Comics take heart. When a club that's booked you months in advance then tells you out of the blue that the weekend is no longer yours and gives you no reason as to why or makes any attempt to remedy any of the losses you've incurred in your taking action upon their word and commitment in the fulfillment of your side of what is, in fact, a contract, you are not without an attempt at recourse. Here is a template you may use to receive your redress/what is rightfully yours. Maybe nothing will be able to be done re the entirety of the entire tour that they definitely fuck up, but you will at least be a little more returned to the position that you were in before the contract. (That is to say, I got my money.)
Club Manager X, Booker Y,
I've attached the screenshots of the itineraries and total price of the flights that I cannot use anymore. The total is $400 US and I would like the money by this Friday at 5:00 pm. It can be sent to me via PayPal to the email address ______.
Booker Y has explained to me the confusion with Headliner Z telling you he's bringing in a feature after your already committing to me the four days. Headliner Z 's forgetting or confusing is genuinely an unfortunate thing, but I'm not the one to bear the cost of this.
I have never had a business or contractual relationship with Headliner Z. Your Comedy Club is the one that told me to "lock it in." Similarly, Your Comedy Club is the one that would have paid me.
It appears to be for some sort of business consideration (i.e. not damaging relations with Headliner Z?) that you chose not to tell Headliner Z that you had already told me I had the run.
I'm not at all being facetious when I say that in the long run the value of my flights may very well cost the club less than whatever may have been the repercussions of reminding Headliner Z that you had already given me the four days. It's quite possible it was the right business decision.
It's really too bad that by the time you informed me that the spot was taken, I had already relied upon our agreement and purchased my plane tickets, the return dates of which had expired. That, though, is a risk inherent to this business.
Absolutely none of this would have had to come to this point had you simply done the decent thing and reimbursed me for my losses. It's just the right thing to do. I'm not asking for anything that isn't mine.
Finally, I can assure you that the exchange between me and Booker Y over Facebook constitutes an enforceable contract. Also, I don't think I have to tell you how much of a colossal waste of time this whole thing has been for me, and how outraged I am at having been treated like this.
There is absolutely nothing I can do to make you take my calls, return my emails, or restore me to the position I was in before you both made and broke a contract with me.
But, if I don't receive $400 US by 5:00 pm Friday, what *I* am going to do is serve the club with a demand letter. And, I guarantee you that I will be demanding far more than the value of my lost flights.
Then, if I don't receive the amount in my letter (right now I figure it to be about $1200 US, estimating what I do my lost pay and merch sales), I will be filing a claim in Your County.
I quit my work as a litigator years ago because I did not like that world, but I am absolutely more than happy to go before a judge and see which one of the comedy club or the road comic they find to be the more sympathetic party.
Sincerely,
David