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I get the crazy ones. Boy, do I.
So, SC shows up mid-May, wanting a rather large project done, but...budget-ty, so it's cheap. He insists this needs to be done SOON, as he wants to launch by mid June. Sure, can do, this is a 2, at worst 3 week project.
As a strange aside, he insists that I hire on the coder he chooses, and pay them myself, so he can just pay one lump sum. I'm annoyed by this, but I have a surcharge for doing this sort of thing. Keep this in mind, it comes into play later: he wanted me to pay the coder he wanted to hire, for him.
Get the 50% deposit, and then all the problems start.
He cracked the whip and constantly insisted he needed this site "ASAP" at first, and then halfway through the design process, he proceeded to disappear for a week or more at a time. Suddenly he'd pop back up demanding to know why I was delaying the project.
What should've been a 2, maaaaaybe 3 week project turned into 58 days, and I told him more than a few times that I could NOT sit and twiddle my thumbs over this. I informed him that to get his site finished, he had a deadline date to contact me back, which he completely missed. I actually was in the process of prepping the files for sale because I thought he'd abandoned the project.
At one point, he sent me a very nasty email telling me to stop asking him to reply soon, because he had things to do, and that since he was paying me a "huge, trmendous sum compared to your stupid normal projects of, what, $200?" that I needed to learn to bend over backwards for "the bigger fish."
I let him know in no uncertain terms that he was only paying $900. I have many, MANY clients who pay more, and just, in fact, landed a nearly $3k contract. He was not one of the bigger fish, and I take pride in the fact that I treat my clients all the same, no preferential treatment due to how much money you throw at me. I don't care about money, I care about attitudes.
He's not thrilled with my reply, but says he'll get back to me soon.
So, he finally shows back up, we get the design aspect completed, and due to his previous disappearance act, I requested that before I complete the rest of the project, I'd feel more comfortable with the second half of the payment. I don't like it when people bail on me like that, and it makes me feel like they're gonna leave me with a full custom design, tailored to them, and no buyer.
He says he understands, and promises to send it that evening. Harr.
A week after THAT, he finally pays, and I inform him that my coder cannot begin until a certain date (four days from that time), due to the schedule he now has for work. He demands that the work be done over the weekend, and I tell him no, coder has family priorities, and weekends are...well...weekends.
He starts demanding to know why the site isn't done NOW, "coding is a simple quick job", and starts constantly harassing me asking why things aren't moving forward. This transpires up until the friday evening before the weekend.
Granted, at this point, one bad thing did happen. The coder I hired tried to get in contact with him, he freaked out as "I shouldn't have to EVER speak to the coder". Well, that's kinda new. Hearing about this, the coder didn't go through with emailing him, and I said I'd just continue to handle the communications. I email client back, stating well, things are progressing like blah blah, please remember, things will be rolling on Monday, as coder has the weekend off.
I guess this was the wrong answer.
Saturday morning, the client disputed the second payment, and sent me a huge email claiming I was making up an "imaginary coder" and "stealing his money", and that he was going to hold the money hostage unless he heard from the coder in one hour, with proof of what progress had been made. he said this would "be a lesson" to me about being a professional, and about working with customers, and doing stuff for them even when its problematic for me/my hired on coders.
I called up the coder, woke him up (to his chagrin, and apparently ticking off his girlfriend hardcore), and had him quickly fire off an email showing the progress that was done, and confirming that he wasn't imaginary.
Unsurprisingly, client never replied to the email, until today.
He did close the dispute, but not without posting a nasty email stating how "Isn't it sad that your unprofessionalism by delaying my project caused me to have to be the bad guy? Now you've learned for the future." Real class act. Unprofessional my butt.
He also lectured me on the horribleness of me was to expecting him to reply promptly to emails, don't I know he has a life, and how it was all my fault I forced him to do this. And that, he won't hestitate to use these measures again if he deems that we're not working fast enough.
I guess he has no clue that PP won't let you dispute the same transaction twice, which I'm grateful for, but cripes. Yes, I learned a lesson here, never working with him again, even for all the other projects he's been dangling in my face.
So, SC shows up mid-May, wanting a rather large project done, but...budget-ty, so it's cheap. He insists this needs to be done SOON, as he wants to launch by mid June. Sure, can do, this is a 2, at worst 3 week project.
As a strange aside, he insists that I hire on the coder he chooses, and pay them myself, so he can just pay one lump sum. I'm annoyed by this, but I have a surcharge for doing this sort of thing. Keep this in mind, it comes into play later: he wanted me to pay the coder he wanted to hire, for him.
Get the 50% deposit, and then all the problems start.
He cracked the whip and constantly insisted he needed this site "ASAP" at first, and then halfway through the design process, he proceeded to disappear for a week or more at a time. Suddenly he'd pop back up demanding to know why I was delaying the project.
What should've been a 2, maaaaaybe 3 week project turned into 58 days, and I told him more than a few times that I could NOT sit and twiddle my thumbs over this. I informed him that to get his site finished, he had a deadline date to contact me back, which he completely missed. I actually was in the process of prepping the files for sale because I thought he'd abandoned the project.
At one point, he sent me a very nasty email telling me to stop asking him to reply soon, because he had things to do, and that since he was paying me a "huge, trmendous sum compared to your stupid normal projects of, what, $200?" that I needed to learn to bend over backwards for "the bigger fish."
I let him know in no uncertain terms that he was only paying $900. I have many, MANY clients who pay more, and just, in fact, landed a nearly $3k contract. He was not one of the bigger fish, and I take pride in the fact that I treat my clients all the same, no preferential treatment due to how much money you throw at me. I don't care about money, I care about attitudes.
He's not thrilled with my reply, but says he'll get back to me soon.
So, he finally shows back up, we get the design aspect completed, and due to his previous disappearance act, I requested that before I complete the rest of the project, I'd feel more comfortable with the second half of the payment. I don't like it when people bail on me like that, and it makes me feel like they're gonna leave me with a full custom design, tailored to them, and no buyer.
He says he understands, and promises to send it that evening. Harr.
A week after THAT, he finally pays, and I inform him that my coder cannot begin until a certain date (four days from that time), due to the schedule he now has for work. He demands that the work be done over the weekend, and I tell him no, coder has family priorities, and weekends are...well...weekends.
He starts demanding to know why the site isn't done NOW, "coding is a simple quick job", and starts constantly harassing me asking why things aren't moving forward. This transpires up until the friday evening before the weekend.
Granted, at this point, one bad thing did happen. The coder I hired tried to get in contact with him, he freaked out as "I shouldn't have to EVER speak to the coder". Well, that's kinda new. Hearing about this, the coder didn't go through with emailing him, and I said I'd just continue to handle the communications. I email client back, stating well, things are progressing like blah blah, please remember, things will be rolling on Monday, as coder has the weekend off.
I guess this was the wrong answer.
Saturday morning, the client disputed the second payment, and sent me a huge email claiming I was making up an "imaginary coder" and "stealing his money", and that he was going to hold the money hostage unless he heard from the coder in one hour, with proof of what progress had been made. he said this would "be a lesson" to me about being a professional, and about working with customers, and doing stuff for them even when its problematic for me/my hired on coders.
I called up the coder, woke him up (to his chagrin, and apparently ticking off his girlfriend hardcore), and had him quickly fire off an email showing the progress that was done, and confirming that he wasn't imaginary.
Unsurprisingly, client never replied to the email, until today.
He did close the dispute, but not without posting a nasty email stating how "Isn't it sad that your unprofessionalism by delaying my project caused me to have to be the bad guy? Now you've learned for the future." Real class act. Unprofessional my butt.
He also lectured me on the horribleness of me was to expecting him to reply promptly to emails, don't I know he has a life, and how it was all my fault I forced him to do this. And that, he won't hestitate to use these measures again if he deems that we're not working fast enough.
I guess he has no clue that PP won't let you dispute the same transaction twice, which I'm grateful for, but cripes. Yes, I learned a lesson here, never working with him again, even for all the other projects he's been dangling in my face.
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