Work has picked up again after the August doldrums, and we've started charging everyone the new fees. I'm getting more flack than I care for over it. Not from our regular clients, they know how hard we work for our money, but I'm getting a lot of lip from Joe P. Doorknob calling to see how much a ticket is to Snoresville. "A hunnert an' twenny dollars plus thirty? Hell, I'll book it myself on the Innernet, what a rip!" he'll say, offended. You know what? That offends me. I understand if you choose to book your ticket on the Internet because you don't want to pay a fourth of the cost of the ticket additionally in fees. I'm not greedy and I'm not unsympathetic. But don't forget, I gave you information for free. If you don't want it, don't buy it, but don't go off on me. No one made you pick up that phone and call someone else to do the work for you. If you want me to work for you, you have to pay me.
It seems like a simple equation to me.
Oh, but I have a good client story for you. A guy wanted me to book him a hotel room in Rome. He didn't want to pay much, he just wanted a clean, safe room with a bed and a private bathroom. Fine by me, I know several decent, inexpensive hotels in Rome. I was all set to make some suggestions when he said he had a special request. No problem, I handle special requests all the time. On a particular diet and need a certain type of airline meal? Want tickets to a show? Require a private limo? Won't stay in a room if the color scheme is pink? Gotcha covered. I do some pretty amazing things for clients. I waited to hear what he had in mind.
He wanted to make sure there would be an electrical outlet in the room. He would not compromise on this issue, no siree. He absolutely had to have an electrical outlet.
Now there's a guy who's easy to please. And he thought the fee well worth it, I might add.
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