[thelist] What would you do???

Hi Christopher,

>      Well, the president emailed back and said that the artist had already
>      put in almost 20 hours of work in and that the graphics guy
>      underestimted him time.  He also said that he still had to pay the

That sucks. I'm regularly contracted to do design work. If I estimate x hours,
and it takes y, I charge x. Or, when I hit x hours, I ask whether the client is
happy for me to continue, or whatever. More often, I charge a flat fee for a
certain task, but when charging an hourly rate it's polite to request permission
for continuation of the project. Nothing else is acceptable.

>      graphics guy and that he would leave it up to me as what to do.  (I
>      basically got the impression that he was trying to make me feel guilty
>      and pay.)

Ignore the guilt trip.

>      Now.....As a consumer, would you pay?  Am I obligated to since I was

I'd pay that 2 hour difference, but nothing more. It's like putting your car in
to be checked out, and they throw in a new engine without your approval and want
to charge you $8k+ or something.

You had 10 hours credit, and was told 12 at the most would be required to
complete the job. You gave the go ahead on that figure, and if they want to
change it in any way, they need to speak to you.

>      only quoted 12 hours max?  Even though we told him we didn't have the
>      big $$?  Total for graphic work $1700. (More than the program itself
>      cost.)  I have only gotten about 4-5 pictures so far.  Supposed to get
>      7-8 total.

20 hours @ US$85/hr. Ouch. That's about AU$140/hr. I design for AU$60/hr - if
you ever need design work done and want see my portfolio, just yell out... ;)

Instead, if that $1700 is for the 9 hours instead, fuck...

>      As a business, what would you do if I didn't pay the extra?  I am
>      supposed to 1 year support.  Would you with hold support?  I am
>      supposed to get a compressed copy of the program.  Would you with hold
>      that also?

Personally, I wouldn't. I'd just get it over and done with, and let the designer
cover their own loss and inability to seek approval on continuation of a project
beyond the expected time. It's something they'll have to learn eventually
anyway.


Hope this helps, and I wish you the best of luck with this issue,


isaac