Mnkeeboy

Ok I know that the SPCA is a great organization and I fully support it. I also believe in giving money to the school system for band, shop and drama reasons. I already do 2 fairs a year at a severely discounted rate for these reasons.

This morning I got an offer to book a weekend fair at my standard rate of $350 a day plus hotel (because it's less than 200 miles from my home base otherwise I'd get mileage too).

So I reply that I have the dates open and would be glad to come.

They send me a contract and in the fine print, I ALWAYS read the fine print, it says that I will actually only receive a receipt for my salary as a charitable donation. I won't get any cash, just a piece of paper saying thanks.

This is freaking important! "BTW, your not really gonna get paid but we aren't even gonna tell you that up front."

There was no mention of charity in any of our e-mails and I only noticed it hidden down in paragraph 19 because I make my living by contracts so I read every word.

I replied with a very nicely worded form letter I use when I get these "Come work for us for free" offers. I did add a sentence that I thought the way they didn't disclose the charity aspect and the fact I wasn't getting paid up front was "sneaky".

This lady sent me a nasty-gram that made my eyes burn! She calls me an "Un-feeling un-caring waste of space" and that "Everyone knows we are a charitable org." and on and on.

So not only did they actually try to defraud me to a point they actually got insulted I didn't want to come work for free and started throwing insults at me like the very best 15 years old forum troll.

I did a little more research and turns out only 15% of their gate is even marked for charity. That's crap. They are scamming thrice over.

I'm struggling enough myself and really don't need to be scammed and insulted by a supposed charitable org.. Man this society has really gone to the dogs.

__________________
The Right and Honorable Lord Mnkeeboy, Chief Jester to The King and Plotter of Evil Machiavellian Plots, Puller of Strings, Dastardly Demolisher of Love, Hypnotizer of Truth and Whose True Power Was Hidden by a Position of Seeming Inconsequence, But Characterized by the Blood that Flowed Through The Streets Like Stuff That Flows Through The Streets in Large Amounts. So Sayeth the Trout.

XE3 http://www.XE3000.com/ Extreme Entertainment and Unique Shopping.

Ilyushin Tzedek

Stuff like this is why I don't trust charities. Too much money being lost on the way to those that really need it.

Tranquility

That is shady, good job on finding the fine print. Its like a Wheres Waldo of how they plan to screw you.

Carter-Madhu

I'd consider forwarding her note to her boss, the director of the chapter she works for, or someone in the next regional or national umbrella organization up. I'm sure they'd want to know that she behaves with such outstanding professional decorum.

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SabellaFallen

OT: I use places like Charitynavigator.org/ before making donations. Several groups I used to fund, now no longer get a penny from me, due to their poor performance.

Back on topic: I'm really sorry to hear you had that experience That's just wretched behavior on her part.

Trout Recreant

I agree with this, but keep in mind that it's unlikely she drafted the contract. If it was a form contract they use for events like this, then they are making it a practice of screwing people over, and that is likely a policy they decided on farther up the chain. A letter to her supervisor could get you a similar response you got from her, or no response at all. Con men don't waste time on people who are on to their trick. They just move on to the next mark.

Good job with the contract! I wish everyone I worked with were as diligent as you. Reading the fine print is a chore, and so many people don't bother, then get mad at me when I can't get them out of a contract they have already signed.

Mnkeeboy

Yeah it was a standard contract direct from the corporate office. Which indicates to me that this is SOP for them. eh, to bad for them!

I've been making a living by signing contracts for shows for over 20 years now. Some of the stuff these fair owners put into the fine print is amazing.

No compete clauses are standard. You have to watch out for distance and time. I had one try to pull a "Full State for 8 months" No compete clause. hahahaahahaaaaaa!

One claimed rights to my show name in perpetuity. I actually ended up changing my performing name after that fair because I didn't catch it.
That's when I learned to read every word of a contract.

Carter-Madhu

The contract is not the problem. The way the employee responded to Mnkeeboy's concerns in anger is the problem. The fact that it's a form contract coming from the corporate office doesn't mean that the corporate office wants its people calling outside contacts an "Un-feeling un-caring waste of space."

She should have told him up front that he wasn't going to be paid, but it's understandable that she didn't, it's understandable for her to have assumed that he knew he wouldn't be. That's not why I think her conduct deserves to be reported. There's a right way and a wrong way to handle embarrassing misunderstandings.

Right way: Oh, I'm sorry, I should have been clearer that we expected you to donate your time. I understand that you can't right now, the economy's been real hard on us as well. Maybe next time we can work something out. (She can then hang up the phone and turn to her colleague and say "do ya believe that guy? he actually expected to get paid for a charity show!" But she hasn't burned any bridges and she hasn't made her organization look like crap.)

Wrong way: You un-feeling un-caring waste of space, everybody knows we're a charitable organization!


This has nothing whatsoever to do with the contract or who wrote it.

Trout Recreant

Why are you bold typing at me? I'm innocent here. This is all Mnkeeboy's fault. I didn't even discourage him from going over her head. All I said was that the upper management might give him the same attitude or ignore him completely.

When you put something like that in the fine print, rather than in the first or second clause, you are trying to hide it, and the contract is indicative of this charitable organization's attitude. that is supported by the rest of Mnkeeboy's post. The terms of consideration should be front and center in a contract, not tucked away somewhere else.

The person he was dealing with exhibited pretty shameful behavior. It was totally out of line.

Carter-Madhu

OH YEAH? SAYS YOU.



Okay, I see your point about the contract now; I didn't quite get it before. But I'm still going to disagree with you (with apologies for the bold type). I still see the situation as an innocent misunderstanding which the employee handled very badly, rather than a deliberate organization-wide policy of tricking people into providing free services. I'm just not cynical enough to interpret it that way.