What is an Hour?

[No Wave Casio Kitsch]

1 hour minimum, charged in 1/4 hour increments thereafter, but this is at a place similar to dwlb's situation.

We used to do project rates for large projects, but got burned too many times by unscrupulous people taking advantage of this. Now we usually just discount the hourly rate when we know a project is going to take up at least a certain amount of time.

[solo-bration]

i usually round down the first time, then round up the next time.

[cgarges]

i usually round down the first time, then round up the next time.

I kind of do it the other way around. I'd hate to establish a precedence of always rounding down. If I round up the first time and then cut them a break later, they appreciate that they're now "regulars," rather than being surprised that I rounded up. Plus, I'd just rather give breaks to repeat customers, anyway.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[solo-bration]

yeah, i can see what you're saying. i guess i looked at it like - if i round down (in their favor) the first time, it makes me look like a nice guy. then if i rounded up the next time, they could understand why.

[rwc]

I was very wavery on this when I started

Now, I follow this policy - an hour is a motherfucking hour, anything less and I'm just being a bitch.

For great friends, I am lenient. However, great friends are typically not paying hourly. The only sessions I ever have that are hourly are ones someone else has gotten for me, in which case I have no motivation to be lenient. For these,an hour is a motherfucking hour, anything less and I'm just being a bitch.

I repeat this in my head routinely as the session is ending. If it's something I like and I actually lose track of time, I don't care, but if someone asks if they can "do just this thing" that'll take 15 minutes, and they booked 4 hours, and it's 11:50, and I'm about to bounce & burn copies, my answer is no.

Being a doormat on billed time has never in 2 years culminated to a positive experience for me, with great regulars in addition to off-the-street sessions. Ironically, moreso with the former than the latter.

[audiogeek1]

I do tons of corporate VO sessions and I charge in 15 min blocks. Minimum is 1 hour. Most of the time no one hassles me about the minimum because I state it clearly and they understand the need for making worth my time to fire up the computer etc...

Mike