Share your client horror stories! :)

I've had a few clients like this and for some reason they suck because they rush you and don't pay enough. It's a similar pattern across the country, and maybe the entire world...I like getting rid of these people as quickly as possible. ;)

Merry Christmas!

----
natobasso

Amen to that one, natobasso! Thanks for sharing.

Suzanne Maestri-Walters :: Graphic Designer

I always love these topics. It's nice to see that designers across the world share similar nightmare experiences.

Check out this link, it has quiet a long list of bonehead client comments and requests. They really aren't horror stories, but I'm sure they'll be a nice read.

Enjoy

I've seen those quotes. Awesome!
Another page of great horror stories here.
And stories with an international bent here.
----
natobasso

That sucks. People are clueless (sometimes intentionally) about professional artists and the fact that we provide a service.

I'm not entirely sorry that I barely have any direct contact with clients. I have filters for those kinds of comments. Although they can sometimes filter out some good information, too. And sales people can be just as clueless (sometimes intentionally).

I just had a client call and ask if I still had those layouts we did awhile back... The layouts were done in 1994 and yes. I did have them.

They were archived to Syquest disk and I had to drag my old Mac FX out of the shed and fire up OS 8. Once I got the files transferred and called the client to let him know, he said, "Oh... Don't bother. We decided that those layouts were sort of "Dated."

True story. :)

Hi Suzanne

Clients like this are hard to deal with because it becomes an ego tussle where both sides want their idea to go through. What I try to do (after much guttural cursing, invoking of ancient demons on the client's head etc) is try and work out a new logo that conforms to my standards but still has just enough of the look of the old logo for the client to feel that you took his suggestion on board, so his ego is assuaged. At the same time you (hopefully) don't end up feeling that you were forced to rip off another guy's work.

It's a tough call though. Sometimes you'd rather just decline the work and spare yourself the frustration.

Cheers
Manoj (newbie)
www.marketingedgedesigns.com

Believe me, I am wishing that every day. I should have went with my gut feeling and not accepted the job. I knew, the minute he e-mailed me that he didn't sound too kosher, but like I mentioned earlier, I needed the money. So I figured, why not? Well, now I am realizing "why not"—because he's an imbecile!!!

I sent him some more revisions last night, and I still haven't heard from him. I am guessing from his lack of reply, that he didn't like those revisions either. Did I mention that even though it was SUPPOSED to be for a logo design, he expected me to create this full illustration for the cover of his coupon book??? Yeah, neat. I didn't know that until I designed the first logo samples and he couldn't understand why they looked like a "logo???" Duhhhh. Then he said he wanted it to be more "animated" for the cover of his coupon book. Gee, had I known that FROM THE BEGINNING that a.) I wouldn't have accepted this job and b.) I would have charged him a lot more than the $70—FOR A LOGO DESIGN!

I guess these guys think we're working for free. OH well, maybe he'll go to Kinko's next time. LOL

Suzanne Maestri-Walters :: Graphic Designer

He didn't read your contract. Not only that, but how do you animate a printed logo?!

----
natobasso

Honey, in the time it's taken you to deal with this a**hole, you could have written yourself a new contract that specifies a kill fee for jobs like this, so you at least keep your deposit. You did get a deposit, I hope -- or am I correct in assuming that this toad has given you nothing so far but grief? Not to mention requesting that you put your ethics aside on his sorry behalf.

Did I ever send you a copy of the work order/contract I use, complete with all kinds of fine print to prevent guys like this from making my life a living hell? Ask and ye shall receive.

No, I already have a contract—an excellent one. However, in this particular instance, because he purchased my logo design auction through eBay, there really isn't any "contract" per se, just my terms outlined in my auction. He paid a total of $70 (which is what I charged for the auction, so he paid in full)—for this "logo design" and ever since he's been a pain in my butt. So he thinks that because "he doesn't like it" that he just demand half back. It's not the lousy $35 at this point, but the principle. I spent several hours working on this project and $70 doesn't even begin to cover what I've put into it, but he doesn't see it that way.

My contract is VERY good and very tight. I have a friend who is an estate lawyer and he looked it over for me and it's awesome. I require a 50% deposit with the balance to be paid before I release any or all work to the client.

So far, since I've used this contract with local clients, it's been wonderful—knock on wood. :)

Suzanne Maestri-Walters :: Graphic Designer

Put your contract in text form and have it in the details of every logo auction you post. Have people confirm that they agree to it before you start work.

----
natobasso

That's a good idea, natobasso! I might have to do that. It's getting ridiculous!

I haven't heard back from "Schmuck A" so I will just assume that he's done. Thank God. This is a guy who was e-mailing me every few hours, so since I haven't heard back from him since last night, I will take that as a very good sign. :)

Suzanne Maestri-Walters :: Graphic Designer

Natobasso's right: your contract has to be part of the terms bidders agree to when placing a bid for your services. The deposit part would be moot on eBay, of course, so you'd have to tailor it to get around that. I hope you have a "kill" clause in your contract to protect you when you've done just what they asked for and they keep sending you back to do something else, as this guy is doing, or when you've done your best and the client claims he isn't satisfied.

When there's a change requested in the scope of work agreed to in the contract, maybe you could fill out a "Change of Work" form for them to sign. It spells out the extra work, specifies the additional fee, and they have to sign it or the work isn't done. I mention just such a process in my contract, so it shouldn't surprise them. I admit it's hard to stick to that routine when a job gets complicated and the deadline looms, but it's really a good way to inject reality checks into the design process with clients who try to rip you off.

Would eBay's Dispute/Resolutions people be able to help you at all? http://pages.ebay.com/help/tp/questions/dispute-resolution.html

I'm currently working on a website redesign with a bit of added development [small custom CMS] for a client.

Everything has been going fine, except that the server they host it on is in house, and required FTP to be set up by their sysadmin.

I started the project and gave them an estimated time frame for completion. I started development on my personal server, as FTP had not yet been set up, and I was eager to get the job out of the way in time for the holidays. Luckily my server and their server are quite similar, so I began development wihtout using any server-specific code, intending to fix that all up once it had been move to their server.

It took their sysadmin over 2 weeks to get FTP set up at all, and when he did, it wouldn't let me connect from outside their local network [making it useless]. It took him another few days, making a grand total of over 3 weeks before I even had access to their server.

I decided to finish off the initial development on my server, and then move it over to their server to finish off the job. When I tried to move it over, the FTP server would disconnect me after a few minutes, and then refuse to let me connect for about 6-8 hours.

Obviously, I couldn't work like that, so I went back to developing on my server, and notified the sysadmin [and the client] of the problem. The problem wasn't fixed, and the holidays have now rolled around, and I am off work over the Christmas/New Year break.

The problem has been completely out of my control, and I am unable to fix it. Their sysadmin has been lazy and unersponsive, and I am being blamed for it. I asked them for a progress part payment, so that I would have some of the money I had budgeted for the holidays, as I had planned to finish the entire job by now, but could not because their sysadmin is a moron.

I have given them the link to the development folder on my server so they can see the progress. They have had this link since the very beginning, and I have sent it to them 3 times in the past 10 days.

I rang them today to find out about the progress payment, and they said they can not give me a progress payment unless they can see progress is being made. I told them that I'd sent them the link a number of times, and they said they have never seen it before [a lie, I have website stats with hits to the dev site from their IPs]

Long story short, they are now on holidays, and it is looking like I will not be able to get any payment at all until I can finish the job whenever the sysadmin decided to fix it after the holidays.

I've done over 50 hours work on this job, and I've taken as much responsibility for the problems as i can and have worked around them to be able to continue development. Yet I am still being blamed for them. I am only asking for some of the money that I have earned so far, that I don't have already because of their moron sysadmin not doing his job.

Today I came very close to telling them to fuck off and just forget about it altogether and moving on wth client I have lined up after the holidays, wbhich will now have to be pushed back because of the current client.

Tell me, why do these clients treat graphic designers like crap? If they had hired a lawyer or an architect to do a job, would they give them the same BS that they give designers??? I'm sick of it. Do they think we're not worthy of our money that's due to us because we didn't go to law school or study architecture in grad school? Do they think that we LIKE to work for next to nothing, or worse, for free? Someone please explain this frustrating dichotomy to me. I would like to be enlightened.

Suzanne Maestri-Walters :: Graphic Designer

Remember what happened to old-style printers when 'direct to plate' presses came along? They had to adapt or die; or wait for the renaissance that has since come back around that high quality printing can sometimes be best done in the 'old way'.

I believe the corporate world could give two hoots about creativity and graphic design; marketing is a bad word and the sales department is revered as the only department necessary for a company to be successful. It's the 'Powerpointization' of design that's caused this mental shift, and for the old ways to be challenged.

Clients used to see designers doing postups and redlines and photostats -- and recognized it as hard work. Since our jobs have become easier they think it takes less skill, and that's definitely incorrect. A better plane does not make you a better pilot!

Basically, graphic design is more commodity than art or a service these days. We fight this misconception by being professional and by proving again and again that good design brings good results. Designers must be good salespeople and ask clients questions they can't say 'no' to in order to keep good design alive. ;)

----
natobasso

Ahhh, now I get it. Arrrgh!

Suzanne Maestri-Walters :: Graphic Designer

Good clients will fall on the side of graphic design being a service rather than a commodity.

----
natobasso

Reading this, i've been in the same situation.

I had a client want me to "mimic" as he called it, a logo. What he really wanted was an exact copy. I don't take on ANY liability that i don't have to take, so i gave him his deposit back and told him i don't reproduce copyrighted work. He called back a week later and was finally willing to look into a creative and original design.

I've also since learned to put a line in my contract stipulating that i can cease to work on the project at any time i desire.

With that said, putting your services on ebay in my opinion is a hell of a risk. I look at that and think of all the bad outcomes and problems that can developpe from it and i just cringe.

I now work in an architectural office. I've learnt alot here, and the analogy of them hiring an architect rings home for me. The client or the designer should have the right at any time to cease work for any chosen reason. It none the less allows me to continue to bill them for the work i have done. If they don't want to pay me i'll gladly bring them to court. I demand what i estimate as a 50% upfront, and they don't receive anything till i receive the remainder of what is entitled to me. contracts don't have to use big words to be specific, and with the right wording, it can sound like you're out to protect yourself while still giving the client a good service.

i'd be curious to see other peoples contracts, maybe that should be a new thread?

never have heard such awful stories :) it's a really good topic

There is indeed a rainbow filter in photoshop!