When I was working third shift at Days Inn of Grand Haven in the summer of 2007 one night the local taxi owner of Blue Dog Taxi & Limo (Bill Tombs) came in and we started talking about his new company, which was just starting out in town. He mentioned how he had always wanted to write a childrens book about a police dog who taught kids to do the right things. After he left I started doodling this dog character on a piece of paper. Inspired by what I was drawing I went home, fired up Illustrator, and started doodling him in there.
It took me about two weeks until I was finally satisfied with what I had before I showed it to the taxi owner. He was delighted and when he saw the dog he said, "You know, I could actually use this as the logo for my cab company!" He asked me how much and I told him $2,100. He was shocked by this amount and offered to give me free taxi rides instead. I told him I preferred the money. He said he would get it to me in payments. I then gave him the design on CD so he could take it to the local printing house and have decals made for his vehicles.
I have never received a single cent for this design and when I later asked Bill when he was going to pay me he replied, "Oh, I thought you did this for me as a favor?"
On the internet one night I found a merchant service page for Blue Dog Taxi where people could leave reviews about the company so I decided to write something: "I designed the Blue Dog logo for this company and never got paid for it. That should tell you something."
Later, in response, Bill wrote this: "This dude designed a Blue Dog that was a FOX and not a dog at all. He was fired from other jobs in the Grand Haven area. Full name is Doug Cloud. Check references before EVER doing any graphics business with him. Total Ametuer. My grandkids can draw better."
It should also be noted that Bill is a former Grand Haven City police offer. In regards to honesty and trustworthiness Bill recieves a lot of negative reviews about his business. I was also informed by several people who know him that I should be careful, because he is known to be underhanded and two-faced.
Lying, slander, and dishonesty are pretty bad behaviors for someone who was once a policeman. Considering all of this it isn't too surprising then that I was not paid for my work.