1) Never show up early if you are a musician.
(Especially if you are a drummer. When musicians shop up early, it severely disrupts my time/space continuum). Joking aside, I'm actually serious about this rule. If you show up really early, there might not be anyone to let you in.
2) Call if you are going to be late. Call even if you're not going to be late. I'll always show the same courtesy and call if I'm running severely behind.
3) There is no smoking downstairs. You may smoke upstairs if you open the window.
4) A 50% deposit will guarantee your requested time slot. A deposit is not required, however, your slot will not be guaranteed without it. If someone else wants the same time slot and offers a deposit, it will go to them. Without a deposit, I also reserve the right to cancel a session at any time for any reason and without notification. The amount of the deposit is 1/2 of the total cost of the session. Example: For an 8 hour session, the total cost is $160, then the deposit amount is $80. The deposit is applied towards the cost of your session, obviously, but will not be refunded if the session is cancelled at the last minute.
5) There is a cancellation fee if I am not notified at least one full week before the session. The cancellation fee will be equal to the amount of the deposit.
A very simple way to avoid any problems is to not book your session unless you are 100% certain that you can make it as scheduled. Unfortunately, there are no exceptions.
5) There is a "pay-as-you-go" policy. It's pretty simple: Before you leave, be sure to pay for that day's session. It prevents any confusion as to how much you owe, and it saves me on the extra accounting , trying to keep track of IOU's and who owes what.
A very simple way to avoid any problems with this is to not book your session unless you have the money to pay for it.
I cannot realease final mixes without full payment for the session and mixing time. (I do have one exception to this rule, however: For new customers, should you wish to evaluate your mixes in advance, I will release short samples of your work. Maybe 10-30 seconds worth of each song, just to make sure you are happy with the sound quality. This applies to new customers only, and it must be arrnaged for in advance).
I hope you can understand that these rules have to apply to everyone. Absolutely, positively everyone with absolutely NO exceptions whatsoever. Okay, if you are my Mom or Dad, I might make an exception. Maybe.
I've just found that if I apply these rules in every instance, then I will be successful and you will be successful. We all need rules in our lives.
If you have any problems with any of these rules for any reason . . . please let me know in advance.