Forum Moderators: LifeinAsia
I thought it would be interesting to see when you should give a client the boot. I've had some real PITA clients, and while money is nice, sometimes it isn't worth the hassle.
My number one flag that I should give a client the boot is:
Other reasons include:
The customer IS NOT ALWAYS right:)
What are some reasons that you would "fire" a client?
-or-
What are some reasons you would not take on a client in the first place?
[edited by: stuntdubl at 6:30 pm (utc) on May 27, 2004]
When they don't allow you to do a full job. i.e. - they want to choose the webhost, buy the domain name and get other companies to do other little jobs which then creates more difficulty and expense for you.
Or, they are not helpful at providing enough information about their requirements or at providing content.
I don't mind doing it every once in awhile for free, but when they ask to do it on a weekly basis and don't want to sign up for a weekly maintenance plan, it gets out of hand.
What are some reasons that you would "fire" a client?
When the client's expectations become unreasonable and/or impossible to meet.
When the client's check bounces. :)
What are some reasons you would not take on a client in the first place?
Similar reasons ... if we don't feel we can help them, we don't take the project. If we don't feel the effort will be worth the revenue, we don't take the project.
I don't mind doing it every once in awhile for free, but when they ask to do it on a weekly basis and don't want to sign up for a weekly maintenance plan, it gets out of hand.
Our pricing scheme is different, beckie, in that we don't sell weekly or monthly maintenance plans. All maintenance is done and billed based on actual time.
But ... what we tell clients may be something you can use ... "We won't nickel-and-dime you by charging for every little 5-minute update, unless you nickel-and-dime us by sending lots of little 5-minute updates."
So at the start of every project there was a lot of back and forth over what could be done and couldn't. Then she would whine that she knew the client was tight on funds so she would ask for discounts which I begrudgingly granted as I felt the continued stream of revenue was worth it.
I also lowered my hosting rates for her clients.
Well one day one of her clients had a technical question she couldn't answer and wasn't doing a good job relaying to me so she had her client phone me directly.
Well we got to talking and he mentioned that for what I charged I should come to his office and perform the work there. I asked him what he meant. And we got into a huge discussion over what he was being charged.
Turns out she was marking my work up 300% and while I was charging her $19.95 for the hosting she was billing them at $50.00 a month. This is the one that really pissed me off because she was making $30.00 pure profit for doing nothing and I was maybe making $6.00 for being responsible for the whole kit-n'-kaboodle...
I ended up cutting ties with her and so far I've gained 3 of her former clients who are much happier now that they aren't getting gouged.
When they are calling and/or emailing you all the time
When you just don't like them. LOL
I used to work with a designer from time to time and there was a huge learning curve with her as she would provide me with a layered Photoshop file and want me to make it into a webpage for her clients.
So at the start of every project there was a lot of back and forth over what could be done and couldn't. Then she would whine that she knew the client was tight on funds so she would ask for discounts which I begrudgingly granted as I felt the continued stream of revenue was worth it.I also lowered my hosting rates for her clients.
Well one day one of her clients had a technical question she couldn't answer and wasn't doing a good job relaying to me so she had her client phone me directly.
Well we got to talking and he mentioned that for what I charged I should come to his office and perform the work there. I asked him what he meant. And we got into a huge discussion over what he was being charged.
Turns out she was marking my work up 300% and while I was charging her $19.95 for the hosting she was billing them at $50.00 a month. This is the one that really pissed me off because she was making $30.00 pure profit for doing nothing and I was maybe making $6.00 for being responsible for the whole kit-n'-kaboodle...
I ended up cutting ties with her and so far I've gained 3 of her former clients who are much happier now that they aren't getting gouged.
Good clients are determined by an appropriate background check. And bad prospects never (hopefully) become clients. Good client relationships are maintained by good communication and good contracts.
The client is always right while they are my client.
They are paying the bill and are entitled to what they want (barring ethical/legal improprieties). When the original RFP is below my personal quality level or the client is above my irritation threshold it is my right to forgo the job.
Change orders to the contract (you do have a well written contract - right?) are subject to separate and additional charges:
At that point they are no longer a client and become very, very, wrong. :-)
1) When the customer routinely pays invoices extremely late.
2) When everyone in the customer's organization has trouble grasping their own business rules. Sometimes this creates opportunity but if the folks are just plain stupid... well then you've got a monster on your hands that at times just isn't worth the money.
I don't like it when people complain about pricing when I'm already charging them half or a fourth of what another company would. You're already getting a great deal and you are going to complain about it? In situations like that, I walk.
When clients don't send you the content you need from them to update your site, and then call and ask why their site isn't up to speed. Or when the contact person (not the person who cuts the check) doesn't give you content you need and then tries to tell their boss that its you who is dragging his feet on the project.
When clients email you a photo at night with no warning and then call you up an hour later to ask if you added to their site yet.
When clients feel the need to call you every single day to spend 30 minutes discussing what could have been answered in 2 minutes by email.
"We won't nickel-and-dime you by charging for every little 5-minute update, unless you nickel-and-dime us by sending lots of little 5-minute updates."
I fired him after the 3rd week, cheerfully refunding his deposit minus time spent on the phone.
They call you knowingly, while you are on your honeymoon, expecting you to spend "a few moments" making updates on their system and add a couple of new ideas they came up with while on their vacation.
reply to client: Did I metion that my very VERY new spouse is a hacker with a temper and an odd sense of humor?
When they don't allow you to do a full job. i.e. - they want to choose the webhost, buy the domain name and get other companies to do other little jobs which then creates more difficulty and expense for you.
Really? I would think most designers wouldn't want to mess with that stuff. I know I wouldn't - why bother with hosting and domain registrations when you can pass that along to some other company? When their e-mail isn't working, not your problem, call someone else. When their site is down, not your problem, call someone else. When their domain expires because they didn't pay for it, not your problem, call someone else.
Really? I would think most designers wouldn't want to mess with that stuff. I know I wouldn't - why bother with hosting and domain registrations when you can pass that along to some other company? When their e-mail isn't working, not your problem, call someone else. When their site is down, not your problem, call someone else. When their domain expires because they didn't pay for it, not your problem, call someone else.
I don't mind offering support for domain registrations - I also offer my clients hosting. They don't really contact me too much regarding email issues - I have a great knowledge base for them to go through and set things up themselves. My clients like this because they only deal with me instead of 4+ different companies. Offering management of domain registrations and hosting brings in some extra $$$$ too.
I suspended their site, pulled my "designed by" credits from it, burned it to a CD, and handed it to them this morning.
I like it...
2. I never start any projects unless i got full nail-biting details of exactly everything they want. If they miss something, then the whole project stops, until they iron out missing details.
3. Never offer to do content changes, always train their people to do it. After all you are a Designer/Developer not a content/merchandising person, which has to be the clients role.
4. Document any and all code/design changes, give an estimate of time/money, explain it is only an estimate, then get in WRITING that they accept this estimate.
After the work started and they start complaining bout time or cost, remind them of their SIGNED CONTRACT. If they choose to cancel, they still have to pay project minimum costs, then UNDO the work you started.
After all if they don't want to pay, why should they get the work for free.
5. Mutual Respect, respect them, but make sure they respect your time, energy and effort. If they don't explain, that you'll only work with professional clients.
My stock answer is "I don't have much spare time - and you should see what I charge for it!"
