Big Time Client Issue - Advice?
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- keithrondinelli0
Is it unethical or unprofessional to pull out but not give the money back? I've already done more work than was originally stated, and have only gotten a quarter of a way through the project. I feel like I deserve what I've gotten so far...
- what does the contract state about breaches? it should be in there... if it's not, then up to youbigtrick
- if you keep the deposit though, expect a very angry client - worst case, they will sue you to prove a point.bigtrick
- Give them what you've done so far and keep the money or vice versa. Give them the choicecomicsans
- calculator0
Hand over the files with the invoice for the remainder.
- MSTRPLN0
Why would it be great to have the name of a client that has very little money on your client list?
- keithrondinelli0
MSTRPLN, you are right, but they talked me into it. Smooth talkers.
- cannonball19780
"...but talked me into it..."
theres your problem right there
- brandelec0
she's hot isn't she
- Projectile0
pretend you're going away for a long time. or have a massive project coming up. tell them you have one day to quickly whip it out.. but that's maybe a good thing as you've already way overstepped the budget in terms of time. I'll email you with what i've done. if there are any minor changes i;'ll see if i can do them.
finish it, create it, and hand it over. then walk to the sink, get out the hand soap, and scrub.
- mydo0
think of it as a painful lesson. then your instinct will toughen up.
- utopian0
invoice AngryMob
- jamble0
If you've got a contract, refer them to the scope of the project and that you'll be terminating it for them being well beyond scope.
If you haven't got a contract, it's all your doing unfortunately and to be honest I'd walk away right now happy that I'd even got half the money.
- keithrondinelli0
I have a contract, and it outlines scope and number of revisions per phase.
- Trouble is you set precedent by not pushing back *immediately*, it can be argued you jointly abandoned the contractcomicsans
- jimbojones0
do not return the money and fire the client. too many revisions - blam!
- i agree. whatever little money was paid is yours, keep itPoint5
- kelpie0
just out of interest, if you've set down the number of revisions in your contract, how have you managed to get to a point like this where they have gone way over and you are out of budget and thinking of firing them?
I'm not being a dick here, but there may be lessons about effectively managing a project in this for you, as it sounds to me like you've not done that.
- jimbojones0
be nice to them, but tell them very firmly that the revisions and time/cost factor have gone waaaay off. to possible solutions: full stop or more money and more revisions.
in no way give the money back, you have done more work than they've paid for anyway.- They could sue, give 'em back the money and keep the work. If they want all WIP charge 10x upfrontcomicsans
- CALLES0
id it http://www.barackobama.com/ ?
- harlequino0
I agree with kelpie. You seem to have a very clear awareness of the scope and coverage of your contract and terms. Why didn't you enforce it?
You really need to back up and realize that when you accept work for such a low amount, you can totally be in the position to have the upper hand. It's not always pleasant (for those who hate bringing the hammer down), but it's easier than you think to put the brakes on and start saying what's what. Naturally that's a lot harder when it's a fair or great paying gig, but this is defintely one of those times where you can have complete control.
- ItTango0
I recently posted about a client wanting a refund after 5 years... because they couldn't get their business off the ground. Perfectly ignorant shits...
While most clients are ok, and some are really cool, there are those who are simply ass on toast. If you've honored your part of the deal (what's really important), then fuck 'em and don't back down. Show them the contract to refresh their memories, and then send them a picture of the new Wacom tablet you bought with their money.
There will be no indentured servitude today, bitches!
- lol, right. That was a great story about the 5 yr refund, haha.harlequino
- yeh it was - we demand a lengthy update in its own thread, entiteld "5 yr client update". Seriously.mikotondria3
- Heh, ass on toast. I think I have a new phrase.dMullins
- keithrondinelli0
To answer some questions:
It's always been very difficult, at least for me, to create black and white language in a contract that deals with "revisions". What constitutes a revision, necessarily? It seems to me these things have to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, so, at first, I was like, "OK, I'll change the font, that's easy. OK, no problem, I can make that bigger." But then all these little things that I consider more "tweaks" than "revisions", start to add up, and I reached a sort of breaking point. I also have pushed back a few times. Two weeks ago the client shoots me an email stating they'd like "full screen video" along the lines of something they saw on someone else's web site, and I said that this was beyond scope. Then, they want something else, and I push back, and they say, "well, we've already abandoned our hope of full screen video, so please work with us to do this next thing, " and so on. So, what's very black and white on the page becomes a very messy tug-of-war that has a lot to do with shifting perspectives, etc. Anyway...
- kelpie0
what was the fee?
oh and: jesus wept man, this could be a test case.