customers are impossible

i am doing a web site, and this customer is inpossible to work with... he wants the pages to look 100% the way his broacher looks like, for example 2mm is not good enough....

Welcome to the game.

The best advice I can give, which I got from my multi media design teacher is, "Never marry yourself to your design because it's for certain the client is not going to like it." -Craig Polanowski

What's the difficulty trying to make it exactly like his brochure? If you can't do it you never should have taken the job in the first place. You really can't put the blame on the client. You should have known that's what they wanted from the getgo.

You have follow what your client wants, buddy. Part of your job is to suggest alternatives or ideas on how the site will look better but still clients have the last say.

If you can't work with your client. Don't. Terminate the relationship, refund any money and walk away. If that sounds too hard to do then you'd better learn to be flexible and work WITH your client.

You could alwasy recommend solutions based on current trends, etc to help your client understand that an exact replica of their printed materials isn't really the best thing for them. But in the end they are the on paying you to do what they want.

And try to be honest. Your client maybe don't realises how hard it is (for you) to do the job.

The client will basically never understand the work behind their site, that's your job, so their probably not going to be apprehensive to the difficultly you will be presented with. So you just have to deal with it or drop the client.

We all know that what the client wants is what we should give them, so you cannot blame the client, best thing for you dude is to give him what he wants, make what should be made!

First off, I know it is hard to make the site exactly like his brochure and you should make every effort to do that. I also have a hard client that knows how to create a but doesn't have time this is hard to work with, but a super guy.

What I am getting at, you have to supply the customer what he wants, this is our job this is that we are getting paid to do, if not we need to learn to do something else.


BWT... I just found this site today and I am enjoying it.

Glad you enjoy the site madox.

But yea, customers can sometimes be a pain, although they are the ones that pay us.

Yah I agree with Merlyn sometimes customers can be a headache. Sometimes they go too far and even things that is not possible and beyond the scope of the contract. And also sometimes they don't stick to what is agreed on the contract sometimes they offer too many changes that you can handle. Of course if changes made during the mid-state or the coding phase of software design can missed up with the whole system design.

Well, I had the same kind of problem recently, but as the customer was determined to get his way, I bowed to the pressure and actually ended up learning a few new things aloing the way, as well as ending up making a pretty nice site. So sometimes it's a good thing to be pushed in a different direction. Makes you step out of your 'comfort zone' of web design and push yourself a bit harder...

Hey there,

Cant your client make a new brochure? Heh... I didnt think so

My only advise to you is to work through an intermediary. There are a lot of companies out there that offer these services. I am in the process of making one. Most of these sites offer an arbitration system. That means if either party is not happy, then the arbitrator has the final call.

A contract is usually written in the beginning. Things have to be done the ways things are worded in the contract, or coders do not get paid.

Working without a contract is very dangerous for the coder. Trust me. I know. I have been ripped off before

If your client wants exact measurements, ask him or her to provide them. I usually do work by the hour. If a client does not provide good directions, or is not satisfied in the end after the work is complete, I charge for alterations. Thats part of the job. Give the client what he wants, even if they think they know more than you

Good luck with your client. I have been there.

Sincerely,
Travis Walters
admin@codebuyers.com