Clients from hell

After all, we love our customers.

In the exciting world of customer relationships, we constantly encounter a variety of personalities. Some clients are as unique as the projects we work on, while others present us with the same challenges over and over again.

And then there are those who can be sorted into categories we affectionately refer to as "Clients from Hell." These clients are so special that we've dedicated an entire blog entry to them.

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The Copycat

"Your work is great, but can you make it look exactly like this other design I saw?" Customer type Copycat loves to be "inspired" by others and then hit the originality off button. This can be really frustrating, because copycat isn't necessarily the creative work that designers envision.

Our tip: Check out the testimonials, but add your own creative touch.

The Paradoxical Customer

"Can you make it modern, but still traditional? Serious and fun? Epic, but intimate?" These clients live in their own world of paradox and are the masters of contradiction. They know exactly what they want, but at the same time have no idea at all.

Our tip: Keep flexible and learn to read between the lines.

The pop artist

"Come on, make it more colorful. Spice it up. It's too plain. Make it pop!" We love the drama but this type of customer loves it even more. These clients are fans of wild, decorative elements, the more the merrier - With no regard for the overall look. It's like throwing a rainbow over everything and expecting it to work. Sometimes less is more, they don't understand. More is more right?.

Our tip: Absolutely no idea, friends. What else can we say about "Make the logo bigger"?

The lawyer

A master at flexing his legal muscles. Everything is placed under a top-secret non-disclosure agreement, as if he had the most secret intellectual property ever. One mistake and the lawyer gets in touch. Rumor has it we're working on a spy thriller, but really it's just a simple logo. The ad is out.

Our tip: If you're dealing with these clients, make sure all legal issues are resolved from the start.

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The ninja

The following routine applies here...


Step one: Stress how urgent the project is.
Step two: Just disappear without warning. Who knows for how long.
Step three: Make it as difficult as possible for the company to establish contact and then push them away.

Our tip: Patience is required here. Communicate clear deadlines and expectations to avoid surprises.

The unofficial agent

Thinks he's doing you a favor by giving YOU, a piddly designer the opportunity to work for him. I mean, do you know who you're talking to? This client is a gift from the universe! Our creative talent scout then shirks payment, because really, for all that "exposure", he should have a good one with you.

Our tip: Set clear payment terms and reminders to avoid financial misunderstandings.

The backdown

"The design didn't work for us, so we shouldn't pay you the balance."That's simple math, isn't it? You know the system otherwise don't you? So at the restaurant we always weigh our food too and only pay for what we ate. Now seriously, to pull out of agreements this far and try to get out of obligations to avoid payments is already low.

Our tip: Don't get ripped off. Document and communicate every step of the project to avoid such situations.

The designer

Here we are dealing with the one and only expert. A customer guy who tries to do the work for you. No matter what you do, you don't do it right. In the end, it's a design you didn't make, the client did. Do these clients throw around technical terms like side mirrors, white space and spationing? Yes, of course they do. Do they know what is meant by it? No, but it sounds good and shows that they know what they are talking about... And in the end it's still the designer's or developer's fault if it looks crappy.

Our tip: Clearly communicate your role and expertise to protect your creative work.

The stresser

Does not have time, wants everything done yesterday. This customer has no patience and expects everything to be done yesterday. He calls every few days to ask about progress, even though the deadline is still a month away. For this customer group, time is relative, and impatience is the middle name.

Our tip: Manage expectations and communicate the project timeline clearly.

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The tag team

The duo or trio or whatever, with a lot of opinion. Don't rejoice too soon, because it's not one opinion but two or three different ones that make your life difficult. Everyone tries to make you dance to his tune. To find the healthy middle shows you what stress really means.

Our tip: Clear communication and get a Taki too, ours works great. A strong project manager can help keep things on track.

The Scope Creeper

This customer has a penchant for always getting more out of the project than agreed and especially more than was paid for. He continuously adds new requests and never seems to be satisfied. More and more requests, more and more changes, and best of all, he expects you to get it done with no additional payment.
His signature move? His favorite phrase that starts with "Couldn't we just...?"

Our tip: Establish clear agreements from the beginning & clearly define the project scope to avoid changes.

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The procrastinator and procrastinator

No not Wizard, Procrastinator - With D! A type of customer who is never completely sure. The project start drags on because he constantly expresses doubts and concerns. This customer requires a lot of convincing, because he always, but really always, finds a fly in the ointment. You will recognize him by the fact that he can never make a clear and, above all, a final decision.

Our tip: This is the perfect opportunity to develop your own patience. The customer must be able to share their thoughts and concerns so that together, with the help of clear explanations and examples, they can fight the uncertainty.

The YES-Sayer & the NO-Sayer

Here we have an unequal duo. Sometimes it's hard to tell which is worse: the YES person who impulsively agrees to anything and everything, only to cancel later by email, or the NO person who, on the other hand, rejects almost everything from the start. In both cases it often ends in a "no", but every now and then we long for the feelings of happiness of a "yes", don't we?

Our tip: Communication and empathy are the key here. Listen attentively is the motto here. It's best to ask about the reasons for the constant approvals or rejections.

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The problem with such customers

The big trilemma underlying all of this....

As a design studio, we and our clients are always faced with the challenging trilemma of quality, quantity and cost. Every client, every project, and every budget challenges us to balance these three factors. But therein lies the problem: one of the three always suffers.

The art of creativity requires time, talent and resources, and these things cost money. It's like buying furniture: you can buy three cheap plastic chairs that don't do much, or three expensive design pieces of the highest quality, handmade and unique - but you'll have to dig deeper into your pocket for them. Or you can decide to buy only one, to get the same price as the three cheaper chairs.

Many customers don't always fully understand that what we do is a craft. We design, develop, build and create. It requires expertise, creativity and dedication. This is not mass production of plastic chairs, but the creation of individual works of art.

Finding the balance to achieve quality and quantity despite limited resources is a constant challenge. Time also plays an important role here, and speed can mean additional costs. Creative work requires wise trade-offs and a willingness to set realistic expectations in order to succeed. Quality, quantity and cost will always be present, but with a balanced approach we can still achieve outstanding results.

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First round of feedback: "Yeah right, that's how we do it! You are the designer, you will know what you are doing!_{"no customer ever}

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