Lazy clients

4 a.m.
My cell phone ringed like the world was about to end.
mshrpp, bvv, rrrbbb, Shit ! _I say.
I picked up the phone, saw what time was it and answered it.
_Hello?
_At Last ! _said a voice on the other end of the phone_ I thought that you were never going to answer that fucking phone ! ( a lot of words that I failed to understand). Fuck !
_Ok...The connection is very bad, Speak slower.
A ton of giberish on the phone.
_I don't understand. I'm going to hang up and call you back.
Dooon't you fucking han..._   click.
I got up, and cheked the phone to see the number that was calling me. One of my few clients in the US.
I usually don't give my cell phone number to any client, but  considering what he was paying me I made an exception.
Briiiing !
The cell phone ranged again.
I answered.
_Hello (insert whatever name you want here).
_Don't you ever fucking_
Click. I wasn't in the mood to hear him shouting.
Called him
_Hello (name).
_Did you just hang up on me ?_he asked in a puzzled voice.
_I will do it again if you don't stop shouting. Is that clear?
He spat the word like he was choking on it_ Yes.
_Yes what ?
_ I will stop shouting.
I coul feel him trembling with rage, fuming from the other side of the world.
_Ok. Now explain me s-l-o-w-l-y what is the problem.
_The fucking rings aren't working !!!
I had two identical gold rings made for him, and they had been seriously consecrated and blessed. In his line of work he needed some serious protection, so the idea was to use one of the rings one week, then use the other and let the ring that he took of to rest in water with salt the next week. That way every week one of the rings would be clean, rested and eager to protect him.
_Have you been cleaning the rings like I told you to ?
_YES.
I picked up my pendulum. The answer was NO.
For how long ? Two weeks? No.
Three weeks? No.
Four weeks? No.
Five weeks? No...
More than five weeks but less than six ? Yes.
_Fucking say something. I want my money back.
_Sure, I'll give you your money back, but first you'll have to clean the rings, and you haven't done it in more than 5 weeks.
_I DID.
_(name), you are talking to me. You can lie you ass out but you can't lie to me.
Click. He hanged up.

I wen't to the kitchen to make myself a cup of coffee, decided to drink it iced, and consulted the pendulum again.
Is any of the rings still able to offer him some degree of protection, however small ? yes.
His he using it ? no.
The phone rang.

_Hello (name).
_I am sorry.
_You should be.
Silence.
_I'm all fucked up...
_Take the ring that you're wearing and put it in salt and water for one day. Use the other. After a day, put the other ring to rest and clean in salt and water for two days. Use again the one you're wearing. Keep increasing the rest and clean up period of the rings for a day until both get one week of rest.
Silence.
_Ok.

_It is 04 30 a.m. You'll have to pay my emergency fee. Transfer 80 dollars to my account first thing in the morning.
Silence.
_Ok.


_Oh (name), one more thing.
_Shoot_  he said.
_If you ever dare to call me again at 4 a.m. without a very good reason, you won't like it. Instead of crapping blood, you'll be crapping something else.
_How do you know i'm crapping blo_
Click. I hanged up and went to bed.
Perhaps I could still sleep for an hour.

Professionalism, Reputation, Organization and Magic

When most people start dreaming about becoming professionals of magic (witches, witch doctors, sorcerers, you name it...) they only look at the advantages.
No boss, their one schedule, their one prices, it seems that the world is smiling at them.
Unfortunately for those people that image is completely, totally and absolutely false.
No boss, unless you're hired by another sorcerer/magician to handle some of it's work load. And please beware, if that is the case he/she will be checking on you  in ways that no other boss can.
Their one schedule, true, but one has to bend to the schedule of the clients. The professional-to-be has to be  prepared to work on weekends, and at late hours. And that is just to receive the clients. The life of a professional sorcerer has the oddest schedules possible, doing workings at times that others are sound asleep, or resting.
Their one prices... right...   It is necessary to check the prices of other magical providers, if they are well known and if they can deliver what they promise. If they do, and their prices are below those of the future professional, he/she should think again.

I can hear the roar of indignation and the heat of the flames of rage that this may have caused.
A lot of idiots may think that I want to discourage people from becoming professionals. Nothing could be further away from the truth.
Let's continue.

A Bad/Good thing that can happen to the new professional, specially if he/she is any good is to get a lot of clients fast. Why is this a Bad/Good thing, and not just a Good thing?
Because there is the tendency to focus on those cases that are more difficult or more lucrative, delaying to work on the others, and in some cases even forgetting it.
A simple case can become a royal screw up, harming your reputation and the client, and making you loose other clients and respect.
Don't laugh/sneer. IT HAPPENS.
However there is a way to avoid it, requiring only average organizational skills. Make a file for every client, and record who they are, their problem, and what have you done to solve it. Write EVERYTHING. Other things, like expenses and invoices for supplies (candles, oils, powders, other stuff that may be required), should be attached to it. Twice a week go through your files and and check if you are forgetting someone.

In the end, once the problem is solved, give your file or a copy of it to the client. He/she/they will like it and probably show it to the people that he/she/they may advise to consult you

Clients

There are two types of client.

The one that expects us to fail, and the one that expects a miracle, and sometimes they are embodied on the same person or group.

Looking back at the example I gave yesterday, that client expected a miracle. With help from Ganesha that problem was solved, BUT, it was just a symptom of much bigger problems, going for much longer. Chances are that he will loose his livelihood. He should have attacked that problem when it was still an annoyance before it grew like a cancer poisoning his life.

Now ? Now that he is absolutely desperate he decided to ask for help. And with magic I can and will help him, but life won't be as it was. It  can be be better, but he will have to change. Change his job, his relationship, start a lot of things from scratch.

Obviously he is scared shitless. But that can't be avoided. It would take a fornicating miracle to turn his life like it was 7 years ago, and I am a sorcerer, not a miracle worker