That’s a lesson I hope I’ve learned now: I’m firing one today.
I had no idea how much stress a single difficult client could bring into my life – but now I know. I hung onto the project for dear life because I really loved it, even though the client was so hard to deal with in just about every way. But now I know I should have listened to the small group of designers who told me to fire her six weeks ago. <Bangs head against desk again.>
I’m usually very good at catching a weird vibe from a potential client, but not in this case. Not until many weeks into the project.
Even so, I should have fired her. There were many opportunities since mid-July, but no – I just gritted my teeth and hung in there. But it really wasn’t worth it – I’m not going to get much out of it financially, and I doubt the site will still look like my design when it finally launches. It was really beautiful and that’s what I feel worst about – that and all the extra time I sunk into the work without being compensated.
I feel stupid for some of the mistakes I made in allowing this client and project to get out of hand – but I’ve started working on an overhaul of my business practices that will help to curb that in the future. So that’s a good result that will hopefully make my studio a better business all around.
Tomorrow I hope to hand over the finished product and get my little final payment. Then this client will be out of my life and I can start devoting more time to the clients with whom I really enjoy working. In the meantime, I’ll try to remember how I feel right now the next time a client like this one appears and nip it in the bud before it gets so bad.
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I cannot tell you how much I emphasize with your situation. It is hard to make that call. No matter what your business lifecycle or process is, this can happen. When you are busy or are caught up in a project it is easy to make exceptions. It is also a fine line between asking clients to follow your process and having “no” as a customer service mantra. I tend to think that if clients are not comfortable with following your clearly defined process its a red flag – but sometimes its hard to know if it is a client or a communication issue.
Thanks Keith. I’ve only ever fired two clients and those projects were much closer to the beginning, not coming down to the wire just prior to launch. I won’t let it go this far next time I sense a situation like this one brewing.
I have been the both designer and client and sometimes, the “difficult” client wouldn’t be so difficult if the designer took the time to explain, be available and be understanding (not saying you’re not those things). It’s difficult being a client sometimes. They’re in a vulnerable position of having to entrust something precious to them to a virtual stranger. They typically don’t know anything and are completely at the mercy of the designer. I’m sure in this case you did have a difficult client and there was probably nothing you could do about it. But I feel compelled to point out that we designers aren’t always the victims.
I too have been on both sides. I’ve had to occasionally hire a web professional to handle something beyond my capabilities and that is a vulnerable situation to be in. I totally respect that. But in that situation, there has to be some trust going both ways or it doesn’t work. If I’ve hired someone, don’t really understand all that they’re doing even if they try to explain it in simple terms, I have to have some trust that they can make good decisions and are doing a quality job for me even if I don’t totally understand the process or methods.
That trust factor is very important; when people hire me, I ask them to talk to my references. I have a lot of great clients who are always willing to share their experience with my company with a prospective new client. My business is built on transparency and trust. What that trust disappears, it’s difficult to work effectively with the partner in the project.
There were issues on both sides in this particular project and there are always two sides. Sometimes it’s better for all involved just to walk away agreeably. Not everyone can work well together, that’s a fact.