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Thread: Dealing with "tough" clients
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02-04-2010 06:58 PM #1
Dealing with "tough" clients
So, how do you go about dealing with these tough clients? Ever since I lowered my rates, I've been getting a lot of these people. I honestly just CAN'T deal with most of them. What do you all do? Do you just not take work? I'm tired of dealing with horrible PSD's with a hundred different layers, NO FOLDERS and half the text is rasterized. I do coding, not design and yet it seems like I'm redesigning their themes they give me each day. Today a man gave me basically 2 themes and wanted them put together, one was his .psd the other was just a flattened jpeg image. Give me some tips on staying cool or how to get around these kind of people!!!!
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02-04-2010 08:01 PM #2Content Contributor
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Buy a 6 pack of redbull and just think to yourself, the quicker you finish the design, the better you will feel

Also think of the money
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02-04-2010 10:33 PM #3
Sounds like you need to reorganize your business practice and include a contract with work you do. Offering cheaper pricing for your time and effort does not mean that you should accept poor work, daily modifications and anything else that hinders your efficiency.
Limit the amount of modifications per project and charge additional for x amount of hours or modifications required.
Require at least some organizations with PSDs, include fonts, and ONLY a PSD. Not PNGs or JPEGs (unless its like a Fireworks layered PNG which is possible, right?)
If the client gets to the point where you are fed up with their crap, sometimes money isn't worth it. Tell them you can't fulfill their work due to personal reasons and promptly end the relationship.
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02-05-2010 10:53 AM #4
I have pulled a few all nighters to get work done. Mostly because I strive to complete projects as fast as I can without the loss of quality. I feel like that is one of my big things about me. I do fast turn around times (1-2 days max). I won't say it's the fastest, but people like the fact that I do stay up late to get them their code faster.
I code templates to xhtml. I never thought of how much change people actually needed. Most clients are considered the "dream type". They give me a well organized PSD, say here you go and I just do it and its gone. No complaints, very happy. I will start having to force people to give me NEATLY organized PSDs. I think I will actually work on a new quote system, because some projects do have me work too much for little pay.
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02-05-2010 11:45 AM #5
Just explain to them (calmly and professionally) that the file they sent you is inadequate, and that they should talk to the original designer to fix the problems you have.
If you are strapped for cash, and can't afford to turn down good business, then It's best to just let them know that in future projects, to group / name layers, don't rasterized text..etc..etc and just make the changes yourself (this time)
It will make the client feel you are going above and beyond for them and that you care for the final outcome.Quality Web and Graphic design
Aaron Moody Design
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02-05-2010 12:27 PM #6
Well said Aaron, sometimes its hard to keep your cool but its best to keep it professional as you are running a business and providing a service.
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02-18-2010 11:21 PM #7
Honestly, from a long time of working for cheap for clients that thought they deserved the world for $50 I finally moved away from that kind of stuff. The gaming community, whether it's expensive or cheap work, is full of people like that, it can ruin your reputation as well, trust me I know first hand. I do not do work online for gaming sites anymore unless I know the person personally, it's just completely not worth it at all in my mind.
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05-11-2010 06:10 PM #8Junior Member
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Re: Dealing with "tough" clients
I charge for time worked. If the customer is "tough" in that they have a lot of changes to the requirements or feel things need to be reworked or improved, that's fine with me. I like a customer that is involved in their project rather than one that gives no feedback. And when customers start to get "tough", I keep them talking by asking lots of questions, and make sure they receive an invoice for the time, so there is no confusion about the commitment they are receiving from me.
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