You’re in a meeting and you’re discussing the changes needed made to the current project. Your breathing becomes heavy and your heart is pounding furiously like it just wants to pop out and hit your client with its arteries. It all comes to an end when your faces starts to develop pimples in just a couple of hours.
This building pressure between yourself and the clients always happen when some things are not under control. There might be several methods to control a situation like this from a decent polite manner to a no holding back and give your client a heart attack way. But first, when are the times clients would become considered insane?
- When they want a new template.
- When they request for they saw on TV.
- When they expect you to be the designer who designed their competitors website.
- When they comment that your work doesn’t take very long.
- When they pause for a very long time. (these are pretty scary)
- When they expect you to finish before the requested timeline.
- When they think your company always works every single day.
Those are some of the symptoms to look out if you think you’ve got an insane client. There isn’t a client psychologist to help you so there are only business methods to handle insane clients while keeping your sanity in check.
- Draw a line in the contract for the amount of changes avalaible.
- Remind the client how much of the amount has been used.
- Explain to the client that anymore request is breaching the amount signed upon.
- Tell the client that the extra work to be made is going to cost half of the entire project. (Nah, I’m just kidding but you get the idea.)
As much as the client could always say that because they’re paying for it they’re right, this isn’t the time when the customer is always right. I’d definetely not say he/she is right because as much as I respect her business, they too should return the respect.
That is why in the contract, ALWAYS remember to include the amount of changes allowed that could be judged by yourself or your company. Clients who can’t respect your working principles are more often to become insane and infect you at the same time.
What’s worse, losing one insane client or providing only 50% of your effort to other clients who’ve treated you better. Isn’t this bias? I won’t deny that it is but it’s because unhealthy business affects not only the company but everyone’s morale.
I’d rather maintain a healthy business with happy and satisfied clients along with an energetic and friendly team.
Hey, out of curiosity, how do you account for revisions in your contract? Do you say that the client is allowed 2 revisions, or do you say that all revisions must be made within a fixed period. How major is the revision before it becomes too major?
Clients are never considered insane, after all you can choose not to take them. Either educate your client or if the business is too troublesome take business elsewhere. You cant always expect to get good clients and easy brief, wheres the challenge in that at all?
*sigh stop your complaining, I’m so sick of all the designers in malaysia bitching under the sun. Deal with all these problems as your all going to face it again and again. Bear in mind clients dont even have the same design education you have, they just want something and thats it, it doesnt meant its correct but at the end of the day you got to learn when to shut ur hole and when to speak up. Frankyly looking at your design they all look like cheap template designs of blogs, not very impressive to say. Who would want a bitchy whiner designer?
david:
Nope, normally I’d state the amount of changes in a percentage form. The amount of revision lasts through the whole project so at any point if the client is requesting for too much, we’ll be honest enough to bring it up and discuss it over.
fool:
I don’t think I need to reply to you since I’ve had others advising me how to handle things like this here:
http://www.dannyfoo.com/archives/2006/01/how_to_reply_ha.html
dear “dannyfool”
Do you have a website of your own? how bout sharing it with us.. unless your using a Kubrick theme too..
Well, if Danny were to keep all those stress he faces to himself.. i think he’ll be a ticking timebomb, waiting to explode.. perhaps this way he can let out the steam a little.. Dont u bitch about your problems to someone? Everyone does that… same way i curse some of my lecturers =P
And lastly, i doubt web designers here are paid handsomely. You can’t expect excellent services at cheap prices, can u?
i have a few websites projects in hand..but u know..i rather let my friend that is still studying to design, then pass it to an IT programming friend to do the coding or database…really…better than spending money on mr.fool who bitch so much about design, yet wonder if he knows what is design. Frankly i dun see any design elements in ur website..nothing original, nothing. And i wonder if this is ur website design skills ? please don’t tell me u do graphic designs stuff…shine on you..! sorry..i mean shame.
Dude, do you even have a website? Pity your “clients” to have hired someone with such immature thinking like you. Hm, I’m starting to wonder about my own sanity, responding to your comments…. sigh..
Wah Danny has a hater, cool! Good job man! That’s the first indicator that you’re doing well :)
Unfortunately this hater doesn’t have much comprehenstion ability. Since Danny didn’t just complain about it, he provided methods to handle it. That’s being constructive… poor hater is unable to comprehend that unfortunately.
About his current site design, its an MT template. He used to have his own custom design, but after he upgraded or something it no longer worked… he just hasn’t had the time to design one for himself.
Bunch of fresh grad!