Unbelievability

For the past four months, I’ve been working on this website for a very difficult client. A colleague’s husband was looking to have his website redesigned back in July. I should’ve known from the start when it became clear that I wasn’t going to have any say or input in what the outcome would be, DESPITE my expertise. The ONE TIME I decide NOT to put the terms of the job in writing, I get screwed over.

Websites of this size usually don’t take more than 12 hours, but this one is running on 17 and well past its welcome. This is because of the back and forth and lack of direction this guy is giving me. Every time we reached a breaking point, he changed his mind on a dime and wanted something else. In addition, he just “had” to have a Flash slideshow, which of course requires even MORE time.

In amidst of this project, he’d send me dismissive, fleeting e-mails with vague instructions and often insisted on meeting me with me, which of course equals MORE time. The hours just kept piling up and I started getting sick and tired of the back and forth. After a while, I just stopped caring because it’s ultimately money for me in the bank. Plus the client should be aware of the amount of changes he or she is requesting.

So, in an effort to be ethical and service-minded, I thought I’d let him know that the hours were racking up and he should consider wrapping up the project. Well, OF COURSE, he decides to play dumb and acts like he wasn’t aware that I charge hourly. He claims that I had agreed to a flat rate, which would be paid when he was satisfied with the finished product. According to him, had he known I charged hourly, he wouldn’t have made so changes.

Well if his mother fucking directions weren’t so careless and he knew what the fuck he wanted, there wouldn’t have been so much God damn back and forth.

I politely, but firmly corrected him by saying that I only charge hourly – which is true – and I would never have agreed to a flat rate. I learned THAT lesson a long time ago. I remember being right in front of him, telling him that ALL of my design services are based on an hourly rate, PERIOD. Apparently that didn’t sink in that thick head of his.

First of all, it makes no sense to charge the same flat fee for a website that requires three hours to build and one that requires 20 hours. IT JUST DOESN’T MAKE SENSE!

So anyway, he wants to “conclude this business transaction,” which is fine with me. I think the site looks horrible due to his over involvement in the design and I’m sick of the project ANYWAY. I’m not going to argue with this one because quite frankly, he’s clearly an asshole, which is of no surprise since I kind of saw that from the beginning.

As unprofessional as it is for me to berate difficult clients and air my dirty laundry for the world to see, this is MY reality – the real world as it exists. It’s finally sinking in that it’s a dog-eat-dog world out there and I’m starting to accept the fact that I’m my own best friend and I can only rely on myself. I’m going to have to learn how to be a dick in order to survive.

It’s a harsh lesson to learn, but I need to be comfortable sticking up for myself and standing my ground as a young man who is not going to take any shit. I just need to make that change with in myself and I need to do it soon.

I’m going to start by offering this fool one of two options: pay me for the work I’ve done thus far and I’ll release the files, or we can both act like it never happened.

What a waste of fucking time.