Is there anything you've had (or have) to do that you feel shouldn't be part of your job?

I'll begin.

Imagine this scenario.

You are a graphic designer working at a print shop, and your current assignment is to design a template for a wedding invitation card. After several proposals, he finally approves of the design.

He says he wants a verse from a very old book, which you'll have to look up yourself, and a note politely telling invitees that children aren't allowed, which you have to come up with yourself as well. It sounds simple enough, until he keeps rejecting every single proposal because he just doesn't like it.

That's me right now. I know very little of that very old book, and I haven't been to a wedding since I was five or six...

I usually don't mind having to wear the copywriter's hat for advertisements, but I don't think it should be part of my job as a graphic designer. And we're not talking about advertisements in this case even, it's a wedding invitation. It's almost as if the husband and wife to be don't care enough about their wedding to come up themselves with a verse or a note stating children aren't allowed.

I still get paid though, so I'm not complaining, but it is a little tedious.

 

The customer pays you and you are a service provider. When you pay for a service, you will receive what you have agreed upon and not something else. This is called a contract of sale. In other words, if you order fries with ketchup from me in the restaurant, but I think mayonnaise would be better and you don't want to pay for it, you will be right in court, because your order was fries with ketchup.

 

Normally when you take a job, you get a list of responsibilities/tasks,etc. Usually almost at the end of the list, there is almost always some statement such as "all other tasks as assigned". which pretty much mean that if you are not in a union type situation, chances are good that whatever you are asking this about is your job. It's pretty easy to tell the difference.

 

When similar situation happen to me, I learned a way to stop clients adding work: explain it's a different work than contracted, so this new task have its own price. They usually end up saying they'll do it themselves,lol

 

Working with people. Bleh. I'm a mixing engineer, not a manager!
But as long as I at least don't work at a top-notch studio with top-notch performers and recording engineers, I'll be shooting myself in the foot not doing so.
But man. All I wish in work is to mix quality sources without wasting my time and brain cells bargaining, defending my professional borders and babysitting the recording booth.

 

To 'improve' non-talented musicians.

 

Do your job very well, then others will take notice of you and you will expand your customer base.
The customer pays you. Only a satisfied customer will come back and recommend you to others.