Handling difficult clients

Question

I'm just starting out on a freelance project after several years as an employee. Currently, I'm negotiating a short contract with my first customer, and its proving to be quite difficult.

Edit: I have not started any work for them yet, we are still negotiating a contract.

The main problem is simply this - the client is rarely available for any questions. They ignore emails and phone calls. When I do get through, I get curt one word responses.

When they need something from me, they expect me to drop everything immediately (even though I currently work full time). This has been going on for around two months.

Despite this I have been proactive about anticipating blockages from my end, but they haven't responded to any of my queries about helping them.

Finally this week the client claimed to have a final contract ready, and were intensely pushy about the start date - even though I haven't seen the contract yet. I responded with a reasonably quick start up time (which was still not to their liking), and I gave reasons such as time for contract review, setting up business, giving notice etc. This seemed to surprise them, in fact the client replied to me "is there a chance this might no go ahead?"

So my questions are:

1. Why would they not expect me to review and negotiate a contract before signing it?
2. Why would they say the project is "super-urgent" but then take so long to get a contract?
3. How do I deal with outright rudeness in ignoring my queries but being incredibly demanding with theirs?

Answer 1

You're not beholden to them - if this client is not worth your trouble (and it sounds like it's not), you fire them and find someone who can properly maintain a professional relationship. It's not going to get any better after you accept...

Answer 2

(1) Clients are often difficult, so get used to it :-)

(2) Try to reason with them. And be nice. Failing that...

(3) Sometimes you need to fire your clients.

Answer 3

Fire your client. That sounds ridiculous, and not something you should have to put up with. The relationship is not only on your end, but it is dual-sided, and if your client cannot understand that, they do not deserve to work with you.

Answer 4

I've run across this type of behavior in some form of fashion throughout my career. I often attribute it to a big misunderstanding of what creating a software package really takes. I could go on more about some of the issues but here is my advice.

It sounds like you guys need to come up with an agreement of services or SLA. This would include things such as your responsiveness as well as theirs. In order for a project to work, there are certain expectations that must be met with both parties. This agreement will not force that behavior but will at least make things more serious.

Also, one lesson I've learned is that not all projects / clients are worth the money/hassle. Sometimes partnerships just don't work. As a freelance developer, I find it's equally as important to know when to walk away from projects as it is to know how to land them.

Good luck

Answer 5

You're always going to find issues with customers so normally you try to suck it up and just deal. However! If they are this difficult now - imagine how they will be when you fail to meet their unreasonable expectations or face the inevitable unforeseen issues. You will never please them, the project will almost certainly drag on forever and ultimately fail. If they're not paying by the hour you'll definitely end up working for pennies due to delays and failures. You're better of cutting your losses with this customer and finding one that you can have success with.

Answer 6

If your main problem is communicating with your client, you should offer solutions. First ask them what the best way to reach them is, which might be neither phone nor email. It could be fax, or SMS, or some other odd means of communication.

edit: It could make sense to insist on a scheduled time to discuss the project, say Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10:00 am, or some other time that is convenient for both parties. By scheduling a time, both parties make a commitment to communication, and if your client fails to meet with you at this time, or if he insists on talking at other times, then he is not meeting his end of the bargain. Obviously you must follow that same schedule.

If the answer is not to your liking, you should be very firm, and explain that although you are prepared to go ahead with the work, the communication barrier will cause delays in delivery, and might incur additional costs in the likelyhood of misunderstanding about the requirements.

If your client cannot accept this and is able to agree to it on those terms, you probably don't have much hope of reaching a favorable business agreement.

Answer 7

As with any relationship, if the other party feels like you need them more than they need you, things will go badly. You need to to let them know in no uncertain terms that your time is valuable and that they need your services as much as you need their business. Failing that, as others have noted, fire the client.

Answer 8

Have you met your clients face to face? The myth of electronic business is just that... a myth.

Successful business relationships are built on personal contact. I strongly believe that you should never attempt to do business with people you have not met in person.

If emails are not providing good communications, then pick up the phone.

If phone calls are not providing good communications, then visit them in person.

If the relationship cannot be built from personal contact, then YOU WILL FAIL. In that case, it is much better to abandon the deal BEFORE it begins.

I would meet them for a face to face meeting, and explain your concerns. If they react positively, then you can work to a solution. If they react negatively, then don't walk away... RUN!

Many clients have a poor understanding of the vital importance of an appropriate level of contracts, specifications, and good communication to a project's success. Sometimes you can explain it and proceed. But if you cannot make them understand the value of a good two-way relationship, then you do not want this customer.

Answer 9

Ask for the contract to be pay-per-hour. Then they can change their mind all they want. They're paying for it.

Answer 10

1. Why would they not expect me to review and negotiate a contract before signing it?
2. Why would they say the project is "super-urgent" but then take so long to get a contract?
3. How do I deal with outright rudeness in ignoring my queries but being incredibly demanding with theirs?

For #1: Shockingly, many customers will expect you to being work without a signed contract. I guess they figure those are small details. You should inform them that you will not work without a signed contract. My advice to you is never, ever budge on this requirement. I have seen many contractors flat out not get paid or have the customer attempt to renegotiate after something has been delivered.

For #2: (I don't agree with this thinking, but to explain) Because you are working for them so you are at their beck and call (or so they think). They do not care about your other job, your other customers, your kids, your broken furnace, etc. etc. etc. They are paying you good money and they expect you to work on their schedule. On the flip-side, they are not working for you.

For #3: In this situation, you must site the reason for delay. "Before we can move forward with issue X, I need a response to my email of mm/dd/yyyy, which is attached for your ready reference." This establishes a paper trail for the delay. You must do this because they are going to try and blame you and get concessions out of you for free work or lower price or etc.

If you have an issue that is going to cause a delay, emails alone are not enough. You must pick up the phone and call or show up at the person's office from whom you need the answer (if possible). Issues will be blamed on you and you must do everything you can to prevent that from happening.

Welcome to the wonderful world of consulting. :)

Answer 11

I am not a lawyer. But:

1. Do not start working on their project until you have signed a contract. Ever!

2. For your projects, if they are not going to pay you up front, have (in your contract) that you get a retainer.

3. Keep very close track of your hours, and let them know, when they request changes "you only have 2 hours worth of work left [before they cut you another check.]"

4. Let them know in advance what will be required of them - in terms of their input, decisions, etc. When you email them asking for information, frame it in terms of "I need x information by the 10th, so that I can give you a progress update on the 15th."

5. Do you have a contract? It would be worth drawing up a contract that you give your clients, and then they have to sign it - rather than you waiting on them to create a contract.

Overall, I'm not sure I agree with "fire your clients screw them" mentality - that sounds a bit too cavalier for me! But if you do terminate your relationship with a client, it would be best if there were contractual reasons for it.

Answer 12

Sounds like a few of my clients from my early years consulting. A couple of points from my perspective...

1. The client quite possibly acts this way because IT IS VERY SUCCESSFUL FOR THEM. That is, by abusing neophyte contractors, they get stuff done on their schedule, can re-negotiate contracts on the fly (or never even have to bother with contracts), can pay what they want when the job is done ('cause they never did get to that contract)... AND YOU, BEING THE NEWBY, WILL TAKE IT ALL WITHOUT MUCH COMPLAINT. Why? Because you are deathly afraid they will somehow get you "blacklisted" if you protest too much later on.

They figure they have you over a barrel. You are new, want to get into contract work, and are hesitant. They have probably done well exploiting this in the past, so why change?

YOU HAVE TO REALIZE... BUSINESS IS BUSINESS. If you think these folks do NOT play hardball when it comes to THEM negotiating contracts for THEIR work, then you are quite mis-informed. SO YOU HAVE TO PLAY HARDBALL NOW. RIGHT NOW. BEFORE YOU DO ANOTHER THING FOR THEM.

Your time is valuable. You can and should be prepared to charge for EVERYTHING you do, and then (if it's a good client), be prepared to rebate or discount stuff back to them. BUT NEVER DO ANY WORK FOR FREE. This goes for proposals that are more than just a quick estimate, and (of course) all actual work.

I agree with other posts - HAVE YOUR OWN CONTRACT READY TO PRESENT TO THEM. This avoids getting an "indentured slave" contract shoved in your face at the last minute. You will NEVER be able to negotiate your way out of a bad contract that's offered to you - the first contract offered sets the tone, and then you are playing catch-up if it's not good for you.

Best of luck, but you really need to do some prep work before going out on your own. Get a limited company set up (for billing, taxes and liability), and then get a good contract written. You don't need a lawyer for this - there are good books out there with the starting materials you need.

Cheers,

-R

Answer 13

One thing I haven't said mentioned here yet, and one thing that will probably be very important to you as a freelancer (with them as the single customer?) is that seeing your work implemented in to 'production' can take a long time.

You can be efficient, responsive and pro-active, but it can still take a long time for them to get on to testing your software, and hence it can take a long time to get over that last line into production. Given the responses you've had currently when not face-to-face with them, I would certainly suggest protecting against this issue.

This can really bite when you're waiting for the last payment for your work, and depending on the contract milestones and how payment is set up this can be really stressful.

I would suggest two things to mitigate this:

1. Ensure a reasonable payment based on time worked, monthly (assuming this is a non-trivial project).

2. Usually contracts have a monetary component to be paid once software is implemented in production. I would suggest adding a clause to any such contractual arrangement that ensures that this money is to be paid to you a reasonable time after you have 'delivered' the final component even if they have not implemented the system in production. You should have 'exit criteria' for testing as well - i.e. no more than X critical issues, Y major issues etc.

Regarding your specific questions:

1. Sounds like they are not treating you as someone with options - more of a 'take it or leave it' kind of thing. I have had customers who act like a project is super urgent and want to start yesterday. You have just got to be efficient but not cut corners and they will just have to accept that if they wish to work with you.
2. Because that's how some companies work. It's just the nature of the beast. See above.
3. With email it's almost impossible to gauge whether someone is being rude with a short response or are just really busy. I always assume they're busy or having a bad day. Better to base on phone calls or face-to-face meetings. But, in saying this, if your overall opinion is that of rudeness it's unlikely to get better after a contract is signed and unless you think you can deal with it (and probably visit them regularly - weekly maybe) then it may be best to not work with them. Before doing something so drastic, if you feel you can I would definitely try and talk to them as others have mentioned.

Answer 14

Hi Justicle,

One of the most valuable lessons anyone can learn in consulting and sales - yes you have to sell in the consulting role - is to be able to say no to your customer or even walk away if necessary.

Whenever you're having a conversation with a customer - any customer: remember the phrase "If you ... then I ..."

eg., 'If you treat me nicely - then I will do my best work for you. You can apply this to any negotiation.

As well as the above think about giving them what YOU want on their terms - try and understand their motivation for wanting to hire you, what they want you to do, and why they treat you rudely.

eg, I can't do that, but I CAN have this ready by Friday.

If you can't have a reasonable conversation with these people - walk away. Life is too short.

Regards, Spencer.

PS. You commented on a question of mine and I didn't notice. Sorry about that!