OK, I know I cannot be the only one who has to deal with difficult clients so I am curious, how others deal with them. I have had a couple in recent months that have been so difficult, I have considered giving up designing all together.
I am pretty easy going and I do not install a design until it has been finalized by the client, so when they come back time and again after installation wanting one more thing or one more tweak, I start to get annoyed. I know things come up, so I am all prepared for a few items, but sometimes it seems to get out of hand and I guess I just don’t know how to draw the line.
I want my clients to be happy, but at the same time I don’t want to feel like I am letting them use me.
I began designing because I really enjoyed it, but some of my clients take all the joy away.
Any and all feedback you may have is appreciated.
December 29, 2011
2:14 pm
Texas
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This certainly is a tricky topic and something that must always been handled with care!
That being said – you are right – you can’t let people walk all over you. This is still a business for you and by taking the time to go back and make changes free of charge, valuable time is lost.
I haven’t had this happen often, but for quite some time I’ve strictly outlined in my terms that once a design is installed, I will not make changes – no exceptions. I used to give a 24-48 hour window, but I don’t even do that anymore.
I, too, want my clients to be pleased with the services they receive from me, but I want them to know that my time and work is valuable – not free. Surprisingly enough I truly haven’t had many complications when responding to clients by telling them changes can be made for a fee.
Have you given that response a try? I know it’s hard…
January 2, 2012
5:57 am
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I guess I just need to put my foot down and do as you say – charge them for additional changes and let them know up front about changes after installation.
Thanks for the help!
January 12, 2012
7:19 am
Dominica
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I haven’t had this problem yet, but I think I will add something to my TOS about additional changes before it becomes an issue. Thanks for the advice!
-Katie
January 16, 2012
11:09 pm
Las Vegas
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Yep, difficult clients come with the territory when you take on design as a profession. Having a difficult client definitely sucks the fun out of things. :-/
I used to be more of a push-over and operated without a design agreement for years until I had 2 back-to-back experiences with clients from H.E. double hockey sticks (btw, anyone visit http://clientsfromhell.net/ ? Hilarious!).
Anyway, I’ve learned from experience that having a service agreement helps in outlining what is and isn’t included with my fee.
Difficult clients can also bruise your ego with their endless list of revision requests. Sometimes you’re left wondering why they hired you at all. Lol But remember, you’re the expert and it’s ok to gently push back when you feel the client is making an unreasonable request or a design error. Point out to them that they hired you for a reason – to keep their best interests in mind when designing for them.
It hasn’t come to this yet for me (although I’ve come pretty close), but if push comes to shove, fire a difficult client. Offer them a refund or something and move on. Sometimes, it’s not worth it to continue working with someone if red flags are waving wildly in your face.
The bottom line is that you don’t HAVE to do anything you’re not comfortable doing. You got into this field for the freedom to be creative and enjoy what you do. No one can make you miserable unless you let them.
April 11, 2012
1:26 pm
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ModernMuse said:
Yep, difficult clients come with the territory when you take on design as a profession. Having a difficult client definitely sucks the fun out of things. :-/
I used to be more of a push-over and operated without a design agreement for years until I had 2 back-to-back experiences with clients from H.E. double hockey sticks (btw, anyone visit http://clientsfromhell.net/ ? Hilarious!).
Anyway, I’ve learned from experience that having a service agreement helps in outlining what is and isn’t included with my fee.
Difficult clients can also bruise your ego with their endless list of revision requests. Sometimes you’re left wondering why they hired you at all. Lol But remember, you’re the expert and it’s ok to gently push back when you feel the client is making an unreasonable request or a design error. Point out to them that they hired you for a reason – to keep their best interests in mind when designing for them.
It hasn’t come to this yet for me (although I’ve come pretty close), but if push comes to shove, fire a difficult client. Offer them a refund or something and move on. Sometimes, it’s not worth it to continue working with someone if red flags are waving wildly in your face.
The bottom line is that you don’t HAVE to do anything you’re not comfortable doing. You got into this field for the freedom to be creative and enjoy what you do. No one can make you miserable unless you let them.
I agree ..I have had my share of bad ones and some that made me want to dig a hole and just crawl in .. out of the 274 feedback i have on etsy only one is ‘bad” but this client took about a month to get back to me ended up leaving the bad feedback and then buying something elses .. That feedback is a remainder to my self that you cant please everyone and you can dig as many holes as you want in the ground.. but stuff like this makes you a little more tougher as a designer .. that was in 2007 .. its now 2012 and the clients i have had this year have made that bad feedback seem like nothing.
May 9, 2012
8:48 pm
Clarksville, Tennessee
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I am really happy that I found this board tonight.. It is has just been one of those days with one of those clients. I have had very difficult clients in the past who want change after change, but it is just something that you don’t get used to. Most of my clients are very easy going and often love my designs and require no changes from the very first draft, but then I have some that are just so difficult.. I often wonder if they are trying to be difficult on purpose.
Last year I had one particular client that drove me so freakin’ insane that I quit and took a leave of absence from designing for about a month and I don’t really want it to come to that again. After that incident, I added a section to my “Terms of Use” stating that the client had a certain number of days to make changes to their design or they would be charged additional fees. In the beginning this was just because I had clients that were dragging out the changes (they would want “only one small change”, but that would turn into a huge change every single day for weeks), or would want me to change this and then the next day change it back to the way it was, and on and on. Now, I’m considering adding a clause that states that they can only receive a certain number of revisions before they are charged an additional fee.. At this point, I’m not sure what else I can do?
Has anyone else been forced by a client to make hideous changes to a design to the point where they don’t even want to be associated with that particular design? I’ve had these clients before and this lady is the same way. She has me using these horrible fonts, tacky images, and the design is quickly changing from something beautiful to something downright tacky.. Not to mention she basically told me from the beginning to recreate someone else’s tacky design as her own.. Seriously? Why is she wasting my time then? At this point, I don’t really even want my name on it and I don’t want to put it in my portfolio, but she really seems like the type of person to call you out on not including her design.
Does anyone else get super defensive or offended when a client uses the words “so far”.. I send my clients a first draft, which is a completed design that they can make changes to, and I can’t tell you how nuts it makes me when they make a comment like, “OMG! I absolutely love what you’ve done! It looks fantastic so far!” It’s like they don’t realize that I’ve been working my butt off for days and that it is completed besides minor tweaks.. Grr.. Drives me nuts!
Sorry to have rambled.. Hopefully everyone else is having a better night than I am!
May 10, 2012
6:42 am
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utterlychaotic said:
Last year I had one particular client that drove me so freakin’ insane that I quit and took a leave of absence from designing for about a month and I don’t really want it to come to that again. After that incident, I added a section to my “Terms of Use” stating that the client had a certain number of days to make changes to their design or they would be charged additional fees. In the beginning this was just because I had clients that were dragging out the changes (they would want “only one small change”, but that would turn into a huge change every single day for weeks), or would want me to change this and then the next day change it back to the way it was, and on and on. Now, I’m considering adding a clause that states that they can only receive a certain number of revisions before they are charged an additional fee.. At this point, I’m not sure what else I can do?
Has anyone else been forced by a client to make hideous changes to a design to the point where they don’t even want to be associated with that particular design? I’ve had these clients before and this lady is the same way. She has me using these horrible fonts, tacky images, and the design is quickly changing from something beautiful to something downright tacky.. Not to mention she basically told me from the beginning to recreate someone else’s tacky design as her own.. Seriously? Why is she wasting my time then? At this point, I don’t really even want my name on it and I don’t want to put it in my portfolio, but she really seems like the type of person to call you out on not including her design.
I totally understand. I have had a couple beautiful designs get tacky and no amount or persuading worked. I did not include them in my portfolio as I did not want them associated with me. I have also had to rethink my terms of use and I have to make adjustments to them as new issues come up. It’s a learning process – each new client is different and some of them bring unexpected issues to the table. I myself have gotten pickier about the clients I take on. Sometimes you can tell that from the start, they are going to be difficult. It’s best to end it early and let them know you do not believe that you can give them the design they are looking for.
What sums this up the best for me is a comic from The Oatmeal titled “How a Web Design Goes Straight to H***”
May 10, 2012
11:14 am
Clarksville, Tennessee
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DBSdesigns said:
utterlychaotic said:
Last year I had one particular client that drove me so freakin’ insane that I quit and took a leave of absence from designing for about a month and I don’t really want it to come to that again. After that incident, I added a section to my “Terms of Use” stating that the client had a certain number of days to make changes to their design or they would be charged additional fees. In the beginning this was just because I had clients that were dragging out the changes (they would want “only one small change”, but that would turn into a huge change every single day for weeks), or would want me to change this and then the next day change it back to the way it was, and on and on. Now, I’m considering adding a clause that states that they can only receive a certain number of revisions before they are charged an additional fee.. At this point, I’m not sure what else I can do?
Has anyone else been forced by a client to make hideous changes to a design to the point where they don’t even want to be associated with that particular design? I’ve had these clients before and this lady is the same way. She has me using these horrible fonts, tacky images, and the design is quickly changing from something beautiful to something downright tacky.. Not to mention she basically told me from the beginning to recreate someone else’s tacky design as her own.. Seriously? Why is she wasting my time then? At this point, I don’t really even want my name on it and I don’t want to put it in my portfolio, but she really seems like the type of person to call you out on not including her design.
I totally understand. I have had a couple beautiful designs get tacky and no amount or persuading worked. I did not include them in my portfolio as I did not want them associated with me. I have also had to rethink my terms of use and I have to make adjustments to them as new issues come up. It’s a learning process – each new client is different and some of them bring unexpected issues to the table. I myself have gotten pickier about the clients I take on. Sometimes you can tell that from the start, they are going to be difficult. It’s best to end it early and let them know you do not believe that you can give them the design they are looking for.
What sums this up the best for me is a comic from The Oatmeal titled “How a Web Design Goes Straight to H***”
Haha! That perfectly describes my experience! I normally don’t change designs after installation and this woman e-mailed me eight times last night while I was installing her design to ask me to add another new social networking icon (she already had eight) and to try to add a floating image to the background and all kinds of other nonsense. If I had not been so close to the finish line with her, I would have just quit. New bloggers drive me nuts! She kept referring me back to this really crappy design and telling me how she wanted it to look like this particular design and how she liked this feature and that feature.. The person’s design looked very similar to the very last image in that comic.. This went on for hours until I finally was able to get her to compromise by using words like “pixelated font” and “user friendly”.. I have a feeling she’ll remove the design and go with some free pre-made design in about a week, but she continued to tell me how awesome things looked and how much she loved it while still asking for annoying little changes.
I normally include all designs in my portfolio and write a post about them, but I think I will probably skip the post and try not to draw attention to this horrible design.. I don’t want to be associated with it, but when I left my button out of her sidebar and just went with the footer link, she immediately called me on it and said she wanted my button there so I could get a bit more “exposure” (from her 20 followers).. Ugh.
May 10, 2012
11:19 am
Clarksville, Tennessee
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PS – Now she is e-mailing me asking if we can change the background and if she can change the fonts, etc. I installed her design last night! She is also asking me how to remove a widget from her blog.. I am so over this. I told her that I can’t make any changes without charging her.. I just want her to leave me alone! Grr!
May 10, 2012
11:22 am
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Ugh! Once I get the approval on the final draft and prior to installation, I let my clients know that any changes need to be made before installation, otherwise a fee will be charged.
May 10, 2012
11:26 am
Clarksville, Tennessee
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DBSdesigns said:
Ugh! Once I get the approval on the final draft and prior to installation, I let my clients know that any changes need to be made before installation, otherwise a fee will be charged.
I normally do also and I kind of assumed that she understood that any further changes would have to be paid for, but I guess not. To top it off, I offer a military discount to wives, fiances, and girlfriends, and she haggled me into giving her a discount because her husband is a police officer and he “risks his life on a daily basis unlike soldiers who just risk their lives while deployed”.. I have already gone above and beyond for this lady and she just won’t stop. I am so over it. I have finals to do this week and I’ve already told her that.. I don’t have time for this.
May 10, 2012
11:35 am
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Tell her, “OK, I can make those changes for you, but it will cost $xx since the design has been installed” and see what she says.
I have a client who is a super saver (extreme couponer) and she is always trying to swindle deals out of me or she tries to add on one more thing several times. It took a while, but I learned to put my foot down and let her know that I can create the additional banner or whatever for a fee of $xx.
Best wishes on your finals!
May 10, 2012
11:39 am
Clarksville, Tennessee
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DBSdesigns said:
Tell her, “OK, I can make those changes for you, but it will cost $xx since the design has been installed” and see what she says.
I have a client who is a super saver (extreme couponer) and she is always trying to swindle deals out of me or she tries to add on one more thing several times. It took a while, but I learned to put my foot down and let her know that I can create the additional banner or whatever for a fee of $xx.
Best wishes on your finals!
I told her that and she told me not to worry about it, but now she is trying to get me to change her post body font to the exact same font as her post titles (which is a Google Web Font) and as I’m sure you know, they tend to pixelate on certain browsers and they just aren’t a good idea for anything other than titles.. She doesn’t seem to care if her readers can’t read her posts or how it will look.. I’ve been getting kind of snippy with her in hopes that she will just back off, but she just gets snippy right back. If she really wants to change to the body font, fine, but I will most definitely be charging her.. I don’t have time for this. I have a final due by midnight and I have yet to start because she e-mails me every five minutes.
Thank you! At this rate, I need all the luck I can get!
May 10, 2012
1:34 pm
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Sorry you have such a difficult client. You may want to tell her that you’d be glad to proceed with any changes but that it will be at your hourly rate. Another designer I know itemizes every single item in the invoice she sends clients. That way if they suggest something outside of the scope of that design she can point to the invoice to say “sure” but it will cost “x” amount.
Your time is valuable and you deserve to be paid for that extra time you invest in a design project.
May 10, 2012
1:37 pm
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Liz said:
Sorry you have such a difficult client. You may want to tell her that you’d be glad to proceed with any changes but that it will be at your hourly rate. Another designer I know itemizes every single item in the invoice she sends clients. That way if they suggest something outside of the scope of that design she can point to the invoice to say “sure” but it will cost “x” amount.
Your time is valuable and you deserve to be paid for that extra time you invest in a design project.
Thank you, Liz! That is a great recommendation.. I do itemize my invoices, but I have considered charging an hourly rate for design work. I’ve only been designing for about about 18 months, so I often worry that I might be charging too much or that I’m not talented enough to demand an hourly rate, but I definitely think it is something that I should consider.
