You don't f*** with...

...people's pay.

How- and why- people think that the matter of paying another person for services rendered isn't the most important order of business boggles my mind. Want to let someone know in a New York minute exactly how little you value and respect them? Don't pay them when you said you would, or try and weasel out of paying them the full amount.

I've learned the hard way that nobody will make sure I'm paid unless I do it myself, and so I've had to draw up contracts and invoices, screenshot and blur documents, and send "friendly" reminder emails. I don't like doing it; I'd actually prefer to avoid that altogether and just go with a smile and a handshake, but the world doesn't work that way.

Recently, I had an experience with a former employer, NS, who dicked around on paying me and trying to underpay me the number of hours I worked. Letting almost a month go by and not responding until I sent three emails within three days, the reason I got back was, and I quote, "Very strange, I did not get your other emails (since Friday) but I did get this one." Draw the conclusion you like, but there was never any "trouble" with email issues until paying me came up. Any time I had an assignment, NS was on top with emailing me to check in and ask questions.

Making matters worse was NS both playing a lousy card (the details of which aren't important), and using this card to delay paying me by another day, citing the need to have an assistant help her out. There were no apologies for the lateness of it, just an insistence that it couldn't happen until a day later. And even when I wrote "I am disappointed- quite disappointed- to hear of the delay, especially since I've already been kept waiting a month and I've delivered all the documents on my end on time", still no apology. Want to know what NS wrote? "Got it! We will do the payment Friday."

That's it.

You know, I can understand that there are circumstances beyond someone's control when it comes to paying me, or that the person even forgot. It happens. I may not be very happy about it, but if you just tell what's going on and keep me in the loop, I'll be a lot less unhappy than if you tried to play me for a fool. Just level with me and say, "Hey, I know that you're owed X dollars but there was a mess up with accounting. We're working on it right now, but all I can give you is 50% right now, and the rest tomorrow evening when Bob comes in to fix the glitch."

And you know what sound the best and make me want to give you 110% on everything? If there was a problem and you took care of it out of your own pocket. That shows me that you're serious about maintaining a good relationship, and understand how much more important a paycheque is to my paying the rent, putting food on the table, and getting my bills paid on time than it is to keep things going smoothly on your end.

Whether you like it or not, all the cheesy adages apply: money talks, cash is king, blah blah blah. Pay someone on time regularly, and you're telling them you value and respect them as a person.

But start bringing in the excuses and not being straight up and honest about things, and you're creating the fastest way to a bad reputation as someone who doesn't give two shits about anyone else. It's easy to take care of yourself, but harder- and more mature- to make sure another is tended to, as well.