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Worst client every stories thread post here!

by Vlad R
16 replies
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I just experienced the worst client ever...This guy didn't make his wants/needs clear to me...Even though I was straight up with him that I didn't understand what he wanted. He still couldn't make it clear.

So I made him his video production best I could....He wasn't happy with it...Ok no problem pulled an all nighter, bend over backwards for him and made him a fresh one...All of a sudden the content wasn't ok...So I told him ok I will delete my content and replace it with his...No he didn't want that he blew up on me I blew up on him and it ended.... I tried and gave it my 200% went beyond and posted his website all over my fb....and I got craped on

I spent 12 hours working for him....Told him he can "name his own price" and it ended nasty... I need to hear other stories
#client #post #stories #thread #worst
  • Profile picture of the author Kim Standerline
    Your always going to get some tosspot clients Vlad, its the nature of the game.

    Certainly had my share

    Kim
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  • Profile picture of the author Daniel Evans
    Originally Posted by Vlad R View Post

    I just experienced the worst client ever...This guy didn't make his wants/needs clear to me...Even though I was straight up with him that I didn't understand what he wanted. He still couldn't make it clear.
    You shouldn't begin work until there's a solid brief in place.

    I spent 12 hours working for him....Told him he can "name his own price" and it ended nasty... I need to hear other stories
    I'd have said that this is bending over backwards to the extreme, but it was probably a good idea to give a partial refund for the fact that you made the initial mistake.

    Remember that some clients are also going to tell you that they "don't know what they want" or they have "nothing in mind" to give themselves an excuse to claim work is inappropriate or incorrect to reap two sets of work, with one to fall back on if the second isn't better than the first. It's the oldest trick in the book.

    Attaining a clear brief is paramount as is establishing clear T&Cs.


    Daniel
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  • Profile picture of the author DTGeorge
    Originally Posted by Vlad R View Post

    I just experienced the worst client ever...This guy didn't make his wants/needs clear to me...Even though I was straight up with him that I didn't understand what he wanted. He still couldn't make it clear.

    So I made him his video production best I could....He wasn't happy with it...Ok no problem pulled an all nighter, bend over backwards for him and made him a fresh one...All of a sudden the content wasn't ok...So I told him ok I will delete my content and replace it with his...No he didn't want that he blew up on me I blew up on him and it ended.... I tried and gave it my 200% went beyond and posted his website all over my fb....and I got craped on

    I spent 12 hours working for him....Told him he can "name his own price" and it ended nasty... I need to hear other stories
    It's usually quite easy to suss out the clients who will cause trouble.

    I generally won't write for them (or whatever your freelance field will be).

    If you do end up writing for them and they begin causing trouble, simply finish the job, hand it over, and wash your hands.

    Don't sweat over it, or pull all nighters to rework the material

    One client also gave me that sort of trouble - I finished the job (a few articles out of a number that were supposed to have been done) and told them I was quitting. It simply wasn't worth the time and effort.

    Don't work for every and any body who offers you a dollar - you have to be as selective in choosing your clients as they are in choosing you
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  • Profile picture of the author Andyhenry
    Instead of starting a pity party and having others all join the line to bitch about clients - why not just drop it, learn a lesson and move on with your business?
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    nothing to see here.

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  • Profile picture of the author clever7
    This was a frustrating experience. I had a frustrating experience once many years ago with a client who was very generous in the beginning, but changed her behavior later.

    This case helped me never again trust someone only because they were OK in the beginning and always require payment before providing a special service as a therapist. I never work before being paid to care about someone’s case. One lesson was enough.

    Lessons are very important. Sometimes they are quite bitter, but they help you avoid what is bad in the future. Without this lesson I could have lost more money with someone else, while I lost a (relatively) insignificant amount with her case.

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  • Profile picture of the author pingsters
    Banned
    Worst and troublesome Customers/clients are always part of the business.You will definitely going to encounter more of such clients.You just need to master how to handle them.
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  • Profile picture of the author kencalhn
    I put in place firm rules and boundaries for my business, so customers know what's acceptable and what's not, specifically. Otherwise there's ambiguity; having clearly provided guidelines and FAQ areas helps prevent problems. And difficult customers I've found are often best fired rather than suffered through; making a clean quick exit is smart.
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  • Profile picture of the author Dennis Gaskill
    Not to pick on you, but why in the world would you sink your time into making a video for him when, as you said, you didn't understand what he wanted? That's just setting yourself up for trouble.
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    Just when you think you've got it all figured out, someone changes the rules.

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  • Profile picture of the author wordpressmania
    Well, I got a client recently who asked me to make a website for $1500. I made mockup and he asked me to change something, then I did it and showed it to him and he approved the design and then I make it a live site. He liked it and all on a sudden he asked me to design again.

    What the hell, how can I work twice? So I asked him to consider that, why he did not he asked me before. I already spent 2 weeks working for that project and got only 25% upfront. At the ending I refused to work and refund the money.

    Anyway it is rare incident and I belive most of the people value your works and only a few clients make you angry.
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  • Profile picture of the author PhilippaWrites
    If you need some more stories to commiserate with, then http://clientsfromhell.net/ is always worth a gander.
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  • Profile picture of the author laurencewins
    The bottom line is that if you don't 100% understand what the client wants BEFORE accepting the order, then you have yourself to blame if there's a problem.
    I know some customers can be pains but I always go with my gut and if I don't feel good about a job, I won't do it, regardless of the money involved.

    I also get all payments upfront so that stops most problems.
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    Cheers, Laurence.
    Writer/Editor/Proofreader.

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  • Profile picture of the author Social App Zone
    Thankfully with script and software development there is the progress payment system.

    This reduces the risk of time vs monkey spanker.
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  • Profile picture of the author WillR
    1. You should both know exactly what is expected of one another. This includes having a very detailed brief of what the client wants.

    2. You should take a 50% deposit before work commences and then only do a small portion of the project and go back to them for feedback before continuing on with the rest.
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