READ! BEFORE IT COSTS YOU VOICES.COM JOB!

Hey All,

I usually only blog when something goes right or wrong and last night something went wrong! Cost me a job, wrong. The thing is, after looking at the situation, I made two key critical errors that I will now NEVER make the mistake of again!

Okay, so I got a job yesterday, agreement was at about 12pm EST on 9-3-2014.

The message said this:
This should be smooth, natural, and fun. I need to sound natural so if you feel yourself adding a word or not saying a word to make it flow better, that is fine. Mp3 format.

The job itself said this:

Need voice actors for *********. The target audience will be young adults. This will potentially be broadcast nationally though our online marketing campaign. 150 words is the total read for the three males we are looking to hire. Deadline is August 31, 2014.
Sep 3, 2014 @ 11:07

Reminder this is 9-3-2014. 3 days after that deadline. So, I figure I have 24 hours to get it done, because I specify in my audition that I can get things done between 24-48 hours of the agreement and usually within 24 hours. I agree to the job.

A few hours later, I get a message of this:

Hello, the agreement for this service was for today September 03, 2014. I'm not sure what happened here.
Sep 3, 2014 @ 21:44

This is a pickle. It kind of sounds like he's blaming himself. Maybe the files won't upload or something. Notice the time difference. It's about 10 hours later. I haven't gotten started, honestly, I figured I had a day.
I get home late, so I send this.

I'll have a few shots to you within an hour. I can get jobs done within 24-48 hours of the agreement. Not a problem.

Keep an eye out for the files,
Justin

Sep 3, 2014 @ 23:25

I check out the voices.com files folder. I see a file that says "Download Erik Revised Script" below that an hour earlier was "Script". As a vo actor, anything that says Revised or was uploaded later is the script you should use. I record em up. I record 4 takes and pop them up. Unfortunately, I get them in at around September 4th at 0:45am. FIRST MISTAKE and ultimately a SECOND MISTAKE. Can you figure out what I did wrong? 

Okay, next morning, I get a message from the client. 

Thanks for your work, but the deadline was not met and the wrong scripts were recorded. I will have to request a refund and to cancel the project. Your file will not be used. Thank you for your time.

I call voices. Here's what I did wrong.

1. There are DATES on the agreement that you agree to. Mine said September 3rd. Had I gotten the files to him under the September 3rd deadline (40 minutes Earlier), I would have been in the right.

2. The file that said Erik Revised was not for me. It was mistakenly put there by THE CLIENT. By doing that script as opposed to the script in the AGREEMENT page, I am in the wrong. 

Personally, I have agreements where the date on the agreement is TOTALLY not the deadline. I have two jobs that have deadlines that have passed that I'm working on and both me and the client know what the situation is. There is also agreements where it may say ten days from now, but the client wants it tomorrow. 

As for the revised script, I have ALWAYS done the newer script. Script changes happen all the time and why would someone upload a newer script they didn't want to get recorded. Also, why would someone upload someone else's script to me. 

Now comes to the TIPS to protect you from this crappy situation:

1) Look at the Agreement date. Take it as GOLD unless otherwise SPECIFIED IN MESSAGES!!! That is your due date until specified otherwise. You are going by VOICE.COM server time which is Central time. That is your due date. Midnight Central time. If I had done it before that time, I would be in the right.

***********in the event you have a one day deadline, ask for specific times they need it by, by doing it by midnight, you may be pissing off a client. But, if they don't specify a time it's technically their bad, you're well within your right to get it done by midnight****************

2) Revised Scripts are only revisions if you compare it to the Agreement script and they are the same script. Always compare the two. If they are different scripts, ask if you should record both and you may be within your right of asking for more payment. The most recent upload may not be a revised script. Look at the scripts carefully. 

I hate to say this, but this is a once in a lifetime dumb client I was dealing with here. To not even specify RUSH, to not even specify a TIME, and to top it all off upload a script to the WRONG talent. Also, I hate to say this, but I made some DUMB mistakes. To not look at the agreement and not compare the scripts. Also, to think that since the client didn't specify RUSH or a date in job posting or messages that it wasn't rush. 

In conclusion, take the time to take note of the agreements. Get it down in writing through email and messages. Clarity helps. I could have had this done in one hour within an hour of the agreement but I didn't do it. Next time..... there will be no next time.