So, I'd like some advice from you lovely ladies.
I sew/do crafts on the side and recently had a request from a friend/aquaintance (we used to hang out in a group together and I've known for 7.5+ yrs). I've had problems with friends in the past (expecting free labor, not paying on time, etc.) so this is actually the first friend commission I've done in a LONG time. It backfired on me, but now the issue at hand is my fault, no theirs.
I was given two related projects and I cut them a deal on what I thought was a fair price (less than I probably would have charged - they didn't ask for the discount but I felt inclined) and they wanted the first project done by mid-May (which I delivered on time and discussed project two) and the second one done more recently. As you know we've had a lot of stuff happen in our family this month (not all of which I've shared on-line) - two deaths, our vacation, both FSKs each had a serious behavioral issue within a few days of one another and Anya was sick for about a week. Well, I was supposed to finish & deliver project 2 the weekend that Anya got REALLY sick. I was planning on finishing after work before I headed down - no big deal - and then I ended up being hours late for work because I had to clean up dog diahrrea/vomit and spent the weekend cleaning up after her + organizing our house. I didn't want to hurry them along and send them down half-finished with FI, so I e-mailed the person I'd been in contact with, apologized, said we had a series of family emergencies and I wasn't going to make it and that I would only charge them cost of materials for the inconvenience.
Yes I could have gotten done with them sooner and it wouldn't have been an issue, but I waited until the fabric was on sale & I had coupons so I could get them a better deal and then we were working crazy amounts of OT at work until last week. Either way, I dropped the ball, waited to do the finishing touches until the week before and it bit me in the butt. I felt that my offer was more than acceptable but I'm sort of in limbo.
Through the grapevine, I hear that they've already contact another seamstress we know about making the same thing for them in the hours between when I sent my apology + offer and that night when I was supposed to deliver them.
Business is business and I get that, but I can't help but feel hurt by this situation. I F'd up, I apologized, and I offered a solution. Haven't heard anything back and that was a week ago. Any tips for not taking this personally? So far I'm failing at it.
Formerly known as flutterbride2b