered and they loved - but a week later they have asked to have all those images in colour too. Normally I would do this out of courtesy and want to make sure my client is happy but I'm extremely busy at the moment and simply don't have the time!<br>

Any advice?</p>

 

[goldbergbarry]

<p>Why not simply tell the client that you can provide them as a courtesy at no charge since you value them as a client but you need a few weeks since you don't have time right now? </p>

[sanet1]

Thanks, probably what I will end up

doing...but can't help feeling like I'm being far too nice as the original agreement was for mainly black & white images. You live and learn though!

[CharlesBecker-Toronto]

<p>I agree with Barry but, assuming there is a written contract, I think that I would charge for my time-you don't have to work for nothing. cb :-)</p>

[rick_m.]

<p>I hesitate to write this because it goes against reason for most people. Should you charge for this or not? The answer is that it depends on who the customer is. </p>

<p>If you feel that this customer may be a good center of influence and might refer people to you in the future then you might choose to do it, not just to be nice, but as a business decision. </p>

<p>You may value this customer as a friend. In that case you may indeed do the color photos 'just to me nice'. </p>

<p>If you see no enlightened self-interest in giving away your work to this particular couple you may choose to charge them for your time. As to what to charge? Only you can decide that but I would always try to be reasonable. (In the customer's eyes as well as yours. The last thing you need out there is a couple complaining.)</p>

<p>My point is that a good businessperson does not strive for hard-and-fast rules. He/she strives to make good business decisions. I was once asked for something by a customer. I relied on the old "I'm sorry, that is against our policy" answer. To this the customer asked, "Who owns the company?" When I said, "I do." She said, "well if you own the company change the Dam*ed policy this time." I had to admit that she had a point. She was not being mean but rather just pointing out that company policies are not the customer's problem. I decided that her request, while inconvenient, was reasonable, so I did it for her. When I next met with her I mentioned how her comment had made me look at my business a bit differently and thanked her for the lesson. She was genuinely pleased. We are still friends and I can always count on her for a good reference and the occasional referral. </p>

<p>It is good that you are busy but a word of caution. It is when we are busy that we are most tempted to make one important mistake... Customer service sometimes takes a backseat to just getting the work done. We start to think, 'after all, we have all the work we can handle, right'? Remember what you said. You answered your own question when you said, "<em> Normally I would do this out of courtesy and want to make sure my client is happy...."</em> Don't forget that it was your commitment to treating your customers with exceptional courtesy and making sure that they are happy that made you so busy in the first place. <em> </em></p>

[craig_shearman1]

<p>If the contract specified B&W and you've delivered B&W, the job is done. If she now wants color, that's a new order and she should have to pay for it. You presumably put time into post-processing the files as B&W and would have to put in additional time to do them as color. You're basically having to do a significant part of the job all over again.<br /><br />If the bride had ordered a cake with white icing and the baker delivered it and then she decided she wanted chocolate icing, do you think the baker would give her another cake for free? I doubt it. If she ordered red rose and the florist delivered red and then she wanted yellow, would they do it for free? If she told the band she wanted rock music and they played it and then she asked them to come back a month later and play country?</p>

[rick_m.]

<blockquote>

<p>If she ordered red rose and the florist delivered red and then she wanted yellow, would they do it for free?</p>

 

</blockquote>

<p>A smart one would if they honestly believed it was in their enlightened best interest to do so. Rigid adherence to rules is the first step to declining business. The question here is not whether he deserves to be paid for his work. He does. The question is whether it is the right business decision.</p>

[Ian Taylor]

<p>Can you demand a meal 'to go' after you eat in a restaurant?<br>

Tell them "no". Learn to stand up for yourself. </p>

[fotografz]

<p>Clients sometimes ask for something different from what they ordered. In the case of wedding photography most clients do not understand the effort involved. Their experiences are limited to cell phone shots shown at sub 1 meg web images straight out of the phone.</p>

<p>It is a little like a Magician … looks easy, but took endless hours of practice to make it look that way. </p>

<p>I've been doing this a very long time now, and cannot recall charging a client for extra work resulting in a negative reaction. I simply explain to them what is involved when they ask for it. </p>

<p>Either they like the coverage you provided and like the work you did, or they don't. That doesn't seem to be the case here. I doubt they'd be asking for color if they didn't like what the OP shot.</p>

<p>BTW, I NEVER believe a client when they say all B&W. The best B&W conversions are made from color corrected files anyway … so I always store the color shots for when the Moms ask for color shots.</p>

<p> </p>

[Marcus Ian]

<p>I would probably inform them that there is some additional work involved, since adjusting the color can take a significant amount of time (especially since you exposed many of the shots with the intent of showing them in B&W - per their request).</p>

<p>I would give them a line about how you hadn't scheduled this additional workload, and so will need to fit in with your existing commitments. Thus you will require X number of weeks to complete the task. </p>

<p>As far as charging the client? As others have said I think it depends upon the client, but if you want to, it is certainly a plausible demand. If you phrase your response correctly (w/ regards to the culture, and client), it is even possible they will OFFER to pay you for your additional work.</p>

<p>As others have noted, <em>nobody</em> wants 'merely' B&Ws of everything, even when they ask for it. I've only ever had one client ask for solely B&Ws, and not then want colors also... They were Portlandians ... Of course after I delivered, they were also like (in complete seriousness) "How do you make such awesome images <em>without</em> a Mac?" Palm ->face ->headshake...</p>

 

[green_photog]

<blockquote>

<p>Normally I would do this out of courtesy and want to make sure my client is happy but I'm extremely busy at the moment and simply don't have the time!</p>

 

</blockquote>

<p>I suspect the reason you made them in B&W was the colors didn't work. So it will take time to get them in color and the result will be inferior to B&W. There're two things you can do, tell them you can't turn them back to color or do it at a latter day when you are not busy.</p>

<p>The downfall about charging extra is that the colored version will likely not be as good as the B&W ones.</p>

[michaelmowery]

<p>Totally agree that this is an additional charge. Going foreword you should have pricing set up for Black and white conversions. You can also have an option to get all files in both color and black and white for an additional cost. You got me thinking about this already. Most Photographers are are pressured to include files in orders and now we will be expected to give both color and black and white unless you (we) make a stand to charge.</p>