No Limits Ladies.com

Because I work on contract gigs mostly for the experience and for the love of it, I’m very easy going when it comes to billing. I don’t bill for every minute. I throw in some freebies. I keep my bills fairly constant.

Unless management keeps me waiting.

Then I charge for every second I’m cooling my heels, wasting my time. I think it’s rude and rudeness should come with a price.

The management team on my current contract gig at a start up has kept me waiting several times. I’m billing everything. No freebies. The only reason I’m still there is because I agreed to do the job and darn it, I will do it.

A few days ago, because there were no other seats, I was working at the receptionist’s desk. Recently some key investors pulled out of this business-to-be. The principal investor and company president is nervous about getting a replacement investor. The bankers are breathing down his neck.

A guy walks in. He’s dressed nicely, not over the top. He’s got confidence to spare. Thinks I’m the receptionist. Asks for the president by his first name. I ask if I can get his name and recognize it immediately.

I go into the president’s office and let him know that so and so is waiting for him. The president is not a local, doesn’t recognize the last name. Tells me that he’ll be with him in a few minutes.

More than a few minutes pass. The guest is getting peeved. He’s watching the chaos that is going on around him (launches are always crazy but this is the worst I’ve ever seen). Shrewd look on his face. I catch his eye, nod, and smile. He realizes by now that I’m not the receptionist.

I go in to talk to the president again. The president tells me… well, in some colorful language, that he’ll meet with the guest when he feels like it. When I return to the desk, I tell the guest that he’ll be a few more minutes.

The guest stands up and says that he can’t wait. I tell him that I understand… completely. That gives him a laugh.

Why? Because I understood that he was there to inquire about investing. And the president let him walk out the door.

So don’t mess with anyone’s time, including your own. It’s not nice and could cost you money.