How do you guys go about getting paid for commission jobs? Apparently, I have to harass them with phone calls until they finally pay me but I have too much phone anxiety (not to mention every phone call costs) to call them several times per day. I don't know if or when I can get the union involved since it isn't an official "union job". I may be the only one who hasn't gotten paid yet…I'm just not cut out to call and threaten people multiple times per day. I almost just want to let it go, but then I'll never get paid for ANYTHING.

I just called them again…I was polite this time, but I'm not sure when to start being threatening about it or what's actually legal. And how many times a day am I supposed to leave messages (polite or otherwise)?

[hvert]

Do you have any kind of contract that outlines how often they are supposed to pay you? Are they close enough that you could show up? Can you call the dept. of labor in your state and ask for advice?

It was only a one time thing. The original paper I got said I was supposed to paid on the last day, then it was within two weeks and now they're just being unprofessional about it. I did go by the address on their website, but it's just a residence. It's a community theatre, so I'm not completely surprised they don't have an actual office. I don't know if the department of labor can help in this case because from the outside, I'm sure this all looks shady.

That reminds me of a side job I took a couple of decades ago.

A local computer hardware store was offering night classes (9pm to 10pm) for people who wanted to learn about hardware, and I took the job as an instructor for Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Informal agreement, no contract or anything like that. Well, I needed the extra money...

I was supposed to be paid every Friday night, and so it was for the first couple of weeks. The next two weeks after that, I didn't get paid at all and both the manager and the owner was giving me the runaround, they would simply disappear whenever I turned up.

Then the next Monday I did the same and simply didn't turn up. My phone rang 10 minutes after 9pm and it was the owner.

Him: "Did you forget you were supposed to be here tonight?"
Me: "Sure, because you forgot to pay me..."
Him: "Well, come over then, we'll sort this out."
Me: "Will you be there with my money for the past 2 weeks?"

He bangs the phone down, and to this day I'm yet to see the color of that moolah.

Anyway, point of the story is: don't go on threatening that kind of people in any way, it might even turn against you in the end. They know the game better than you do.

Instead, get yourself backed up by a signed contract before you commit to something, and it goes without saying, make sure that the terms are favorable to you, mostly. If they refuse to document the agreement, then you know what kind of people you're dealing with...

Oh, and these days, with Internet at your fingetips, just do a bit of research on your potential employer. Who knows what you might find?

[hvert]

I don't think it hurts to contact the dept. of labor. They can at least give you free advice and may make a phone call on your behalf.

Now that you say it is a community theatre, I'd be more inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt. A lot of those organizations are volunteer run and things don't always happen as quickly as they ought to. I hope you have your money by now.

[AutumnEmbers]

Don't know that I have advice for your current situation, but in the future I would say get contract copies if you can prior to starting. If you're writing your own contracts for what you're doing, there are lawyers and legal professionals who can assist in looking over to make sure its following laws and there's no loop holes.

I've worked with a few companies or organizations on a commission-basis with just a "verbal agreement" and it often results in either not getting compensated what I should have been (if at all), or takes quite a while to get what they owed (and it's sometimes still short). I don't know that it's purposeful or not, but it's hard to take further action without something concrete (contract) I've found, at least.

I tend to avoid these situations now unless I really need the additional funds. I've had a few that were no issues at all, but I'm much less trustful myself.

An unfortunate experience, for sure. I'm sorry that you've been experiencing this and hope that you are able to get it sorted out. Best to be professional as you can, though-- best of luck!

I had an informal contract of sorts…just days of the rehearsals and performances and how much we were supposed to be paid a month and a half ago.

Originally Posted by hvert

I don't think it hurts to contact the dept. of labor. They can at least give you free advice and may make a phone call on your behalf.

Now that you say it is a community theatre, I'd be more inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt. A lot of those organizations are volunteer run and things don't always happen as quickly as they ought to. I hope you have your money by now.

I was giving them the benefit of the doubt, but when the members of the group that were more "important" got paid promptly and the rest of us didn't, that's when I call foul. This is just one more instance where I feel like the least important person in the room and I have to try 10x as hard just to be noticed or to be worth something.

I'm also in the middle of a commission. Should I suddenly demand a contract? I hopefully will remember the next time around and I have no reason to think there will be issues with this one.

I don't know, I guess I don't really think to ask nor do I feel like I have the right to ask/demand a contract resulting in an inconvenience for one or both of us. I just feel if I ask something like that, I'll lose what work I have. If that makes sense.