But ... But ... It's Not Like It's Work! (Craft Freebies)

[VorFemme]

If it was just the prize, then I would 100% have said that. But since it's leading to me making a mass quantity for her gathering as well, I thought I could humor her a little.

We'll see if I've made a horrible mistake. I may be updating here in two months and you'll all be welcome to call me a bacon-fed knave then

Nah - we'll call her a bacon fed knave of a SS who DIDN'T get told that she was being an SS & a bacon fed knave because you were hoping that things would go well...

Is this the same group that paid you ONLY for the ingredients on an order of the same pastries for a get together after you strongly suggested that they needed to "round up" to cover the labor?  I would not go with strongly hinting to this group....you need to flat out tell any members that you are donating the labor and X number of pastries but you cannot make less than X number of pastries because the recipe just doesn't make that many.

Or add something about "if group members order and PAY FOR XX number of pastries, I will make Y number extra (between six and two dozen, whatever you think is reasonable) for anyone winning one of my donated discount coupons".  Then stick to that and have fine print that the minimum order is X dozen and that there have to be 2X that number to order more than one flavor.

Because they just don't seem to want to notice that clue by four....

[Lady Snowdon]

One of the people at work just astounded me last week regarding craft freebies.  I make soap, sugar scrubs, bath salts, lotions, etc.  This coworker had mentioned last month that she was looking to buy some bath salts to help with "detoxing" herself.  I offered to make her two different kinds, and told her I charged $10 per jar (8 oz jars).  The salts contain dead sea salts, himalayan salt, and red hawaiian salt, plus essential oils.  At the same time, I bought 4 boxes of girl scout cookies from her.  I figured it was a trade - $20 of my product for $20 of cookies.  She really enjoyed the salts, and had me make her two more jars with her favorite scent.  Then last week she informed me that she really needed the $20 I "owed" her for the cookies.  I reminded her that she hadn't paid for the initial two jars of salts and said that was a trade.  She said, and I quote, "Oh, I thought those first two were free so I could decide what scent I liked".  I told her I was sorry, but I couldn't afford to just give away my products like that.  She said, "oh" like this was very unexpected of me, but dropped the subject.  I have not paid her the $20 and she hasn't asked again.

[gmatoy]

My mom used to tell me a story about when her and dad were first married. Dad came home from work one day with a mans suit; think 3-piece lined business suit (from the 60's). Mom looked at it and asked what it was for. Dad said that this was a suit that fit a man that he worked with who wanted another in the same style, but a different color and material. He offered mom's services to make  this suit from scratch..... mom knew how to sew well enough but didn't do it for a living. and keep in mind she was 17 and pregnant at this time as well. The material was a difficult one to work with (I can't remember exactly which material) and the lining was difficult to piece together. When she finally got it finished, she gave it to dad to give to his co-worker (who was extremely grateful ) and told him that if he ever volunteered sewing services of that magnitude to come out of their house again, he had better start learning how to sew........yeah, dad never brought home sewing again.

I have been sewing for over 40 years and still would not try to make a men's suit! Tell your mother I'm impressed with her 17 year old self!

[VorFemme]

At about the same age, I made a casual suit (unlined) in a denim colored knit for VorGuy.  I did not have a new sewing machine, so I was in the habit of marking the buttonholes & taking it to a local fabric store that did the buttonholes for me.

I routinely marked the buttonholes and the button locations for female clothing.  So I did the same for the male suit - making a comment when I dropped it off that it was for my HUSBAND.

I went by to pick it up and found the buttonholes on the wrong side....and there was not a scrap of fabric to be had (bought there) to make the front side over again....they had also cut them open for me....

They redid the buttonholes on the correct side & did something to close up the cuts on the wrong side, but you could SEE the buttonholes, as the suit was intended to be worn mostly unbuttoned (casual suit)....after the money for the fabric & pattern, the work to get it fitted to him, and then the expense of the buttonholes....it was unwearable.

I was NOT offered a refund on the fabric - just the extra buttonholes.  It was the best place to get a variety of fabrics at the time....but it was a bit of an expense for a couple of college students.  We went back to buying his clothes or, if we got lucky, his dad would need a new suit & clear out space in his closet by offering VorGuy one of the older ones being replaced (same size).

Looking back - I think that his dad was shopping for more suits than he'd really planned to buy in his early fifties...

I did sew shirts for him and slacks - but never again a blazer/casual suit jacket.  Just too much of a bad taste in my mouth.  And the one time someone asked...well, they decided that was more than they wanted to know about how long it takes to fit even a casual, unlined jacket....because I explained why I did NOT do suit jackets.  In detail.  At length.  With reference to the original suit jacket (pants never worn, either - I have no idea why).

[Lynn2000]

One of the people at work just astounded me last week regarding craft freebies.  I make soap, sugar scrubs, bath salts, lotions, etc.  This coworker had mentioned last month that she was looking to buy some bath salts to help with "detoxing" herself.  I offered to make her two different kinds, and told her I charged $10 per jar (8 oz jars).  The salts contain dead sea salts, himalayan salt, and red hawaiian salt, plus essential oils.  At the same time, I bought 4 boxes of girl scout cookies from her.  I figured it was a trade - $20 of my product for $20 of cookies.  She really enjoyed the salts, and had me make her two more jars with her favorite scent.  Then last week she informed me that she really needed the $20 I "owed" her for the cookies.  I reminded her that she hadn't paid for the initial two jars of salts and said that was a trade.  She said, and I quote, "Oh, I thought those first two were free so I could decide what scent I liked".  I told her I was sorry, but I couldn't afford to just give away my products like that.  She said, "oh" like this was very unexpected of me, but dropped the subject.  I have not paid her the $20 and she hasn't asked again.

So did she get FOUR jars ($40) for $20 in cookies? Or did she pay for the latter two jars in cash? Either way, her statement would be a jaw-dropper! I could see giving small free samples, but by that point she should have realized all four jars were full-sized, $10 jars, and whatever idea she'd had at the beginning was mistaken. Or at the very least, if you're having a total goofball moment, you go, "Crud monkeys, that's right, $20 of cookies for $20 of bath salts, I don't know what I was thinking. Sorry to bug you!" I've done stuff like that before--like going out to dinner with my friend, and then asking whose turn it was to pay, when the point of the meal was for me to thank her for something. A facepalm moment, but quickly corrected.

[Lady Snowdon]

At the same time, I bought 4 boxes of girl scout cookies from her.  I figured it was a trade - $20 of my product for $20 of cookies.

Are Girl Scout cookies $5 a box now? Yikes. 

And good for you, reminding her of the original arrangement and standing your ground. Isn't it bizarre when people just pull thoughts like "I thought the first two were free" out of thin air? I see that happening all too often.

That's what I get for not stopping to think the numbers out!  It was 5 boxes of cookies at $4 each - still a total of $20, just reversing the numbers!

[andi]

There's a quilt in the Smithsonian that a stepmother made for her stepdaughter out of the clothes of the daughter's deceased mother.

A friend of mine has a similar quilt - her MIL took all my freind's high school and college shirts and sweatshirts (sports, actitities, sorority) and made them into a quilt as a wedding gift. It cemented thier relationship.

I have a beautiful handmade quilt my  grandma made me. It's huge - fits a king sized bed almost as a bedspread. I used it for years but the threads are pulling and I'm afraid it'll fall apart if I continue so it's put away. I need to find someone who knows how to restore quilts. I was supposed to get another one when she passed - but they were all gone. I do have 2 afghans

[BabyMama]

If it was just the prize, then I would 100% have said that. But since it's leading to me making a mass quantity for her gathering as well, I thought I could humor her a little.

We'll see if I've made a horrible mistake. I may be updating here in two months and you'll all be welcome to call me a bacon-fed knave then

Nah - we'll call her a bacon fed knave of a SS who DIDN'T get told that she was being an SS & a bacon fed knave because you were hoping that things would go well...

Is this the same group that paid you ONLY for the ingredients on an order of the same pastries for a get together after you strongly suggested that they needed to "round up" to cover the labor? 

Yes, it is. I e-mailed her this time around so I could write everything down rather than talking to her during an event where we're both busy (which is what happened last time.) Explained again about the not being able to price, but this time was able to give her a time estimate (ends up being about 2 hours of labor per dozen) and the cost per pastry that the specialty baker in town gives. Will re-stress again once she decides how many she wants for her party.

And this is why I don't bake for a living. I hate dealing with people!

[bloo]

If it was just the prize, then I would 100% have said that. But since it's leading to me making a mass quantity for her gathering as well, I thought I could humor her a little.

We'll see if I've made a horrible mistake. I may be updating here in two months and you'll all be welcome to call me a bacon-fed knave then

Nah - we'll call her a bacon fed knave of a SS who DIDN'T get told that she was being an SS & a bacon fed knave because you were hoping that things would go well...

Is this the same group that paid you ONLY for the ingredients on an order of the same pastries for a get together after you strongly suggested that they needed to "round up" to cover the labor? 

Yes, it is. I e-mailed her this time around so I could write everything down rather than talking to her during an event where we're both busy (which is what happened last time.) Explained again about the not being able to price, but this time was able to give her a time estimate (ends up being about 2 hours of labor per dozen) and the cost per pastry that the specialty baker in town gives. Will re-stress again once she decides how many she wants for her party.

And this is why I don't bake for a living. I hate dealing with people!

OT, but regarding the bolded...many years ago I bartended in SW Florida at a fairly nice restaurant. I loved mixing drinks. I reached a point where I hated dealing with people. The other bartenders loved working with me because I was the only one that volunteered for the service bar. All the bartenders wanted to work the bar so they could ensure good service to get the best tips, I guess they didn't feel like they were in control if they were stuck on the service bar. So whenever I worked, I'd grab the service bar quite happily.

BabyMama, you might be happy with baking for a living in the right conditions. I'm imagining you in your kitchen enclave and having a minion come bustling in and you shouting, "What is it?! I am creating! This better be important!" 

[BabyMama]

Haha, that's true! The sad thing is, I really like helping people. I just don't like confronting them, or dealing with money (so being a business owner is out!)

I have a friend who owns her own business and occasionally brings up potential new business ideas. Sure, finance it and manage it, and I'm there

[alkira6]

Haha, that's true! The sad thing is, I really like helping people. I just don't like confronting them, or dealing with money (so being a business owner is out!)

I have a friend who owns her own business and occasionally brings up potential new business ideas. Sure, finance it and manage it, and I'm there

After running my own business for about 4 years I have firmly decided that I would much rather be an employee.  Even just doing quarterly taxes was a nightmare.  Like you I started small with cookies being sold between classes when I was on campus.  I eventually got to the point where I rented a small commercial kitchen in the evenings from another business and had an actual license.  I absolutely hated dealing with people who wanted to bargain me down to absolutely nothing and got angry when it didn't happen, those who kept changing their digdangitty mind before the event I was catering (on one memorable occasion I made 4 times what I should have just from the fees I charged for changes after the contract was signed).  Then there were the people who were just nasty because I was a "servant".  These people were charged an a**hole fee in the form of higher charges and charges for things that I would usually comp for a decent customer.

There is a reason why I quit.  I am definitely not the type of person who should be in constant contact with people in this manner.

[VorFemme]

Another mailing list/site I was on for businesses called that a**hole fee a PITA tax, instead.  For Pain In The Asterisk (fill in whatever part of you hurts the worst after dealing with the particular customer) - and one business owner had one particular PITA customer that routinely got charged three times what anyone else paid, plus standard rush fees.  She said that knowing that when she worked on that customer's orders that she was getting paid "enough" to put up with the customer's shenanigans that it was a lot easier to deal with the indecision, bringing things in at the next-to-last-possible minute, and wanting the fastest possible turn around. 

She also convinced the PITA that bringing something in just before close of business & wanting to pick it up early the next morning cost TOO much - so she started bringing things in a day or two earlier.  But almost never a week or a month earlier....

[CrochetFanatic]

My dad got one the other day.  He likes to bake, and pies are one of his specialties.  He will occasionally be asked to bake a few for a family party, and he bakes them (and other things) for birthdays and holidays.  The other day he got a call from the daughter of a friend, and she asked my dad if he would bake some pies to serve at her wedding reception. 

My dad said, "I'm really not sure I'd be able to.  I only have one oven.  How many would you need?"

The answer?  "About 30."  My dad told her he was sorry, but there was no way he'd be able to do it.

I wouldn't call the request rude or greedy, though.  It seemed more clueless than anything else, and she was cool about it and said she understood.  In terms of the space that would be needed, the ovens, the ingredients, the time spent, and having to get other people to pitch in so that it would have gotten done on time...well, for a casual/hobby baker who works full-time and is frequently tired, it wouldn't have been possible.

[AmethystAnne]

^
I work in a school kitchen with 5 other lunch ladies. We prepare food for 440-450 daily.

That being said......

I mentally ran the scenario of 30 pies and all that would be involved in the prep, with our 4 institutional size ovens, and decided that would be my reaction, even with our facilities and my co-workers helping me. It would be doable but that's a heckofalot of work. Especially if fresh pie crust were to be made, instead of using the already-made raw crust found in the frozen food section of the local grocery store.

And the friend-of-a-friend thought it would be possible for you Dad to made that many out of his home kitchen! wow. yeah she had no concept of all that would be involved.

[VorFemme]

I have noticed that people who don't cook at home have an odd idea of how much work is involved.

It is too much work for THEM to do - or possibly too expensive for them to outfit a kitchen with pots, pans, plates, measuring cups, spices, and all the rest of what is needed....

But since you (generic term for other people) already have all that stuff - then it's almost like it's FREE!  It can't be that much work, after all.

Same reaction to you (generic term for other people) sewing, knitting, cleaning, etc. for them because they can't do it due to a lack of equipment or skill, don't want to do it, don't have the time to do it, or don't have the equipment to do it & the time to learn to use the equipment WELL!

I have a kitchen, a sewing machine, a serger, a cover hem machine, and an embroidery machine; a computer; knitting needles (sold the Bond Incredible Sweater Machine due to issues with tendinitis in both wrists); embroidery needles, embroidery thread for hand & machine use, and all the stuff for everything that I want to make in my kitchen.  The rotisserie broke and I have never had a taffy machine - other than that....I have it or know a work-around (like buy it if it will take too long to do by hand). 

BUT - and this is a big one - I also don't have the time to do for others who aren't doing something in exchange.  If I sew for you and don't have time to fix dinner & clean house - then I need to either have you fix dinner & clean house OR pay someone else to do it for me.  Same thing for any of the other crafts that I do - I don't mind teaching crafts - but doing them is "fun" - doing it for you isn't "fun" (sorry about that, but it is the truth) and I'm not going to do it if I don't have fun or get paid enough to have fun doing something with the money!