He may be cheating on me...

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maestro

DJ Extraordinaire
Aug 30, 2006
3,692
1,383
58
British Columbia
www.musicmaestrodj.com
Let me start by saying that I am not really a multi-op but do sub the occasional gig out to one a long time associate. Jon Tuck knows him.. starts with an A... These are mainly corporate gigs at Christmas time and I only do it to keep my long standing clients from going elsewhere.

Anyhow... I have been checking with past corporate clients to see if they require the services of my DJ company for their holiday parties again this year and I get this email from one of them...

Hi Steve!!

Great seeing you again at xxx & xxxxsxx's wedding back in June! Always a great job!

I believe our Lawyer has gone ahead and booked Aaron again for our party. He did a great job last year.

If you need anything else from us please let me know.

Thanks

By the way, it's a law firm we're talking about here. I emailed them back to confirm if he has indeed booked this on his own. If he has, he's gone!

What a crappy way to start off the week.
 
Good, ethical, help is most difficult to find. I'm proud to say that while working for another as a sub-contractee working under his "banner" I kept it ethical; didn't pass out my own business cards or wear my shirt with company logo. On the up-and-up all the way, always!
 
dude he did it to me why not you? I told you about the Womens event I booked via my past contact with New West BIA via the Car Show he snaked the client for their next yr. gig which I found out from my contact. I stopped sending him referrals if you and E man were booked.
 
maestro, sorry to hear about it. The only suggestion I'd have is to make certain you speak to him directly about this. Let him know he's toast and will never be getting another piece of biz from you over that 1 gig. If it were me, I'd also let him that I'm putting the word out on his behavior.
 
Steve how about you have me or your cousin Vinnie handle it. Im making a trip to hang with you first week of November remember? I could go and make a visit him while there. You supply the piano wire.:triwink:
 
Steve,

Make sure the client knows they are not hiring YOUR company.

Dave
 
He may be cheating on me...
when i saw that title i started to think of an other board whare i visit alot that constantly had these young girls that come in and ask if there boyfirend is cheating and want advice from a bunch of strangers because we are a mostly male group so wed know if hes cheedting or not and we all generally tell these dumb girls that they need to grow up and he absolutely is cheating after all why would anyone want to be in a relationship with someone who cant even figure out to end a sentences every once in a while but they just dont get it so i stopped partticipating in those threads but the other members seem to enjoy leading these girls on or at least seeing what they will say when we respond but boy is it a waste of time . . .


I'm sorry. What was the question?

Oh yeah.

What do you want to do? If you want to give him a chance to redeem himself, or to hang himself, ask him about the gig. Tell him you contacted the client and were told that they hired him. See how he responds.

He may back-pedal and offer you a portion of the gig. If so, take it. But whether or not you offer him any more work is still your option.

If he gives any other kind of reply, he's history.


Either way, let your brother know what happened. Not that you want your brother to intervene, but just so he knows that the guy isn't trustworthy.
 
Give him his burn notice and let the man fry.

If you're gonna subcontract for a group, you follow their rules.
 
Steve seriously kick the guy to the curb he always leaches a second meal at the buffett table with his ride along women. He does what A does and by the way the initial is appropriate. He's an A HOLE!!! He's guilty dude face it. I like the confront option mentioned by Dave Miller his answer will be an A answer Im sure like yeah dude I saw one of the people at the shop or at Pricemart they asked for my number. I can so hear him now. Telling you what he wants you to hear. Too many times I mentioned this to you eh?
 
If you did not have a written agreement with him specifying that he could not contact your client for or accept a gig from them during a certain period of time then you have no recourse. What he did was unethical but not illegal. He was never your employee so he can choose to do whatever he pleases. Just make sure like Dave Winsor stated that he is not representing you or your company.
 
We never signed any agreement but I never undermined any while representing Music Maestro as I give respect to those who show it in return. It is an ethical issue which I would have not crossed as did A Hole. Yes folks Im admitting it here and now people who deserve respect get mine 100%.
 
I think part of the problem is that it's only seasonal work and your relationship with him is tentative at best.
If he hears from you only at the peak time of December he probably views it as doing you a favor, rather than an ongoing business relationship he needs to care about. That would make it much easier for him to ignore your interest in this client.

When I had a larger operation I ran a program to try to keep my subs in front of customers and get them booked. To get the kind of loyalty you want you have to be their most reliable source of quality gigs. You can't just leave them siting there like a dog waiting for for you to throw them a bone. People will always recognize the over-flow you can't handle, or worse: left-overs you don't want. That puts them in prime postion to view themselves as rescuers rather than beneficiaries.

The people I sub for typically offer me quality work all year long. There's a constant and steady communication along with a relationship worth retaining on both sides.
 
I think part of the problem is that it's only seasonal work and your relationship with him is tentative at best.
If he hears from you only at the peak time of December he probably views it as doing you a favor, rather than an ongoing business relationship he needs to care about. That would make it much easier for him to ignore your interest in this client.

When I had a larger operation I ran a program to try to keep my subs in front of customers and get them booked. To get the kind of loyalty you want you have to be their most reliable source of quality gigs. You can't just leave them siting there like a dog waiting for for you to throw them a bone. People will always recognize the over-flow you can't handle, or worse: left-overs you don't want. That puts them in prime postion to view themselves as rescuers rather than beneficiaries.

The people I sub for typically offer me quality work all year long. There's a constant and steady communication along with a relationship worth retaining on both sides.

Why are you intent on trying to pin the blame on maestro? Yes, I understand what you're saying, and it may even hold some merit. I also understand that unless he had a non-compete signed, there's nothing enforceable. That still does nothing to change the core issue; this chap has no ethics. If it's clearly understood, even verbally, that he's representing maestro's outfit and passing out maestro's cards then it's clear......don't book this client directly.

The scumbag has it coming to him and I hope he loses his car lot job in addition to the DJ work. I tell my guys "Don't ever F$%k me. It'll only happen once and I will never, ever forget it."
 
We never signed any agreement but I never undermined any while representing Music Maestro as I give respect to those who show it in return. It is an ethical issue which I would have not crossed as did A Hole. Yes folks Im admitting it here and now people who deserve respect get mine 100%.

Frankly, I wish you guys would out this guy. You might save some other forum member the trouble of hiring him.
 
Just to be clear, there is no legal merit to a non-compete contract. They are complete garbage and completely non-enforceable. Now, I agree that this guy has little to no ethics, but he has not broken any laws. If anything, the multi-op owner may have broken the law by skirting tax payments to the IRS. If they are not your employee, then you cannot control how the work is accomplished and you certainly can't ask them to represent themselves as your employee by passing out your business cards and/or hanging your banner at the gig.

Read this from the IRS website.

http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=99921,00.html
 
Just to be clear, there is no legal merit to a non-compete contract. They are complete garbage and completely non-enforceable. Now, I agree that this guy has little to no ethics, but he has not broken any laws. If anything, the multi-op owner may have broken the law by skirting tax payments to the IRS. If they are not your employee, then you cannot control how the work is accomplished and you certainly can't ask them to represent themselves as your employee by passing out your business cards and/or hanging your banner at the gig.

Read this from the IRS website.

http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=99921,00.html

Wes, I'd have to disagree with you on the merits of a non-compete. While it's (perhaps) true that if the contractor carries it out he may get a judge to let him keep the client, it comes at a very great cost to defend. The guy that holds the non-compete pays relatively little to file suit with the burden of proof on the defendant. Ultimately, the defendant is going to either pay a hefty sum or he's going to give up the clients he stole. Effectively, the non-compete most often stands without it actually going to court.
 
Sorry Rick, but it would only cost me my time. I wouldn't even bother to hire a lawyer. Tennessee is a right to work state. Case closed. It would cost the plaintiff to file charges and his lawyer's fees if he so chose to hire one.