Every so often I receive an email from other independent designers asking advice on how to solve a problem they are experiencing with a troublesome client. Questions typically range from “the client will not pay; what should I do?” to “the client keeps asking for more and more revisions; how should I handle this?”
While I always answer the emails with my own personal take on how a situation should be handled, I usually conclude each email with something on the lines of stating, “with time you will start to learn the early warning signs of troublesome clients and refuse work from the beginning; learn from your mistakes and grow because of them.”
I thought it would be both enlightening and fun to ask all of your opinions on some early warning signs that you watch out for with new clients from past experiences that might save some blood, sweat and tears for us all.
Here are a two of mine:
- Refusal or hesitation to work without a contract: This just seems way to fishy for me so I tend to stay clear of working together if this comes up. Your contracts should protect yourself as well as your client; always work with one no matter what.
- Clients that have a predetermined idea of what they feel is “best”: Often a client will approach you with a predetermined idea of what they want their logo to look like, even though they do not directly tell you upfront. This often results in you trying to match exactly what their mind has drawn up and results in endless revisions and redos. As a designer, you should listen to your clients feedback and input, however it should be clearly stated that the reason they are working with you is based on your problem solving skills to provide the best possible solution for their company. Note to Clients: Having a predetermined solution made up before a designer is contacted will only cause disappointment for yourself and the designer. Note to Designers: You should not be a ‘monkey with a wrench’ (meaning, you should not be hired only because you know how to use Photoshop or Illustrator).
Feel free to share other early warning signs that you now what out for with troublesome clients in the comments below.
They can’t answer why they need a website (for example) or why their users would want it. For some reason, they just *feel* that they need *something* and probably won’t want to be involved in the process. They will probably also have unrealistic ideas about the timeline for it. In my experience, it’s hard to make something great when the client is reticent and there isn’t a specific goal for the project.
They had a previous designer but “it didn’t work out”. I would want to know what happened. Maybe the previous designer was out to lunch, or maybe it’s the client that is wacko and that’s why the designer quit.
Clients who needed their site completed yesterday. It can be very tempting to take on these type of clients/projects. Be careful not to cut corners trying to finish the project faster. You won’t be proud of your work, and neither will the client.
Clients who are sketchy about payment details, and *think* that a friend might pay/be interested in a commission and are difficult to contact afterwards.
Also beware of designers so desperate for money that they would accept such an offer… >_<
No deadlines. “As soon as possible,” for when things need to be done. When quoting a price, “that’s what the job is worth, but that’s not what I want to pay.”
Two of mine:
1. Clients who agree with everything you say. Almost every time, these end up being the clients who tell me “this looks great – now change everything!”
2. Programmers, of any kind. I can’t count the number of times I’ve had web design dismissed as “just scripting, not real programming” (hurrr). I often get the same sneer from engineers.
Those who claim that the design/job is pretty “easy”, so they go like; I just need a “simple” Website design. Or; I don’t think this would be hard to get done and/or take much time.
But in fact, if they were responsible for the project, they would say that it needs much time, and so on…
P.S
After looking at the post’s lead image, I’m starting to notice that you’re a huge fan of Gotham typeface. Am I right? ;)
1. tight deadline with uncontrollable content schedule.
2. next to all feature requests, which leads to the question why every solution is so brought.
Don’t forget the payment up-front!
If a client doesn’t want to pay a part of the sum before I actually go to work, the money is always a problem after that.
1) When working with large corporations, clients who have no clear deadline in mind. This will usually entail an endless stream of pointless and trivial alterations to the design and/or artwork until there is no time left to make any further alterations and the job has to be whisked off to the printers ASAP. Such clients normally ask for the job to be done for a fixed price – I tell them I will only take the job on if every change is FULLY CHARGEABLE – and I make sure I always keep a print-out of every revision.
2) Akin to Andrew Hamada’s point above: the client who automatically approves everything and doesn’t really look at the job until the “final” artwork is presented. At this stage, they’ll even do a complete rewrite of the copy THEY supplied but not comprehend why a fresh charge for artwork is then submitted – even though they agreed every change is chargeable…
Great comments here. I agree with you, Brian, about those who hesitate about a contract and those who “know best.” I also steer clear of folks who try to barter down my rates or refuse to pay a percentage up front. Unrealistic deadlines and expectations and/or lack of planning or vision on their part can also create a mess. Thanks for posting and opening up the discussion.
Clients who keep revising the brief are a definite red flag. Also, avoid working with close friends. They will always think you’re doing them a favor and you will never ever get paid :)
Client is over-enthusiastic, talks too much or promises too much.
Yes, ask for a first payment before starting to work.
Ask him to do his home-work: provide content first. Bad client will find excuses not to.
This is a nice article that points out some of the things that freelancer’s should look out for. To me the hardest client to work with is the one that thinks they know web design and thinks they know what everyone else wants to see.
There are many warnings signs to look out for, I actually wrote an article on the subject myself called “7 Web Design Clients to Walk Away From”, check it out: http://www.redicedesigns.com/blog/2010/web-design/7-web-design-clients-to-walk-away-from
1. Clients who keep trying to get discounts by offering “lots more work” or “plenty of referrals” if this works out. Just remember those are classic negotiating statements in any industry.
2. Clients who expect you to do their marketing plan, copyediting, or SEO without paying you for it. Those clients are often scope creep clients. It’s good to be clear about what your role is and what exactly your services include.
3. I would agree that sometimes over-enthusiasm and unrealistic expectations about how long something will take, like “what do you mean it will take a week, it won’t be tomorrow?” are little warnings that the client needs education. If they really think you will just clap your hands and the work will be done, how much can they possibly value your service?
recent nightmare clients kept saying my web designer friend suggests this… why can’t you do this and add this because my web designer friend said this is how it should be. Yet the client wants me to work on his project… why not get your friend to do it??? nightmare client!!! wii definitely watch out for people like that, who hire you but then have a “friend” who thinks things should be done differently.
One thing that most freelancers do not know how to do:
Manage your clients expectations.
If your client’s expectations are the following:
- Has to be done in 1 month or less
- Has to be cheaper than XYZ web dev company
- You will do all the thinking for me
- (After completing the website) I want you to fix this, this, and this, and change this, this and this, all for free
- (Calls you at 1am) I need to get this changed now!
- The list just goes on and on and on
If you do not draw the line in the sand, you will be in-over your head like trying to surf the biggest wave that you never intended to surf.
Be truthful. Say no, no, no, no (some yes’s). Just imagine if you have 129 of these clients with contracts that range from 1 year to 3 months and you have income from them. Problems compound like interest on a credit cards, it can get very out of control.
Clients who postponed their deadline again and again. Those who play the waiting game with you and wanted the best deal out of you. They wasted your time and effort long enough that you won’t reject them.
Prospects that ask for “a couple of ideas to choose from” or ask me to “Sharpen my pencil” on the quote are red flags to me.
The largest and most common red flag is un-realistic time constraints.
If they haven’t budgeted enough time (or money) for the design element of their project or campaign they truly don’t feel my part is important enough.
I deal with all of them the same way: send a quote with a request for 50% down to book time which is usually 3 weeks away.
clients who think that when they pay for 3 concepts they can have a little of all the concepts and mix them up together!!!
They don’t understand that you are designing the website for “them”*. You are designing the website for their audience to spark a specific audience.
*Sometimes you actually are designing a website for them… they’re called “look at me” websites.
My previous comment made no sense… here is an edit:
They don’t understand that you are NOT designing the website for “them”*. You are designing the website for their audience to spark a specific action.
*Sometimes you actually are designing a website for “them”… they’re called “look at me” websites.
@Andrew Hamada,
I am a programmer, but you will never hear me dismiss design as “just scripting, not real programming.” I know just enough about design not to embarrass myself (I hope), and I respect those who do it really well!
I had a client that wanted me to design t-shirts for them, but that they aren’t looking to pay a lot for the design.I was new then and needed the business so i offered them a fairly low price and they wanted to lower it because they didn’t expect to make a lot of money (price your shirts accordingly, or don’t order custom designs?). After I did some quick designs for them, they said they wanted me to rip off existing t-shirt designs rather than do anything original – but also that they want it done fast and low priced. I ended up telling them to get someone else/
amen!
As a former client of Brian’s, I can tell you his process works. Following his advice will help attract top notch people. His professionalism made me want to be a better client, provide him with whatever I could, and make the experience the best it could be for both of us.
Thanks for all the helpful comments as I’m just starting out now.
These days, everyone is on a tight budget, but when a client says we don’t have too much to spend, but there is more work to come later…. don’t fall into the trap of cutting your rate for promises that may never come.
The last week I have had two clients (one for a logo and other one for a poster design) with the same stupid speech: “We have everything ready. You have to make the logo (poster) looks a bit better. That’s all. Also, we have a friend of xxxxxx how could do it as well but…”
The funny things is that they do not have idea about print, color, typography, etc.
My answer: …. Please, let me know a week or two in advance if you would need that logo or poster. Thanks you.
They never call again because they need the work done for today or yesterday
The moment the email correspondance becomes gruff… Good clients seem to share an ability to maintain a professional tone, no matter what’s on their plate.
(1) Clients who fancy themselves as creative individuals with an eye toward design, but really have no design sense whatsoever.
(2) In stark contrast, but often with a similar result, clients that are altogether too agreeable. Most of the time they have something in mind, but are unable to articulate what it is. These clients aren’t particularly bad per se; rather, their expectations simply need to be managed and you need to suss out what they have in mind depending upon their learning styles.
Everyone,
Excellent feedback and discussion! Thank you all for contributing your experiences and thoughts on this topic.
I’d like to add another that I just experienced the other day:
Look out for clients that continue to chop off “elements” and “areas” to meet budgets. Overall this will not pave the way for a successful relationship and will cause dispute in the end. Don’t be afraid to tell your clients that giving extra time to save a larger budget to have it done right will only benefit the tremendously in the end.
Mahmoud,
Gotham is definitely a beautiful typeface, much like everything H&FJ produces. Felt look at good match for the leading graphic.
Kyle,
As always, thank you for the kind words! It was a pleasure working with you as well and very glad you are pleased with the end results.
Kishan,
Very glad to hear that the comments have helped you out. That was the idea when I thought up this post and grateful for everyone’s feedback.
Overall any client that asks for spec work is always going to be trouble.
I find that any large companies which have a weak brand already or whose web team want a website that neglects the brand guidelines because “you never know when they’re gonna change” are going to be a headache and a half.
The best thing to do is to layout clear expectations BEFORE you begin any design work. Let them know the process, payment schedule, what is included etc… in writing. This will help control expectations and minimize any confusion after the fact.
Thoroughly enjoying the read!
But in saying all of this, how can we better educate these kinds of clients?
Uninformed, or not, they are still clients, with design needs, so what can we as designers do to slowly change common misconceptions that so many people have about design?
I’ve actually used the line to a client that me and designers in general are not “monkeys with wrenches”.
I really need to do a better job weeding out problem clients before they become problems. Too many times I give them the benefit of the doubt, but one project (a logo) was a classic case of not trusting my judgement. 4 rounds of revisions and ultimately they went with a logo they did in some generic logo generator.
Thankfully the contract required 50% up front. A pain none-the-less.
Thanks for the insightful post!
There are good clients and there are great clients. There are also crap clients! In 20 years plus I think I must have had every trick under the sun! No deposit, no order, no clear brief, no budget, no idea etc etc and we even had one with an overseas account and a complcated payment system that meant we could not easily and legally be able to get paid when we got ripped off for 20k, and that was after working with the guy for over a year and getting paid no problem. The thing us YOU KNOW something is not right and need to listen yo your guts sometimes! It’s always the nice ones that do this, so pleased be warned and do NOT trust anyone. Get orders, deposits, straged payments the lot! Especially in these challenging tlmes. My final thought as a CREATIVE director – one of many roles as Paul The Bulletman – Yes, I shoot from the hip and am also a business troubleshooter – also avoid working with other creatives. It never works out because we all find it hard to let go and often say we will (trust) yet do the opposite. So be careful with working with any other creative (the clash) and sensibly hand on to your Mac Robot / Studio Manager / Safe pair of hands who will also not he emotionally attached. Watch out for these people as you will get on like best mates to start with and then it is uphill or downhill from there!
Somehow I can tell at the very moment I have a conversation with prospective clients about their personality.
8 months ago I tried to refuse to work with a prospective client who seemed to be troublesome, but they insisted to be put on waiting list for 6 months for the chance to work with me. 6 months later we started the project. Now that it’s been completed and the client refused to pay.
That was a huge lesson for me, to always trust my instinct next time.
For me the main thing to look out for is the client that says things like “I could do this myself but I just haven’t time” which translates to mean the client thinks they are doing you a favour and therefore you should do it cheaper.
Similar to the above are comments like “My brothers son would be doing this but he is just to busy”. Again they reckon they will get it cheaper.
Good discussion here with some interesting points raise which I will be taking note of :)