Who says you can’t tie your client to a wooden worn out pole blindfolded and fire them? The only reason you can’t do this most of the time is due to the wrong practice and corrupt business world we live in.
There are too many designers who give in too easily to clients and there are designers who offer lower prices for sh*tty quality though the client some times is also too blur sighted to notice it.
See, I’m firing clients right now but it’s all about managing complications.
The times I’d love to fire my clients is when they’re doing my job. I don’t mind suggestions and opinions but any designer hates clients who demand something that’ll either weaken their overall website or worst, destroy the true potential beneath it. These clients are just plain bossy, arrogant, ignorant, cows that only graze grass.
Clients don’t have to be always right. They too care for their brand and they do it with even more attention when they’re handling the responsibility to you. That’s why as much as clients can be wrong, they are also right half the time. However, out of all the clients I’ve come across, only a handful have trusted me with their brand to do a good job with it.
It’s difficult working with a brand that the client has understood for more than 2 years – employees of clients should know more about the company than you – and you’re just hired for the length of a month or two to accomplish their project.
This is where the importance of communication and managing the complications of the relationship comes in. And is also the other thing I’ve been preaching for quite a while, your clients are also your friends. Whether they’ll be your girlfriend, boyfriend, or plain friend is up to you.
When you’ve made that relationship work with a client and their brand, the project flow will ease through and both parties will be happy.
I try my best to explain situations to clients where things are possible, ideas that I have for them, and listening to feedback from them. All this communication is normally the cure to firing clients because when we really do, it’s an ugly sight.
However, when you do need to fire the client, do it in a professional manner. Speak to them like a professional and try explaining. If they still refuse, it’s up to you if you’d like to still continue the project, walkaway, or just commit suicide.
But know this, you’ve tried your best to persuade and talk to the client. If they don’t wish to open to you and form that bond, then it’s not your fault the value of their website wasn’t achieved.
Hello! Been trying to find your email address, but can’t seem to find any. Drop me a mail? I might have a business proposal for you :)
P.S: Feel free to delete this comment after you have read it.
I know what you mean but I guess it is expected when some of the CEO’s don’t even know how to send an e-mail, don’t expect them to understand the importance of a website. To them its simple, They pay you money and its your job to come out with a GREAT website but no input during the process. So when you finally finish your work, they will then blast your work to high heaven. And you have to do it all over again.