Forum Moderators: LifeinAsia
I'll try to make a long story short :)
I began site design & set up in mid February, this site was going to take approx 3 weeks. It is now April 7th and it (according to the client) is not finished.
I emailed them 2 weeks ago letting them know that I really needed to get this wrapped up and could they send changes/additions. I have been bombarded with tiny changes.
Last week I sent an email stating "Although time limits on production were not discussed, I feel that at this time I must impose a time limit on any further changes and additions to the website as we are going into our third month which is far beyond what I had anticipated for completion.I will need any and all text additions and changes by Wednesday April 7th. Payment is expected at the time of completion."
I never heard back, so yesterday I sent another email, simply asking what was going on, that I hadn't heard anything.
I received this reply yesterday---
"You haven't heard because I don't know much. I do know there is some more important content for the site that we are awaiting.
You will know as soon as I do."
It is deadline day, and I have not heard one word. I don't know how to approach these people without sounding angry, but they owe me over $800.00 and the site is complete, I have gone above & beyond to accommodate them.
Any suggestions on how I should word my next email?
Thanks so much for any help!
Teresa
Do you have a contract with the client? If so, can you demonstrate that you've fulfilled your part of the deal?
If so, then write them a letter that politely covers the following points:
To keep clients happy, you often have to go the extra mile. However, you should not let fixed rate contracts run forever without a clear end date or payment.
I would recommend that you be courteous and polite, but also be firm and professional.
Thank you for the advice. This is a sticky situation as I did not have a contract this particular client because they were local and it was to be a small scale site. It has steadily escalated and now I am kicking myself for not having them sign a contract-- which is what I always do...shame on me I know. :(
I appreciate your response to my dilema, thank you again!
Teresa
Project creep, on flat-fee projects, can be one of the most nightmarish parts of a consultant's situation. You watch your time fall into a black hole, and your margins evaporate.
Now, I should say one other thing. Take a moment to think about your relationship with the client and how you might want to approach them.
I have a friend who agreed to do a quick web-update for a small company. The company had a brochure-ware site of about six pages and wanted to add just a couple more.
The project's contract specified an amount of $500 for "web updates." Soon after the project began, it mushroomed. The content exploded to about 80 pages--requiring a new navigational interface.
She spent about a week agonizing over the issue, as this was her first client. However, she felt that the client was a decent guy. She asked to renegotiate the terms of the contract, since the project had increased. The client didn't argue that the changes merited higher compensation and they worked out an arrangement that lead to the following:
Her first client became a regular client, and the six page website has become a several hundred page content-rich site that drives business to the company.
She may even get a full-time job offer from the client, since the business relationship has grown so well.
So, those headache clients can turn unexpectedly good. However, it takes some serious thought on how to best resolve the situation.
Sometimes, it's best to just wrap up the project and politely step away, because the client will not be satisfied whatever you do.
You have to make that choice based on your cashflow, your needs, the client, and the specific situation.
Oh, and welcome to WebmasterWorld!
Thank you again for bringing this to my attention unintentionally.
Above all, my advice is to steer away from playing hardball. Your reputation can be damaged and there's almost never any result but bad blood on both sides. In most cases the client really is struggling to come up with the content - and if you discuss things in a disposition of looking for agreement you can usually find a resolution that both sides can live with.
When it's a smaller contract, the amount of cash involved usually isn't make or break anyway and certainly not worth traching your own reputation and future earning power.
When it's a bigger contract, you definitely want some language in their about how you handle client defaults on deliverables. But again it's still better to play nice instead of enforcing the letter of the contract.
And if you have no such clause in the contract -- well, live and learn. As I said, I have taken a fews lumps in this area, but each situation was unique and I never found an iron-clad, one-size-fits-all approach.
I often tell clients upfront that this issue -- client provided content -- is the number one cause of late delivery on a website. Most clients are in another business, and developing web content is new to them. It's not part of their core focus, so it's a difficult thing for them to manage this project well.
But usually when clients are forewarned about the issue, they will take early steps early to manage their side of the process more efficiently. But it's important to use a soft approach. You may be building websites every day, but smaller businesses mey only be doing it once in a very long while.
We take 50% payment upfront and 50% on completion or within 30 days if waiting for client repsonse (not the exact wording)
We have never had the need to enforce this, but reminding the client whilst 'making an exception in their case' has generally kicked them into action.
Tedster is right, as most of us are being paid for labour and expert knowledge, it is almost never worth getting heavy.
I've decided that "bending" was the best move in this situation, and have given my clients an extra 2 weeks to provide me with the final content---they were appreciative, and assured me that there would be no more delays.
The one thing I have learned from this is......always, always, have a contract no matter who you are dealing with, no matter how large or small the job...get a signature, then there's no room for misunderstandings.
You are a great group of people! Thank you!
Teresa
Above all, my advice is to steer away from playing hardball.
My sites are definitely smallish compared to a lot of people here, so I have more leeway for not being on the hook for bigtime cash with one client. When "project creep" becomes a factor, I draw the line before things get out of hand, reminding the client that what they want exceeds anything that was discussed and that additional changes/additions will add to the fee. Some renegotiate, while others quickly decide that they are pretty happy after all.
People that try for free extras from the start are pretty easy to deal with. Without a contract or percentage payout arrangement, the client that hits you near the end of project has a lot of clout.
Frequent, high quality email traffic prevents a lot of problems. Communication and documentation.
