I had only just made some comments in my daily chat about a fiasco involving a bride-to-be and her contracted photographer when I suddenly found myself in a similar situation.

Short on the b2b-photog incident:
B2B hires photographer, signs a contract. Photog messes up at a wedding which was handled by B2B's coordinator. Must have messed up terribly as B2B's coordinator tells B2B that if she retains the photographer, coordinator will give up her role. At some point previously B2B requested for an amended contract, and was waiting for the photog to issue the contract. Hooo hah hoo hah. Final decision is to drop the photog, and ask for a refund of downpayment made. B2B ends up speaking to photogs wife. Wife freaks. B2B slams phone. Wife writes nasty nasty unprofessional email. B2B posts on wedding forum.

My own private idaho:
I say my sad story is similar to this because I have just received some pretty nasty texts from a supplier / subcon of ours. It's a long story, but in essence we have held retention payments pending (1) recomputation of their costs based on actual quantities used -- as stated in our Purchase Order, (2) completion of rectification, and (3) receipt of funding from the client. All stated in our PO.

I have to admit I have been getting teed off recently as this supplier has a habit of overstating quantities (hence the provision that final costs will be based on actual quantities used), and omitting items from his quote. And I was really thinking this would be our last project using him as a dealer...

Anyhoo, he freaked out at me last month when I said that we would not release payments until the items above were complied with. Scream scream on the phone, "Aba aba akala mo ikaw lang ang designer blah blah blah" and the phone slam.

Although I was reallllly annoyed I decided to "try" to not get into a screaming match with him. He can get his money when the 3 items are done. I would have loved to rush to his office and grab him by the hair and drag him to the ground and stomp his face into the pavement until nothing was left but gristle and blood -- and then SPIT ON THE REMAINS. But hey, I love my work too much to be any less than professional (even when my veins throb), and I really don't think this little freakazoid subhuman aberration is worth losing my (difficultly maintained) composure over.

What's with these folks anyway? I'm paying this subcon and my client is paying me, and my client and I deserve our money's worth. So whats the fuss, diba? Fix it, get paid, get lost.

So today I was on my way to a meeting and he texts me -- saying he will send a demand letter and cc my client, and all my past clients, so they will see how salbahe I am. Jeez. I told him to please consult with his lawyer and make sure he is aware of all the repercussions of his actions, because we would take appropriate action as well. To which he replied with some poop about being just a tiny poor supplier yadada dadada dadaada. I ended this farce with a "do what you must". Called our lawyer when I got back to the office so I could update him.

I feel sort of restless because I haven't let all my annoyancerageangerpissinesspeeviness out, but really...how else could I maintain my (goddamfuckingsometimesitssohardtobe) professional demeanor.


Sometimes I just wish I could get down and dirty and not care about the consequences.
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Oooh, looks like I've been in a pretty foul ranty mood recently. I really must try meditating and releasing all this NEGATIVENESS. It's not doing me any good.
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On to happier things:
J has got his work permit approved! It cost an additional 1000bucks for the rush processing (thats like a camera or a lot of shoes :( ), but I think it is totally worth it as there's the security of knowing that everything has been approved from the US side, and of course -- now there's no stopping his Manila visit in September. I am realllllly excited to see the guy :) I can go on wife-mode again :) :) :)

Mom is still ok. She has lost her hair and sometimes gets moody because of her restricted diet. But she's walking and she's alive and she's still able to get treatment. Thank you God.

We may start venturing into residential design because most of our recent referrals / leads were for this sort of work. I'm still a bit nervous about this as residential work is a lot more taxing than corporate design. Still, it is an opportunity to expand our market and we'll do about 2 projects so we can ascertain whether we want to go in this direction or not.
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Lolit Solis moment:
My bloggie friends Mik, Pia and Pebs are on the final leg of their wedding preps. Good luck and best wishes ladies. Lilac!! malapit ka na rin :)

This entry was posted on 8/11/2005 at 8/11/2005 10:13:00 am. You can skip to the end and leave a response.