Bad client stories anyone?
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- sleepyfatso0
We just let a client go. Was moaning and moaning about why his website wasn't up when he wanted it, but he hadn't given us any content. I sent him three detailed emails about how we had no content to put up. He came in for a meeting to rag on us, I had the emails printed out and showed him that it was his fault. His quote was,
him: "Look, I don't want to bang on about it. But it should have gotten done!"
me: "But we had no content! We were waiting on you!"
him: "IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE!"- Sigh.chossy
- Stupid dumb client, so many times I have to tell them the same thingMakeBelieve
- sublocked0
How about this one...
I was in the middle of doing a $40k+ e-commerce site for a company.
Towards the end of the project the client started trying to change requirements and get work for free that wasn't agreed on during the initial estimate.
Despite references to the original contract, the client kept asking for work which was outside the scope of the project. Usually, that's ok as we renegotiate additional features for following projects.
During that renegotiation period, I had deposited a $10k+ check from the company. Funds from the check were made available to me, from which I paid subcontractors.
Here's the rub - the client had CANCELED the check and the bank fucked up. They pulled the amount back out of my bank account, most of which I'd already spent paying contractors. I was left with a -$5k balance and getting hit with overdraft charges left and right.
In the end I ended up getting my money, but only after threatening the client legally, and spending massive amounts of time with my business banking representative.
Needless to say I didn't do any work for them again. What a fun one that was to fix up...
- Whooo, thats a bad one.
Lucky/good that you managed to get that resolved!Horp - What a fucker!OhYeah
- Bloody heck.chossy
- Oh, thats a real bad one. Stupid client.MakeBelieve
- Whooo, thats a bad one.
- chossy0
I just edited a talking heads piece and they have asked me to supply them with FLV files 130px by 160px. It was not filmed with this in mind as they didn't bother telling us that this was the case so it could have been allot better than it will turn out to be. I think this is just a case of not enough communication from the client showing us what the final thing would look like so we could film it appropriatly. Lack of experience I think is the culprit or a lack of interest in the job.
- Yep, had that recently too. No communication or feedback meant tons of revisions.MakeBelieve
- NotByHand0
For a product design, I had a client suggest wrapping the entire thing in custom branded Christmas wrapping paper (this was in the summer, no actual relations to Christmas)... these were the words from the clients mouth: "...every time they open one, it will be as if it is Christmas. People will love that."
Needless to say, I was at a loss for words (and finding it very difficult to maintain a professional composure).
After an awkward extended pause of probably 45 seconds (but what seemed like 1 hour), I just said: "uhm...no" and immediately shifted the conversation to something different about the product.The Christmas wrapping paper idea was never discussed again.
- janne760
i recognize spooky's story.
i once was asked to shoot the cover for a band's new album, (the band now really became pretty huge), i was promised a pay of 10k and then i got mails from the Dutch record company, the graphic artist from the US (as he called himself), their manager, the band themselves, and they all wanted it like this, ooh and add that, and yes we want such and then so and then a little something like this.. and i remember it really got to unicorns and crap (it's a goth/metalband), then after two months i still couldn't get the communication straight, so ultimately i sent the manager an email with the suggestion to find someone else, as i wouldn't want to take such a risk. he was pissed as it was only 2 weeks prior to the shooting day.. all these months i got littered with emails about "don't listen to them, we want it like this" and it went on and on like that..
i was so relieved getting rid of it altogether... even though i did regret missing the 10k but then i thought, no way... not like this!
- this is what CC is forkelpie
- "hello all,
just getting the requirements straight here:
1. Unicorn (will need horse)
2. Virgin Mary in suspenders...kelpie - 2. Virgin Mary in suspenders with whip
3. Millenium Falcon hats
4. mushroom cloud explosion...kelpie - janne I love your use of english.
no way... not like this sounds like when I lost my gay virginity.chossy - YEAH I KNOW MY ENGLISH SUCKS NOW YOU SPEAK PERFECT DUTCH YOU!janne76
- haha that virgin mary comment was actuallt REALLY close to what was in the brief.. FFS! :/janne76
- you're dutch, surely you go with the classic drugs and porn angle yeah?airey
- I am not having a go by the way I like the way you use english it is pleasant to read.chossy
- mcLeod0
there are some major gems here
- harlequino0
Anything for friends or family.
"Can you do this real quick? Doesn't need to be anything special. Just one page and some text, blah blah."
Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever goes well.
Ever.
- MakeBelieve0
'Hi, can you this font instead, we don't think Dax is a nice font, but Comic Sans seems to look great'
This client kept sending her own design suggestions and changes, until at which point I realised that she had exceeded her budget and it wasnt worth my time 'designing', so I simply did the changes and ended the project as fast as I could, then I invoiced the biatch.
Just came out of another annoying client, who made me make several long journeys only to discover that what he wanted to 'show' me, where so damn simple, he could have emailed the shit.
- d_rek0
"We need this flash ad banner to go out by the end of the day! It has to have 10 slides and needs to be under 30k, thanks!"
- brandelec0
"hey i know we haven't started yet, but could you send me your invoice today so I can have the funds out sooner."
oh wait, this is 'bad' client stories, not 'bad ass'
- OhYeah0
Why isn't my site number one on Google?
- classic.isakosmo
- Aw - that's goodSpilt-Milk
- even better when they hire their own black hat seo "artist"ptouch718
- and its a 10 pager sitemaximillion_
- ptouch7180
OhYeah, even better when they go out and hire their own black-hat seo "artist"
- yep, and blackball themselves out of google. awesome result.airey
- Or they pay major cash and jump up maybe 1 spot.ETM
- no doubt, and it's even worse when you try to tell them that!ptouch718
- even better when you find out they spent 6x the website budget to do it... and it didn't work.monNom
- lol all so very true!OhYeah
- ETM0
Generically speaking I can't stand clients who agree on a project spec and a budget, then try to sneak in the extras and hope you won't charge. You know, each review you get the 'could we make a small change/addition?', or 'I changed my mind, lets try this' and they sneak that in every chance. Then when you start talking about the extra costs they get offended and say 'we had an agreement'
To which I often fall back on either the car-based or trades-based metaphor to explain. Something like, if you hire a guy to do your kitchen for $20k with these certain specs/materials, and then you decide at the end you would rather have cherry cabinets instead of the maple, they won't remove replace and install the news ones for free'.
Or 'if you buy a car of a certain configuration for x dollars, then decide later you want the nav system, the dealer won't buy and install that for free'
It works 90% of the time. People seem to think because it's digital, your time is worth less and since it's not a tangible product, it costs little either. Yet what we do typically MAKES them money.
- acescence0
i was still in art school still, like 19 or something and was doing a freelance design gig for this real estate guy and he invited me to his apartment and tried to grab my junk on the sofa and i was like outta there.
- still stillacescence
- So... did you do the project or not?ETM
- Wait, I have a better one.
So did you do the job or not? Also, did you get the design work?ETM - nooacescence
- you should've done it. learning experienceLlyod
- At 19, you were of college age, anything goes then.ETM
- You know what they say, do this one job for me for free and there will be plenty more work later ;)ETM
- Fuck! I'd have charged a lot extra for that. And blackmailed him, too!boobs
- ETM0
I was once asked by a guy who had a wheel and tire business to design him an e-commerce site with 375 products for $500. He said don't worry about the product shots, I'll just snag those from my competitor's sites.
I declined, and then ran. He went out of business 6 months later.
- nadanada0
i am the creative director of a natural / organic skin care start up... really excited about it in the beginning, because the owner of the co. wanted to make it really sleek and chic. then i met the two 'consultants' - a packaging engineer who was single-handedly responsible for those bloody AOL cd-rom mailers, and a 'business consultant' who was apparently qualified because she sold jewelry in a retail shop.
i submitted some identity ideas and they literally grabbed scissors, cut them into pieces and spent an entire meeting moving the different elements around while saying 'well, i think it pops more this way.'
luckily, the owner soon realized they were hacks and fired them. now i get to do whatever i want because she feels so bad about the three months of hell. 'can you move that over just a smidge? what is kerning? that's not important right? can we get a green that pops more?'
- janne760
client: "please,
lick the edges as well for me..'
- ********0
I just heard someone has to go from using indesign to quark because that is what the client wants.
