About three years ago, I was at a smallish cocktail party that was being hosted by a friend of a friend. During the course of the small talk over bad hors devours and even worse, a warm Sprite, the conversation turned to professions. Next thing you know I am being drug across the back yard to ‘advise’ the host on what to do with his outdoor living space. I said, sure. Why not? Just give me a few minutes to get my bearings and come back and we’ll talk. He went back to the group inside and that’s when I stripped completely nude.
“Wait, what in fuck’s name are you doing?”
“Well, you’re a doctor. After I advise you on your yard, you’re giving me a physical.”
“I don’t work like that or for free.”
“Neither do I. Other half, let’s go!”
And I was sober. Imagine what would have happened if I was still drinking.
This is why I generally tell people I don’t know very well that I am a civil engineer rather than a landscape architect. There’s something about working in the design fields that gives a lot of near strangers license to ask for all sorts of free shit or “We’ll do a trade.” Fuck all that noise. This man has bills like everyone else. I can’t trade in those Pilates classes to pay my rent. Or more importantly my cable and Internet.
Now don’t get me wrong, I love giving advice and helping my friends. Most of them know when to stop. And there are one or two people who I will work for free for. Why? Because there’s no timetable, no expectations, and they leave me to do my thing without a ton of annoying questions or requests. It’s a very “This is what you get. Love it or leave it.” They generally like it, it goes in my book, and everyone is happy.
But Matty! It’s just a small thing, you say. It’s not that big of a deal, just do this. I’m going to break down exactly why people in the design fields really shouldn’t work for free. Or basically why I need to get paid. Some people may disagree with me, but this is my article and they can write their own or post in the comments.
- I can be sued. I will repeat that, I can be sued. Lets say I draw up a napkin sketch for a friend and they install this rough idea into their yard. The tree that went in is too close to the neighbor’s wall or sewer system and screws it up. Well, when the neighbor sues my friend, 10 times out of 10 I’ve lost that friend and maybe 3 times out of 10, I may be included in that lawsuit. Yeah. There’s a reason why contracts were invented. They protect everyone involved from this sort of thing.
- It gives people a really skewed idea about what things actually cost. Design services aren’t free. Those beautiful drafted plans all have a dollar amount attached to them for a reason. That drafting program I work on costs about 9 grand a computer station. That is factored into that cost. Or if it’s done by hand (seriously, you don’t want my hand drawn work), that takes time, which translates into dollars. Down the road they hire some one else for another project and are suddenly hit with a design invoice that’s way out of line for what they think it will cost. Surprise. Things cost money.
- If it’s for free, this means I’m not going to be anywhere near as careful as I should be. I’m not going to check to make sure the plants I’m specifying work in that area, are invasive, or even if you can get them there. I’m probably not going to be as good about making sure everything is spaced properly. I’m also probably not going to be as through as I should be about where something gets placed. Oh shit that tree I told you to plant really would end up blocking your amazing view. Whoops. It’s not intentional, but when there’s no contract or fee attached you feel looser in your interpretation of what is considered complete. Or I do at any rate.
- Finally one of the main reasons I hate these sorts of requests are because it’s for residential work. I hate residential work. I hate it with an absolute passion. Why? Because people are emotionally invested in their living space. It’s a real fact of life. No one really cares about a mall parking lot. Or the buffer zones on either side of a highway. I love working on those. People love their yards. If I screw that up and screw it up on my time and my dime, they’re really going to hate me and say some horrendous things about me.
So my friends in the design fields, stop working for free. It devalues you and the rest of us.