unofficial webmaster nightmares, share yours

M

MadJuggla9

2[H]4U
Joined
Oct 9, 2002
Messages
3,515
This is why designers are always afraid to give a price or anything I feel, its like answering the question "how long will it take to fix my computer and how much will it cost" when all they say is "it doesnt work right when i licked on my yahoo bar and i cant get on my modem"

Anyone ever quoted a decent rate, done the work (maybe even spent more time at no extra pay) and cut it all up, code it, show the customer, and then they want something changed that wasnt something you made overhead room for?

Some customers are extremely picky and always demand ongoing work as a continuing service. I know there are stories, how do you guys deal with them and give examples if possible.


--------------------------------
I have to say that ive had a number but my core problems were learning what i needed on the fly. meaning i had to research, test on my box, then pray it worked on another OS/server with different package installs of PHP/mysql. then if it worked, it was ready, otherwise i had to study for hours to do a low cost quote. In the end it pays off, but the first times learning makes due for a big self-ripoff.
 
Thats why you always set milestones for your customers. You give them a layout. They approve it, after that, any changes to said layout will cost additional fees plus overtime. Same with any part of the site. That's just how the business works.
 
I agree with the milestones. Also set up a written contract for each and every one of your clients, no matter how small the job is.
 
Anything that takes more than 10 minutes to do, I tell them up fron that they will be billed for it. I will do the work and invoice them when it's done (usually filed under miscellaneous). This is depending on how good of a client they are. If they are a difficult client, I don't even take requests over the phone. it's all email.

Anything that will take me more than an hour, I need a written request e.g. email. Anything of project proportions, I have a written and signed contract. Contracts prevent the project from doing the dreaded scope drift or if scope drift is necessary, it makes sure my ass is properly covered. This way, I can let the scope drift to the high heavens, I just make sure that the client understands that this will cost him/her. If it's a small drift, an email request will suffice. If it's a large drift, an signed addendum is required.
 
I can attest firsthand to the importance of a contract. Even though I knew better, I took a job without writing a contract. I wrongly assumed that everything would go OK, since the last job I did for this customer went fairly well. Now, there is a huge disagreement about what the customer should be paying for, and over a week after sending the original bill, I haven't heard any indication that I will receive any money at all. Stupid, stupid mistake...

Almost every week, I see people here looking for advice to get started doing web or design work. One of the most common responses is "get a contract". I don't remember seeing any that showed what can happen if you don't get one, so I have been thinking about sharing my hard lessons here. Not to complain, but in the hope that someone else might not make the same mistakes I made.
 
mine is underwater basketweaving. By the time I loop and slide, I run out of oxygen and the instructor ends up resuscitating me.
 
get all business requirements in writing as well as an estimated time and your estimated cost before you write a single line of code. let them understand that ANY change request, no matter how small or trivial, will incur additional charges and take more time. Also set milestones and timelines for getting the project done. let them understand that once a milestone is reached, going back to change anything accomplished during that phase will incur 2-3x regular hourly rates and automatically delay the projected completion date.

I used to think that was a real asshole way to do business, but believe me, in the long run it's the best way to cover your butt and keep everything in line, otherwise you'll get nickel-and-dimed to death.

Customers simply don't understand the complexities behind a request. Say they ask you to make a form field bigger, which is a no-brainer involving maybe 30 seconds of work, so you do them a favor and just throw in that tiny request. then the next day they ask to switch the order of some form fields, again a no-brainer. but then one day they ask you to add a whole new form field, which means modifying a database table and all your insert, update and validation scripts. Much more work. So you tell then it's going to be extra work.

From the customer's point-of-view he/she won't understand why you changed the form all the other times and didn't charge extra, but today when they requested a form change you want to charge for several hours of work. What's gives? It's the same form after all, isn't it?
 
If you guys are willing, would you post your contracts? I'm sure it would be useful to the budding entrepreneurs to have an example to go by.
 
Asgorath said:
If you guys are willing, would you post your contracts? I'm sure it would be useful to the budding entrepreneurs to have an example to go by.
Click to expand...

I agree, I could use some "examples".
 
Maichena said:
If they are a difficult client, I don't even take requests over the phone. it's all email.
Click to expand...
Heh, this is also important for your sanity as a freelancer, too. I have some clients who will discuss the web site for 5 minutes, then will want to shoot shit for an hour. Time is money folks, I'm your web developer, not your bestest best bud from high school, not your pyschologist, not your significant other. Or whats worse is when they 'check something out on the site for a second,' then you spend 15 minutes listening to silence. That's when you simply hang up. They call back, simply say you got disconnected, bad signal/line, etc.
 
BBowermaster said:
Heh, this is also important for your sanity as a freelancer, too. I have some clients who will discuss the web site for 5 minutes, then will want to shoot shit for an hour. Time is money folks, I'm your web developer, not your bestest best bud from high school, not your pyschologist, not your significant other. Or whats worse is when they 'check something out on the site for a second,' then you spend 15 minutes listening to silence. That's when you simply hang up. They call back, simply say you got disconnected, bad signal/line, etc.
Click to expand...

I dont particularly think that bad line thing on the phone would work .... anywho, where are the stories????
 
MadJuggla9 said:
I dont particularly think that bad line thing on the phone would work .... anywho, where are the stories????
Click to expand...

Depends on the client. :p Plus, I'm on a cellphone.
 
More than dealing with clients or anything else, my biggest webmaster nightmare is developing consistency into layouts and application behavior between browsers. IE, FireFox, Safari, etc. Especially at my work, which is at a university, we've got tons of other odd browsers from random OSes thrown into the mix too that I have to keep track of. Biggest possible pain in the ass sometimes and I swear I'm gonna get ulcers.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top