Raffle prize win - what would you do

[ihaircut101]

Writing this without saying which side I am, would be interested in knowing who you think is 'right'.

Jill won a raffle prize of a cut and blow dry at a new salon owned by Mary. When Jill attended to claim her prize she also booked in for a root tint, which she expected to pay for.

During their session Mary mentioned business was not so good and she thought it partly due to her website content. Jill told her that her business was website marketing and offered to take a look at Mary's website, which she did. Jill made a lot of suggestions, she rewrote some of the content and suggested mary implement an online booking facility. Mary was very happy with the changes and as a thank you waived the cost of the colour.

About a month later, Mary contacted Jill and asked her to set up the online booking system, Jill was agreeable to take this on and explained her fees. Mary was taken aback at being asked to pay as felt as she had waived the cost of the hair dye treatment, that should cover the cost of the website work.

What do you think? Should Jill charge for this extra work? If yes, would it be ok for Mary to ask Jill to now pay for the colour treatment she had?

OP it depends entirely on how much time you spent on the initial bit of advice and work. If it was predominantly a chat during the hair appointment, and a few jotted down suggestions, then I think it’s cheeky to charge for the next bit of work, given that you got a free colour. But if you spent a fair while on the work you’ve already done (in exchange for a free colour), then Mary shouldn’t be expecting more of your time for free.

The initial rewriting of content etc & waiving of the root tint was a fair exchange & actually a really good deal for the hairdresser, as paying for this rewriting professionally would have cost more than a hair colour!

Setting up an online booking system is another thing entirely. Does she expect Jill to work for free forever on the basis that she had one free root tint once? That’s insane!

Jill is right so far. If money is tight for Mary she could offer free cuts for a year or something, but effectively it's a new agreement, and should probably be in writing so as not to cause future trouble.

I would usually agree that the website work carried out was repaid by a free tint but could Jill have caused confusion by saying that the online booking system should be implemented and so thereby Mary thought she was also offering to do that work at another point in time?

OP it's clear Mary is a CF but if you choose to play this diplomatically, split the work up and charge her for some of it.

Example - a cut and colour are different services, similarly doing a tint for the first time + maintenance are all different

Tell her you could, I don't know, design the booking platform for free - cost equivalent to the tint. But integrating it into a webpage, calendar, payment system, CRM etc are all different services that she needs to pay for.

That way you put it across in terms she understands.

Mary will soon learn when aunty Sharon and best friend Deirdre start asking for free hair cuts.

I think Mary falls into the category of, yet another person, who doesn't realise how invaluable good IT advice is! It used to happen to my husband all the time, people thinking they could get him to 'just take a look' at their computers and then give him a bottle of cheap plonk for his trouble. Sometimes that 'look' would take 2-3 hours to sort out because they'd done something or other they shouldn't have.
He stopped doing everybody favours after one too many people took the complete and utter piss.
So, I'm not 100 percent sure Mary was being a CF, but, only because I don't think she entirely understands how expensive that work might have been for her had she had to phone out and call for help. She's definitely in the wrong with her attitude though.

Mary charges for her services or Jill offers another free haircut in lieu of payment.

Mary is a bit of a CF. If you want to build a network, and don’t want to “lose a friend” you could offer mates rates for your work.

But the original dye was swapped for website input.

An online booking system is a new situation, especially a month later!

You did not receive a free blow dry - you received a blow dry at a massively reduced cost by winning it in a raffle.

But Mary donated that prize, having decided it was worth the free advertising etc.

If I'm being charitable, Mary isn't that clued up on how to run a business or how much services are worth and I suspect her business is not long for this world. If I'm being less charitable, Mary is a CF.

I've met several Marys in the past and it's amazing how they think their time is worth something but yours isn't.

If Mary thinks she's got free web design in perpetuity for the cost of a colour, she really needs to get a grip. Mary and Jill were even after the trade of a colour for a review of the website/re-writing. Any further work should be paid for separately, even if it is "mates rates"

That was funny. Op being asked to tile Mary's bathroom 😂

The tint was paid for by the website work.

There is now a need for more work. It needs paying for.

irrelevant

I’d pay her for the tint. Minus the cost of your original work of course.

Then find a new hairdresser/friend.

Mary clearly doesn't understand how much website work costs even though she has recently paid for some....

I can’t beleive the op is Mary, no one is that much of a cf and doesn’t know it,

the absolute toe curling cringe of giving a root tint in return for website review and content rewrite them asking for a significant freebie of setting up the booking system, then saying you want to charge for the tint as you habe to pay and concluding the raffle prize was part of the deal is just so so bad.

i think the op is Jill, as no one would admit to being Mary.

Exactly this.

I've just had a very good friend help me with my own website today. I wanted to make what I thought was a very simple amendment, which in reality was anything but. It has taken him most of the day, basically rewriting my template from scratch in places and making a few minor tweaks that had defeated me.

If I'd had to pay a consultant it would have cost me far more than a root tint!

And honestly op, just tell her you’re busy if she agrees to pay, it will be never ending.

Oh I think Mary knows exactly how much it costs..

But why do you want to be friends with someone who tries to take advantage of you?

Mary could be a cunning f rather than a cheeky f and have offered the tint when she realised she was going to ask for more. On hindsight it would have been ideal if you had said no I offered a bit of free advice but will pay for the tint. It blurs boundaries. Difficult if you were hoping she would spread the good word for your business.

But please can someone tell me how much setting up an internet booking system costs in time and hours?

Yes, this. Maybe if she bartered with free services for a year or something equivalent!

If only hairdresser and web-designers were real jobs with actual costs. Oh wait they actually are! In fact not only that, but it sounds like Mary is actually a hair dresser and Jill is actually a web designer. So every time Mary does Jill's hair Jill owes Mary H (H being the cost of what Jill has done). Every time Jill works on Mary's website, Mary owes Jill W (W being what Jill would normally charge for the work she's done for Mary). Every so often (month/two months, depending on hair care appointments) do some maths - Which is smaller H or W? Do smallest take away largest and whoever owes the larger amount pay the difference to the other.

she rewrote some of the content and suggested mary implement an online booking facility.

This is where it has become confused IMO, Mary seems to have assumed that as you discussed the online booking facility when doing the free work for her that it would be included with it and she waived her charge on the basis of that.. It would all depend on how you phrased it, and where you left it with her, it may have been an honest misunderstanding on Mary's part and as she hasn't got much money she's quite peeved it now can't go ahead and feel like she's been short changed on the deal.

I'm a graphic designer and people DO undervalue your time, they think, and I quote, that "you just press a few buttons". So she could also be being a CF, bit of column A, bit of column B.

Incidentally I've got an arrangement like this with my hairdresser, but I give her a quote for work she has done and she does my hair and charges me the going rate which gets offset, no money changes hands as it works out pretty equal, and there's no mates rates or freebies as such.

If you are ever going to do reciprocal work or favours you will need to be super clear with your customer expectations upfront, and tell them exactly what they are getting and what the cost would normally be, but if you are new to the area, do not start doing things for people for free, as this is what you will get unfortunately, offer a discount for locals or a referral system, but nothing for free except loose advice. People will just take the piss, happy people come and go without fanfare, but unhappy people can cause a right stink for your reputation, especially in a world of social media and google reviews etc.

As far as Mary is concerned if it's not too much for you to implement the facility I'd just do it as a gesture of good will, explain that it wasn't included but you'll do it because there was obviously some confusion at the time, and don't let anything be ambiguous in the future.

This