Pineapple Express: Someone Is Wrong on the Internet?

[prabe]

A man at a convention once griped to Sergio Aragones that he charged $50 for an illustration it took him 5 minutes to do.

Sergio countered, “You’re not paying $50 for the 5 minutes it took me to do that drawing. You’re paying for the decades it took for me to be able to do that drawing in 5 minutes.”

I have seen/read/heard a similar story about a lawyer.

 

[Ryujin]

A man at a convention once griped to Sergio Aragones that he charged $50 for an illustration it took him 5 minutes to do.

Sergio countered, “You’re not paying $50 for the 5 minutes it took me to do that drawing. You’re paying for the decades it took for me to be able to do that drawing in 5 minutes.”

Yeah, artists get that all the time.

 

[Mad_Jack]

The only difference between me and a professional plumber is that I've done the job you want me to do five times in my life - the plumber's done it five times that week... You're paying for their experience.


(Side gripe: People who think that I should do something I'm paid to do for a living for them for free, just because they're my second cousin or I'm dating their daughter...)

 

[Scribe]

--

OK, be wrong then.

 

[Ryujin]

The only difference between me and a professional plumber is that I've done the job you want me to do five times in my life - the plumber's done it five times that week... You're paying for their experience.


(Side gripe: People who think that I should do something I'm paid to do for a living for them for free, just because they're my second cousin or I'm dating their daughter...)

That side gripe is something that I also have. I'd never ask someone to do for free, what they do for a living. I'd never even ask for a discount. If they want to give me a discount that's great but that means I'm not criticizing their work, or pushing for a completion date. I'm more likely to ask for recommendations on who I should get to do something.

On the other hand I've had the following happen to me:

• Get asked to design the paint scheme for a motorcycle. Thirty-two "minor" revisions and 10 days later.... Last time for that.
• "Can you shoot my wedding? (Sure, if you get on a motorcycle and have it done at 100 MPH.)
• Can you shoot my racing event that will run for 8 hours at a location 200 Kms away, for "exposure"?
• "Hey, cool hat! Could you make one for me? (A co-worker, making no mention of payment nor asking how much.)

Whoops! Almost forgot the dozens of times I've been asked to fix someone's computer, for free.

But then there was on friend who asked if I'd be willing to shoot his wedding and how much I'd charge. I declined and explained that my skills just weren't in that, and advised that he should hire an actual wedding photographer. I showed up with my camera and a portrait lens anyway. The 'wedding photographer' that he hired showed up with an entry level DSLR, with a kit lens, and completely ignored getting any of the candid shots they had asked for. Fortunately, I did get those, and he liked them better than anything that the hired "pro" got. Not all professionals are created equal.

 

[prabe]

Re: the side gripe--

A) It's an entirely different thing, of course, if the expert offers to help, for whatever reason/s.

B) it's probably also a different thing, for some kinds of help, if some acquaintance-type person asks for something like "where to look" for whatever. This could involve everything from "where's the good online help" to "how do I tell a good hired photographer from a bad one, before paying them" to "where did you source that material" and probably others I'm ignoring. The point I'm getting at is that some people might want help while not being complete dorks about it.

C) Obviously you, the expert, get to decide for yourself how much you're willing to extend yourself to help any given person.

D) I'm glad I don't have any of the various sorts of expertise that people want to take advantage of for free.

 

[Thomas Shey]

You can have the greatest security in the world and it won't help much if they just target the weakest link; your users.

When it comes to vehicle theft the best deterrent is to have a vehicle that no one wants, or at least they don't want as much. In any group of motorcycles mine would generally be the least desired. They would also be modified to the point that the suspension upgrades alone were a sizable fraction of the total value but unless you knew to look for that, you wouldn't see it. Motorcycle thieves are rarely motorcycle enthusiasts.

I've got an ancient Oldsmobile. The AC is long dead, both the upolstery and the paint look like hell, and the various window seals are slowly fading.

I don't bother to lock it because anything I need to keep temporarily is in the trunk (and it has no in-car trunk release) and if someone is capable enough to start it up without a key they can probably get into it locked without one too, and its not liable to be a high priority target given its age and condition (though it still runs reasonably).

 

[Thomas Shey]

The only difference between me and a professional plumber is that I've done the job you want me to do five times in my life - the plumber's done it five times that week... You're paying for their experience.


(Side gripe: People who think that I should do something I'm paid to do for a living for them for free, just because they're my second cousin or I'm dating their daughter...)

I'm prone to doing some of that with one of my past professions (massaging resumes) just because I'm effectively retired now and don't have to do it that often; I felt very different when I was still doing it all the time.

 

[overgeeked]

Side gripe: People who think that I should do something I'm paid to do for a living for them for free, just because they're my second cousin or I'm dating their daughter.

It can be great if everyone’s in a trade or has otherwise useful skills. You help with my pipes and I help with your roof, for example. It’s when office drones are involved it breaks down. Sorry, but I’m not helping repaint your house if all you have to offer is writing a report.

 

[Gradine]

Well, of all the instantaneous flameouts we've had here over the years, that was certainly one of them