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- bwhite, on 10/10/2007, -3/+51Next Digg post will be about how to rebuild your business after you have lost your biggest clients.
- scoreboard27, on 10/10/2007, -0/+30Yardsaling a crap client is probably the most liberating thing a consultant can do short of beating the hell out of a jammed printer with a baseball bat.
- drmangrum, on 10/10/2007, -0/+24This is every client. It easy to deal with them. You have a contract. You abide by the contract. If things are not clearly defined in the statement of work then you need to get them clearly defined. If the client wants to change something, you fill out an addendum/change request with any monetary changes clearly stated. If your dealing with a new client, require a fee to cover the last payment. If they fail to make a payment, then you stop producing until they pay.
It's common sense stuff. Business is all about getting the other guy to give you the most possible at minimum expense. Too many people try to be people-pleaser's. That doesn't work in business. You can be nice, but never give more than contractually obligated ( unless it's a major client with a long, and VERY good, work history together ). - FearlessFreep, on 10/10/2007, -1/+16and nothing compared to beating a crap client with a baseball bat
- TheHydrogens, on 10/10/2007, -1/+11Information is easy to digest in list form, and ten is a nice round number.
- Dipster, on 10/10/2007, -1/+9Makes you wonder why so many vendors go along with selling to WalMart, doesn't it?
- iziizi, on 10/10/2007, -0/+7I am lucky enough to have to deal with all 10 types year round. Web industry! People think you have a program like word which builds websites, its hilarious. I especially like number 9 - that happened to me and i eventually had to tell him that the business is moving in a different direction and that he wasn't going to be able to stay with us :)
- PyrotekNX, on 10/10/2007, -1/+7You can use some of these techniques when you are breaking up with your SO.
- Wuss, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5I think it was a well written article actually, but the post above it kind of hits it right on the mark.
The small print of the article should be "And after taking my advice, just be prepared to lose clients". Because ultimately, that's the risk in alienating even pain in the ass clients. - caribbeangirl1, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5I agree! You have to be careful and know when those times are - but sometimes clients can be such a drain on your resources that you aren't doing anyone a favor. When they are being completely unrealistic - and everyone knows, including the client - when you are at that point you have to say something.
- j3one, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5I know, it's like why would you run the market to down pay when you can hike your lateral interests. So many clients are going with big brands like Nike when people like the sansco operation are waiting in the wings. Makes you wonder if the whole thing is just a Ron Paul setup, or 9/11 was an inside job? All I know is, with web 2.1 coming around the bend, I don't want to get surprised with my pants down in beta. Nipple slip, lolcat, loz {PICS}, top ten ftl...
- inactive, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5Under the theory that all clients do all of these things, it might be best to just close your doors for good.
- bradleyland, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5I have, in 7 years of doing this type of work, only seen one, maybe two clients who do not fit in to at least one of these categories.
- AvengeX, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4You'll also need a bulletproof contract. I didn't have one, dropped my client and she threatened to sue me. Now every letter I get in the mail I expect to be a court summoning.. watch out folks.
Note: "she"'s tend to hold grudges for a lifetime :( - vonskippy, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5Most of these aren't a problem if you charge enough for your time. At $185/hr I can put up with whatever crap you want to dish out - it's your nickel (actually, it's your 3,700 nickels). I bill in 1/4 hours - rounded up. If my clients want to drag their feet or have useless meetings, phone calls, a zillion status checks - no problem - it's all on my time sheet. Clients that don't pay - aren't clients. That simple method pretty much means your clients aren't problems, they're your profit center.
- inactive, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Rule number one in business - you have no friends. Watch out for Greeks bearing gifts.
I have been there and done that. Sometimes it is not worth taking on a job. Unfortunately you don't find out about bad clients until the job is finished and payment is requested. It is best to sent the unpaid invoices to a debt collection company. You may loose up to 30% of the income but you will save that money in time lost chasing the client. Also a bad debt goes onto a person's credit record.
I can also relate to that every Tom, Dick, Harry and his cat are now a computer hardware and software experts. People get the information off the net from places like Tom's Hardware on how to build computers. Admittedly a blind chimp could built a computer. Everything is colour coded; theoretically there should be no stuff ups. Install Windows and you are up and running. It is only when the system is running that you find out how good the installer was. I have repaired many computers because the installer had no idea on how to optimise the system or defrag the hard drive. My attitude now is to send the person to the nearest computer shop and say it will cost you between $80 to $120 per hour to fix it. People only learn their lessons when they burn a hole in their wallets. - MiNGLED, on 10/10/2007, -2/+5In real life, the only reason you get rid of a client is because they don't pay. Otherwise you just say yes and do what the client wants, well that's what my MD says.
- inactive, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Wrecking someone's credit is a way better feeling than being paid. It's the most you can actually do to someone without it being an arrestable offense.
- inactive, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Many programmers and developers deal with the scope of a project slowly increasing over time. Its a natural process because one cannot completely predict every problem and 'new' request before starting a project. Its best to always charge a bit more upfront for the 'unseen' work and have the client write out of list of 'project requirements' and don't go beyond what the original contract states... at least not in a large way unless they are willing to pay 'addendum' invoices that are outside of the original contract. This usually keeps my clients in check and makes them re-think their position.
- rickcarson, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Not Found
The requested URL /learning_tools/Defusing_Difficult_Customers.html, was not found on this server.
Additionally, a 404 Not Found error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.
Apache/2.0.46 (Red Hat) Server at www.thesedifficulttimes.com Port 80
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Wow man, that is so intensely zen. I like it. IF the customer is difficult, just 404 them. Brilliant.
*waves hand* This is not the consultancy you are looking for - ToxicGas, on 08/11/2008, -0/+2(reliving some bad memories) i can't say i miss doing that kind of work anymore ... but the truth is, anytime you have to deal with 'people' ... things get ugly from time to time. far too many people are just plain ugly.
- rYno, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2It's always good to know that everybody else knows the SAME clients that I run into also. These are good guidelines that insidecrm lists... follow them or you'll be hating life with some of those clients... Unfortunately - I've learned from personal experience.
- Phlosten, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Charity cases are the worst. I made the mistake of offering to help out a local community group with a website. While I enjoyed making the website I have had more time wasted by them than with any other client.
Word of advice, stay away from free, and don't under-value yourself. I have found that if you under-value you will have trouble getting clients. If you look cheap they will think you are. If you value the work you do, put an appropriate price on it. Don't under-value, but over-deliver! - IMADV8, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Welcome to the corporate world.
- Gavagai80, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2If you like being miserable and don't care about anything but money.
- wdavis0911, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3Here's a link to an article where one company said no to Walmart…
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/102/open_snapper.html - josefresco, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3somewhere out there is a web company charging much less than $185/hour that will be taking all of your business
and yes you can bill me for the time you spent reading my comment (i'll promptly wipe my ass with it) - inactive, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2This article rocks. I've been waiting for something like this. I own a small ad agency and almost all of these apply to my field.
- rickcarson, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Those two hour support calls will now be billed at my standard hourly rate, in minimum increments of 1 hour. Awesome. :D
- r3bol, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2So true- these people really exist.
- tinselsnips, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2That was a great read.
- beercosoftware, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2I apologize for the self-promotion in my earlier comment. Really as a business, it's all about the money. If people are being super unreasonable, you can ignore them until they come back to their senses or try to reason with them. You want a good contract that states in painstaking detail what work you will do for x amount of money. If they try to go over that, state that it's not in the contract and sign a new one with the extra work.
That's how business goes. Some people won't be happy, and some may yell at you and make threats ect... You just have to keep going and do what you said you would do in the contract. Otherwise you're not running a business, you're running a charity. - BobTurtle, on 10/10/2007, -2/+3Agreed. Especially since half of the "solutions" can be boiled down to "explain the problem to the client".
- pcpimpster, on 10/10/2007, -2/+3Nice!
- sensibledriver, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1If you don't include Discovery as a phase that's billable, you shouldn't be and won't be in business long.
- hipRealtor, on 10/10/2007, -3/+4Shorter firing: "I'd rather let you down now instead of disappointing you later."
- inactive, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2Yeeaaahhhh.. I'm relocating to Yemen, see ya!
- recon16, on 10/10/2007, -5/+6This is awesome!!!!
- mugget, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1uh, isn't that the whole point? to ditch problem clients?
so i'd say that people are aware they'll lose the clients, hopefully that is their objective if they're reading these points... - sclark, on 11/19/2007, -0/+1bad clients are like slinkys, not much good comes from them, but they sure are fun to push down stairs.
- rickcarson, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Actually, once the competitors you hate figure out that you're sending them all the clients you hate, they will turn around and do the same thing right back at you.
So everybody wins. Except the customers and the people doing the work. But since this is IT, that is pretty much par for the course :D - 1nhuman, on 10/10/2007, -3/+4If I had followed this list I would have been out of work for the last 10 or so years. But he, you go ahead and wait for that perfect client.
- Phlosten, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1The friends and business thing is a rule I have lived by for years. The line I use is:
"There is no such thing as friends in busines. Never, ever!"
You are not there is make friends, you are there to make a living.
Do good work and you will have good clients. - redthirteen, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Does anyone know how to fire the US President from HELL??
- vonskippy, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Unfortunately, you are clueless. I've been in business for 15+ years. I turn small fry and boring jobs away. I'll be raising my rates to $225/hr in 2008 in hopes of getting closer to a 40hr work week (instead of the 60-80 I work now). I don't do web design, I do large system (i.e. data center) network design. There's always noobs willing to work for less - which makes my job of justifying my rate quick and simple - I just let the client get hosed by the noob first. I still end up with the client - plus I get the billable hours to clean up the mess the "cheaper guy" created.
- halicon5, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1My web development client from hell just happens to be a church... the church which my boss at my other job attends.
- thesmu, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0i got a funny sick feeling in the bottom of my tummy when i read number 2:
"The client who can't make deadlines: This client wants you to set his project at top priority because he’s on a tight schedule and needs to get something produced right away. You agree, assuming that you’ll have all of the information you need to get it done quickly. Unfortunately, your client drops off the face of the earth, ignoring your requests for approvals and other correspondence...."
i'm struggling with that at the moment and it's looking like it might turn into number 8. "The next-100-days client: This client doesn't pay until he's good and ready..." - hedoluna, on 11/08/2007, -0/+0these points are gold to me
- FearlessFreep, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2and the other half are "get it in writing, give the client what you contracted for, and move on"
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