62
Is this a script from a soap opera?
There's far too much discussion taking place.
Business is business and not friendship. Ignore anything not directly related to the business. All the back and forth trying to get the other to "understand" your position is, frankly silly.
All you should be stating.. "We have a contract. Pay me." When he/she replies.. ...
42
This is one of the most prominent red flags which indicates a bad client, in my opinion.
It's really not that complicated.
Sorry, I do not work pro bono or without payment on request.
There's no need to explain any further.
If they are persistent....
Unfortunately I do not work for free. Like anyone with a mortgage/rent and the desire to eat regularly.......
28
I simply state, "Sorry. Pricing is set and rates are non-negotiable."
I haven't run into an instance where that offended anyone. I may not get the work but, if they won't pay my rates, I don't see that as a problem. You aren't required to explain anything to clients in terms of your business structure or calculations. Actually going into too much detail is ...
23
What you are dealing with is known as a "Sales Pipeline." (Step through the Slideshow) And you are getting the steps out of order. That's what's causing your frustration.
As a tech person (like myself), it frustrates you because we're used to a "Here's my problem. Fix it for money." view of the world. The reason that we think this way is that we are ...
21
Your chain of emails is unprofessional, you fail yourself by dropping to your client's argumentative level. As well as this, instead of getting to the point you make jabs and petty points informally, that seem very emotionally attached trying to play the guilt card and shame him.
This is no way to follow up proceedings of a broken contract. Instead of ...
15
Yes, it is definitely unethical. You do have other options. You could:
Do nothing. Just take the loss and treat it as a learning experience. Next time you will know to never give the client the finished website until they have paid in full. Always host the site on your own servers during development and only transfer the site to the client's servers ...
15
Wasting a day hoping for work to arrive if you have other work lined up is on you.
Don't start any work before you have a signed contract. If they sign a contract, the likelihood that they are serious is already much higher than before.
Ask for early payment for the first piece of work. Once they start paying you, the likelihood that they are serious is ...
14
It's easy: Stop falling for the guilt trip and simply do as any professional would do in similar case.
That is, say yes and show a price list at the same time. And stick to this.
If the client sill comes back that XYZ should be included, you simply cut that short and say "let me know when you'll have the budget for the extra features and I'll be happy to ...
13
I just ignore the off-hours contact and deal with things during traditional hours - even if that means I get emails and messages the next morning. I have a few clients who will email Sunday evening. While they may be expecting a reply, they don't get it until Monday.
Like with any business, a client is free to email or call anytime, that doesn't mean I've ...
13
it could be that he is just under time pressure and while the change in commitments is unfortunate, future opportunities may make up for it
This is your statement from above. This tells me that you're more concerned about how your client's business is going than you are about your OWN business.
How you run your business should NEVER be conditional to how ...
12
The easiest way to handle the short-notice work is to set up a Service Level Agreement (SLA). You can document how much notice the client must give, and how soon you will act, with financial requirements in each direction.
Get this agreed, signed by management. Implement a basic ticket handling system and boom, you can bill extra for the urgent stuff.
That ...
11
I would never allow this under any circumstance.
The guy can sleep in his car... or the bus/train station for all I care.
Even if I charged and he's willing to pay, invading my home is way over the line for any freelance client. It sends a message, whether direct or indirect, that you'll allow the client to overstep the boundaries of a client/freelancer ...
11
Absolutely not! If you have agreed on terms, and delivered, then you should expect him to deliver on his part of the arrangement.
Having said that...
Did you give him status updates with the opportunity for feedback?
Did he understand the limitations he put in place for you?
Does he seem to want to continue to use you if you keep working for him?
These ...
10
Wait, if I understood:
you were hired to make a website
you did it and the client did not pay it
you have access to admin service hosting the website
If I understood it properly, than the content on his website is still your. Transfer of intellectual rights happens when one side is paid.
So IMHO you should definitely take back your property (source codes)...
10
Step 1 is to protect yourself with a clear scope of work. Write up a clear, concise scope of the work you are performing. Include not only the work being performed by also what is NOT being performed. These are called exclusions.
Your scope should also include the price of the project, that billings will be done monthly on the XX day of the month and are ...
10
she still owes me for the work I've done
How long has she owed you and how much? If she's past due on a payment, or owes you thousands, that could be enough reason to stop right there.
But should I refund her any money because I'm quitting?
Not unless you had a formal agreement to do work that you haven't already done, or she paid you for work you haven'...
10
I'd just be "busy" myself and be unavailable.
This kind of interaction is a harbinger to how quickly he'll pay and how important he'll see any requests on your part to complete any projects.
One cancelation is understandable.
Two cancellations might be okay depending upon his/her reasoning.
Three cancellations shows a clear lack of commitment or intention....
9
Life's too short..
You have 2 choices....
Invoice for the work you've completed. Wait until that invoice is paid. Then tell him you're done.
You'll package everything and prepare to deliver things in their
current state and he will be free to find another developer to
finish the project.
Be quiet, sit back, and realize your only option is to deal with the
...
9
Supply documentation for an additional fee. It's more work to track everything you do... you should be compensated for that work.
9
First off, I'm sorry to hear of your endeavor and that you had to deal with a nightmare client like that. I think we've all been there at least twice. Now then, hindsight is 20/20, so let's be proactive.
The Worst Customers
The worst client a freelancer can encounter is hard to shove into one box as they come in all kinds. To name a few, there is the ...
9
Bill him for the hours you spend on the phone. Those are consulting hours. No further work will proceed until the account is brought current. All future phone conversations will also be billed. I went from disliking these type of clients to loving them. we could spend 12 hours on the phone for all I care. I have a Bluetooth so I can multitask and they get to ...
9
It is really little that can be added to excellent @Scott's answer. I just wanted to add a simple tactic that helped me several times.
Due warning: I'm not aware about any academic research on this matter. My answer is just from personal experience.
[…] as in "people will see your art and learn who you are, and maybe THEY will contact you and MAYBE ...
9
Sometimes the money is not worth it.
I offer discounted prices for well-behaved clients, and I overcharged the ones that are, well, no good people.
Here's how you've got to look at it, the client is paying for you, which means that every resource he asks for that you need to use, has to be paid for.
Is he paying for your blogging skills only? I don't think ...
8
If I received the same call and the client started barking requests at me before I could even figure out to whom I was speaking, I think I'd become a bit defensive.
I think it's always important, as a creative professional, that you're able to engage with the client at a certain pace. My "pace" includes:
Who are you?
What line of business are you in?
What ...
8
Any combination of:
A) We can certainly set this up as a [fixed bid/hourly contract] instead if that makes it easier for you.
B) Projects with unique requirements will, of course, entail negotiation. For the scope we've discussed [our standard price applies/I've already applied the appropriate discount of X from our base price].
C) No.
D) If there's ...
8
So much to address here... First off, NO. You don't need a PR person on full-time to help you. You need to deal with your own situation before you bring more people in. Freelancing should make you more money than being a regular full-time employee, punching in and out everyday.
What are your rates at? Obviously, too low. Read the other questions on here ...
7
This is sort of a familiar one.
A client wants someone to build a website, and doesn't want to give them all the pieces of the puzzle at once (or is very vague about it).
There are three choices here:
Continue being trickled information, eventually going insane.
Leave that client instantly, without hesitation.
Tell your client, plain and simple, that ...
7
Leave this dude alone. You're going to get burned. There is nothing particular to web site development that this guy is doing.
Let's look at this objectively. This is someone who you don't have any vested relationship with -- an acquaintance; not a close friend or family member. To add, he hasn't even become a customer!!! Yet he felt it was okay to ...
7
There is nothing wrong with explaining to a client that Skype (or phone calls) are not sufficient and you need to have written approval of something either via email, fax, or postal mail.
I would wait until you have a clear, written, approval of terms.
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