Arggghhhh...

I've got a client who is really annoying me and the work that i'm doing for him isn't even as worth as much as i'm doing!

I did a few designs for him. He picked one. Then we did the amendments to that template to suit his needs, including changing stock images to once which he took! It was all agreed, he signed off the design, and i built it and put it on my testing domain. Now he is messing me about wanting more pages, getting rid of pages, changing the main graphic images of the site which are in the header back to stock images ... and then back again to his own pictures... i think the only thing thats the same is the background colour. Its taken a good few months already, and its only a small site!! - time which i haven't got to waste.

He is not even paying full price because my family's company got me the job, so i can't tell him to stop messing me about either because he buys a lot which my familys company. insted of £80 worth of work, hes had around £300 - £400 of work!!! .... arggghhhhh!!!!!!

That sounds frustrating. Some designers quote a price saying it includes a defined number (say 3) of revisions (with additional revisions being charged at $X/hr). This way if the changes are just clarifications or something you can just do it but if the guy's totally changing what he wants - you can cite the need for additional charges that you set out upfront.

A.

I can see that you are in a difficult position.
What you say shows how necessary it is to get off on the right foot in the first place.
What did you agree when giving him the initial quote?
I would suggest you explain to your client what is involved and how much of your time he has taken and that you gave him a special price as a favour to your family's company. Then put it to him that without re-negotiating the deal you will make this one last ammendment and no more.
It might be helpful to involve somebody from you family's company in the discussions.
It will be interesting to see how you resolve the problem.
Hope all comes out weel in the end.

hey vkw91 I was in exact same situation... it sucks but the best thing you can do is just work as fast as you can and not take it personal otherwise you'll lose a lot of time and nerves...

Look at it this way...if he's that much of a jerk to you, he's probably that much of a jerk to your family too. Chances are your family put you in that position to try and make them look better when you do a good job and thus put themselves in a position of better negotiation...which means that the customer is using the same types of tactics on your family that he does on you.

My suggestion would be to talk to your family and find out if the customer is worth it. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that the customer isn't.

Originally Posted by ADAM Web Design

Look at it this way...if he's that much of a jerk to you, he's probably that much of a jerk to your family too. Chances are your family put you in that position to try and make them look better when you do a good job and thus put themselves in a position of better negotiation...which means that the customer is using the same types of tactics on your family that he does on you.

My suggestion would be to talk to your family and find out if the customer is worth it. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that the customer isn't.

great advice, i would do the exact same thing!