Comments on: The Client From Hell

By: Jim

Jim — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 16:13:29 +0000

Oh I love Client From Hell stories! Here is mine… We install and repair garage doors and openers. We were out at one customers house whose door would not open. Upon inspection we determined the problem, the opener was broken. The opener was from the mid 80s, so not only are parts hard to come by but it is UNSAFE. The gov’t passed a law in 1993 requiring certain safety features be built in, this thing didn’t have them. We explained all this to the customer but she became very irate, refused to believe us, and threatened to call the BBB because we wouldnt fix her opener.

By: UAF

UAF — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 04:54:17 +0000

There is never a shortage of people who want to take advantage of every opportunity and every person they come across.

By: Wolfcry044

Wolfcry044 — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 04:52:27 +0000

I agree with you there Tom. It’s best to walk away from those types of jobs. Sometimes it’s hard though. Turning someone down must be an art of some kind that some people have a knack for and some people don’t. I’m learning though!

By: Tom Hargrave

Tom Hargrave — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 15:21:56 +0000

The right answer is to walk away from these type jobs when you identify them, even if you are hungry. Otherwise you will be finding yourself averaging down & soon will be developing for less per hour than you can make delivering pizzas.

Hungry is better than starving!

By: wolfcry

wolfcry — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 06:58:00 +0000

That bugs me SO much. I’m a web designer, and it is so annoying when people who don’t know anything about coding dictate to you how long a project should take, or tell you to do something that to them seems easy, but in all actuality is hard as can be in a coding perspective. On top of that, they give you pennies for a job that should be giving you a lot of money because they don’t understand the amount of work involved in doing what you’re doing.

lol /rant.

By: Kaz Power

Kaz Power — Wed, 12 May 2010 13:06:32 +0000

My client from hell sat down with us for approximately 3 hours deciding EXACTLY what they wanted, and then once it was made, decided they wanted to change one thing… then that became 2,3,4 things and there was no pleasing him!! Ended up giving the customer the unfinished code and told him “on your way!”

Thanks for the smile though!

By: Tom Hargrave

Tom Hargrave — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 12:22:27 +0000

I believe that clients know exactly what they want. I also believe there is a huge communication barrier between clients and developers. It’s caused by culture differences and if you as a developer don’t understand and work around these differences then you, the developer, and not the client is destined to fail.Let me explain.Let’s say a bakery asks me to help them get their business in control and their current system is based on a notebook that they record orders into.Based on their culture, they only know to ask for a replacement for their notebook. It’s my responsibility to educate them – to make them understand what’s possible. At the same time I need to make them understand the costs involved.My next step in this case would to see if Quickbooks will work for them. It may seem odd to offer a canned package that would take work away from me but I discovered a long time ago that the right solution for a client is what works best & not necessaraly what I want to deliver to them.Assuming they reject Quickbooks then we finally have a potential project. We go through & understand costs, I deliver a rough timeline and go to work.BTW, another mistake many developers make is they assume they are smarter than their client. The bakers in this example aren’t dumb or stupid, they are just as smart as me but they put their brains into developing and baking tasty pasteries and breads.

By: Kaz

Kaz — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 08:28:57 +0000

I used to be a mainframe computer programmer for many years and it didn’t take long to realise that most clients haven’t a clue what they really want.

Even if you were lucky and they gave you a detailed spec the chances were high that they’d utter the phrase – “that’s not what I wanted”. What I discovered is that most of them expect you to be able to read their minds, a skill I’m somewhat lacking in.

By: Tom Hargrave

Tom Hargrave — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 02:50:53 +0000

I’ve actually done quite a bit of pro-bono work and the return on my “investment” has always been greater than my cost. Good clients always remember you, even the good ones who start out for free.

By: Jorge

Jorge — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:39:46 +0000

I no longer do ANY pro-bono work.. which is sad, but I’ve found that the moment folks get something for free, they just abuse it. I’m also sick of clients treating me like some geeky teenager next door. I’m 40 years old and I’ve been doing this since the internet was born. Grr.