I accepted a job from a Client a month ago and after agreeing terms, I started work on the draft for his new site. I put up a landing page and designed a logo which he then came back to say he didn't like and could I 'design' something close to the example he'd created in Word (yep, it was shocking). Anyhow, I changed the logo so it looked like his crappy example and got on with the home page draft.

 

After 10 hours of work I let him see the draft for the home page and yesterday I received a huge list of revisions including revisions on elements he's originally asked me to duplicate from another site. Of course I don't mind making revisions but basically this guy simply wants to design every element himself regardless of how all these elements work together on the page; he's a total control freak and to make it worse. he's an indecisive control freak!

 

To cut a long story short, I'm only 20% into this site and I can see this Client is going to be a high-maintenance nightmare. I'd rather cut my losses with the work I've done (and can probably be re-used) and get rid of the Client now before he saps any more of my time. Trouble is, I'm not sure the best way to do it whilst preserving my reputation and not offending him to the point where he tries to sue me for breach of contract.

 

So, what would you do?

Casus inoperabilis.

Do all he wants, get money for your job, say him 'good bye!' and never show this project in your portfolio.

Hmm tough one.

 

Normally when a client has firm idea of the look that they want and comes to you with a selection of rough graphics for you to 'polish' then the whole creation process should be pretty painless. I would guess the client is suffering from 'kid in a candy store' syndrome and a day won't go past where they see something slightly better on another website and want it done to theirs.

 

It's difficult but you have to learn to say 'No' to clients ('Pay Me My Money' is another worth practising), explain to them as they seem so keen on being involved that you cannot build the unseen nuts & bolts of the site until they have created a rough layout & design for you to work your magic upon. Only then can the site go 'live' and start getting visitors/ generating new business, this tends to refocus them on why they came to you in the first place so at some point they have to bite the bullet and go with what they have or never get a website online.

 

BTW I'd probably brace myself for "Why does my site not appear in the top search result position" and "What can you do me for £50 on Adwords?"

 

 

ps: like your site design

Edited July 18, 201115 yr by Sogo7

BTW I'd probably brace myself for "Why does my site not appear in the top search result position" and "What can you do me for £50 on Adwords?"

 

I don't doubt it! And you're spot-on with the "kid in the candy store" analogy - I've just had another email from him saying he now wants the nav bar "to be as cool as the one on Apple.com".

 

I don't really need his business and it's not a simple case of completing the site and being rid of him - I'm stuck with the guy for months or (shudders) even years.

 

Like all self-employed Designers, there are a finite amount of hours in the week and every minute spent dealing with indecisive control freaks is a minute I'm not earning money so I'm reluctant to sign-over my entire life to this guy which is what he seems to expect.

If your worried about being sued for breach in the contract surly you have a section in there about project time scale and anything over will cost X at hourly rate or X at day rate?

 

If so politely send him an email and then go from there

I think this is another example that shows how important it is to get the design signed off and backed up with some client limiting T’s and C’s about revisions.

Also, surely you mentioned in your contract revisions?

I've think I've got everything covered legally but the reality is that I simply don't want to have this guy as a Client. It may be fine to have everything written in a contract but what it doesn't cover is the sheer amount of time this type of Client sucks up on, quite frankly, trivial BS. He is one of those people who simply never think they're wrong and I can't stomach dealing with people like that.

 

One of the things I've learned about being self-employed is that it's not simply about the money; I value my quality of life and having Clients like this guy will only give me stress in the long term.

IF you got a contract and you have stated a time for the project and anything out of that time frame will be charged at X I fail to see the problem. Get on the phone and give him the bottom line, if he kicks off and leaves then your can enjoy your qualify life style

You have to be straight with him and honestly, you have to pull rank.

 

As odd as it sounds (Because he's paying you) he hired you to be a web designer, not the code monkey his imagination flows through. You came up with ideas, he agreed to them and he agreed to pay you a certain amount to implement those ideas. He is paying you for your expertise in the area so you have to let him know that by overriding that expertise he's wasting his money and putting the image and future of his business in jeopardy. You wouldn't tell a plumber the best way to wire a sink (I have no idea how sinks work) but you could badger them into doing it your way and ending up with a flooded bathroom. You'd be an idiot, but you could do it. Same applies here.

 

If he's still not budging then just do what he wants. Build his ****ty site, take his money and move on. You've said your piece, he's too stubborn to get higher quality work and that is his issue. Scrub it off your portfolio and never accept work from him again. Or he might just cancel the contract there and then, but you should have a non-refundable deposit already.

Edited July 18, 201115 yr by Glowbridge

Haha, I am having the same type of client Good luck, they could be very annoying (actually my client thinks her relative is a designer)classic clients from hell case.

 

...I started work on the draft for his new site. I put up a landing page and designed a logo which he then came back to say he didn't like and could I 'design' something close to the example he'd created in Word (yep, it was shocking). Anyhow, I changed the logo so it looked like his crappy example and got on with the home page draft....

You have to be straight with him and honestly, you have to pull rank.

 

As odd as it sounds (Because he's paying you) he hired you to be a web designer, not the code monkey his imagination flows through. You came up with ideas, he agreed to them and he agreed to pay you a certain amount to implement those ideas. He is paying you for your expertise in the area so you have to let him know that by overriding that expertise he's wasting his money and putting the image and future of his business in jeopardy. You wouldn't tell a plumber the best way to wire a sink (I have no idea how sinks work) but you could badger them into doing it your way and ending up with a flooded bathroom. You'd be an idiot, but you could do it. Same applies here.

 

 

This. And for future projects, read this.

Hmm tough one.

I would guess the client is suffering from 'kid in a candy store' syndrome and a day won't go past where they see something slightly better on another website and want it done to theirs.

 

Oh god that type of client eh?

Even worse than the slow payees.

 

One of the things I've learned about being self-employed is that it's not simply about the money; I value my quality of life and having Clients like this guy will only give me stress in the long term.

 

Absolutely.

You'll have to turn in to one of those guys that sticks to the contract (and don't be afraid to cite it every five minuets), once the job is done, cut ties.

"It adds the lens flare to the logo or else it gets the hose again".

Edited July 18, 201115 yr by Renaissance-Design

All sorted - I went around to his house and simply shot him.

 

No, really. I sent him a very candid email saying that he would be better off using a different Designer who was more tolerant of his specific requirements. Basically I said I was just too busy to give him the attention he so obviously wants.

 

20 minutes later he was on the phone apologising and saying he simply didn't realise he was making such a nuisance of himself. Apparently it was his wife who told him to ring and apologise as he as a habit of doing exactly the same with the guy who services their car and the Instructor at their gym. What an idiot.

 

I shall be treading very carefully with the guy now and the minute he steps out of line, I have permission to contact his wife who stated she would "deal with him".

 

Result.

Interesting outcome... hopefully it works out! Sometimes all it takes is some honest conversation.

 

For the future:

 

Always write a clause into your contract giving you permission to fire the client for lack of payment, creative differences, etc. This video, while on a different subject, talks about it a little bit: LINK.

 

You should also make sure your contract has some solid milestones for payment, just in case this client was a problem one that you had to fire. I think it's common to see designers asking for 50% up front and 50% before delivery, or 33% up front, 33% on design mockup acceptance and 33% before final delivery. This way, if you DO have to fire your client you can bill them for any hours worked over what you took in deposits (if applicable), and if they fail to pay you have a solid portion of it to begin with.

Edited July 19, 201115 yr by porkchops

Even worse when you're stuck in a full time job and your boss is like this. Took me a year to train my boss out of it. At least the pay packets were regular though.

That is a fantastic video.

AHA! That is one the best videos i've seen!

All sorted - I went around to his house and simply shot him.

 

I LOL'd

 

This video, while on a different subject, talks about it a little bit: LINK.

 

Great video, great share. Cheers PorkChops

Thanks porkchops - I've been wandering around in a state of ignorant bliss when it comes to tieing Clients into a proper contract.

 

However, I've now seen the light and am off to sue somebody.

A contract is absolutely required for our line of work. It protects us from crappy clients and gives the clients a document to answer some of the more pedantic questions about processes.

Great Vid!