Why is your client acting like a shithead?
More often than not, it’s our own fault. At least in the sense that we can fix it, therefore we can take responsibility.
Very, very few people are naturally painful. They don’t go home and tell their kids exactly how to play with their toys, tell their partners that they are taking too long to do whatever or that their dinner guests need to move their plates a little to the left and down an inch.
(Alright, so there might be some people like this, but they really are shitheads and there isn’t much we can do about that.)
They’re nice people, just getting through the day, trying to get their work done. They have a boss they work for, a family they love, a book they cry at and a movie they laugh through. They have their own stresses and worries and don’t want us to add to them.
They’re normal. I know, I know, a whacky thought. But they’re human and nothing more nor less.
So why is it that they treat us so poorly? What did we do to insult them? Why do they ridicule us and force us to think unnatural thoughts involving the tearing of flesh from limbs by the teeth of angered hounds?
I’m thinking it happens when we don’t talk to them.
I’ve found that the best experiences I’ve had from clients is when we’ve spoken a great deal from the very beginning. Not just about the job but about anything that comes up — it helps develop a relationship and a better understanding of how they describe things, what their nuances with the English language mean and what they’re really hoping to get out of the job.
Children throw tantrums when they’re confused and out of place. Their mind doesn’t know how to handle all the new, unexpected stimuli so they just go nuts. Or they are just shitheads (not your kids, your kids are awesome).
But when they know what to expect and know they can trust you, then they’re happy little campers that are good for a laugh and great for a cuddle.
Clients are the same. (The real good ones might give you a cuddle, but be careful about how you go about it, lest you enjoy explaining to your spouse why there’s yet another HR meeting about some ‘sexual harassment thing’.)
Backing away from that tangent, back to talking to the client.
First — explain the process and desired result.
Let them know what to expect from you and what you expect from them.
Get them to open right up about what they hope the job will achieve, who the audience is, what you can and can’t do, the language the audience enjoys best (visual and written), what’s been done before, what hasn’t been done before and all those other things that are standard questions. It’s the most obvious thing to do, so it’s amazing how often this step is skipped.
Don’t assume they know anything
about your process
Tell them how you want the content (Word document, edited, approved, edited again and finalised) and how you don’t want it (in several emails, unfinished, unapproved by their boss and full of text in red that says “is this right? that’s kind of racist/sexists/idiotic/I don’t get it”).
Explain how you work when it comes to proofs, changes, finals, pricing, billing and so on. Don’t assume they know anything about your process unless you’ve been working together for a while.
Again, all basic stuff, but it’s wildly important that it’s explained to every single new client. Just because you’ve said it a million times doesn’t mean they’ve heard it once.
Second – be devastatingly honest.
One of my favourite clients to work with is one to whom I once very bluntly said “No, not going to do that” when she made a request I didn’t agree with. Sounding shocked and hurt, her response was ” … why not?” to which I gave a proper, considered, educated response. “Oh, that makes sense.”
I’ve earned her trust
And what’s happened since? No more silly requests or, often better, the wonderful “what do you think?”.
Because of this, I will often make an aesthetic decision I’m not thrilled with but she is, just because she has earned it. It sounds condescending, but I’m in the exact same boat. I’ve earned her trust, so she does the same with me because we trust in one another’s honesty and knowledge.
Third — r-e-s-p-e-c-t
Pay them respect first, even if they don’t reciprocate.
There is a reasonable chance that the client might start the process of working with you with their back up and muscles tightened. They might not trust the process, they might have been burned before or they might not really see the benefit.
take their work seriously, their input seriously,
their concerns and thoughts seriously
In spite of this, be respectful.
This doesn’t mean say thank you and please and all those things you’d probably be doing anyway.
It means take their work seriously, their input seriously, their concerns and thoughts seriously. Don’t fob anything off. Explain when you don’t do something they ask for and when you do something they didn’t.
Above all, do good work. Do work to the best of your ability with your knowledge and your client’s message in mind at all times.
Fourth — ask, and answer, “Why?”
I’ve written about this before so I’ll keep this one brief.
If they want something and you don’t understand why they want it, then ask about it.
… your questioning should raise a flag
This is a great trick as it does a few things to improve the relationship you have with your client.
It shows that you’re paying attention and want to understand where they are coming from and where they hope to be. And even better — it shows that you want to help them get there as smoothly as possible.
If you’re asking why, it means that it might not be worth doing, and you’re the professional, so your questioning should raise a flag.
It also means they have to justify their reasoning, meaning that you’ll be getting into their head a little bit and understanding how they think (very handy). It also means if they can’t justify it, you can probably talk them out of it.
Even more importantly, be prepared to do the same when your client asks.
I said earlier that a lot of the tension that builds up in the client/designer relationship stems from misunderstanding or a lack of information. This is true of the designer as much as the client.
We must be able to give reason as to why we’ve done what we’ve done — why this colour, this shape, this typeface, this image—and how it works as part of a larger machine that the you’ve built into the design.
Just people
I’m sure there are many more things that can be done to improve the designer-client relationship, so I’d love to hear your ideas.
These are just few things that have worked for me, in my experience.
Clients are people, who probably have a head full of stress and a heart full of worry. Help them get past all this and earn their respect — just because they’re paying us doesn’t mean they trust us.
And once they trust us, they won’t be the shitheads we all loathe.
P.S
Also worth another mention is that, yeah, some people are just grumpy moles.
They have a little bit of power and they love to abuse it, they have the bosses ear and love to whisper sweet nothings or they just don’t know how to deal with people. These are the true shitheads to whom you simply smile, nod and try to avoid working with – their dollars don’t shine brightly enough to ignore who they are.
Comments
22 pieces of brilliance put forth by the audience
Niki Brown
9th of September, 2010 • www twitter
This article is the opposite of the clientsfromhell.net site :)
Its funny that designers are at their heart communicators, but we find it difficult to communicate to/with clients. I know i find it difficult to explain my work process sometimes, but when i do go into detail with a client its always worth it.
Its also difficult because the design explanation always takes up time, and how do you estimate/bill for that?
Caroline
9th of September, 2010 • www twitter
I so needed to hear this… I will bookmark and re-read the next time I’m fuming over a request to put all the type IN CAPS BECAUSE IT’S EASIER TO READ. Thank you for writing.
Sean
9th of September, 2010 • www twitter
An excellently well-written article.
I would say in most cases, the client is not, in fact, to be blamed. They are simply not educated in our industry (which is why they hired us) and are not aware of how things work.
It is critically essential to educate and inform the client. I like how you said that we should establish a relationship with them, not just talk specifically about job details. This comes in very handy when assessing what education material will be necessary to use. If you know what your client knows and does not know, then you are in a good position to be able to explain to them the things which they do not know.
Lastly, asking the right questions is the best thing you can do for the client/designer relationship. Too much of the misunderstandings stem from assumptions made by both parties that certain things are understood or acknowledged by the other, when indeed they aren’t.
Alexander Ross Charchar
9th of September, 2010 • www twitter
Niki Brown
I’d imagine that you could mark up the explanation to part of the pitching/proofing process. If you’re sure of the concepts/theory being used for the job, it shouldn’t take too long to explain it in simple terms either, like you said, we’re natural communicators! :)
You really hit on something I wish I had mentioned in the article – designers being communicators. I remember reading a couple of years ago a designer giving the advice that anyone in our industry should write, even if it’s just a journal. Writing is pure communication with nothing in the way (no aesthetic trickery) and being practiced at it means we are more experienced communicators, which would make pitching and proofing with clients even easier.
Makes sense now :)
Caroline
Oh I feel your pain! I’ve been there! I’ve received two pages of changes for one sided documents before – never fun, is it? :D
Sean
I think you’re right about the education and I also think a lot of designers get a little confused by this notion.
It seems (Bit of a guess, to be honest) that a lot of designers take that to mean we should educate clients the way we were educated, with all the detail only we’re interested in. Where as clients just want to know how it will work in their favour in this situation. Might as well throw history out the window.
So the education given needs to be more relatable to their needs and the situation (ie so no assumptions about how we work, how they work, etc). Needs which are established through discussions that are often missed because, as you said, we don’t do the best thing and ask the right questions.
David Hoogland
9th of September, 2010 twitter
Hey Alex,
Thanks for another great article!
I’ve just finished a project that I was working on for months. Branding, packaging, website, the whole jingbang. I was the graphic designer and besides me the “branding expert” & the investors were kinda the art-directors in this case. It was a very long road to walk. Because they just kept telling me they wanted it to look like Apple I very soon started to explain every little detail of my thoughts about the product so to educate them that every product needs its own communication and strategy. Every choice I made was accompanied by a couple of extra lines of explanation. But in the end they just wouldn’t listen and couldn’t and wouldn’t give me any thoughts on their choices, I just had to make it. I really asked them why and the reasoning behind their choices, but they just wouldn’t give it to me. My current boss was also not backing me up on my choices. What could have been an awesome project was just really annoying by the lack of communication and trust.
Just something I thought of reading your article. =)
david.
Viorel Mocanu
9th of September, 2010 • www twitter
As Andy Rutledge’s been pointing out repeatedly over the past decade — having “bad”, “stupid”, “shithead” clients is THE DESIGNER’S FAULT!
There is NO exception to that rule. And most of the time, you have to learn that the hard way. Once you do, however, things improve dramatically and you start discerning, taking precautions and actually enjoying the profession as a whole.
Jason Gross
10th of September, 2010 • www twitter
Love this article!
I have always said that communication is the #1 key to working well with your clients. My 2 cents on the topic would be to include informing your client that they are the expert on their business. Obviously both parties know this going into the process but it can be helpful to remind your client that as an active party of the company being represented they have years more information in their heads than you do. When they understand that they will be more willing to deliver content to you that is more timely and thought out.
Alexander Ross Charchar
10th of September, 2010 • www twitter
David Hoodland
That’s a real shame David, I’m sorry to hear it. We’ve all been there and sometimes it’s unavoidable.
It’s great that you were willing to try and talk about the choices made throughout the project – a lot of the time it’s easier just to roll over and say “ok, fine” without any questioning.
The funny thing with Apple bringing such wonderful design to a mass audience is that there are probably a good number of clients who think “if we can make it look like apple, we’ll have apple’s success”, not realising that Apple’s look works for Apple because it’s Apple.
Great comment! thanks!
Viorel Mocanu
Hi Viorel, thanks for the links! Andy Rutledge probably instilled this in me as I’ve been enjoying his writing for some time now – I’m so glad you saw the connection! I remember reading about his opinions on how to deal with clients (making sure they’re the right fit for the designer, as much as the designer might be for the client) and being blown away. I was, like many I’m sure, under the impression that if they came to you, you worked with them no matter what (unless there’s a moral issue, but never a personality issue).
Jason Gross
Thanks Jason, glad you liked it :)
Interesting thought, I hadn’t thought about reminding them that you know (often times) nothing about their business. I’ve had a number of clients (although I’m in house, so it is a little different) send me word docs with snippets of text and get asked if we could “just fix it up a little” so it would fit in a book or on a flyer.
Suffice to say it’s infuriating!
Evan Skuthorpe web designer
11th of September, 2010 • www twitter
the article title initially made me laugh out loud but having read it, there are some great and straight forward tips in how to manage your client relationships and manage expectations.
Thanks for the post, I’m bookmarking it!
pixl_dave
12th of September, 2010 • www twitter
First of all your site contains so many typographical elements that it makes it hard for me to concentrate on the text without going like — wow, neat glyphs and text separation :)
Second of all I like the quote for “above all to do your best work”, part of my client relationship problems have been about me telling them that the mistakes on their website affects the general perception of their product — all I got was an OK followed by the same mistakes that would cost them money when I would charge them again for the fix.
I will read this article again tomorrow… maybe I will get something else out of your message, but even in this state of understanding I thank you for writing it :)
Stephanie Webb
13th of September, 2010 • www
I think that designers are prone to remembering the nightmare clients who give us a hard time and think they know better.
There are quite a lot of nice clients out there though who do put their trust in the experts. I am not saying that I am sticking up for the nightmare clients, I’m just saying what work would we have to complete without the clients who give us the work in the first place.
Paul
15th of September, 2010
“As Andy Rutledge’s been pointing out repeatedly over the past decade — having “bad”, “stupid”, “shithead” clients is THE DESIGNER’S FAULT!”
I have a slightly different view, I think it’s more accurate to say, “RETAINING shithead clients is the designers fault”.
I’m a designer down under with around 20 years experience working in agencies, publishing, advertising as well as running a business as an independent designer.
I’ve worked with some incredibly great clients and some that are… just the opposite.
Guess what? I let the “shithead” ones go.
I refuse to work for them. I can think of better things to do – like putting the garbage out or washing my hair.
Just one small example: what don’t they get about a written contract with trading terms that say ‘payment is due within 14 days’? (not 6 months).
Granted, some “shitheads” are nice people deep down – but some are just “shitheads”. In 20 years of business I can think of 3 or 4 that were the latter.
Bye bye Mr (and Ms) Shithead client…
my 2c
Jessica Carvalho
17th of September, 2010 • www
You are hilarious. I had to laugh out loud at “Or they are just shitheads (not your kids, your kids are awesome).” Too funny!
Thank you again for another fabulously informative article. And thanks to all who added their comments. It’s all so valuable.
Explaining your process… brilliant suggestion! It makes me think of when we visit the doctor; it’s relieving to have an understanding of what exactly the little white pill does… gives you a sense of control.
Alexander Ross Charchar
21st of September, 2010 • www twitter
Evan Skuthorpe
Glad you liked it Evan :) I was hoping the title would get a laugh out of a few people – ease the tension a little before blaming designers for many of the problems in designer/client relationships.
Pixl Dave
I’m glad you like the little details of the site! Hope they don’t distract too much from the text though :\
Unfortunately some client’s just don’t want to listen (or don’t care about) he opinion of the (professional) designer. I’d imagine they’re also the type who would tell an architect how to design their house, then complain and bitch and moan when lounge room collapses.
Stephanie Webb
Haha, Ohhhh I was a little nervous about that line actually! So it’s great to hear you laughed :)
Giving a sense of control is a great way of putting it! Letting them in on the process lets them feel (and in many cases actually have) as if they are shaping the direction of the project. Funny how giving the client the reins for a small part of the journey can lead them to happily letting us steer for most of it.
Paul
Hi Paul, I’m also in Australia – what state are you in?
It’s a great attitude to have – I’ve known a number of designers who will retain the painful clients because they don’t want to lose another income. But the problem with that is once you’r spending all your time with the painful clients, you aren’t given the opportunity to find the good ones.
Thanks for your 2c :)
Jessica Carvalho
That’s why I wrote this article – client’s give us work and we can’t possibly blame every single one for a project going bad. Chances are if most of the clients you have aren’t one of the nice ones, it’s not their fault.
Jason Zeiner
25th of September, 2010
It is interesting to see just how many comments come from designers who agree with the assertion that a bad client is their own fault. I would have assumed that because of self-interest or egotism many more might agree with the opposite. Being the kind of guy I am I turn this assumption sideways and sort of span the gap.
Firstly, this assumption assumes that every client is the same. They are not. Like a snowflake, every client is their own special kind of “shithead.” Really, a client is just a person, just like you. Often a client is just someone who some project has been thrust upon. They don’t understand the project, it had a deadline and they still have all their normal work to do. Not to mention that speaking to a designer is like calling an automated voice system. The kind that forces you to speak to it. The client doesn’t know what to say to get what he or she wants and the designer doesn’t understand what client does say. Either way you’re both fairly sure you’re speaking the same language but nothing is sinking in.
Secondly, not all designers are bad communicators. I have personally seen how a designer can spell out every detail in clear and concise language yet the client still manages to get all worked up. Over an initial proof. Of a concept he wasn’t very clear with and didn’t even understand himself. So here we have a communication problem that the designer can do very little about.
I completely agree that the foundation of these working relationships are communication, understanding, and respect. These things, however, all go both ways. Some people tend to view the client-designer relationship as a kind of master-servant or buyer-vendor relationship. This is wrong. What is really happening is the formation of a team. It is the spirit of a team that both client and designer do their level best for the project to which they are responsible. Since something new is being created there is a creative process, and the most effective creativity comes from working in a team.
barbara
26th of September, 2010 • www
great article, thank you! :-)
I’m not a graphic designer but a private teacher, but everything you wrote is very, very familiar…
I had my share of shithead-clients and I had to learn to let them go. I had my share of communication problems and worried parents and desperate adolescents and people who pay “later, would next year suit you?” *hatethef…gbastard*
most important turned to be out that I am clear about where I might compromise (no I don’t normally work weekends but once in a while I can make an exception) and where I don’t (the fee is due in cash instantly after the lesson. If you don’t like it, there are other teachers who might accept your conditions, because I won’t…) and this way the shitheads are cleared out of the process even before we would work together.
Marschant
1st of December, 2010
I think the only thing worse than shithead clients are shithead designers – we’ve all been there or known a few… the kind who cannot separate their ego from their work and cannot backup what they’ve produced with solid reasoning.
When critiqued they get their backs up or pull into that too-hard-too-crack turtle shell. “Because I think its cool” just isn’t reason enough.
I’ve had shithead clients and thankfully a few become the regularjoe variety after having ironed out the differences in communication style.
Thank God and Long Live Georgia *wink wink*
Alexander Ross Charchar
17th of December, 2010 • www twitter
Marschant
I think we’re all those kind of designers at some point, but most of us learn to grow past that. Unfortunately some like to stay teenagers their whole lives.
Thanks for dropping by :)
Niels
22nd of December, 2010
Great article, thanks!
It is nice to read that the blaim is all on the designers fault if a relationship with a client goes to hell, after all the complaining articles about the stereotypes of horrible clients.
What you say about communication and misunderstanding can be aplied to life in general and not only to (web)design. Most problems arise from misunderstanding by making assumptions which are wrong. (I could continue with a Buddhism related talk here, because it uses that in its basis.) It is hard to not make any assumptions, or let alone notice that you do. But with practice you can.
It was great to read this article also just after I got rid of a client with which it was very hard to work. Fortunately she broke off (due to time & location) and went on to the next guy, who is already the 5th person to make her website..
This is definitely a bookmark :)
Alexander Ross Charchar
1st of January, 2011 • www twitter
Jason ZeinerAbsolutely, thinking of the relationship as a team-based one is far better than buyer/vendor. And I agree that every client is different and some you just won’t be able to communicate with because they aren’t interested in being part of that team (they just want what they want and unless they get exactly that, things will go sour – even when they dont really understand what they want).
But I do think that as the professional communicator in the relationship, it’s up to us to understand how to talk to a client so they honestly do know what we’re talking about and what the outcome will be. Sometimes that means using a different language than we normally might or tackling things differently. You said that calling a designer can be like calling an automated voice system – thats the designer’s fault and something that should be fixed, isn’t it?
If we aren’t able to overcome the foundational communication stream between us and the client, then perhaps we shouldn’t be working with that client – how you figure that out before a project starts I’m not sure, but I know there are those who do it.
Thanks for the awesome comment :)
Barbara
You’re very welcome Barbara :)
I must admit that I work in-house so it’s rarely possible for me to turn away a client, but I completely agree that there should be some sort of filtering process that stops those bad ones (who’d like to pay next year, ha) away. Why should anyone lower their professional standards? The quality of the client and relationship held is as important as the work produced – work shouldn’t be a chore, shouldn’t it?
Niels
You’re very much welcome!
I recently stumbled upon an article online that spoke of an old (Greek? can’t remember nor find the link this second) philosopher that said anger comes from unmet expectations – we assume something will happen one way and when it doesn’t we freak out and get angry, which sounds just like a bad result from a misunderstanding, doesn’t it?
I would love for you to continue with the Buddhism related talk, too, so feel free to make another comment, if you dont mind?
Jye
10th of February, 2011 • www twitter
Love it. in line with heaps of stuff i’ve been writing lately! Sending to the whole crew. #agency land
Paul Ambrose
20th of June, 2011 • www
I don’t think anyone mentioned that when you DO find a client with whom you can communicate easily, you cherish them. You work harder for them and care more about their success.
As to the “shithead” being a good person deep down, I had a client about 20 years ago whom I really respected, but the pressure of doing his catalog changed him into an ogre who was impossible to work with. It was very strange. Like Jeckel and Hyde.
We finally said, “Look, we can either keep trying to work together (which isn’t working) or we can be friends.”
We chose friendship, and I haven’t worked for him since. However, he’s one of my closest and dearest friends.
It’s a funny old world.
Shall you delight, entertain & enlighten
us with your own thoughts?