Emma Jaimes Photography

A complaint was entered against my business, Emma ***s Photography, by my customer, *** *** I received the complaint (ID # 11505387) in the mail, and am just now able to pull all of the "evidence" together to respond Thank you for your patience!I originally booked Mr***'
wedding and had the contract signed on February 7, and within 12-hours the retainer of $was paid I had been in conversation with *** about different packages I could offer within their budget, as well as different coupon/discount options they could take advantage of to save even more money As with all clients, I offer three different, stackable wedding discounts at 5% each- when a client pays in full, when they pay in cash, and/or if their wedding is within a month time frame Due to the nature of my business, I typically book my wedding weekends a year to two years in advance, especially the "prime" weekend dates- most Spring and Fall dates- so if I still have a date open within months, I offer 5% off the top Their wedding wasn't as near, but they did want to take advantage of the 10% off for paying in full and in cash. I had already extended a friend-of-the-family discount, didn't charge for time to travel to and from their event (just physical cost), and basically gave them the minimum base price I could to make a smaller profit I sent the package options after asking *** if he could pay in full (versus payment plan) to save extra, and he said yes I do not pressure my clients to go one way or the other in terms of how they pay their balance Obviously, it saves my clients money and takes less out of my pocket, but not having to invoice and bill and deal with returned cards/checks or any of the other things that randomly happen with payment plans is worth giving 5% back to my client I make more with a payment plan,obviously Both options have their benefits and drawbacks to both the client and myself, but they are policies I have in place for a reason Policies that come with the decisions I allow all of my clients, including Mr***, to make There was no "if you don't pay this, you will pay more" threats, there was "if you pay this in full- you get a discount." And typically, paying in full means within days of signing the contract and in one payment I allowed Mr*** to pay in two separate payments within days to make it easier for him, and he did so through a Quick Pay Service to my bank to receive the other 5% off for paying in cash Typically, a client will receive an invoice, with sales tax built in, and pay that way- or in person I calculated their total without adding in sales tax, so I did let *** know that I would have to invoice the difference ($156) and he could pay within a month He had no complaints, and took care of it within about weeks The sales tax was in the contract, by the way, and the client knew that was the final total While I understand the inconvenience, this was not something I expected to see as a complaint on my business, but I digress.Complaint number three by my client was that he never received the terms and conditions of the contract, and only did so because he had to ask me for them In the attachments of our conversations, you will see very clear conversation about receiving the contract Once signed and submitted electronically, the contract is binding between myself and my client, who then has the option to download the PDF, print it, have me e-mail it or mail a paper copy Signing the contract via jotform.com, there are multiple pages you fill out and submit You MUST go through the terms and conditions before you get to the page to sign your signature Mr*** then goes on to say that he only received the terms and conditions after he e-mailed me to ask for them, but in actuality e-mailed this:From:*** *** (Add as Preferred Sender) Date:Thu, May 26, 10:amTo:"***s@emma***s.com" Hello ***,I can't recall, were the terms and conditions ever sent over?Want to make sure I have all my paperwork as organized as possible, there is a lot.Thanks,***Sent from my iPhoneI responded with the link to his signed contract again, and from there had no clue of any issue on the client's end until he sent an e-mail to cancel When a client has an issue and doesn't tell you (perhaps printing the contract?), there is no way for you to know Again, my policies are in place to run my business the best way I can, and with out of town clients who can't sign a contract in person, I entrust that by asking if I can mail a paper copy to a client and he declines that he has kept his copy in another manor Addressing the next part of client's complaint in regards to "rescinding the contract", please allow me to explain how my contract works and refer to the PDF attachment copy of the exact contract that the client and his fiance signed When a client books me, initially they must pay a $non-refundable retainer that binds me to agreeing to save that date for their event That way, if someone offers me ten million dollars, legally I'm their's regardless unless with both agree to cancel the contract Client then will either set up a payment plan or pay in full, and the way that I structure my payment options is so that most payments are expected within 4-months of their date This way, if a client cancels their wedding, the closer to the date, the more they have paid and due to the likelihood that I cannot book another wedding in such a short time frame they understand If a client cancels their wedding within months of their date, the client still owes me the balance of their contract for the same reasonI'm now stuck without a wedding on a prime wedding weekend My cancellation section of my contract, just like all of the contract, is equally to protect me as it is my client As we learn in business, there's no such thing as "good faith" holding a date open for someonethey will back out and leave you empty handed many times I require a commitment for my time to provide for my family just like every other business Via e-mail, *** references that he misunderstood my contract, but I'm not entirely sure how much more clear saying that "the client shall pay the balance of the contract due to the high probability that *** *** will not be able to further book that date." I thought it was pretty clear who is the client and who *** *** is, and within daysof cancellation, requiring the balance of a contract from a client to a photographer is a very common, standard business practice I am 120% about customer service with my clientele and will go above and beyond to please a client, sometimes- many times- out of my own pocket But I am raising a family and work very hard too, and turned down or other weddings, an event, and even a personal event for that same weekend because of my commitment to this wedding I've already invested in the physical cost of the wedding as well To try and meet Mr*** in the middle, I did offer that IF I am able to book that weekend even ONE wedding, the profit (if less than his wedding) up to the cost of his own wedding would be paid to him, and despite the harassment from a "business advisor" discrediting my ethics, questioning my personal faith, and essentially my personal self, I STILL intend to honor this As of 7/8/2016, I've had one inquiry for that weekend, but no booking just yet This is not to say that I am not trying intensely to book those dates Because the venue area Mr***' wedding will be is a 5-hour drive, I knew that I would lose the day before, of, and after the wedding (Nov 3, & 5) to travel to and from his event- which would've been one of the two last busy Saturdays of the wedding season- but I still wanted to be able to capture the day for them so I didn't book any additional weddings I could've booked up to $10k in weddings that weekend, and instead sold $ Now, here I am months away and have one of the best, last weeks of the year for the bridal industry wide open with a slim chance to profit anything During May and June, October and November I book up to two weddings a weekend, so doing one that cost me more money and time than most isn't a deal I can offer to too many people, but am close friends to many of his family members and wanted to offer them as much as I could without shooting my own foot While I can understand the frustration, I wish it weren't just one sided This is a big loss for my business, and a risk a client takes if there's potentially a chance that their wedding will be cancelled or they tend to change their mindI can't have a surviving business if clients back out of their agreements All funds retained with EJP do so for days as a credit for any photography service, and should be considered (and always have been until now) by clients who are booking from out of state- which have been many for my business While my contract clearly forbids transferring to other people, I even offered to allow *** do so since I know so much of his family and have done that amount of business with them multiple times, including after this ordeal began They can also use the funds for another date And I told them I would not expire the credit over days, but instead allow it to be used until it's all gone I am just as equally upset that for whatever reason this client wants a refund, especially since their wedding is still taking place The client questions my good faith and conscience for having a standard business practice that aligns with others in my industry, yet refuses to be open minded about the contract that they signed In closing, and now that you've seen my contract, the conversations, and heard both complaint and response, hopefully you will understand how one sided this truly is, but unfortunately the other way around I have done nothing but perform as usual, go above and beyond to try and make everything convenient for the client, and to meet in the middle as much as we both can without incurring massive losses I have never once cancelled, refused to be of service, or not perform on my end of the contract, and should not be penalized as such Having buyer's remorse three and a half months later and expecting a refund is not a policy many, if any businesses have I wish all involved understood that And if the client felt so pressured, he didn't have to choose to do business in the first place I have worked in sales many years, and that is one thing I've been complimented on over and overthe fact that I *don't* pressure people I figure out what works best for my clients and offer them choices Not everyone chooses me as their wedding photographerbut that's the joy of the American waygetting to choose!Thank you for your time, pardon the length, and please let me know if I can send anything else I do have e-mails from client & his business advisor friend, as well as contact with my lawyer about the issue if those need to be forwarded Thanks, and God Bless! Sincerely,*** B#-###-####***