*sigh*

...

Beware the Bridezilla...

If I've learned one thing in having my own business is that you never do a client a favour. NEVER!

I had a client who, upon telling me that they didn't really have any money to get photos done, and were having her parents pay for the album, I decided to do the thing that gets me into trouble every time... I decided to be a nice person and offered the woman an R800 discount on a package. Yes, that's right, you heard me... R800. Now, that's basically 80% of the profit that I make on an album, so I think I'm well within my rights to say that I was being generous. Very generous in fact.

Please note that on wedding day the couple had their reception at a very exclusive venue... and more than a fair amount of cash had gone into making the reception exquisite and damn nigh perfect.

But what happens when you're generous and do someone a favour? It comes around and bites you on the arse. So much for good karma...

This couple got extra photos, AND I delivered the albums (without payment at that stage I might add). The bride still sent me an OLD quote that I had sent her for half the price of the package, but the photos were also completely different. All that excludes the endless sms' that I got from the bride wanting to know when her album was going to be ready. So I had to go through that whole rigmarole. Then I had to wait just under a week to get paid... I wasn't sure I was going to get paid.

Then I get a call from the bride's husband last night...

He wanted to know if I had anymore photos, on top of the 108 (their package only included 60 photos) I had given them. Yeah, I am quite serious. AND he wanted the RAW files. UUUUUUGGGGHHHH!!!!! Of course I very politely told him that there was no way on this earth he was getting those.

I feel cheated. If I had known that this was going to be this much hassle I would never have taken the job, and I certainly wouldn't have given her my profit's discount.

So we live and learn... No more discounts... Sorry.

Just a quick catch up...

Hi! How are you! Long time no write! Yeah, I know, I've been scarce... very scarce... I've been busy, so sue me!

So what has been happening in Ashley-World?

Well, first up, I got sick. Really sick... don't you just love gastric flu? It's that special kind of flu that attacks you when you're least expecting it, and knocks you flat on your back for days. That lasted a whole week. Then let's see... oh yes! My car broke... badly. Apparently there was a leak in some oil thing or other that was dripping oil onto the clutch plate, which in turn meant that the clutch was slipping, and in the process, stressing me out big time; especially since I had just spent R650 to fix the carburettor. So R650 + R1350 = R2000 later I have a functioning car. Oh, let's not forget about the R3300 I spent earlier in the month to get the thing serviced. Yeah, my wallet was crying after that lot. Apparently it just needs two new front tyres, then it will be in perfect working order... well, until 6 months from now when it dies again, that is...

I started the diet of doom yesterday. Wish me luck...

What else... been playing CSI: Hard Evidence on the Wii (in between editing weddings of course).

The weddings seem to have picked up nicely. This weekend I booked another one for September. People seem to go for my block mount album, which is great, because quite frankly, I make more money out of them, and they're lovelier than the regular Henzo albums when they're done. I have 2 weddings to get out before my next wedding though, so I best pull my finger out my bum and get cracking with them.

David seems annoyed with me... or at least, I'm taking his lack of communication with me as annoyance. I don't really know how else to take it at this point. Actually, having a friend in another country can be frustrating, because instead of knocking down his door I have to sit and wait until he decides to either say "hi" or "F-off"... either way, it's a waiting game, and I'm not a patient person.

Other than that I don't really have any earth-shattering news. As soon as I've finished editing my last two weddings I'll post some pics for you to have a look at.

Have an awesome day!

Me

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