Never Apologize for Your Freelance Rates
Treat your rates like a corporate policy
Disney employee training is legendary in human resources and corporate training circles. Of course, Disney doesn’t refer to the people it hires as employees. Everyone is a cast member, from the janitor to the CEO.
My wife has worked for Disney in their Disney Stores as both a manager and a regular cast member for years. Among the first things cast members are taught is to always point using two fingers or the whole hand, that Disney is a first name company, and to never apologize for corporate policies.
Why Disney Cast Members Don’t Apologize for Corporate Policy
Why shouldn’t employees apologize? People apologize all the time for things that aren’t really their fault. Isn’t that just being polite?
Disney wants its cast members to be magical and unfailingly polite. But, it also understands the psychology of apology.
When you say you are sorry for something, it communicates to the other person that you have wronged them. If the situation is not then resolved to their satisfaction, they are more likely to get angry and feel personally offended.
For example, if a guest (Disney has guests, not customers) tries to buy something they think is on…
