So today I have had two people annoy me, in two different ways. First off I have been e-mailing back and fourth fairly extensive notes on how I think a charity should run a walk up Snowdon. After all I have worked on many and seen both side from a rescue team and professional management perspective, so I consider myself knowledgeable in the area. In one of my first emails months ago I put in what I charge for ‘managing’ an event with around 100 competitors and given at the end of the day am also the charities ‘fall guy’ should something go wrong, I quoted a charge of £250 a day.
Anyway after basically helping get the right information on joining forms and explaining the whole qualification system in the UK and various other tips they turn rounds and said, your quote, its basically more than we have paid previously. Given I showed then the MT website and the find a leader function, I basically said for them to trawl there for a leader, as someone else might charge them less but given I charge £180 for 1 to 1 instructions a levee of around £2 per person I was ‘responsible’ for seems reasonable to me.
However I get it all the time with charities, asking for a reduction in my guiding fees, as they are doing it for charity. Sadly my business isn’t in the position where I can essentially give stuff a way for free or worse loose money on a day. As such I always put a price in early so they can beg for a reduction and I can save myself the time and effort of pampering to their needs. So I am now having to keep a day free just in case this person can’t find someone to undercut me, so whose is the mug now? A very frustrating position to be in.
Just has I put the phone down to that chancer I then get the other type of blagger I encounter regularly. The TV film crew with absolutely no budget but staying in a five star hotel, need help finding a perfect location for a rock climb promo.
I am very careful with my email now with these people. Basically answering some questions telling them why their choice of venue is rubbish for what they want, and telling them I know of other better venues but not telling them where. Enough to let them know they are talking to the right person but not enough to be of any real help. I also give them my daily rate for location scouting, management and safety cover.
Generally you then get an email back, begging for the info or fishing at probable locations. Today I didn’t tell them that their location has essentially fallen down over the winter and is fenced off for safety. After all my knowledge has cost me a fortune to acquire over the years. If you like it is my intellectual copyright, and to gain access there is now a pay wall.
Given they had the budget to get up to ten people to the area from London, you’d have thought they’d be willing got pay a fraction of that so there time here was well spent. Given they also have octocopter, which are probably over a £2000 a day with pilots, cameras and camera operators, the mind truly does boggle as to how they justify the ‘no budget’ front. On the plus side they have bought North Wales Climbs so I made a couple of quid out of them!
So please if you want me to do your job for you for free, then do email or phone me there is nothing I like more then listening to your excuses when I talk about being paid for a fair days work, although it is usually more as in both case you are hard to please.