it's a full time 3 month contract position. i've been here 2 1/2 weeks working anywhere from 10-15 hour days. after the first 4 days the owners go on vacation and i'm the only person here running stuff and they stay in touch via phone and e-mail.

i was supposed to get a direct deposit to my account this last tuesday. nothing. i talked to the guy on the phone and he said he'll fix it. as of today nothing. i'm figuring if i don't get a check today i'm walking out of here. not in a malicious way but come on...

they have the money. i think they've just been very scattered brained the past 2 weeks.

i like them/the work but i need to get paid.

thoughts?

What do they say the problem is? Is it a bank problem or is it that your employer hasn't sent the file to the bank with your money? Tell your employer that you need to be paid immediately, ie, today. And instead of sending it as a direct deposit, ask them to wire the funds to your account -- much quicker that way.

When I was like 19 I got a job at a Subway. On my second day (a Friday night in a mall) they left me by myself and I got SLAMMED. I didn't know how to close down the cash drawer, nothing.

I finished my shift, left all the food out, and took the cash tray out of the cash register. I went back to the back office and poured all of the cash and change on the owners desk and wrote a note saying "this is not how you treat and employee". I walked out and never came back.

You don't fuck with someone's $$$.

If the problem isn't fixed by the end of the day, light a match and leave.

Or just leave.

turns out he set up he direct deposit with the wrong routing number. then he said they would send a check. no check. it just needs to get taken care of today.

the being left alone for 10 days was a little weird but i handled it. it was just frustrating at times because i'm not familiar with their files and stuff and having to deal with clients trying to sound like i know what i'm doing. a little trial by fire is good for thje soul although not necesssarily for the nerves.

I agree that you don't fuck with money, especially my money, but…

You have the advantage of context here, so keep that in mind. If they are good people--which you probably know--I would work with them. If at all possible, screw all the electronic shit, get a piece of paper in your hand. They should have someone else who can cut a check, especially in emergencies.

Plus, if they are good people, when they get back, you should leverage them for some extra scratch for your troubles.

I'm in a bind right now because I extended some extra credit out to a very good client of mine. He's good for it, and I will more than make it up later, but damn if it doesn't make my checking account look pathetic.

No matter how good the rest of the situation is, no tickee, no payee. If I were you, I'd lace up me hiking boots. And be prepared to call the local labor board.

Good things come to those who wait.

(but in your case it might be nothing.)

Everyone's so god damn adversial. I suspect most of you never actually have been in a position where you've had to bill and collect from clients or you'd realize how common this is.

I'd never walk out on a client as lots of you are suggesting. You need to weigh your need for immediate payment for financial reasons (eg ability to keep a roof over your head, and food on the table), what concern level you have about not ever getting paid, the position you put them in if you just walk out, and your concern about not damaging your relationship with them. Its fine to say if I'm not paid in 2 days, I walk and then follow through on the threat but don't just walk without warning. If you need to do so to get food on the table then do what you got to do, but in thats case you probably should have given them that warning a few days ago.

Rings a vague bell.

If you NEED the money, don't they have petty cash or something?

If it's a matter of prinicpal, and you like/trust them, then work with them, but:
1) Give 'em a concrete deadline of X that you have to have the money, whether it's dirdep, a check, cash, or 68 lbs. of Jumbo Gulf Shrimp.

2) If you are the only one there, make sure the date is a day before they return, and if they don't pay you, take one (or more) of their computers, etc....

I thought about that, too. Could be a way to at least grease the wheels.

I haven't personally been in the position, but I've worked in a situation where the day we didn't get paid, we all walked. It wasn't adversarial, it was just business, and because it was a bureaucracy, they didn't take it personally either. As soon as we got paid again, we all showed up again.

The most important thing I learned about business from my dad was to ALWAYS pay the people that you depend on (whether they be your staff or contractors) even if it means you dont get paid yourself.

In no way shape or form is this her fault. You work, you get paid. It's as simple as that.

"It's not personal, it's business."

Here's the deal:

As a contract employee, you have very little going your way. No health insurance, no long-term security, etc. The one thing you DO have is your paycheck, and that's the way employers who contract out want it.

Accordingly, you are not receiving the one thing you've asked of them. If they are good people, offer them every courtesy your budget will allow. Warn them politely but specifically (deadline!), and appeal to their good character. But do NOT reward this kind of bad behavior. They have it good as-is... I don't see any room for them to make things go more in their favor.

Get paid. Have Loog call them if need-be.

If I liked the job and could survive a day or two without the check, I might be willing to understand the error and hope they quickly resolve it. For my current job, I wouldn't take it. We are owned by the city and ran by SMG, which is Clear Channels biggest rival. My check is not direct deposited, so they better have it waiting for me the day we can pick them up.
When I was telemarketing while waiting to graduate, we had a few people who had their checks bounce due to insufficient funds in the corporate account. I guess that sometimes the main office in Ohio was a little slow depositing the funds into their corporate account. I told my supervisor that if it ever happened to me I'd make them pay for my overdraft fee or anyother penalty I incurred at the bank. I never threaten my boss about anything, but if I bust my ass for two weeks and don't get paid a dime, some legal action is definitely going to take place pronto.

Yeah, clearing Payroll checks is Priority One. Seriously. We just ran factory / distribution center simulations the other day, and the first (and most frequent) thing he kept saying was "don't shut the factory down!" That's just basic. You have an agreement. Live up to it.

i have only walked out on a client once in my life and that's because she was a crazy, screaming lunatic on a daily basis and while she payed me a small fortune (at the time) i decided it was not worth the stress.

other than that i would never strand a client. it's just how i work.
it turns out their bank f'ed up the direct deposit and said they mailed me a check but it turns out they mailed it to a local branch instead of me. unfortunately i had to nag the husband (it's a hubby/wife sort of team) three toimes to make sure it was taken care of today. so the wife ran out and picked up the check and brought it back to me. all's well....

but during all of this i saw a side of the two of them i don't feel good about at all. he's mister mellow but he tells her everything and she plays the hard case. i saw a hint of this in the initial interview and just filed it away because the job seems great. they're into controlling things down to the nth degree and i am soooo not about that-at all.

the deal is that i will work there 3 months and if we all feel it works out okay, i'll go full time. fine. but now they are giving tests to two other candidates and want me to take it too. they will give us all a project friday at 5pm and then we have to hand it in monday at 9am.

i don't want to do it and told them that i feel that they are getting the best idea of how we all work together by me working there. they said i don't have to take it but it puts me at a disadvantage. i want to tell them to go fuck themselves because i just ran that whole goddamn office for almost 2 weeks after working there only 3 days.

i'd love a full time gig so i can stop running all over the place but i have to seriously think about this. i'm low on cash and cannot afford to not work. i have another freelance gig i'm doing that will end at the end of march plus another firm i worked for just called to see if i was available to work there for a few weeks.

i'm exhausted and am not thinking clearly so i'm going to chill this weekend (doing my other freelance gig which i love but crap i could use a day off) and see how it all feels on monday.

sage advice welcome.

I got nuthin'.

But you did a pretty good job of spelling out all the pro's and con's there, so reread this on Monday, and see which is more important to you. Usually you can convince yourself one way or the other just by doing that, so the fact that you've done that makes it pretty clear it's a really close decision.

They really should have just given you the gig. As it is, the decision may not be entirely in your hands.

Hooray for work ethic and glad everything turned out.



I'm sure you know how you work and what you prefer, but from my limited experience, I tend to jive better with people who know what they want, even if it is nitpicky. Hell, I work for a bank, and those goofballs are INSANELY detailed. But I can deal with that better than the "I just want a new look" crowd.



No way, Jose. I won't do work on spec. Not a chance. You either buy my time, or you do without. That was one lesson I liked from all the readings I've done since starting out. I love competition, but I'm not going to let them take my ideas and mishmash them into some other concept and have someone else get paid for it. No dice. I can find work elsewhere.




I'm sure you have a better read on the situation than I do, but I still don't like the shopping aspect of this whole thing. I think this contest is more of a brainstorming for them than an opportunity for a new employee. If I felt strongly enough that this was the position for me, I would lay out my case for why I would be the best candidate without participating in the project, making sure to include the real time experience in their absence. I would also subtly tug on that "you didn't pay me on time" nerve for a few sympathy & loyalty bonus points.



You're smart enough to know, but definitely choose your spot based on how good of a landing it is, rather than trying to avoid other shit or stressing on bills. I know that's easier for me to say with no offspring, but if you are looking for immediate gratification, that's about as long as it's gonna last.



Good call. Turn up some Mats real loud this weekend and shake some off. I"m swamped this weekend, and I could use even a small vacation, but that ain't gonna happen yet. Tonight I'm going to goof around with my Best of 2005 cover art and probably a t-shirt design for some friends of mine in a band, just to get away from the grind. I love designing and creating, but sometimes you need to do it with no firm objective just to get away.

No one said it's her fault. Ever heard the phrase "Life isn't fair". I'm just saying I wouldn't walk out on a client because they were 4 days late paying me unless I had some real reason for fearing they weren't going to pay me at all.

And I agree, you pay payroll first, contractors second and everything else third. But let's face it when you're a contractor, you often don't get paid when you expect to be and you usually are shooting yourself in the foot if you walk out and leave the client in a bad position, particularly if the relationship is one you value for the long term. The threat of walking out with after reasonable timeframe to take corrective action (eg cut the damn check) can be just as or more effective in getting payment as walking out is with none of the negative impact on your relationship.

Another valuable business lesson:
Everybody knows somebody.