You know what really grinds my gears? - Why services aren't always the greatest way to start out.

by Gclunis

Posted: 13 years ago 10 replies

INTERNET MARKETING

How much people can take advantage of someone. And how you can do everything you can to take care of your clients..but they just don't care that much about you.

Last night I got an order to design a header for a new client. He told me hes specifications and what he wanted to see/didn't want to see. I put in MY valuable time to create the header to his specifications and sent it over to him.

He responded saying that he didn't like a few things about it and wanted some changes made.

I told him I'd take care of it as soon as I got home. 10 minutes later I get the following response:

"I found a program called Logo Creator and managed to get something finished last night. I appreciate all the work you have put into it.
Best,
James"

So basically this guy placed an order with me asking him to create something for him. Made me put MY valuable time that I could have spent doing something else to grow my business or just relaxing (and it was a good amount of time spent on it in order to match his specifications) just to tell me that he no longer needed my service and was not going to pay.

Are you kidding me?

To everyone that is told to start in services because it is the fastest ROI... I completely agree with this..you should start with services. But it's a good idea for you to keep in mind that things like this can happen so be careful.

Hope this helps someone
Gregg

#gears #greatest #grinds #services #start

Robert M Gouge 13 years ago

Always accept payment upfront. There's no reason to work for free.
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- swilliams09 13 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by Robert M Gouge
  
  Always accept payment upfront. There's no reason to work for free.
  
  This. And get out of the IM services niche as soon as possible. Its more money to be made offline providing services.
  
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Conrad Stuart 13 years ago

Screw that dude man!

Don't be discouraged. I deal with retail customers and have had far worse experiences.

Keep doing what you're doing but reinvest so that soon enough you won't have to deal with customers.
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weblink29 13 years ago

There will always be jerks you have to deal with from time to time. It's part of business....it's part of life. I did tech support for many years over the phone. It's unbelievable how some people treat other people.
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Nothing to see here folks.....move along.
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sbucciarel Banned 13 years ago

Always get a 50% deposit ... I learned that the hard way at Elance where I freelanced in graphic design for quite a few years. If they won't pay, they aren't really a customer.
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Gclunis 13 years ago

Thanks for the advice guys, definitely will be taking it for future jobs.
I'm not even that upset about payment or any of that. What's done is done. It's just the fact that someone could be so inconsiderate.

Meh, it's a good thing im switching over to a sales business model as soon as possible.

As for offline, definitely much more money to be made.

Gregg
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Cheers,
Gregg

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RevSEO 13 years ago

Live and learn, could have been a much bigger mistake that cost you a lot more than time so be grateful about that.

Either way, as others have mentioned, take payment upfront if you are gonna work by trading your time for $$. Far too often there's tirekickers and customers/clients that you don't really want. That initial fee and deposit will kick them to the curb before they become a problem.
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Steven Miranda 13 years ago

For almost all services you should request payment before you start the work.
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bhuff85 13 years ago

I agree with everyone else. I won't do a thing until there is some cash upfront (usually all paid in full). Not worth the risk or time to perform the work first.
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SocialMediaOwls 13 years ago

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- rlhurst 13 years ago
  
  I haven't had a problem like this so far.......... I guess it's just a matter of time? Hope that's the exception and NOT the rule!
  
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