I had the funniest thing happen to me today. In case you wondered, by “funny” I mean a typical and annoying situation that I found the bright side to.
I was hired by an agent from a popular insurance company to take headshots for him and a colleague. The company he works for has hired me extensively for company headshots in the past, so I’m no stranger to them or their policies. This particular agent failed to show up for his appointment, and then left a message trying to lowball my already discounted price. I offer this company 25% off all headshots.
Here was the message: “Oh hi, Carlene, this is Doucheface from Blankety Blank Insurance. Sooo, [in an Office Space voice] I’m gonna have to reschedule because I talked to our boss [no, you didn't], and she thinks $75 is a little steep for a headshot [no, it's lower than industry standard]. She’s only willing to pay $40 apiece [good luck with that], so unless you can work with that price, my hands are tied….”
My immediate reaction was to think, “Dick,” in my head. Thankfully, cooler heads prevailed as I realized that he was going to have to get his headshots done at Walmart or Sears with his “budgeted” $40 and suddenly I was sunny and happy again!
I called back, got his voicemail, and cheerfully informed him that I completely understood that while the head honcho regional manager – who has approved both me and my rates and directed all future agents to go through me as the company’s unofficial photographer – was more than okay with both my prices and the quality of my work, I could certainly understand that his other boss wasn’t going to approve the price that half the agents in the state have already paid.
I then let him know that the only places I could think of off the top of my head for $40 headshots were the aforementioned Sears and Walmart….should have thrown in Glamourshots, in hindsight….and I would think about it some more to see if I could find another company.
It’s situations like these that make me extremely grateful to have my mojo back.
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