> Point taken. I think these sorts of deals tug on my heartstrings > so I try to > give them a break, and then I wind up irritated when the guy on the other > side thinks he's getting gouged no matter what I do with my fees. >
Remember this, my dear friend... No Good Deed Ever Goes Unpunished... Except for with me (so far) <g>.... I gladly do pro bono work for a medical center that can clearly afford to pay me. Why? I like what the owning physician does with his community outreach work for elderly patients. Is it self serving of him to do what he does? Perhaps, it does bring in business. But he still does not have to do it. I see my pro bono work as my way of paying into society through his services. And they never abuse me. I did the same thing for a dentist in downtown Baltimore who provided his services for the poor, allowing folks to make no interest payments over extended periods of time. I liked what he was doing for his community. When I was out there I overheard one mother tell the receptionist that she could only afford money for food, but she could pay double next week. "No, there is no double payment here. Pay as you can, we trust you will do the best you can." That damn near drove me to tears. The dentist insisted on paying me when I was done - he knew nothing of me, I was referred to him by a patient of his. I told him what I had overheard, and admired him for what he was trying to do, and asked him to take what he felt the value was for my work and apply it to help a family in need of his services. He was a 45ish old man, and his eyes welled up with tears. He later called me to tell me who he provided service for. By coincidence it was the son of a gal who used to work for a company I used to be a Marketing Director for, and she had been laid off.... I felt real good about that decision to work on a pro bono basis. I also do pro bono work for the church where Lynda and I got married. I was there this morning. In their case I cover labor, parts and license fees for them - and their DSL service (all tax deductible, but still not free to us). I get nothing but expressions of appreciation when I do these kind deeds. I could not imagine what I would do if any person from either group were to turn on me. The few other pro bono jobs I have done for families with students in school, and without the money to pay for AntiVirus subscriptions, or MS Office, are another story. I used to handle all the costs and let it go as trying to Pay It Forward. Now, however, these folks get Linux and OpenOffice from me <g>. And no labor charge. Just another way of paying back into society. For me it has been a good experience when I do help where I can, and where it makes sense. I guess if anyone who received work from me for free were to gripe, back-bite or complain (not report addition or persistent issues, there is a difference) I would have a hard time wanting to do anything more for them. Luckily I have never had that happen. That said, I have learned by watching others that not everybody is appreciative of a little help when it is needed. So I am very careful re: who I do pro bono work for. I have my favorites, and for the most part limit it to a few places now. I am okay with where I am in that respect. Gil > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Kristyne McDaniel > Sent: Thursday, September 25, 2008 3:29 PM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: RE: [NF] Clients naming their own terms... > > > Sytze, > > > You are a highly respected Foxer. Since when do you have to > > stoop so low. > > Point taken. I think these sorts of deals tug on my heartstrings > so I try to > give them a break, and then I wind up irritated when the guy on the other > side thinks he's getting gouged no matter what I do with my fees. > > I tend to get talked into things too easily. > > Another little story from a long time ago -- I once did about 40 hours of > pro bono work setting up a nonprofit with a FPD package to do their > mailings. A year later I got a call from a newly hired > administrator wanting > me to go back to their site and help them convert the system over > to Access. > When I wasn't able to dash right over she actually chewed me out for not > supporting my system. > > It seems like the smaller the client the more grief they are. But I hate > even thinking that. I've been a small client that has hired help > for only a > few hours at a time for network support, wiring, stuff that I wasn't that > good at. I don't recall being a pain in the butt towards them. I > paid their > office visit fee and hourly rates without complaining about it. > Even the guy > that fixes the dryer gets a fee just for showing up. > > Kristyne McDaniel > http://www.kristynemcdaniel.com/blog > http://www.militarydraftissues.com/ > http://www.mcstyles.com/ > > Whether you think you can, or you think you can't.... you are right. > -- Henry Ford > > > [excessive quoting removed by server] _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: [email protected] Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech Searchable Archive: http://leafe.com/archives/search/profox This message: http://leafe.com/archives/byMID/profox/[EMAIL PROTECTED] ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
