It was the rude e-mail from "HRH Robyne Robinson" that stung Kevin Brown, more than her slowness to pay $92 in sales tax.
The owner of Minneapolis' Smart Set, Brown thought he was doing a huge favor for the FOX 9 anchor, jewelry designer and patron of the arts by printing the 32-page catalog for what he described as "her vanity art show" held in April. "I'm a small business owner who does graphic design and short-run digital printing. I've worked with various artists, including Scott Seekins, Amy Rice, JOA, etc., and donated design and printing work for Outsiders & Others Gallery when it was going. So when I was approached by artist Yuri Arajs and Robyne Robinson about working with them on Robyne's show 'Buy: Collect,' I was excited."
Brown said he was told they were on a tight budget and in a bind because the designer who was going to do the project backed out.
Brown did the design and layout for the 400 booklets for $150 and gave Robinson a 20 percent discount on her bill of $1,494.72. Two months after the show, Brown said he hadn't been paid a dime. Robinson sent an e-mail about how "we all experience expected financial setbacks, which I did during the show."
She included a list of setbacks, including "car problems (so money down on a new car)." That persuaded Brown "she was in dire financial straits." But Brown's empathy ebbed when "I heard she'd gone out and bought a really expensive car. She's too broke to pay me but she bought a new [European luxury car]. I'm driving around in an old beater, a piece of junk." Brown wanted me to disclose the type of vehicle, but I'm not interested in creating security issues for Robinson.
The most exciting lines in this story were written after Brown's e-mails to Robinson's aol.com account bounced back because her mailbox was full. He tracked down her FOX 9 e-mail address and from there he got a reply that's a classic: "Do you think snarky, repeated messages are gonna get you your money faster? Do you think I'm running away? For God's sake, I work in town. I sent the check out from work. It gets out when it gets out. If I'm the only person who's 60 days late on a bill you've got a problem. I honor my debts. But I'm not gonna be bullied either. If my mailbox is full, it's full. Your notes aren't gonna make that change, either at work or at home. The next check comes this Friday. Until then, stop e-mailing me."
Briefly speechless, Brown then decided to share his tale of the anchor he's crowned HRH Robyne Robinson. "In the 18 years I have run this business, I've never had someone who owed me money treat me like I was some low-life criminal. I know people have a hard time these days paying on their bills, but I have never had anyone give me such an attitude. So it's kind of the principle of it," Brown said. "She said she took a 10 percent cut at work. My business is seriously hurting. I've taken a 50 percent salary cut since November, and I'm supporting a wife and child."
Last month, Robinson paid the bulk of the bill in three installments, but left out the $92 in sales tax. I left five messages for Robinson seeking her side, but the news anchor's not talking. However, her check reached Brown two days after I let her know I was writing about the dispute. "I got a check for my tax amount, but no note or anything," Brown said, laughing.
