interesting little studio client issue... (long post)

[karatemanjohnny]

so dig this. i've got my small studio in my house. i'm starting to record people and having a great time. my first band that i record is this high school rock band.

the other day, we were wrapping up the final mixes, and i invited all of the band members to come in. this one member of the band comes in drunk as high hell, but i don't quite realize how drunk he actually is. so he sits down on my couch in the studio and falls asleep. i smelt a little alcohol on him but didn't think it would get as bad as it got.

long story short, i turn around and see him grasping at his mouth to prevent vomit from spewing everywhere. he managed to make it pretty far, but left a little trail behind him.

MAN did that suck. we stopped all mixing and i was absolutely furious. he didn't get any vomit on any expensive gear, but he did get it on the carpet and in the hall, and in the bathroom. we used probably $20 of cleaning supplies (oxi-clean, clorox wipes, soapy water, etc), but lost roughly two hours of time. plus, i had to have additional help come in and clean with me.

as of that point, i had stopped billing the band (i set the bill at 200 and left it there; we would finish the project with no additional charges).

i had the kid taken home (and yes, he was underage), and we ended up finishing the session. i got a call from one of the band members' parents telling me that i should bill the band as much as it cost me to deal with this, because they need to learn financial responsibility.

i am ready to send them a bill for at least the supplies cost. but - how much should i go beyond that? 0? 50? Additional hours at my hourly rate? i don't know how much to charge them.

Also, since they are my first band, i want to keep a good rapport with them. one of the members is a neighbour, and another one of them wants to "get big" in our area (and nationally, but whatever). So, i don't want to ruin the good relationship i have with them. i want more business from them.

what would you guys do, if you were in my situation? Keep in mind that i am just starting out, these are only high school kids, but word of mouth is killer, and one of them wants to really get into local music in this area. i'm not so much concerned about the money, because i think in the long run they could get me more money than the cost of the cleaning supplies. there are a lot of factors - what would you advise me to do???

[Gerax]

Forgive me, but the picture I have in my mind of the story you told keeps me laughing big time

Anyway, I know what you mean, I think that if somebody would've come to a session in my studio "that" drunk and vomit over my carpet (now that I've finished my new control room...) well, the first thing I'd do is I'd use him as a cleaning device (kidding).
I can't stand this "rock star" attitude, maybe that's the reason I was struggling so much during all the rock session I did in my assistant days, and maybe that's because I switched to classical and Jazz, where this "myth" of sex drugs & rock 'n roll is less stressing (but not completely absent).

Maybe if you think you can get more work out of them in the long run and the damage hasn't been so big I would just bill the extra hours and make sure that they'll come sober to the next session.

Hope this helps

L.G.

[Bob Olhsson]

I don't know anybody with a home studio who hasn't got lots of stories like that. Home is a really BAD place to have a studio with outside clients coming in.

[karatemanjohnny]

Thanks for the advice. I am definitely going to have a no smoking/drinking/drugging policy for the studio. This experience was a real eye opener.

I am going to be EXTREMELY cautious and skeptical of whoever walks through the door now. I regret not taking action sooner, when I suspected something was up.

The band is breaking up soon. I'm not going to go nuts on them, but I will give them a bill for the cleaning supplies and about one hour of missed time. I'm not going to do two hours because it wasn't a full two hours, and i'm going to cut them a small break.

i appreciate the responses, everyone.

how do you predict which clients are going to be more trouble than then are worth? i haven't searched the back posts for this, maybe there has been a thread on it before. if there has, let me know and i'll find it.

[Gerax]

While I too don't allow smoking or eating/drinking (apart cofee or tea) in my studio there's no need to be that "extremely cautious" about people coming in your door; I mean, I treat people coming into my studio like they were coming into my house, respectfully and politely, but I assume they will behave the same way toward me; how can you tell a serious professional by a wanker? well I think it's just common sense, and you use the same methods you use in your daily ordinary relationships, even though people who are used to the studio life know how to behave, when to speak and when not to, usually it's the first timers that get so excited (like "hey man, look where I am" attitude) and make the most noise or have the wrong attitude; one of the most important things I learned (and I'm still learning, even though today it's my 29th birthday I'm not that old or experienced... ) is that you have to act like a psychologist to some degree, and learn to kind of "read" people so that you can interface with them the best way; I think that's part of being a good engineer, in the end even though we use lots of technology and machines this is still a poeple business.

Hope this helps.

L.G.

[karatemanjohnny]

yeah, that's a good point - a lot of character judgement really is just common sense and trusting instincts.

and you're right, this is a people business, even with as much technology it can incorporate. treating musicians and artists with respect will help keep a good honest relationship going.

i shouldn't be too skeptical or cautious, but i can't be entirely trustworthy either. there's a certain balance that i am discovering for myself.

i'm learning a heck of a lot as this goes along, and i'm really looking forward to this as a career.

again, thanks for all advice. this is a cool board. i haven't even explored all the different sections yet...

[e-cue]

my advice: let it slide.

I've taken clients to the hospital before in similar, but worse situations. I didn't charge.

If a friend throws up on my rug, I won't send them a bill. If a friend throws up on my gear, I'll probably end up on America's Most Wanted.

[Randall]

Yeah, after all it was an accident. you know the dude would never do that on purpose, your fault for let'n em in the door, lesson learned,
of course there is the prefered method,
invite the dude back over and rub his nose in it,

[Misionary]

I think your idea of billing them for what it cost you in expenses and time is fair. Explain to them it's business and nothing personal or punishment. They should respect the fact that you're in biz and have to cover your costs.

If they're serious about continuing on in the biz they'll consider it a relatively cheap lesson learned and so will the other people they may mention it to. Personally I don't think they'd want to spread around the fact that they were so unpro in the first place and are probably embarrassed about the whole thing.

A gentle nudge in the pocket book will make them get their priorities straight the next time they come in to do some work.

[Bob Olhsson]

Originally posted by Misionary
...A gentle nudge in the pocket book will make them get their priorities straight the next time they come in to do some work.

This is assuming they are using their own money which frequently is not the case.

[Will]

Been in situations like this a lot...

i wouldn't charge them. i'd certainly make sure that they know acting like that isn't cool.

perhaps the band (being young) haven't been in a studio environment before and might have given the band member who was sick a good telling off...

this is perhaps as good an opportunity for them as you...

hope he wasn't drinking any thing that stains

Will

[delta9]

Man, we're so slow right now so I'd almost be happy to have someone puking on my couch.









Okay, maybe not.

But I would let it go. I would rather be the guy who was cool about it, than the guy who got all bent out of shape and sent him a clean-up bill.

The former gets more work than the latter.

[Kris]

Put a little disclaimer in the studio rider (that clients sign before session begins) that states that the client is responsible for damages... blah , blah , blah ...

This way you're not the bad guy when shit happens... it's in the contract...

[lanemeyer16]

Well, I would'nt go nutz, but I would definetly metion them. I have a paper that I give to most first time clients. It usually states to have new guitar strings, blah balh balh, and shit, but I put a lil disclaimer on their, that says a few words of studio behavoir. Just a simple, drinking age will be enforced, and If you have to many drinks I can call it a night. Smoking is allowed, outside. Most of all Have fun. People read this, and obey the rules. I run a good amount of business through my studio, and have yet to have an incident. You wanna be firm, but not a prick. As long as your recordings are fat as ****, they'll keep coming back.

[karatemanjohnny]

A lot of interesting issues have been brought up here. I ended up giving the guy a $25 bill. Apparently, the parents of the girl in the band I knew already railed him on it. Also, the drummer's parents were going to make the puke-guy explain to his parents what happened.

I think that the way I reacted when it happened set across a clear message of professionalism, in that if $hit hit the fan (or puke hit the gear as the case was), then they would be totally f&%ed. I was furious.

So he is going to get in a TON of trouble and I know what that can be like, to have everyone against you like that. So he is in a world of hurt as it is. I think he may be having problems regulating his alcohol/drug usage safely.

Basically, he instant messaged me and I told him to give me $25 and that we wouldn't talk about it again. As the lead singer helped clean up, I spoke with her about the possible repercussions of events like this in the future.

One final thing I'd like to add is that when he instant messaged me, he told me that he was "extremely sorry." I said in reply, "I forgive you. But watch yourself in the future." I think that it's decent to give someone that closure. I don't have a grudge against the guy; He started a solo acoustic 4-song demo with me a while ago, and we haven't finished that. He's still interested in doing that, he's going to college in the area, and he may generate future income.

I'm sure almost anyone here would agree that you enter a relationship with your clients. By saying/typing, "I forgive you" it sent a message to him that I care. And I actually do, not just as a marketing ploy ("We care about each of our customers").

All in all it was an interesting situation and I learned a LOT from it.

I know I need to watch my a$$ more - I didn't really realize how much money could be blown and how much business I could lose if someone came in here and puked over everything, destroying it.

Truthfully, I have never had a band or artist sign anything. It's all based on verbal contracts. But I realize this is not the way to go, so I am going to start a new thread now to discuss how to cover your a$$, while maintaining a good working relationship with your clients.

Thank you all for the comments and dialogue!!! This is a great forum and I can sense a lot of support. Hopefully I'll be able to lend some as well.