Thread: check or cash lesson

Well, rats.
I did a birthday gig for a really kind older man and wife at their home; it was a good gig, I was treated well and they were happy. The man handed me an envelope after I was finished performing and was going to get my coat. When I was alone, I opened the envelope, and they'd paid me in cash, but it was $20 short of my quoted amount. I am quite sure it's a mistake, not a deliberate shorting. They are friends-of-friends, pretty well off, kind & well educated people.

My Dilemna: do I disrupt the happy (very small) party to request the $20? Will they think I'm dishonest and pocketed the $20 only to demand more? Ugh, my friend is out there, and it's a tiny group of 12 people...no way to subtly get the host's attention. Should I contact them later (possibly even more awkward) to alert them to the miscount? Should I just eat the $20?

I decided to eat it. The situation, for me, was just too darned awkward. But, I also thought that if I had made sure to stipulate payment in form of a check then there's no question of the amount. I know, $20 isn't a huge deal, but still, I felt a little let down for getting less than my fee.

Anyway, just putting that out there for others to learn from my mistake, but if you have ideas for how you would have handled it differently, I'd love to hear!

Sorry you got shorted :( Unless you know them personally, I never accept checks, last thing you want is a bounced check. If you know that they're good for it, you could risk it I guess. I think whats more important here is you as a professional being paid for a service they requested. I highly HIGHLY recommend you draw up a contract for your future clients (I think Michelle Joyce has written as well as a number of dancers on how to construct a good one on their websites). I have a pretty explicit contract: price, 50% up front to secure the event, tips are extra for the dancer, if the situation is dangerous, uncomfortable/inappropriate, I have grounds to leave and still be paid, and most importantly, the balance that is due to me the day/afternoon/evening of the event.

My contract also stipulates if I have to wait more than 15 minutes to begin, there is an extra charge of $25.00 due to my need to be at other events. That sounds intense right? Actually, I found out at an event I danced at 2 weeks ago, I unexpectedly had to cover at the restaurant AND perform for this party directly after and had to wait 30 minutes to start due the guest of honor. However, at the end of the night, instead of collecting the 'balance' owed to me, I recieved that and 25.00 more.

Moral of the story: demand to be treated as a professional, don't be a push over. Your professionalism will dictate how everyone at the event and future clients treat you. If they know you don't take any nonsense, they'll treat you the way you deserve as well as recommend you to others.- The advice also stands for how one conducts themselves when dancing at restaurants

Ok sorry rant over lol! Don't beat yourself up, there's always next time :)

I would have eaten it too. And, I would have spent a lot of time thinking how I could avoid similar situations in the future. Maybe, if it only happened once, I would said "darn" and continued on. If it happens a second, I'd seriously look at what I could change in my negotiations and policies to avoid it. La Soraya's advice is good.

I would have gotten her attention and brought her out of earshot of others to say "I'm so sorry to take you away from your party, and I'm sure it's just a miscount, but this is short $20" or something like that.
With the exception of weddings and bigger events I usually exchange an email with the client that spells out everything as our contract. It feels more friendly than a big formal contract, BUT it still holds water, makes sure we're all on the same page AND keeps people on the up and up. Once it's in writing of any kind, people tend to stick to it... and you can always refer back to it.
I'm happy taking cash or check - I've NEVER had a check bounce. I remember when I was going with Artemis Mourat to a couple of her gigs she said only once in her whole career did someone bounce a check. It's not a common enough issue for me to fret over.
BUT, I will say I take payment AFTER I dance. Why? Because I usually get tipped this way (in addition to or instead of while dancing, depending upon the party). If they pay you before, they're not as likely to tip. Often I have another gig to get to and I let them know ahead of time... "I'll have to run out of here quickly afterward to get to my next show..." this helps eliminate wait around time before as well as wait around time for payment.
Sabine, you DID count your money before you left- that's always an important thing to do... because of these things that inadvertently happen.

I do have a contract for most situations, in this case (friend of a friend) I had an email discussion but no written contract. I've almost always been paid by check and I've never had any bounced check or mishap, but this one time...

I agree it's important to present oneself as a professional. I do like the idea of the clause for extra wait time--I've never added that but I could see where that could be useful.

I did count the money before I left--I was alone in the coatroom when I counted it, and that's where my dilemna set in...in my case, I simply felt too awkward to address it with the host. Opening the envelope in front of him to count the money seemed greedy to me...he was trying to be more refined by putting it in a card, I could tell.

Oh well, live and learn!