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Enough is Enough – When A Web Designer Has to Fire A Client

Posted on 25. Jan, 2010 by bmackler in Inspiration, Resources

Today, I would like to expand upon a previous post. As I discussed in number 8 of my 2010 New Years Resolutions, it is sometimes essential for a freelance web designer or developer to drop a frustrating client. Even in a tough economy one of the most liberating and refreshing things for a freelancer to do is tell a client that you can no longer work with them, or make it impossible for them to continue with you. It could be for any number of reasons that you will have to do it but no money in the world is worth dealing with a client that does not appreciate you, is overly demanding, causes stress or worst of all does not pay. So how do we know it’s really time to set an unworthy client loose?

In the web design and development world, just like in corporate America, the volume of our clients define who we are and our success in our business. Simply put, keeping clients that are a drain and negative impact on your work will always make you less productive and will make you less profitable. The biggest enemy of sustained growth and success is the belief that “I can’t afford to lose this client”. In truth, what you need to say to yourself is that there is no way you CAN afford to keep problematic clients. They create more work, more stress and cause you to burn out much quicker. In the long run, they will do very little to improve your career or lead to referrals.

Our problem, however, is that we tend to stick with a client if we’ve been working with them for a while, simply because it’s safer, and it’s more difficult (not to mention a little scary) to find new clients. So we stay with bad clients for longer than we should.

Time to Fire That Client

Who should be on that list to let go?

Clients who are overly critical of your work. While there is no need to have thin skin and good honest constructive criticism is always helpful and educational there are those clients who take it too far and just complain about everything. The client that is never happy and makes you doubt your skills with everything you do is the client you want to get rid of. If you can’t ever please them, why bother? You will produce better quality work and have a much more pleasant experience when you work with a client who sees value in what you do.

You are always being blamed and accused. It is a given and known fact that freelancers are seen as lower on the totem pole. When there is a problem, screw up, or failure along the chain of command we often take the blame for them. This happens because of two main reasons, a) we are seen as dispensable due to the amount of people that can supposedly do the same thing b) we usually aren’t physically in the office to defend ourselves. If something like this happens once and its not your fault, say ok and right it off, promising to be more careful, but if it continues you need you should probably get out of there. These sort of things can really harm your reputation. Just like in the rest of life, if you are the fall guy when you are innocent, its a warning sign.

Signs You Know Its Time To Fire That Client

High strung or even emotionally unbalanced. While no one will doubt that we are all human (sometimes have to wonder…) and people get emotional, angry and upset from time to time, there is a limit, a fine line when erratic behavior gets in the way of your professional relationship. We have all had that one client, I sure have, that you are not sure why they aren’t taking their medication because they are all over the place, making it impossible to get straight answers and constructive feedback on your work. This interferes with your work and is a recipe for disaster. Whether this is a coworker or a supervisor, as a freelancer it is in your best interest to stay away from unbalanced people like this. That much more so if they are verbally abusive.

Customers who are extremely cheap. It is generally understood that the cheapest clients who do not want to pay for your time and are always looking for a bargain will inversely expect the quickest turn around and the most amount of work. If your client does not feel that your work is of value and that your time is worth something, equivalent to theirs, then you are not in the right place. Unless you have an established, comfortable and honest relationship with the client don’t lower your rates or let him say “I never pay my designers that much…”

It's Time To Fire That Client

Asking you to always go beyond the scope of work. On occasion you may be asked for something extra, that is fine and part of the freelancer-client relationship. But if a client is always asking for you to do extra work and is never willing to pay you for your time and effort above and beyond the original scope of the project then you should consider ceasing your work arrangement with them. It either means he is trying to cheat you or does not know how to budget and scope out projects. Obviously, neither are a good thing.

Paying late. Generally speaking having to wait 30 days for payment is normal. But if a client is always late, more than 45-60 days late, it’s a sign they don’t respect you and your work. As an aside, there could also be concern that in addition to being a cheapskate, your client is in financial trouble.

They ask for speculative work before they actually hire you. Clients will sometimes ask to “see what you can do”, in order to, as they say “to find out if you’re a good fit”. This is a huge warning sign. Make it your rule that you do not do free work for someone who is considering hiring you for a project. Most freelancers will tell you that the majority of the time they will just keep your comp work and hire someone cheaper, closer, related to them, instead of you. You could call this a scam. What you need to do is hold your cards close to you and say “Oh, you can see many examples of this in my portfolio”.

Signs You Know That It Is Time To Fire That Client

How On Earth Do You Get Rid of Them Gracefully?

First things first, before you do anything, review your contract with them to determine what, if any, termination details you agreed on.
Always tell them of your intentions in writing. These days there is no need for a letter, an email will suffice. Under no circumstances should it be done over the phone. In an email you can make your self clear and elaborate where you need to. You have a captive audience. No one can cut you off. This way there should be no room for misunderstanding. It is much harder to get you to change your mind as well
Let them know that as a professional you fully intend to complete all of your agreed upon work. It is up to them to tell you different
Perhaps offer a referral to someone who may be better suited to work with this client in order to finish the project
When you send the email, attach a to date invoice for any work that has not been billed. Never let them think you are running away.
Don’t lie to them about the reason you are doing this. If it comes up, which you can be sure it will, find the most graceful way of telling them what caused this to happen. That is, unless the reasons are obvious
If the client breached the actual contract, by not paying or not living up to his terms, be sure to write it down in the email. This could come back if he decides to pursue you for breach.

Signs You Know Its Time To Fire That Client

What Do You Do If They Still Come Back?

Ask for the full amount before you start If you have one of those clients that expects everything tomorrow morning at 9:00 and doesn’t pay you until 3 months after you are done then you need to insist to be paid in advance. At least 50% if not the entire sum.

Get busy If you have a dreaded client that pops up every once in a while and you need to drop them, let them know how busy you are (of course even if you aren’t) and do not have the “bandwidth” to do his project now. After 1 or 2 times they will get the picture.

Nickle and Dime If your client always asks for extra work and is not paying you for it ,be sure to bill everything you possibly can when you invoice. Tell him you need to charge for your time spent on the phone with support, even your travel expenses need to be covered at your agreed upon hourly rate. What ever you had been giving them a pass on, let them know that you now charge for it.

Time To Fire That Client

This is never an easy thing to do and hopefully you won’t have to do it more than a few times. Once you decide to fire a client you need to be sure you don’t leave any room for negotiation. Never let your client talk you out of your decision, you will only come to regret it that much more later. Now that you have gotten rid of this dead wood you can move on to finding new clients that appreciate you. You won’t believe how much extra time you have on your hands.

Have you had to do this in your career? Leave a comment and let us know how you have dealt with these issues

Tags: freelancing, Inspiration, Resources, web design

42 Responses to “Enough is Enough – When A Web Designer Has to Fire A Client”

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25. Jan, 2010

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26. Jan, 2010

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Miguel Flores Franco

26. Jan, 2010

Who have not had these situations once? as been a very illustrative article
Thank you for share.

[Reply]
bmackler Reply:
January 26th, 2010 at 2:29 pm
@Miguel Flores Franco, I agree, if you have been in the business long enough you will eventually encounter this. Glad you liked the article and found it useful

[Reply]
lawoman

26. Jan, 2010

I had this type of situation several times and have discovered that usually when you fire a client, somehow another one comes along to make up for the loss of income.

[Reply]
Manik Rathee

26. Jan, 2010

I have seen a few bloggers mention 30 days as an acceptable time-frame for payment.

I find that to be absolutely absurd – unless you work out a payment plan of some sort, simply waiting a month should not happen.

On every (and I mean EVERY) project I have gotten, regardless of the scale of project or the size of client, I have set up a 50% up front, 50% upon completion (prior to launch) pay setup. This goes for the single DJ that wants a flyer, or the full corporation needing B2B campaigns.

You can’t go into an art gallery, take a piece of art and say “I’ll pay you down the road” – and you certainly cannot do it with other merchandise, so why accept treatment like that for your own business?

I have never lost a client because of this method, I have never had a late payment because of this method, and I have never had a client run off with work, again, because of this method.

It surprises me that most designers do not do this.

[Reply]
bmackler Reply:
January 26th, 2010 at 5:48 pm
@Manik Rathee, You are 100% right and that is the way it should be done in just about all situations. I am very glad to hear it has served you well. This is the perfect solution for a client with a short term project. Sometimes though when you are a contractor for someone else and they only get paid net 30 you are stuck waiting.

The sign of a good client is one who is willing to pay you up front.

You make a very good point.

[Reply]
David Reply:
January 28th, 2010 at 11:13 am
@Manik Rathee, it’d be nice, wouldn’t it, but with clients of a certain size, you’re going to find you’ll need to fit in with their finance department’s payment runs. 30 days, and if you can find anyone who’ll actually stick to those terms, drop your rate – they’re rarer than unicorns. The money is one very big thing, but if you’re looking to build a reputation, a client can be so much more than revenue, such as useful exposure to different working practices, referrals and reputation building, to name two. You need to factor a number of things into any client relationship and what they’re worth to you as intangibles.

[Reply]
bmackler Reply:
January 28th, 2010 at 11:21 am
@David, very well said. net-30 is more of a factor with larger companies. with them, if you want their business you usually do have to work with their rules. It is worth cultivating these relationships since many times they bring you greater exposure and reputation. They usually arent as flexible with those things. The problem is when small places and your typical freelance client waves the banner of net 30

[Reply]
Cody Reply:
January 29th, 2010 at 7:52 pm
@David, I do a lot of work for an advertising agency. I was able to convince them that collecting 50% upfront help their cashflow as well as mine. They agreed and changed their policy.

I think it’s nuts to give someone net-30 off the street.

[Reply]
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26. Jan, 2010

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Oliver Rankin

27. Jan, 2010

Good read !

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Joe Hana

28. Jan, 2010

I cant say that I’ve been for or a long time in that business, but I recently asked myself to fire 2 of my clients – they really costs me much energy and had been frustrating me sometimes.

Thanks to your article I’m much more motivated to take this step and say ‘Good Bye’ to both of them. You’re so right with what you’re talking about in this article and I can aggree to nearly every fact.

Step up freelancers – and dont let the client blame you or your work.

[Reply]
bmackler Reply:
January 28th, 2010 at 11:23 am
@Joe Hana, Glad to be of service and the article served as motivation to you. Sometimes it is vital to say goodbye to certain clients in order to save our sanity and reputation. I have no doubt that you did the right thing. We all sooner or later will be faced with these issues, its worth our while to know how to handle them.

[Reply]
Indonesia Web Design

28. Jan, 2010

haha, funny and yet useful article!

now I don’t really need to feel guilty firing my irritating clients. lol

[Reply]
Tamara Silvius

28. Jan, 2010

What if this most annoying client is also your best friend?

[Reply]
bmackler Reply:
January 28th, 2010 at 11:27 am
@Tamara Silvius, now that is a real problem. How are you dealing with that? Very delicately I am sure.

[Reply]
Sadiebelle

28. Jan, 2010

We have been spending a long time on small clients who fit this bill, its hard to take the leap as you think you need clients but when your wasting time dealing with them and their issues you are not spending time on the clients that do pay and deserve it.
We had to fire two clients this week and this article helped us compose it in the best way. Although for one of the clients we gave them their money back as we thought it will save time arguing.
You advise not to do this but we don’t have the time to waste on them any more and thought it was an easy way to sever the tie. What do you think about this?

[Reply]
selcux

28. Jan, 2010

i fired once and its kinda fun… x)

[Reply]
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28. Jan, 2010

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K

28. Jan, 2010

Interesting read, thanks. I’m currently being sued for 50,000$ (yes), due to a bad client-freelancer relationship, over a 10K$ project.

I can’t be objective, but the client lost his mind. I should’ve seen the signs earlier.

I urge every freelancer to read this carefully.

[Reply]
bmackler Reply:
January 28th, 2010 at 6:33 pm
@K, Wow. that sounds like a relationship that went very sour. I wish you the best of luck. How could they be suing you for 5x the value of the project?

Sometimes its hard to recognize the signs while you are in the middle of it, much easier in retrospect. Best of luck to you!

[Reply]
K Reply:
January 28th, 2010 at 9:02 pm
@bmackler, Thank you Of course, the client’s demands for x5 the project’s worth are unrealistic. I will have to fight it (already got a lawyer). Since I was honest through the whole process, I believe this will be over soon. In a good way

[Reply]
john

28. Jan, 2010

“What Do You Do If They Still Come Back?”

Rather than make excuses of being busy, expecting money up front, or getting more money out of them, how about being honest and setting strong boundaries? You can still be courteous and professional, yet tell people what you really think. If you don’t want to work with a particular client, there’s no reason on earth why you should feel you need to pander to them.

[Reply]
bmackler Reply:
January 28th, 2010 at 6:29 pm
@john, Well I personally have had 2 cases with the exact opposite results. once a client just did not get it and was so thick headed about things that he would keep coming back every few weeks asking me to take him back…the other case in which I was honest about my feelings he apologized and we went our seperate ways. What I learned was that sometimes you can be honest with them and sometimes you just cant. It depends on the temperament of the person and your ability to remain tactful…

[Reply]
Samericka

28. Jan, 2010

You get what you pay for, as a client; you deliver what you get paid for, as a freelancer. The expression is simple, yet reality is complicated.

In addition, I find that the lack of knowledge/understanding of the types of work we do (design, programming, sys admin etc.) leads to this sort of frustrating relationships.

Good read, thank you.

[Reply]
bmackler Reply:
January 28th, 2010 at 6:30 pm
@Samericka, Yes, the thought that “my nephew who is 14 knows how to make a website and he will do it for free…why can’t you” has done alot of damage to our profession. You definitely get what you pay for. no question about it

[Reply]
Dave Allen

28. Jan, 2010

I had a client like all of the above a few months ago – just started charging them for everything at about 3x my normal rate – worked really well – something seems to change. I don’t know if it’s psychological pricing – by charging more you are perceived as providing greater expertise!

I could draw a graph (or write a formula) along the lines of “The undue stress caused by a client is inversely proportional to the hourly billing rate for the job”

[Reply]
bmackler Reply:
January 28th, 2010 at 6:32 pm
@Dave Allen, Its a formula I would love to see. I th ink you are right. With some people they respond better when they have to pay a higher premium for what they receive.

[Reply]
a

28. Jan, 2010

The scope was a simple site I charged only $1500 for, at this point I have done over $6,000 worth of work on this site. I should have canceled the job in the design phase, also created a more formal contract. Fortunately they have agreed in writing that the end of the month also terminates our relationship. Live and learn I guess, thanks for the tips!

[Reply]
web design york

29. Jan, 2010

Bang on. Bad clients are more trouble than they’re worth. People should concentrate on good quality clients.

[Reply]
Jude Obinyan

30. Jan, 2010

This is my story told on the web! You hit the right chords with all the categories. I have had a few but one particular client sticks out. She’s a client that has the money to pay nut always gives me a dud cheque. It has happened twice and the last time she said.. ‘Welcome to the business world”. Unfortunately after dropping her like a hot potato, she came back after some months and I took her back to my misfortune again. But after this I’m definitely not doing her “chores” anymore. Thanks

[Reply]
dot Blog. The week in links 01/02/10

01. Feb, 2010

[...] Enough is enough — When a web designer has to fire a client (designtutorials4u.com) [...]
How To Make A Website

04. Feb, 2010

Interesting read.

[Reply]
Freelance web developer

10. Feb, 2010

Really good article. Very Informative.

[Reply]
Jeff

10. Feb, 2010

Dealing with a client now who has rejected three mock ups for his new website. I take that back, he liked the second one so I began creating the HTML for it and then presented it to him. He then sent me another one of his designs saying “I was thinking something more like this” – completely different than what he said he wanted. I just did the HTML on ‘his’ suggestion, this is his last chance. If he comes back changing the design again he will be gone. We are going on two months, three out of office meetings and countless phone calls. Done.

[Reply]
bmackler Reply:
February 11th, 2010 at 8:14 am
@Jeff, Sadly I have had clients like that too. It is very frustrating since so many clients think we are expendable and anyone can do what we do so they treat us like that. Sounds like this client is too high maintainence. What did the design look like that he sent to you?

I look forward to hearing what happens.

[Reply]
Luis Alberto

10. Feb, 2010

Thank you for your article.

Im not really a freelance, but i work in my own agency and i ve a lot of problems with an specifical client. Since the beggining, i didnt want him like a client, but he insist almost a one year long. Ok. Welcome to the agency. But in a two weeks all the designers were suck with him. It’s important to say that he is an fashion designer very important (very gay, and you know what i mean), !he was like a woman in his 28th day! One day say yes, the other day no. Finally, we fire him, we drope him and we hope that he will never come back again to our agency.

That’s my experience with bad clients. I hope that interest to you. Bye.

[Reply]
payday loans

21. Feb, 2010

I want to thank the blogger very much not only for this post but also for his all previous efforts. I found designtutorials4u.com to be extremely interesting. I will be coming back to designtutorials4u.com for more information.

[Reply]
Website Design

10. Mar, 2010

Great article, can fully relate to the majority of the points mentioned above. I recently had to fire one of my longest client due to the many of the points you mentioned above, unfortunately in the end it wasn’t exactly easy to cut ties.

[Reply]