Mark, what troubles me is what you are trying gain/win. You may be able to get full pay for a cancelled job but in the end you will lose.
John, thanks for your thoughts. But, actually, I won.....a good-sized paycheck.
Their suggestion was “Put the customer first”.
That works good in a world lavish with altruism....but, where I live (in a cosmopolitan area) it's a free-for-all. You basically take the money and run. No one is going to say what a nice fellow he was (me) not asking for reimbursement, let's "make sure we hire him in the future. You're forgotten within 8 minutes of your last conversation. I've heard of instances where it went as far as 12 minutes though!
Mark