Recent question on cheap clients
quakerninja: Have you without giving names found higher paying clients to be more or less douche’y as a whole, then lower paying clients or is the douche level about the same.
I wonder of there is a correlation between price and douche.
My theory is that it is about equal but for differing reasons.
I think a low douche would think that we art types should work for free and thus be happy for scraps, where as a high douche would feel entitled to own you because they are paying more.
Typically, and this is not ALWAYS the case as there’ve been notable exceptions, the price one expects to pay is inversely proportional to the amount of douchehood.
The cheapest clients want the most changes for the least money. They seldom have a clearly defined image and you end up hunting and pecking for little monetary compensation.
Big clients hire you because they are intimately familiar with your work, know what to expect, let you do your thing while providing solid input thanks to having an Art Director worth their office chair, and pay well.
Cheap clients are like mean people. They suck.
Jul 9th, 2009 #
Somehow this is goes across culture western culture, since I’ve the same experiences in Denmark.
What I’ve found out is that cheap clients need to have this “feel” that they actually spend their moneys worth, by asking for changes or by voicing critically some of their ideas. Its a way to insure themselves that they have made a good deal psychologically.
Jul 9th, 2009 #
That’s an interesting angle on it.
Jul 9th, 2009 #
I couldn’t agree more! Sadly, most of our clients these days are the really, really cheap clients… and they are very demanding… and very unclear about what they want.
If you have any nice big clients, send them our way! Plllleeeeaseee.
Jul 9th, 2009 #
Oh definitely! I used to outline a “revision phase” that allowed for # hours of revisions… one client summed it up best; after using up his hours for revisions he said “just go back to the one you first showed me, I liked it best.”
After further prodding it turns out that the initial comp was his favourite throughout the entire revision process, but he never said a word… when I asked him why he insisted on all these arbitrary changes when he was happy with the original result he said “i dunno, cause I guess I paid for ‘em – might as well use ‘em.”
I no longer outline how many hours I will spend on revisions.
Jul 9th, 2009 #
Great anecdote, Stefan.
Jul 9th, 2009 #
I give a flat number of revisions in my default contract. I like dealing with low, simple numbers. Turning things into hours seems to evoke a sort of effort quantification that can sour a client (in my experience, obviously)
Ashley, I hear you. If I have any to spare, I’ll let you know, hah.
Jul 9th, 2009 #
you’re the man Ray.
Jul 9th, 2009 #
Naw; seems like everyone here has learned this lesson. It’s not a grand insight, heh. We’ve all fallen for it. :)
Jul 15th, 2009 #
Unfortunately, there are douchebags across the board. You never know if you’re getting a cheap douchebag or a rich douchey asshole.
Every once in awhile you’ll get the best client which is the one who knows you know what you’re doing….and doesn’t care what the price tag is.
Jul 21st, 2009 #
Hey Ray, could you do me a favor and email me your custom tee rates? I’d love to have your work on our shirts.
Jul 24th, 2009 #
Sure. Not a problem.
Aug 7th, 2009 #
I agree. The cheaper they are, the more douchey they are. I also acknowledge that if you give some people a discount out of the gate (because they whined) decide if you are willing to do it once, you’ll do it again. Those people are worth firing.
Here is a funny find that illustrates this issue well. You can laugh and cry in pain at the same time.
http://www.lenashore.com/blog/2009/07/the-vendor-client-relationship/