By Mike Wahmann

So in a past post about booking guests, I wrote about time being the most precious commodity there is in this world.  It truly is…I will stand by this until the day that I die.  I am a father, I am a husband, I am a son, I am a brother, I’m an employee, I am a band-mate and I am a podcaster.  That’s a lot of hats and that’s only an overview!  Because within each of those hats that I wear, there are a number of very important hats/responsibilities you need to fulfill.  All of those take time to accomplish, you need to invest time wisely and make sure you’re putting enough in and you’re not missing things.  There’s a lot that goes into being any one of those things, let alone all of them.  So I’m always seeking a way to “maximize my minutes” in this life. 

Now, I’m not saying this to you to get sympathy.  I choose to be those things and I love being those things.  I wouldn’t change any of it!  But everything takes work and time to maintain.  So, when a potential guest or PR Agent pitching a guest comes to us…We don’t take that lightly.  They’re investing their time into reaching out to us, they’re reaching out to invest more of their or their client’s time into the show and that’s so awesome that anyone would give enough of a shit about us to do that.  That being said, maybe it’s to a fault. 

While I see things that way and value time in such a manner, some people just don’t.  Some people see Jimmy and I as a couple of knuckleheads who just have a fun little podcast that’s named after bacon and for shits and giggles.  While yes, we have a lot of fun on this podcast, I assure you that we take it quite seriously.  The time invested in the actual recording of the show pales in comparison to everything else doing this show entails… Booking the guests, researching them leading up to an episode recording, keeping up with the social medias, post production of all the episodes, additional patreon content, maintaining relationships with PR agents, guests, advertising sponsors and much more.  Lots of time consuming tasks. 

Again, I cannot stress this enough…We’re not looking for your sympathy or to complain about any of this work.  We do it all because we love it and that’s what it takes to put out a quality product.  We take great pride in the work we do and that will never change.  But on the other end of things, there are the people we book.  Now, full disclosure…We have been extremely lucky.  We very VERY rarely get a dud interview and we very rarely get people who no-show or cancel last minute.  But as you can imagine, when it does happen…I am going to say something about it.  This wound is fresh, we’ve got a blog now…So here we go!  I’m going to vent. 

To the people who “think who they are.”  My time, Jim’s time is not worth any less or any more than yours.  When you agree to do our show, you’ve given your word, your bond that you will be there at a specified time that you’ve agreed to for 90-120 minutes.  You value this show enough as a press platform enough to come on and try and reach a new audience to shill the new “thing” you’re putting out into the world.  If there’s a scheduling conflict, I can absolutely understand.  You tell us a few weeks, hell even a few days out.  We’ll be able to pivot.    I know that things happen, I do.  But unless there are extenuating circumstances, if you agreed to do this show, there’s no reason why you should be no-showing or backing out a couple hours prior?   

The time has been spent on the research already.  Why does it seem like we know what we’re talking about in our interviews for the most part?  It’s because we care about learning about the guests.  We also care about NOT asking the same questions a guest will face out there in the press on a regular basis.  It’s what this show is all about!  So you’ve wasted our time there…Valuable time we could be spending with our families, doing something else creative, being productive to the world, to our causes.  You have now made it clear that you don’t value our time that we spent educating ourselves on their craft, art and story.  We could have researched someone who ACTUALLY wanted to be on the show…Invested that time in a guest who wanted to actually be there! 

Unfortunately due to the mere lack of time Jimmy and I have in general and our weekly release format we have a limited amount of spots and times that we can book guests.  We’re certainly not the biggest and best podcast out there.  But you know what?  There are people who take this media outlet seriously. We’re fortunate enough to now be in a position that we are turning down guest submissions.  People who REALLY want to be on the show.  We now have a recording time blocked out that is now unusable because we cannot book a new guest in a few hours notice. 

So now that you’ve effectively taken someone else’s spot, paying no mind to what that opportunity could be to them.  You’ve taken time away from us for investing it in learning about you…What other damage could you have done?  Well, those guests that we turn down…Do you think they like being turned down?  Do you think that helps create a fruitful relationship?  It doesn’t.  Rejection, regardless of how nice you are or what other options you put out there to make good on it is still, at the end of the day…Rejection.  It sucks and even the most understanding of people doesn’t like getting turned down.  So now, you’ve tarnished a potential working relationship.  Something we work VERY VERY hard for. 

Now, the past few paragraphs certainly seem like sour grapes.  And maybe it is…But I don’t take the loss of my time and my energy lightly.  Time you take from my family especially.  “Just because you don’t want to” doesn’t make up for precious moments I could spend with my children, my wife, my family, my friends…Who do you think you are?  We’ve had some big guests on.  You’re basically telling me that your time isn’t worth spending on this show…Your time is worth more than Eric Bischoff’s?  Your time is worth more than any of the members of Silverstein that we’ve had on?  What makes your time more important than Nick Aldis or Throw the Fight?  Established and respected professionals in their respective fields!  I’ll wait… 

I guess that’s show biz, I guess that’s rock and roll, I guess that’s life.  I know that things happen, but agreeing to do something then backing out at the last minute because it’s “not worth your time” or “you just don’t want to” isn’t good enough.  Tell us up front.  I have no desire to get to know you or your work better if you don’t have the time for me, and I’m totally fine with that.  Honesty is paramount, so don’t book with us, cancel weeks or days in advance so we can put someone else in the spot.  The last minute, rockstar bullshit (barring extenuating circumstances) is completely not pro and completely unacceptable.  You’re not better than anyone and you need to get the fuck over yourself.