Client Rant
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- acrossthesea0
Good for you for firing this guy. Doesn't sound like he's worth the effort since he's already an "expert". Keep it positive.
- BoneCrusher0
yeah you can tell them that raf. Repeat it as many times as you want.
But that doesn't mean they'll believe it.
- raf0
It is important to always tell the client he's paying for your expertise and you are results-driven: goal is for the website to bring him money.
- e-wo0
I certainly have no regrets as to how I handled the project. I'm more concerned about having to deal with small claims court if he gets stubborn.
- As long as there's a good paper trail on your side, you should be good.Continuity
- It's not a great paper trail. What would make it great?e-wo
- Contracts, with a clause that gives you an out, if need be.Continuity
- Wish I had that. Will be revising contract form from here out to provide for it.e-wo
- Good call. When you freelance, you need to protect yourself as much as possible.Continuity
- Continuity0
Resigning clients is a fact of business life, mate. It's a tough decision - especially if you're freelancing, and the money is tight - but sometimes it has to be done, so save your sanity or your dignity or your time for other more important clients; or all three.
Agencies large and small will do it; when I was at McCann Erickson, we resigned from three of them during my time there, and I've dumped a couple of nasty freelance ones, too.
As long as you know you did everything you could to make that relationship work, and they weren't stepping up to the plate and doing their bit, then you should have no regrets.
- e-wo0
So, I'll be firing him tomorrow. After review, I've completed half the work, so I'll be refunding him to the point that the project is half paid and delivering the psds.
He's going to be furious and threaten to sue over the $700 he'll feel he's lost.
A 9 to 5 is starting to look tempting...
- e-wo0
Oh my god. Showing him that site would result in hours and hours on the phone. I would eat a whole clip.
- Continuity0
God, I hate to invoke his name, but you could always point your numb-nuts client here:
http://www.useit.com/eyetracking…
I need a shower, now. >_<
- noneck0
Sometimes there's nothing wrong with a client that wants to drive, as long as you make peace with it.
One of my clients, since 2004, has given me pretty explicit instructions for all the work I do for them. "Ad needs to say 'blah blah blah' in gold type and black background. Make this bigger and move right." etc. They come to me with a pretty good idea of what they want from the start.
Now, this client is also pretty reasonable, insofar as that when I do what they want, they just say thank you and pay their bill. I've only had to quote them on two projects in six years. I bill them hourly for my time, and they pay me promptly and without question. Despite using me as a production artists, they're a very good client.
I'd rather do really great creative work for them–and I've tried–but I'm really happy with them as they are. I've made my peace with the relationship.
- e-wo0
So, if he's paid 75%, and I've done 60% of the work, is it fair to fire him?
- Samush0
i'm dealing with the same situation at the moment. really isn't fun, especially as its been happening for 10 months and as a freelancer I can't just drop the client, they still owe me money.
- e-wo0
Luckily, this is not a frequent problem. A lot of low-paying, high-expectation clients try to hop in the pilot's seat, and I scold them. This guy is just unflinchingly pretentious.
Which is what I should have seen from the get go, and my bullshit meter has been adjusted accordingly.
- Everyone thinks they're the art/creative director.i_monk
- i_monk0
^ Ask which design school he went to.
- utopian0
The CEO decides he will now design his own logo instead....
- HA! I snorted ....zenmasterfoo
- were you talking about this? http://www.lordandta…jmilligan
- vaxorcist0
hmmm.... could be due to bifocals.... did he just get new glasses?
- i_monk0
Solution: Cluster everything in the middle of the screen.
- d_rek0
hey evin,
How are things at Tower? Been meaning to reach out to you guys and say hello!
Your client sounds a bit pretentious... maybe they just need some education? The whole 'eye-level' thing is sort of absurd and moot point if you assume the context we're talking about for the site is your typical LCD monitor that is also typically placed directly in front of the viewer. By that logic the monitor is always at 'eye-level'.
Sounds like they have some sort of presumptions about viewing content on-screen. I guess if I had to interpret their commetns they're probably looking for a site with a large masthead that eats up the top 1/3rd of their screen so that any content starts below that... just a few dwindling thoughts....
*gets more coffee
- Things are great, other than this project. Some big, challenging projects coming soon.
Yeah, this guy basically thinks he's an expert in a field if he has a friend who works in the industry. He's friends with some very ancient print advertisers, so he believes he's got a leg up on me as far as functionality goes.
I think he's probably something like 800 x 600. Which is kind of a metaphor for the whole interaction.e-wo - And yes, he's probably around 800 x 600.e-wo
- Things are great, other than this project. Some big, challenging projects coming soon.
- zenmasterfoo0
"I tire of working with people who see me as a tool, rather than an advisor."
It's why I quit my last job. Seriously, it's the sole reason. When you get to a point where you can tell the other person is waiting for you to stop talking and just do what they asked for, it's time to leave.
Be blunt. Tell them, what they need to hear - without of course sounding like a complete whiny ass. The best feeling in the world is when you lose baggage from your life. It's a freeing experience. More work will come, eventually. Your sanity and self worth are more important than the ego of your client.
- i_monk0
Your client is a buffoon.