Time is Money
Last winter, I was in a bit of a hurry. Already, that sentence has introduced a recipe for catastrophe; but don’t worry, things are not as bad as they seem. I was in a bit of a hurry to clear the snow off my van and in my haste, while I was shoveling the snow around the vehicle, I pushed the snow off the hood of my van with the snow shovel.
Bad move.
The once beautiful (for a minivan!) dark, blue finish is now marred with two small but noticeable scratches. I know they are there, but they aren’t large enough for passers by to wonder who in their right mind would be seen in such a dilapidated vehicle!
I have considered buffing out, or polishing out, the marks. I have been informed that the scratches are too deep for that and really need to be repainted.
Repainted. Body work. Body shop. Drive there, drop it off, come back later. Time. Money.
So now I have to consider what this little mishap is worth to me. $1000? $500? $250? Keep going. Lower. MUCH lower! I have come to the conclusion that only under the circumstances that bring about the ‘nothing better to do with my money’ scenario would I ever drop cash on such a minor blemish.
The scratch stays and the price of the scratch staying is one I can afford.
When changes to a design need to be made, many times it is to prevent spoiling a ship for a half penny’s worth of tar. That one blemish can truly discredit the owner and undermine the entire message. The 800lb gorilla, to use another analogy.
Other times, that changes can be negligible. A space, a singular pixel-wide margin, a slight rewording or a miniscule alignment. I’m not one to turn away work, but when these changes are requested, as the client, you need to consider – is this change worth the money this will cost me?
Only you – the client – can really decide that. But bear in mind that the slight rewording might only make a difference to you. If nobody else notices, the $35 that change cost might have been better invested elsewhere. Lunch for two, a tank of gasoline or your cable bill.
