When the customer tries to run the show

[Harold Mansfield]

"The customer is always right" is completely over rated. Even when I was in Customer Service, the customer was not always right and I didn't give in to rants and intimidation tactics.

What is not overrated is the phrase "A little bit of knowledge can be a dangerous thing"...and that brings us to our story today.

I can deal with teaching and consulting with people when they don't know.
I love answering questions.
I''m very happy when clients ask my opinion before doing something that they have no clue about.

What I can't deal with is when someone hires me to do a job and then they take what they think they have learned from a couple of outdated 5 minute articles and what their friends told them and then attempt to micro manage the technical aspects of the job.

Even after I explain the technical reasons why it won't work, some people still insist that we "try it", even thought they have actually never done it. It's just how they think other people do it.

When I give a price for a job, it's usually a flat rate. That means that I have already figured how long it's going to take me to do it, and what materials or licenses I need to pay for.
It doesn't include experimentation and trying out theories. When you start throwing in monkey wrenches like that, it is no longer your time...it's mine that you are wasting.

I lose patients with these type of people. I feel that I should only have to explain it twice before you trust that I know what I'm talking about.

IMO, if you want to do it your way, even though you have no idea how to do it and have never done it before, then you should do it yourself.

Am I wrong? Or is my temper too short with these types of "clients".

[Spider]

I think, if you have to ask, then your temper is probably too short - not so much for the client, but for you. Raised temper suggests stress, and negative stress like this is a rather unhealthy condition. Unless it happens rarely, in which case, a little stress now and then might be a good thing.

I have often heard professionals complain about someone hiring them as an expert and then not letting them get on with doing what they know is best. I tend to think that is up to the person hiring - it's their money to spend or waste as they see fit. If the professional won't allow them to do that, step aside and let someone else who is a little more tolerant, do the job.

But whatever you choose, don't lose your temper over it.

[Harold Mansfield]

Well my perception is, if you are going to change the way I do things after I have given you your price, then you have just changed the price. Most people don't want to agree to that and don't understand that they are adding hours to the way it's normally done and the process that I have streamlined to get it done quickly.

I have stepped aside in the past..returned a portion of the deposit and told them to find someone else that will tell you what you want to hear because it cannot be done like that.

Most things are flexible, and I can make subtle changes on the fly (heck, I've made big changes on the fly)...but what we are talking about here is people wanting to change the way the internet works. I'm not talking about little stuff...I mean things like how SQL databases work, or how long it takes a DNS change to propagate. Those type of things.

Those are the ones that are frustrating because they (the client) is speaking from what seems to be common sense, and not from a position of actually knowing how things work.
Those are really hard to turn around when their mind is made up that they know what they are talking about.

[Spider]

Quite so, but whatever you choose, don't lose your temper over it. It's not worth it.

[billbenson]

Well, you picked an industry that has these kinds of issues. Thats one reason why I would never want to do web design for other people. The perceptions people have that a web site can be built for a few hundred dollars, back yard mechanics such as your example etc.

So, as its part of your chosen career, you really need to figure out a way to "deal" with it on a consistant basis...

[Harold Mansfield]

It's not often. In fact it's so abnormal that one in a while stands out and lingers for a few days. Most people have questions. That's normal. And most things that people want...actually everything that anyone wants can be done. But I can't change the way the internet, or how servers work.

[huggytree]

i have had customers (typically engineers) who ask me about every fitting as i put their plumbing together....one even had a plumbing drawing for me...he wanted me to run the plumbing exactly how he planned....i typically over bid these jobs (as does every other plumber)....i also typically win these jobs because engineers are an easy sell for my quality parts/practices speech i give before i leave the bid......i hate working for them....

the customer hires me because of my reputation, so i expect them to leave me alone and let me do my job...when they pull up a chair and discuss the job with me for 8 hours while im working i hate it....i always screw up more....

bottom line...ill do it exactly how they want it, but i charge extra for it....ive spent 14 years learning how to do my job the best..i know what works and what doesnt....if they think they know better, so be it.......

once in a while the customer is too extreme and i decline the work....

[greenoak]

i can imagine all this...but i would be firm and say this isnt what i agreed to...if you want me by the hour or to try out everything we can throw the agreement away and im 100$$ an hour... or whatever...
you have to be firm....like my contractor for our house...i knew from the start if there were any changes i would be paying dearly....it wasnt a grey area....there were areas where i would be able to come in...like a 10K$$$ carpet allowance etc etc... but i knew his terms and definitly respected them...
i have this with my computer people.but they are in house......and as the user i have to hear what they are telling me...is it impossible or is it possible with 2 hrs more work.... or ...ESPECIALLY . does it muck up something important....or are they trying to do the easiest thing even tho it looks like crap....and im sure sometimes they dread hearing what my internet buddies have to say about things!!!lol...
being clear and firm at the start is the main thing...and thats why i would hate to do service...

i always have to throw in that most of us out here in the world have heard of really half baked computer jobs at big money... ....and we cant really judge very well....jobs that were so messed up at the start....where the buyer thought they were getting a bid for something way beyond what the provider was going to be giving them... and it really is a mess and way too common..

[Harold Mansfield]

I am conscious of that. I know people, especially if it's their first time, are scared to death of getting a crappy job or a lazy service person that won't go the extra mile to make them happy.
That's the burden of doing web work. Many before me have ripped people off, or overcharged... never to be seen again.
You have to ease those fears right away, and I'm usually pretty good at getting past that.

It's the ones that have a little knowledge..just enough to use some terminology, that are the hardest ones to calm down and make understand that I can't change how the internet works because you don't feel like doing it that way, or read something 4 years ago that is obsolete.

[Reflo Ltd]

My main area of business for the past 20+ years has been construction. I have learned to kill them with kindness. It works so much better than getting frustrated. However, you have to know how to be kind yet firm, if that makes any sense.

I know exactly what you mean about the customer that watched too many episodes of a DIY show... or read an article about it... or heard from a neighbor or relative how to do it, even though that neighbor or relative never did it... lol