Brown Cow Saddle Co. GETS A GOLD STAR!!!

It only took a week, but today I opened my mailbox and lo and behold!  A check, my friends, for $500, was sitting in my mailbox.  And it was from none other than the company that I started this blog for One Week Ago.

Having spent the earlier part of the morning collecting another check from another client, (which was quickly eaten up in $100 in payments to PNM and another payment to my credit card company) I was, at that moment, broke yet elated.  I had just proven once again that the power of the Internet to level the playing field in the world of reputation, at least, was actually a bankable proposition.

Quickly, I ran to cash the check.  It cleared at the bank, and I immediately took $100 of it to cover my overdrawn checking account.  Ba-Bing!  Solvency happened.  I pulled a $50 off the top and handed it to my girlfriend to cover my half of this month's bills.  Ba-Bing!  No longer in the doghouse at home.  Whoo-pee!

And then I did something I've been meaning to do for months - I pulled the summons I bought from Magistrate Court against my evil landlords who tried to screw me over the summer and trucked on down to the county jail and paid the $25 for the process server who will present it to them.  Ba-Bing!  No longer a victim, but a vindicated member of the Torts Society and Internet Reputation Avengers, I proudly bought my girlfriend an expensive dinner at Chow's and basked in the glory of the power of fighting back.

You can do it too.  The offer still stands.  Been ripped off lately?  Tell me all about it.  I will gladly help you fight for your right to get paid and not get screwed too.

Stiffed in Santa Fe: The Brown Cow Saddle Blanket Co.

Name of company: The Brown Cow Saddle Blanket Co.

Nature of project: I was asked to write a company bio about this company and its proprietor, Tina Bergh. Tina makes beautiful blankets, tapestries, weavings and other fabric-art projects at her gorgeous studio in Arroyo Hondo. There, at least a half a million dollars worth of looms (all eleven of them, including a state of the art Jocquard) make up her successful one-woman enterprise. She also has an outlet store inside the Tropic of Capricorn on Old Las Vegas Highway. She also stiffed me on the fabulous bio I wrote for her which she praised to the skies - but she didn't pay me.

I didn't get a contract signed. Silly me. I did the deal on a handshake because she was referred by someone I trusted. Silly me, trusting anyone at any time over anything regarding money. Since September 21st, I have watched my mailbox with a mix of anticipation and dread. She hasn't paid. I've invoiced twice. She hasn't paid me. I called the friend who referred her - he called her and was told "she's in Paris" and it was uncertain when she would return. A monumental excuse to avoid paying a bill. I ate my indignation for two weeks and then popped a gasket. I created a blog in her honor. I wrote a new contract dedicated to her sloth in paying a bill. As a result, I will never forget her.

Amount Stiffed: $500. (A small amount to pay to avoid ending up on someone's blog as a deadbeat, don'tcha think?)

Stiffed in Santa Fe: Mission Statement

November 19, 2007

Is it just my imagination or do people in this town think it's just OKAY not to pay people?

We've all had at least one story where someone tried (and probably succeeded) in stiffing us out of dough we were owed. This is probably particularly the case if you're a freelancer. I am a freelance writer and I've decided I'm going to get screwed without a fight for the very last time. I'm going to do a couple of things.

First, I'm writing a new contract for myself. I've decided I'm going to WORK ON MY OWN TERMS or I'm going to sit at home with my thumb in my bum watching videos. Hey - it beats the piss out of working hard and then being furious when you don't get paid. No more work on a handshake. No more trusting ANYONE. (Sorry old clients - you'll get one of these too, but if you want me, you'll sign it and if you won't, you can hire some other schmuck who wants to get screwed. It ain't me, babe - no more.) It will be draconian. It will be the work of a regular white man who's never stared into the abyss and seen the infinity of interconnection. It will have retainers and no net. That's right. No net. You want my work? I won't float you, big company or individual proprietor. When was the last time Trader Joe's floated me on a loaf of bread? Answer: NEVER. So why should I float someone who wants what I have to offer?

Second, I'm starting this blog. Here, I will name names. I will talk about the companies and the individuals that have screwed me in the past, and I will also talk about the ones that try to screw me in the future. I am also inviting others - go ahead, take a chance, name that no-good client who screwed you out of dough when you worked so freakin' hard on that project - to submit their experiences and to name names. It has to happen. We have to inform each other of who's stiffing who, so maybe we'll also get less stiffed in the future.

- gregoryp(tm)
Gregory Pleshaw

ps: Future employers - scared to hire such a hothead? Fine. I don't need you. My work is solid and I'm a righteous guy. Until I don't get paid. When I get paid, I am happy. But if you want to sucker me, then go find someone else to write your stuff. I'd rather stay at home and work on my own damn projects.

As those who follow me know, this isn't the first time I've written about people who don't pay. I believe that the last time I helped Take Down a Company Completely. Yes, Virginia, Gary Farmer Gallery is closed now. If you'd prefer not to see yourself or your company profiled in this blog, DO NOT STIFF PEOPLE. It makes it just that much harder for anyone to be in love with the world.

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