Dealing With A "Picky" Client

Business
1

Just looking for a few suggestions on an excellent client that I am finalizing a web design for…

Currently, one of the sites I have been designing and developing is for a small landscaping company and they are on a strict budget. They have 3 reviews of the mock-up template and so far each one has been fine, but they have had all types of minuscule, picky remarks… I have no problem doing what the client requests, but somewhere you have to draw a line.

Examples…

Their logo is the main problem. Due to the viewing angles on their monitor they are constantly asking me to change the colors. Well, this logo is ALL ONE COLOR with a small black border around it. They look at it on their monitor wrong and tell me the color changes to black and I have explained this to them 3 different times. I have no problems changing the color, but each time I do they say the same thing. I lighten it, I darken it. Don’t know where to go anymore and I cannot keep making these changes due to how they are looking at their screen.

Next are their external links colors. I have no idea why this is becoming a problem, but I have explained to them the purpose of having their links stand out so prospective visitors can navigate with ease…

Another one is background colors and the color scheme. This is a centered, fixed design. With a widescreen monitor there is going to be a lot of space on either side. The owner wanted to do something there, but I have explained to him why that happens as well.

How do I deal with this? The template has been finally ok’d pending a few minor changes, but what can I do in the future to diminish these picky changes?

2

You just have to take control and be in charge. I know that might not sound very helpful, but I think that’s what needs to happen. :wink:

For example, if the logo colour problem is caused by them looking at their monitor sideways then that’s the problem - end of story. Tell them straight. No point pandering to their silly requests by fiddling with the colours.

Just shut down the silly conversations politely but firmly. You’re the expert.

It’s like dealing with children: sometimes the most effective response is ‘because I say so!’

Paul

3

If you are getting paid for all of this, what does it matter?

Every little change you do is more money in your pocket.

4

Unfortunately, the only way to deal with these people is assassination.

Or charging much much more than you currently do, hourly.

5

Wish the changes were hourly. This was a bid site at X amount of dollars. With this they are given specifics on what changes they can make and how many reviews they get…

It is just a struggle and I think it is time to lay it down the client and let them know, “Hey, this is how it has to be.” I’ve exhausted time and options trying to deal with this.

6

Another one is background colors and the color scheme. This is a centered, fixed design. With a widescreen monitor there is going to be a lot of space on either side. The owner wanted to do something there, but I have explained to him why that happens as well.

I had a client who wanted this as well. I tried a few times to explain it to him, that it’s a sort of background area outside the rest of the page (and so that’s why nothing can go in that area, because everything on the page is… on the page). I tried to explain it like taking a report or brochure, and then laying on top of the center of a large piece of coloured paper. The brochure has everything on the page, so you can’t take something off the brochure and put it on the other paper we have behind it. He still didn’t totally get it, and I had to show him what his competitors were doing (that’s where he got the idea, and the competitor site was built entirely differently), but he took my word for it.

He took my word for a lot of things, but sometimes he still asked me to change stuff I had already explained, and I understand that.

The colour thing was also huge, as he wanted this particular blue used on the screen. Well, sure, I could do that, but he said several times that they weren’t all the same colour.

I had him come over to the house and he brought his laptop over (maybe this is not an option for you). I showed him a site with many colours and I tipped his screen of his laptop front and back.

Then I showed him a site that uses Baarbie-pink in their headers (geenstyle.nl), and showed him how the same pink looked much darker at the top of his screen than the bottom. This is typical of the newer flatter computer screens and monitors out there, while people still expect the behaviour of the older CRTs.

I also have a CRT from a friend, and that’s also nice to use: show the client their site on a screen that does not do the colour-bending behaviour.

Then they’ll have to decide which colour they want, knowing that some of their clients may have a CRT-style screen while others may have the newer style.

The CRT is also old but hadn’t gotten crusty yet (when they get old, they get dim and things start looking kinda green everywhere). I told my client to remember the old greenish screens, and he happened to remember using one, and I explained that was one reason why I chose some of the other colours, so that his site would still be readable even on a dim screen.

Another issue is when a logo has a print colour and the client wants that same colour on the screen. As screens are more likely to show the same colour differently than something printed on a textured surface, you’ll have to actually show them the HTML hex number, so they can at least see some sort of proof that it really is the same colour, code-wise. That may help them digest the idea that one colour will look differently. You could also try comparing to khaki, the brownish colour of clothing that famously turns “green” under popular fluorescent lights.

If you have the ability to sit in person with your client and show them a few different screens, this would really help you to get across what’s going on, because they clearly don’t understand it completely.

7

tsk tsk… o well. are you already paid?

8

If you would be payed on an horly base, it wouldn’t be a problem. What I would do is to aske them exactly the color codes they want to use and finalize the whole thing. If they like it good - if they don’t then you will say that they have requested those colors. This is what I would do…

Yes, sometimes clients are a pain in the … but they are paying your bills. Don’t forget about that. The problem is that clients don’t always agree that the designer knows more about desigh then them. Those cases are difficult to handle.

9

Keep in mind though, this was a “bid” project, not hourly and they have been restricted to their limitations on changes. This is only a 4 page site for a small business and if I were to charge an hourly rate they would have broken their budget easily.

The problem with asking them for color codes has been they are NOT at all computer savvy. Asking something of that nature would have been greek to them. I’ve done this work myself, as I have with most of my other clients.

I’m hoping to hear back from them today, after my weekly email…

10

I try to always make sure that I have clearly stated that we bill for our time up front. If at any time they wish to stop working with us, any remaining hours can be refunded.

11

You have to explain it to them in a way they’ll understand.

For instance, if they were painters, it might be easier to understand because painters have similar problems with people and the way light can make the color of a wall look at different times during the day.

Considering these are landscapers, try to relate the way they’re looking at their monitor to how they have to explain to their clients why a tree might look bare or dead at one time when it’s actually just dormant. It’s one of those things that you just can’t “fix”.

12

I get stuff like this and I have a simple attitude to it and it’s this: My role is to provide guidance using the knowledge and experience I’ve built up over years of webdesign but it’s the client’s site at the end of the day, and if (despite my best efforts) they want it purple with pink and green spots and scrolling banners and popups, that’s what they get. They’re paying for it, they get what they want.

It just won’t go in my portfolio…

13

I sometimes find when a client wants picky small changes. It’s actually because something wasn’t working in the overall design. But they don’t know how to fix it, so they start trying to suggest these small things which make no difference at all.

The hard thing is understanding what the underlying problem is. Which the client may not even understand himself.

When the client thinks he has the answers to solve design problems, it probably means I haven’t done my job as well as I should have.

Regardless of how much they are paying, Is the design the best you could have possibly done?

14

In the past, I have had to explain that a,b,c,d were on the original contract for x amount of dollars, and if you are wanting to do e,f,g on the site, then I will have to charge for those things.

If there is an issue with the colors on the site because of their monitor, then explain the situation that every visitor of the site is going to experience the site in a slightly different way based on monitor type/size, operating system, connection speed and browser used.

Reassure them that you design and code in a way that seeks to normalize all these variables and account for them, but that it’s next to impossible to make a site look the same on every computer. Your job is to make it look the best, and degrade gracefully.

I noticed a lot of people have the attitude “screw the client, you’re the expert”. Well, I work because I need money, not to be an “expert” and the client dictates when I get paid. Offer them solutions and reassurance within the boundaries of the project scope and original bid. When the client tries to overstep those boundaries, explain the situation and offer them a choice: either do the request at a charge (if you can), or if they don’t want to pay or you can’t fix it due to monitor problems, then direct them away from the problem.

Remember that clients will build up expectations of you based on your work habits, if you cater to requests and allow them to waste your time, then they will devalue your time and expect that you will pamper every request. However, if you are professional and firm, over time they will expect and respect your position.

If they don’t it’s probably a client you want to finish as fast as possible with and then wash your hands of. Sometimes no client is better than a needy/disrespectful client.

15

I’m loving all of these experiences. Appreciate it everyone!

16

Listening to a picky and complaining customer
can be painful but they are also often the ones
that help you improve your product.

It’s the customers that simply walk away and
say nothing can be the biggest problem as
you never know why they did not come back.

17

This drives me nutz. It’s no different than saying:

“If I were to charge an hourly rate, they wouldn’t like it. So, I decided to work for much less money instead”

What’s the difference to their budget? It would be the same if you had just cut your hourly rate in half (or more) - it’s you that is eating the difference, if any.

18

mjkovis:

I’m curious. What width in pixels did you design this website? And what is the width in pixels of your client’s monitor that shows so much empty space to the right and left? Just wondering what some clients find objectionable.

I’ve found some people prefer 980px fixed-width and are okay with the space in the body. Others seem to like the effort I put into elastic layouts with a max-width of 1150px.

I know elastic layout has fallen out of fashion nowadays (though I haven’t figured out yet who is the Wizard of Oz behind the curtain who determined this). And I will be the first to admit that elastic layout requires more testing and has its own unique problems, some of which are pushing me back to fixed-width. We really do have much more control artistically over a design in fixed-width.

But if your client is so bereaved and heart broken by the empty space to the right and left of your fixed-width site, then maybe you should consider elastic layout. I would only recommend this to you, though, if you’ve had experience with it because it can be very challenging. And it doesn’t sound like you want to spend too much more time on this site. It may be too late to switch to elastic, but I just thought I’d mention it to help you out. Hope this works out for you.

George

George

19

I definitely agree with most of the posts here, you just need to be firm and say whats what, I was like this when I first started off even sometimes depending on my form it can still be like that; when i first started with web design I was glad to be getting the business and being paid to do something I enjoy, but when you’re too obliging they take advantage and ur basically working urself into the ground…

But yeah, you’re the expert as Unit said, you call the shots on design and why things are as they are i.e the monitor etc… perhaps a print out of the logo in black n white so to speak will show them exactly how the colours are and compare it next to their screen, sometimes ppl need to be brought back down to earth and most of the time you have to dumb down a bit to relate or get through :confused2

Logos drive me crazy - they think ur a mind reader and can snap ur fingers and there it is, then theres the majorly complex logos that lose all meaning when they just need something plain and simple but they dont want that no no …:rolleyes:

Goodluck with your project mjkovis… I hope it works out for you and you can move onto to something more worthwhile :tup:

20

What drives me nuts is the fact that you are assuming I am working for less money. When in fact, I’m not doing more work than I have budgeted for. The problem has been dealing with the changes during their reviews which are completely unnecessary. My client is uneducated when it comes to technology, so I have tried my hardest to educate them while doing this. It is very frustrating and I know many of you have had these experiences, so I am trying to soak some suggestions in…

Sorry, but your statement kind of rubbed me wrong. Not meaning to start an argument here… Just explaining.

The site is a small, budgeted design. They have certain stipulations (criteria) that they or any other client must follow with reviewing their template. They get 3 reviews. Upon the 3rd review, the site is now in a final copy. If I were charging them for the picky changes and to design and develop this site by my prevailing hourly rate they would have gone way over their budget. Plain and simple.

It is fixed width and I have my content area set at 950px. The monitor they are using is a 24" widescreen and the other PC that I built them has a 22" widescreen. They were used to the old 17" LCD that has been there for quite a few years. You also bring up a great suggestion using an elastic (fluid) layout… But, you are right, it is too late and on top of that they do not have enough information to really fill the design with content needed to make it work.

Once again, I really do thank all of you for the responses! This is really helping me out a lot.