There are always the usual issues.... client complains the price is too high or waits until the last minute and expects you to pull a rabbit out of your backside.
But in webdesign, its different. I've never had a complaint about price. Never had a time limit issue. And even with a 2/3rds deposit requirement most of my clients decided to just go ahead and pay in full upfront.
And that is what has me perplexed about one of my web clients. He paid in full up front ($1500). He's been in the office twice for project reviews. Loved everything. We've done several sign jobs in the past 20 years.
Well, we're ready to finish. Actually, we've been ready for over two months. We just need a few last bits of information from him including some content he's suppose to have for us.
Two emails (I got the "read receipts"). A half dozen voicemails and a certified letter.
Nothing. Its been three months since we last spoke.
I'm feeling like the project has been abandoned. I not sure how to handle the situation. I need to clear my books and move on. I don't think I need to just let it sit until he decides to appear out of the blue one day.
What are your thoughts?
Posted by Brian Diver (Member # 1552) on :
Glenn,
Maybe you should use most of that last paragraph and send a certified letter. Let them know you need to clear your books, it's been months since we talked, I need to clear the books, etc. If I don't hear from you in xx days or whatever then I will close the books and move on. If after xx days you want to continue there will be a $xx.xx restart fee or some such thing.
Shoot, I know you don't want to loose any potential new jobs from the client but it sounds like you've bent over backwards for them.
Best of luck...
Posted by Preston McCall (Member # 351) on :
He paid upfront 100%, so just sit back and wait for his next move. Obviously, he has some crisis. I have found patience is the greatest virtue and hardest to stay tuned into. What book do you need to clear, assuming you already deposited the check? He will reappear and I bet it will work out better, if you just smile and wave, instead of worrying about his health. My Two cents worth.
Posted by Bob Sauls (Member # 11321) on :
Preston sounds like he has the answer.
Posted by Glenn Taylor (Member # 162) on :
Waiting for a client to show up one day so I can finish a job really isn't an option considering the nature of our shop. And frankly, I'm not willing to make his responsibility mine.
Last Fall, a client of mine had me to produce a logo for a new product line of his. He was going through LegalZoom.Com to handle the logo design registration. He paid them $500. A problem cropped up with the paperwork and he sat on it.
Several months later, LegalZoom sent him a "Notice of Abandonment" letter giving him two weeks to contact him so they could finish the work. If they didn't hear from him, they would consider the job abandoned. If he tried to pursue it after the abandonment date, he would have to start over again and pay another $500.
That is the route I considering.
Sitting on a job waiting on a client is fraught with potential issues. My biggest one is gremlins. Paperwork just grows legs and walks away it seems at times. Then there is the danger of something catastrophic happening - tornadoes, fire and so on.
I don't want to be on the hook if something unforeseen happens and I end up having to recreate the work from scratch. Its just best for me and everyone involved if I can just get the job done as efficiently as possible and move on to the next.
Getting the job in an out also helps to prevent scope creep which is a real problem especially with designing/developing websites. Time passes. Memories get short (particularly the client's). You're tied up with another project when the delinquent client shows up and is suddenly in a hurry (which has happened). It can be a really problem.
The more I look at it, I think the Abandonment letter is the way to go. If I don't get a response by the required time, I can just put all of the files together on a CD, send it to him and wash my hands of it.
Posted by Preston McCall (Member # 351) on :
Too lawyer like. Just sit back and keep his file saved in several locations. Why bother? He is paid up, so maybe charge him a 'reopening fee' if he does eventually show up. Less is more.
Posted by Craig Sjoquist (Member # 4684) on :
Have you tried reaching ..face to face or is distance a problem.
Posted by Glenn Taylor (Member # 162) on :
Preston, yep its very lawyerly and that on purpose (for reasons I can't go into at the moment). The reason why I bother is to avoid some issues that have happened in the past with clients. We're not the "one & two man" sign shop anymore and are morphing into more of an agency. I've been learning through experience that webdesign is perceived and treated differently than a sign shop. With webdesign, strong contracts are a necessity.
Craig, I'd like to do a face to face but I'm finding that he is notoriously hard to find. He's a landscaper who works in about a 100 mile radius. His cellphone is his office.
Posted by Gregg Parkes (Member # 7710) on :
" I am sorry Glenn, my father passed away and my mother needs full time care with her alzhheimers - so I have not been in the office"
How are you going to handle that Glenn?
Sometimes there are reasons we have no knowledge of and "getting it off my books" is not a clients priority.
He has paid in full, put the work on CD, duplicate the paperwork and hold offsite. Take every precaution that you can and move on.
Cheers - G
Posted by Lynda Yoder (Member # 7340) on :
Oh, yes, a landscaper...that explains it!
Posted by Bob Sauls (Member # 11321) on :
Glenn, I just checked out your website. Nicely done.
Posted by Glenn Taylor (Member # 162) on :
Gregg.....I could understand a few weeks, not several months. Even under those circumstances, he could still make a call.
Bob.....Thanks. I just hope to finish it one day. Its only about 25% complete and most of the buttons don't work.
Posted by Dan Antonelli (Member # 86) on :
Glenn - happens all the time to us. Make sure your proposals have deadlines and consequences for clients missing them. Ours state that if not provided the info we need to finish their site withing 2 months, they owe us the full balance, with the understanding that should they supply said materials at a later date, we will finish it.
We did this because we had done 95% of the work and only been paid 2/3rds - so this covers the spread. Most get their act together when we enforce, or some pay and then never get back to us. I don't lose sleep over it - we did the work.
Posted by Glenn Taylor (Member # 162) on :
Thanks Dan. That's precisely the advice I was looking for.
I really wish you'd write a book on the business of business.
[ June 18, 2011, 08:42 PM: Message edited by: Glenn Taylor ]
Posted by Dan Antonelli (Member # 86) on :
Glenn you will enjoy the next book a lot. Chapters all outlined, writing most of it while on vacay this summer. Actually directed more at business owners looking to advance their business by smart branding.
If more business owners understood how important it was, more would be even more successful. I find it ironic how so few understand it, although almost 600 businesses later, you'd think it wouldn't still surprise me.
Posted by Doug Allan (Member # 2247) on :
quote:Originally posted by Glenn Taylor: Bob.....Thanks. I just hope to finish it one day. Its only about 25% complete and most of the buttons don't work.
Come on Glenn... I'm feeling abandoned over here... checked out your site when you first launched it & made a point to see it through to completion...
What could possibly be the delay after all these months? Posted by Glenn Taylor (Member # 162) on :
Dan, I can't wait!
Doug, I know. I know. Work for the most part. You know the axiom about the Cobbler's children having no shoes. For what its worth though, I was up until 4am working on it this morning. Still got a long way to go and may have to be put on hold for a while longer.
I'm working on a new business project with someone concerning emergency services (fire, rescue, ems and so on). I hope to announce it in September if things pan out.
[ June 18, 2011, 11:52 PM: Message edited by: Glenn Taylor ]
Posted by Doug Allan (Member # 2247) on :
Hmmm your own website is a year late, so you've decided on a career change from web designer to becoming an emergency first responder?
That's classic Glenn!
Posted by Glenn Taylor (Member # 162) on :
No no no. You're reading way too much into it hoping to take a shot at me, Doug.
Lets just say I'm taking some of Dan Antonelli's advice in one of his SignCraft articles to heart and putting it to practice. I'm not changing careers. I'm expanding it.
[ June 19, 2011, 12:46 AM: Message edited by: Glenn Taylor ]
Posted by Doug Allan (Member # 2247) on :
Just having some fun... and intending that it showed as just that...
Have a nice day!
Posted by Glenn Taylor (Member # 162) on :
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