Jon,
When I was first introduced to the man back in November at his older location, he had heard about my results at the club in the resort where I DJd for 4 years. I helped build that club and consequently the attendance at the resort (That owner there knew quality gear compared to this one).
He told me he knew nothing about Clubs and equipment and wanted me to help. I figured that by helping him to make the club successful that I would also be helping myself. I had no idea that he was so ignorant as to the importance of quality gear, especially in a club. I am glad I stood my ground about my fee from day one! Had I seen that he was really intent on improving the gear I may have given him a break on my fee for a limited period of time. Maybe one day he will learn.
Houston, Chuck, anyone else,
If you are giving something away, time, valuable knowledge, effort, without direct, immediate, or clearly assignable compensation, you have rendered it worthless.
I was, very early in my dj exploits, victim of my own overzealous, uninformed, inexperienced willingness to give away something now for the prospect of something valuable in the future, ie, I'll configure/design and install/set up your gear, even find the best sources and perform for little or no compensation so that when the place blows up, I'll be in, right?
Well,that kinda, sorta, paid off once, in twenty years and dozens of attempts. Unfortunately, for me, it was early on in the process, actually on the second attempt, so I was cursed with having had a high risk-low pay back success. Not since have such short sighted investments paid off and the balance sheet, from the various failed attempts with that practice, is so unbalanced that I suspect there are not enough red markers in Marks-a-lots inventory to color the complete sheet.
Chuck's practice of treating club gigs with the same sense of responsibility for contingency as private, mobile jobs may be beneficial in his experience, but not mine.
That is not to say clubs deserve unprofessional, unethical treatment, but certainly different in many aspects. Show up on time, keep the music current and effective, behaving in an ethical manner, provide the best possible performance, improving your skills, treating patrons with politeness, the stuff you expect any employee should not have to be told more than once to do.
Hauling back up equipment falls substantially outside the scope of a club dj's responsibility and duties.
Why would anyone provide back up equipment and expose their gear to normal wear and potential, eventual damage, not to mention the additional liability, at club gigs where it neither expected nor compensated for? That is not smart bid-niz.
. You said this entire circumstance was regarding a club. Those picture depict a dorm room party closet. From the uneven "speaker stands" saved from a dumpster, the purchased from a garage-sale "audio system," to the masking tape electrical/fire hazard "cabling," not one of those images suggests they are even trying to create a club. 
