When Donace first asked me to write a guest post my first question was, “Umm… when do you need it by?” Fortunately, he was super cool and gave me plenty of time. Of course, that still didn’t keep me from putting off writing it until almost the last minute. My second question was, “What do you want me to write about?” as I seriously had no idea what the topic should be. Donace suggested that since I had been freelancing for awhile now that I should write about the worst client that I’ve had. Honestly, I haven’t had any that were totally terrible but some have been difficult, rude and inconsiderate. So, instead I’m going to give you 10 reasons to not work with a freelance client.
- The first email from the potential client says, “I need some help with my website. How much will it cost?” If you’re lucky there won’t be any typos. I still answer these but if I keep getting busier I will probably stop. Even once I explain that the cost is dependent on the amount of work they need and ask what they specifically need, they usually reply with, “Stuff is broken. I need it fixed ASAP. How much will it cost?”
- The first email uses terms such as the above mentioned “ASAP” or “I needed this yesterday”. Well, if you needed it yesterday, you probably should have contacted me a minimum of two weeks ago. This individual is not going to become less difficult as you continue working together.
- The client emails you numerous times before committing to the project or before any money has been exchanged. You begin to feel that your hourly rate has gone down to minimum wage. When you tell them you would be happy to discuss the project further at your consulting rates, you usually never hear from them again.
- This one happens frequently on smaller projects that don’t require a more formal contract. You finalize the list of what needs to be done and then email them back with how long it will take and the cost. They reply back with, “oh and this and this need to be fixed too”. They then act all surprised when I tell them that will increase the cost.
- They love the phone WAY too much. They want to call and talk to you before starting the project. Ok, fine. I can deal with that. But I do not need to make friends with you and talk to you for an HOUR.
- The client will call you on a Sunday because of something really important like their adsense account has been approved. This actually happened and I dropped the client shortly after that. It wasn’t the only reason but was just too far. If you are going to call me on the weekends and especially on a Sunday it better be really really important. You know, something has exploded. But with the kind of work that I do there is nothing that can’t wait until Monday or be sent via email instead.
- The client treats you like an idiot. I had a client who was having trouble with posts displaying properly in his featured carousel section. Initially when I tested it I couldn’t not duplicate the problem. He replied with “it’s important to follow my instructions and duplicate the steps exactly”. Umm … all you said was that it didn’t work. He also said, “why don’t you use one of your articles to test it or write new one”. What?!?!?!? No! Turns out that he wasn’t including an image with the post which, of course, is necessary for an IMAGE carousel to work properly. Who’s the idiot?
- You have completed everything based on the specifications outlined in the contract and the client will not release the remainder of the funds until you answer “a couple of questions”. Ok, you answer the questions. Then there are a couple more, them more, etc. I haven’t determined the best way to deal with this. I’ve found that sitting on the questions for a week and then answering them very generically sometimes works. I swear the emails filled with questions take up more time than the actual project.
- The client emails you every time something goes wrong with the site for months after the project has ended. I tend to think of myself as a mostly nice person so if it’s quick and easy I will answer it. But 70% of the time the client will NOT respond with a thank you. I’ve asked people for help before and it has been freely given so that’s fine. But I thank the person – sincerely and profusely.
- The client loves you so much (probably because you are the only person who would put up with him) that he then sends all of his idiot friends your way. Then the cycle continues.
No one client has done all of these things. And, overall, so far my clients have been great. Some have become ongoing ones that I do work for weekly or monthly. They are kind, respectful, appreciative, and don’t mind paying for quality work. Part of the problem is me – I have to learn to be better at catching the bads one in the beginning and just saying no.
About the Author
Kim Woodbridge is a freelance WordPress consultant and Web Developer. She blogs about mostly WordPress and sometimes some other stuff at (Anti) Social Development. She is a nice person, although this article would make you think otherwise, and really does like most of her clients.
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You make some really excellent points. For me, I have been able to filter most of Problem #1 with a standard design questionnaire that I fire off along with my first response to a design request. I usually include a minimum turnaround time in my first response as well, as well as a rush rate for moving that date up. I also ALWAYS use a formal contract, although it is more time consuming. That’s just my paranoia showing.
This was a great guest article! I’d like to see more from you in the future!
Hi George – Thanks! Do you have a sample of your questionnaire? I’d really like to see it – that might be able to save me some time and it probably helps weed out people who aren’t that serious.
You can always visit my site if you liked the article
[...] 10 Reasons to Not Work With a Freelance Client – This is a guest post I did for Donace over at The Nexus while he’s vacationing away somewhere
These example are true and some are a little funny. [...]
Great points, we had a client who wanted an Internet site, but couldn’t say exactly what he wanted, he could only say he didn’t like anything we showed or offered him. After a while of not saying what he wants and continually saying what he doesn’t want we decided to part our ways.
Hi – Sometimes you have to do that. When I was trying to work out one site, I was trying to get an idea of the client’s goals for it. All he kept saying was that he wanted to make a lot of money. Well, don’t we all.
But that isn’t what I can for him.
It’s really all about brainstorming before asking what you want. It’s so obvious, but once they figure it out bodabing bodaboom. LOL can be frustrating dealing with this at times.
I prefer the people who know exactly what they want then the ones who have a vague idea about wanting something. Without really knowing someone it’s difficult for me to direct them.
I usually go with an intuitive gut-level instinct that seems to have served me well over the years. Fortunately, as demand increases, so does your ability to “cherry-pick” your clients. At first, I remember justifying signing with a few less-than-desirable (as in, run far away and never look back) clients just because I needed the work. These days, I have been blessed with top-quality people and mutually beneficial business relationships. Thanks for the post
Hi Jeff – Yes! Intuition is very important – sometimes you just know the person is going to be a problem. I’m not able to cherry pick yet but I am sub-contracting for 3 people now, which gives me consistent work and makes me feel more at ease about turning people down. I’ve only been doing this full time for 2 months so I’m still not perfectly clear on finances.
And you are an amazing designer so I’m sure you get the best clients
As always, excellent insights.
I’ve thankfully never had all of these rolled into one clients, but I have had a lot of them rolled into a couple. Once I realized I could fire clients, it was great – and I’ve since become pickier and raised my rates to boot.
I should tell you about the guy who had a “great ideer”. In his design, he didn’t want “a lot of thsoe boxes”.
I passed.
Hi Andrea – I remember that one
One of the people on this list is driving me up the wall today – I’m either going to start charging him to just email me or filter his emails to the trash.
Haha, I can definitely sympathize with a couple of these. What I run into the most are people who aren’t familiar with the process and don’t really understand the amount of work that’s involved in making that “one last little change.” I’ll definitely keep these experiences in mind whenever I need the services of someone else… (*note to self, never use ASAP!) =) Thanks, Kim.
Hi Adam – That’s a good point and understandable. I try to get a feel for the person’s level of experience so I know how to present info to them. ASAP just really gets on my nerves – it makes me want to work slower.
Good post. There are those clients, that no matter how well you do in planning and communication at the very start of the project, turn into “that client” as the project progresses. How I long for that “magic client fortune teller ball” that alerts us to those potential challenging relationships.
Thanks again.
Hi Sharon – I’ve had that happen too. The person is completely fine – great to work with and then all of a sudden there is an abrupt shift. I find it often accompanies receiving an invoice.
Hi Kim,
What a great look behind the scenes of freelancing. Being in business (in the real world) is very similar, however, with them you can knock on their door if they don’t pay – or lien their project. After reading this, I see doing business online has it’s own set of circumstances, but it also appears you’re learning how to weed out the ones who are only wasting your precious time.
Fabulous post. I’m bookmarking this for future reference.
Great list Kim. Unfortunately, many of these things describe about 75% of my clients. Curious how long you will “fix” a site after completion. My clients seem to think that if something breaks, it is my fault because I built their site, even though it was working fine for months or years. Hard not to get sucked in to that, even if my contract clearly states otherwise.
Haa….. Funny funny funny, but i like the 10 rules. It is kind of true on how to dealing with any requests. You got to detect the bad ones at the beginning. Thanks for putting them together and share the thought, smile.
Jaymie
Pacific Timesheet
[...] who graced these hollow walls with a great post and must read for people considering doing online freelance work and if you need any freelance work done give her a [...]
Good rules. It’s hard to tell the good clients at the beginning from the bad ones.