*** From the Archives ***

This article is from September 24, 2001, and is no longer current.

The Art of Business: Coping with the Client from Hell

There’s no getting around it. At some point in your career you’ll be dragged through an ordeal so tortuous that you’ll question your sanity, career choice, and self worth. It will test the limits of your patience and force you to plumb hitherto unknown depths of frustration. And it’s all because of one difficult person often (charitably) referred to as a high-maintenance client.
You may have dealt with one already, a client who is self-absorbed, paranoid, passive-aggressive, relentless, and cruel. He (or she) has difficulty making up his mind, and when he does, watch out. He’ll change his mind again, making a more disastrous choice, only to blame you or others when things sour. When you save the day through tremendous effort and fast thinking, he steps in to take all the credit.
Spot the Clues
The best way to avoid the client from hell is learning how to spot them to begin with. Here are some common types:

  • The Rebounder: You’re not the first to attack this project and the clues are subtle: a bad word about another creative designer, a half-finished project, a set of project guidelines that are scribbled upon beyond belief. Learn as much as you can about the project and client history before you sign on.
  • The Do-It-Yourselfer: You know the type: “I could do this myself but I don’t have the time.” If he thinks he can do it himself, he thinks he can do it better than you. Danger ahead.
  • The Pay-You-Later: If a client starts talking about deffered payment right from the start, get ready for that long and arduous relationship. You’re in the business of providing services, not assuming project risks. Clients who ask you to defer billing or wait until funding is in place don’t appreciate you and your services, and their attitude will spill over into other aspects of your relationship.
  • The Handshaker: If they don’t want it in writing, run like crazy. These guys can and will use a nebulous agreement to their advantage later, either by “assuming” the contract includes extra work, or redefining the project as time passes.

Take a Deep Breath
Even if you’re vigilant, you’ll probably be fooled at some point. So how do you deal with a monstrosity such as this? Here are a few suggestions:

  • Live with it: As the saying goes, this too will pass. Soon the client from hell will be somebody else’s client but for now he’s yours, so grit your teeth, deploy all your skills of forbearance, and simply endure until the contract is up. If it helps, circle the last day of the job or use some other such device to signify when the job will be complete, and then mark the days off your calendar until you reach the glorious end. With every abhorrent client there are lessons to be learned about human nature, your intuition, and the “early warning signs.” Use the experience for its lessons, to help you avoid difficult clients in the future.
  • Find a quick exit: If you’ve contracted the job in stages, look to the next milestone and pull out then. You may have to renegotiate, but a quick break up, despite the consequences, may be better than a dragged out divorce later. Be polite but firm, making sure not to leave the client in the lurch. Give them plenty of time of help them find an alternative source of talent. You don’t want to give them any more reason to bad-mouth you.
  • Say goodbye: It’s your life, your business, your sanity. Walk away if you will, just be prepared to suffer the consequences, including compensation for the time you have already invested in the project. Undoubtedly, your unhappy ex-client will use his exceptional talents to turn your name into mud. If you work in a narrow niche, be ready for a blow or two to your reputation. Hopefully everyone will know who’s who in this battle and you won’t suffer badly. Before you do say goodbye, however, be certain of a few things. Be sure there’s absolutely no way to fix the situation by the methods listed below or other creative ways. Second, take a deep, excruciating look at yourself to see if the problem or prejudice lies within.
  • Restructure your contract: If your letter of agreement or contract is well written, you’ve included provisions that allow you to charge extra for extra work. Now’s the time to slip the contract under the client’s nose and let him know that the meter is running for every unnecessary telephone call, request, or other ill use of your time. Money talks, and it may be the best leverage you have. If you have such provisions in your contract, renegotiate on the spot with new terms that protect you. Just be ready to walk if the client refuses to abide by the new terms.
  • Encourage better behavior: If you have children, you know it’s best to pick your battles carefully and win them through motivation rather than force. If you narrow it down, even the most egregious client is guilty of just a select number of offenses, be it incessant telephone calling, perpetual meddling, or micromanaging. Find the one behavior that hurts the most and work like the dickens with the client to change it. Does the client call twenty times a day? Tell your contact you’ll have to bill for additional hours or, better yet, wait a day or two before returning calls. Does the client ask for extra work? Decline until the requests become reasonable.

Hooking up with the client from hell is a bad, bad thing, but it’s not the worst. The worst is no clients at all, so even if you have a doozy on your hands, remember that it’s better than repeating “do you want fries with that?” all day. Hey, it’s not much but with a client from hell, every little bit helps.

Eric is an award-winning producer, screenwriter, author and former journalist. He wrote the script and co-produced the feature film SUPREMACY, starring Danny Glover, Anson Mount, Joe Anderson and Academy-Award-winner Mahershali Ali. As founder and president of Sleeperwave Films, Eric relies on his unique background to develop film commercial films around contemporary social issues. As a seasoned storyteller, Eric also coaches corporate executives on creating and delivering compelling presentations. He has written thought leadership materials for entertainment and technology companies, such as Cisco, Apple, Lucasfilm and others.
  • anonymous says:

    I’ve been in client hell for about 6 months with some hair-brained inventor. I could have saved so much stress had I read this article before then.

  • anonymous says:

    Yikes, I had the client from hell earlier this year. Actually it was the client’s wife from hell, who Monday morning quarterbacked everything I did in developing a web site for their sales and consulting business. She loved to tell me that they would do the web site themselves if they had the time. This was a $7 million a year business and in the end they screwed me out of $1,200. But I’m just as much to blame because I closed the deal on a handshake instead of a signature on a contract.

  • anonymous says:

    Your observations are right on the money. Once I had enough experience to see a bad client coming… (“I could do this myself, if I had the time.” “This won’t take you very long, it’s really simple.” and my favorite: “I know exactly what I want, I just need someone to do it for me.”)…I generally run screaming from the room or I get half of my non-refundable fee up front.

    Thanks for the great article.

  • anonymous says:

    You took the words right out of my mouth!
    I think we all should post this up in big print at our business entrance. :-)

    I would say more, but you’re the expert here. And, besides, I don’t have time.
    :-D
    regards,
    MAJ

  • anonymous says:

    I am in agreement witht the article regarding Clients from hell, or the people that come to you with the comment “I want it to look different” or “I don’t care as long as it’s innovative”… Designers do have the ability to create such items but even the best designer requires at least one iota of information to help show which direction is the best way to proceed!

  • anonymous says:

    After 43 years in the graphic design business I’ve been thinking lately about writing this kind of letter and now I don’t have to–it’s been said PERFECTLY. And it’s given me a few chuckles. I’ve lived every one of those scenarios myself including one this past year when a client refused to admit I had sent him our “contract” and paid me about half my fee. I’ve learned from this experience, too. A quick print place had recommended me to him and as I’ve had a couple others “cheapie” clients from their recommendations I’ve learned to say no to folk who call me–infact I asked them NOT to recommend me anymore. So be careful of that type of client.

  • anonymous says:

    Good Advice. I haven’t run into a client that DOESN’T fit into these categories.

  • anonymous says:

    I’m currently -gasp- salaried as the Webmaster (read: everything that uses the internet is your problem) at a mid-sized non-profit. One of the senior managers here is the Do-It-Yourselfer. Every project start with “I was going to just whip this together in (PHP, MySQL, PERL, HTML, XML…) but I just don’t have the time. Could you take care of it for me?” There are some advantages to “clients” over “bosses”, I must say.

  • anonymous says:

    While I think the title of the article a bit extreme (clients can read these things too) I agree that difficult clients can make a creative professional’s work very, very trying. We run a small ad agency, and have learned the value of staying in control. Always try to suggest things first, to be there on time, or early, to have new ideas, not to sound doubtful. This can be hard, because one needs some input from the client as to what they want or what they have in mind so that your aren’t shooting in the dark. Once the client starts telling you how to be creative, how to do your job… you’ve got to work hard to get back in the driver’s seat. You work for the client, but as a professional, you are there to use your expertise for them. Sometimes (though it may sound odd), you can get your respect back by charging more e.g. by raising your fees.

    If they come off as described in the article right from the start… declining the job is probably a good idea.

    Sean

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