Mates rates?

[ePIC]

Should family and friends get a discount? I've gotten some resistance from a rather distant cousin after I sent him my regular quote. It annoyed me somewhat, but truthfully, it just never occurred to me to offer a discount since I mostly work with businesses. Do you give discounts to your friends and family? If so, how much do you subtract from the bill and where do you draw the line when deciding who qualifies?

 

[Pixels]

You should never mix the two; they may be family, but it doesn't mean that they automatically get a discount. If there has to be a discount, then it should come from you, the business person, out of your own volition.

 

[Flair]

The best course of action, in my opinion, is to give discounts as often as possible. Of course, you have to work out your margin of profit when doing this. But discounts are one way of gaining a happy customer, and remember, every one of those friends and family might use word of mouth to recommend you to people you don't yet know.

 

[Len S]

It depends on theirs, and your, financial situation. If they're well off and you're not.......full price. If they're struggling and you're not........cut them a break.

 

[Rachel]

No way! I actually charge friends and family more in the hopes that they'll take their business elsewhere. Wedding videography and photography is high stakes enough without adding personal obligations and emotional ties into it. I'm very upfront with them that there's a surcharge for my services. Because when Auntie Hilda calls me on a Sunday to make new demands that will take a reshoot and hours of additional work because they made a mistake, then I need to be able to justify it to myself. Truthfully, I don't want to disappoint any of my clients and I always go above and beyond, but it's a whole different ball game when it's someone you love. However, if Auntie Hilda just wants a photo for her Christmas card, then I'm happy to do that for free because it's not part of my business and it's unlikely to become time intensive.

 

[TheBlueElephant]

No way! I actually charge friends and family more in the hopes that they'll take their business elsewhere. Wedding videography and photography is high stakes enough without adding personal obligations and emotional ties into it. I'm very upfront with them that there's a surcharge for my services. Because when Auntie Hilda calls me on a Sunday to make new demands that will take a reshoot and hours of additional work because they made a mistake, then I need to be able to justify it to myself. Truthfully, I don't want to disappoint any of my clients and I always go above and beyond, but it's a whole different ball game when it's someone you love. However, if Auntie Hilda just wants a photo for her Christmas card, then I'm happy to do that for free because it's not part of my business and it's unlikely to become time intensive.

I haven't run into this issue yet, as most of my family lives out of state. But charging your family more, while seeming counter intuitive, actually makes a lot of sense to me. If I'm at a family member's wedding, I want to enjoy it and not be constantly worrying about photographing all the big moments perfectly. And, if the photos don't work out, or aren't exactly what my family member wanted, I don't want to be hearing about it at EVERY family reunion.