Unprofessional & Abusive email reply

dahamsta

Sponge Bob wrote:

The most lethal variant is the customer who does not know what they want

I disagree SB. The most lethal variant is the customer who "knows" what they want, and won't listen to the advice of an experienced professional who knows what they need. I've had this conversation three times with major accounts:

Client: I want it this way.
Me: If you do it that way, your site will die.
Client: I want it this way.
Me: Right, you're the boss.

Six months later...
<fizzle>

By rights, it should be no skin off my nose, since I get paid either way. However my name will be associated with that site; and of course if it fails, I have no opportunity to generate further business from it.

So it's more lethal imho, because it's harder to turn down when they're throwing big bucks at you.

adam

Dave!

Is the web designer a young guy or something? His email seems really childish and petty, so maybe it's his first business attempt and he just can't handle criticism yet.

If that's the case, then maybe you could take the higher ground and reply telling him that he's gonna lead it into the ground if he doesn't grow up.

On the other hand, if he's not starting out, then tell anyone you talk to about this sort of thing, to steer clear of the company!

Having said that, your original email can't have been enjoyable for the fella to read! So I could understand his frustration, since he spent alot of time and put his creativity into the site, but that doesn't justify his response.

Sponge Bob

Ken Shabby wrote:

I disagree SB. The most lethal variant is the customer who "knows" what they want, and won't listen to the advice of an experienced professional who knows what they need. I've had this conversation three times with major accounts:

I find them lads amusing !

By rights, it should be no skin off my nose, since I get paid either way.

Thats how I think of it though . Them lads cough up fairly fast becuase there is no 'layer of uncertainty' in the mutual email exchanges from their end so I don't care about the result .

When I see the marketing fluff start an email with a line like "I'm not sure about......." I get a sinking feeling just below where I believe my nads were when I clicked on that email .

Savman

Ken Shabby wrote:

Sorry, you're not client material, please try somewhere else.

Great attitude, good luck to ye.

rsynnott

Savman wrote:

Great attitude, good luck to ye.

Assuming that you've more demands on your time than you can fulfil, yep, it IS a good attitude to have.

mel123

if this guy is a 'professional' then i am totally shocked. i would more imagine this isnt a professional, it isnt someone trying to gain customers (word of mouth), its someone fairly young, basically who doesnt give a sh*t. and someone who obviously owns the business cause if an employee did this im sure they would be sacked from anywhere

mayb i am asking a rather stupid question, but if u were not happy with any of the website, then why the bloody hell did u pay for it?? in my job (large company) when we were getting a website designed they kept coming back to us asking were we happy, what did we want changed. and until we were satisfied they kept working on it. my brother is getting a website done at the mo, and he is the same, everyday he sends me links of different things they have done to the website - added stuff on, taken stuff off. surely the end result should be that u should be happy with it???

LundiMardi

it was unprofessional yes, but if you just told him at the time that you weren't happy with it none of this would have happened.

TequilaMockingBird

OH MY GOD!!! I run a business and I might feel like replying to a customer like that - but NO WAY!! I would have just not replied, you know that customer is gone forever, but he still has a mouth! Who's he going to be talking to in the future. OK, he might have been a pain (I don't think you were Corkman) but risking future business isn't worth it, but the main point is, it was just plain RUDE.

fatboypee

Perhaps I'm missing something here (or its already been mentioned previously and I've not caught the post) but I've been development of Software & webs for a considerable time and each assignment / contract has been dealt with along the same lines:

1. Define in writing exactly what is required by the customer and get that in "contract" form, signed by both parties.

2. Agree also in the contract the terms of engagement whereby you set up the design phase, the proto-typing, the implementation plan & sign-off, billing each stage separately with a retention clause pre-go-live.

At every stage of the process the customer is involved and very often can change their minds or what the application or web is required to do. All very fine, each change is calculated and charged accordingly.

To my mind, this situation arose by bad communication. Errr....if the product was not as requested, then don't sign it off, don't go live and don't pay the bill ???

Paying the bill and going live and then six months down the line complaining at how difficult the application or web is (especially when the customer had clearly had such influence) is simply like shutting the door aftr the horse has bolted....

If you have issues, deal with them prior to parting with your well earned cash. In that way the designer knows you're not satisfied and why and will attempt to rectify such issues in the hope of being paid ?....


What is clear is that the next design company to take on the challenge of the web site ought to be handled alot more efficiently in terms of the above points, that way, at least, the customer should be wholly satisfied...

FBP.

smash

as a developer I can see the problem, here's it is...

If you go to your solicitor you don't haggle a price, if you buy a house, you don't haggle agency fees - this guys problem is that you haggled with him, gave you a 50% discount, he obviously didn't charge an hourly rate and charged for the project.

He didn't spec the project properly and ended spending too much time on it so he then got disgruntled and did a half arsed job. This would certainly annoy you because the content managemnet system is probably rubbish, but he feels hard done by that he put a lot of time into something that wasn't worth the money he got paid.

There's only 1 way to do it, which is what I do...

1: Price a project with room for some negotiation, but don't undercut yourself.
2: Spec properly.

If the client is happy with timing and pricing then move on.

3: Send out a letter of engagemnet with the tender.
4: Design layouts and get them signed off.
5: Code the site, add content.
6: Arrange a few hours training for content management system.
7: Sign off on project.

Then the site is done and you can move on.

8: Talk about a possible maintenance contract.
9: Charge maintenance per hour.

Doing this, everything is documented and clear - projects and plans don't change half way through and everyone's happy.

Ireland's too small to piss pepole off. Someone sent me a snotty email before from a hosting company - I advised a number of my clients to drop him as a host and they did!