Eboy87
Well-Known Member
Hopefully this will be a good, beneficial topic for some of the younger guys (and girls) on here who think they might want to do this for a living.
I've been picking up work with a certain company around here loading out some rather high profile shows around Chicago. It's mostly manual labor, but it does help teach the ins and outs of venues around the city (Art Institute, Union Station, Carson Pririe Scott, etc), and is a great learning experience for professional, corporate environments.
Before I get to my main point, I'd like to give a little story. I started working with these people around the beginning of March. When I first showed up, I didn't want to be like "That guy" and have my first question be, "What do I have to do to collect a paycheck?" I didn't want their first impression of me to be another person who's just doing this for the money. I (wrongly) assumed that since they had my address, they'd simply mail me my check. Well, it's just going on two month, and still no paycheck.
I called the guy who contacted me about when I was to work and where, but I'd only get his voice mail, and would leave messages about what I need to do or who I needed to speak to to get my paycheck. Unfortunately, I never got a call back from him, and that was my only contact number.
So I was in the shop again this past weekend for a show, and finally asked who I needed to talk to. Eveyrone seemed genuinely surprised no one had told me about what I had to do for payment. I was given the contact info of the lady at the main office I needed to talk to, and was assured by the crew guys (who are all great guys) that I should call her, and my check would be ready that afternoon. I called, and was pretty much reamed out for fifteen minutes about how it was not ok to call two months after a gig and ask that I be paid. I was pretty much told that they were "under no obligation to pay me if I didn't care enough to call sooner." Mind you, I had been calling my contact at the company, but only could leave messages.
Still, they're supposed to send me a time sheet and W-9 form at some time in the future (again, they are "under no obligation to do this" ).
My point is that you need to ask about these things before taking on a gig. Sound like "that guy" if you have to, but these issues will not resolve themselves. At this point, it's looking like I'm probably not going to see a paycheck for all the work I've done for these people, since I also need to show them my social security card (which is back in St. Louis), and once summer hits, I'm not gonna be back until September. I'm also planning to not work with this company any more if no one is willing to help me out with this.
In summery, apologies for the rant, but I wanted to caution everyone that this is something you need to be aware of when taking on work with a company. If anyone has anything else to contribute, please do, as I'm also always learning, and as the running joke between my friends and I goes, "The more you know!!"
I've been picking up work with a certain company around here loading out some rather high profile shows around Chicago. It's mostly manual labor, but it does help teach the ins and outs of venues around the city (Art Institute, Union Station, Carson Pririe Scott, etc), and is a great learning experience for professional, corporate environments.
Before I get to my main point, I'd like to give a little story. I started working with these people around the beginning of March. When I first showed up, I didn't want to be like "That guy" and have my first question be, "What do I have to do to collect a paycheck?" I didn't want their first impression of me to be another person who's just doing this for the money. I (wrongly) assumed that since they had my address, they'd simply mail me my check. Well, it's just going on two month, and still no paycheck.
I called the guy who contacted me about when I was to work and where, but I'd only get his voice mail, and would leave messages about what I need to do or who I needed to speak to to get my paycheck. Unfortunately, I never got a call back from him, and that was my only contact number.
So I was in the shop again this past weekend for a show, and finally asked who I needed to talk to. Eveyrone seemed genuinely surprised no one had told me about what I had to do for payment. I was given the contact info of the lady at the main office I needed to talk to, and was assured by the crew guys (who are all great guys) that I should call her, and my check would be ready that afternoon. I called, and was pretty much reamed out for fifteen minutes about how it was not ok to call two months after a gig and ask that I be paid. I was pretty much told that they were "under no obligation to pay me if I didn't care enough to call sooner." Mind you, I had been calling my contact at the company, but only could leave messages.
Still, they're supposed to send me a time sheet and W-9 form at some time in the future (again, they are "under no obligation to do this" ).
My point is that you need to ask about these things before taking on a gig. Sound like "that guy" if you have to, but these issues will not resolve themselves. At this point, it's looking like I'm probably not going to see a paycheck for all the work I've done for these people, since I also need to show them my social security card (which is back in St. Louis), and once summer hits, I'm not gonna be back until September. I'm also planning to not work with this company any more if no one is willing to help me out with this.
In summery, apologies for the rant, but I wanted to caution everyone that this is something you need to be aware of when taking on work with a company. If anyone has anything else to contribute, please do, as I'm also always learning, and as the running joke between my friends and I goes, "The more you know!!"