Client's email leaves me at a loss for words...

[Dice]

In business you have to harden your heart a bit. You don't run a charity. Say "sorry, but those are our policies. Is there anything else i can help you with?"

You think they try that crap with the phone company, the electric company? No they are trying to take advantage of a small business owner. Why? Because they know there is a good chance of success.

 

[GypsyGraphics]

Rick.... no comment on the revised avatar?
Funny? or not so much?

 

[Rick]

Revised Avatar? I don't know what you mean? Really I don't, it should be my kingy guy waving...

 

[Rick]

Oh, okay I get it...

I retain all copyright to spinny glowy avatars....

 

[GypsyGraphics]

Rick, did you even click on the attachment. I went to a lot (okay just a little) trouble to be just like you. Well the SHE version.

 

[Rick]

I just clicked on it....

I will be sending my cease and desist letter and a booger flick very soon...

 

[Replicator]

No.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2a8TRSgzZY

Great Video !

 

[GypsyGraphics]

i just clicked on it....

I will be sending my cease and desist letter and a booger flick very soon...

zzzing!!!!!

 

[GypsyGraphics]

Haven't even gotten to the website discussion and already things are taking a bad turn. I said no charge on the business card modifications and now he's gonna bitch about the printing cost and pour on the "poor me, gotta feed the kids!" I already told them the print cost had come down since they last printed. In 08 they paid $100 (4/4) and now it's only $75. Not a chance in hell on bugging on that, if i'm editing for free. not worth my time! AND it sounds like a friggn rush job!

Here's Bob latest email.


Thank you Gigi. I really hope Boopsie can work directly with you because we both agree with you on the importance of the quality. Up to this point the issue has been cost, as I already mentioned. For example, the business card quote she got for printing 1000 thru you was 3 or 4 times higher than other options. This is not meant to be critical or anything, but these types of things are more affordable for corp clients I am sure. If you remember correctly, with Thing2 cost was never really an issue. We had the margin to pay for the higher end service. Someday, I am confident Boopsie will get there. But for now she has to be careful, especially when the option is feeding the kids or paying for quality marketing. Somethings gotta give. I tried to talk her into only feeding them on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays but she would not do it. Darn kids eat too much.I am just having fun with you but there is some truth here. If she has to give up quality to save the money for family expenses it's not really an option. Hopefully, you can work with her until she gets to the big bucks. I see that day coming in the relatively near future as her reputation is developing and good marketing will accelerate things even more. She is going to call you today to get together and come up with a plan. She really likes working with you and she has some upcoming deadlines that are crucial.

Have a great day. Bob

 

[RebeckaR]

Don't you have some starving children you can pull out for this occasion?

Gee Bob, Boopsie,
I'd really like to cut you a deal, but I've gotta pay the 'lectric bill this month or they're gonna cut me off. They let it slide last month, but that was only after I promised I get caught up.
Little Debbie will be getting her cast off on Tuesday and after a couple more months of physical therapy she should be ready to start walking again.
I'm hoping that by March we'll be able to buy groceries again. Living off Grandpa's bunker rations has been a Godsend, but the dehydrated meals are starting to get a little tiresome.
Let me know what you decide to do....

 

[Rick]

If they are thinking 100 dollars is "big bucks" for business cards, they are crazy/loco...

If someone whined to me about quickie 33 dollar floppy, shiny cards, they would get bounced. Sell a kid or the XBOX 360 and pay up, 100 is cheap!

 

[Dice]

Haven't even gotten to the website discussion and already things are taking a bad turn. I said no charge on the business card modifications and now he's gonna bitch about the printing cost and pour on the "poor me, gotta feed the kids!" I already told them the print cost had come down since they last printed. In 08 they paid $100 (4/4) and now it's only $75. Not a chance in hell on bugging on that, if i'm editing for free. not worth my time! AND it sounds like a friggn rush job!

Here's Bob latest email.


Thank you Gigi. I really hope Boopsie can work directly with you because we both agree with you on the importance of the quality. Up to this point the issue has been cost, as I already mentioned. For example, the business card quote she got for printing 1000 thru you was 3 or 4 times higher than other options. This is not meant to be critical or anything, but these types of things are more affordable for corp clients I am sure. If you remember correctly, with Thing2 cost was never really an issue. We had the margin to pay for the higher end service. Someday, I am confident Boopsie will get there. But for now she has to be careful, especially when the option is feeding the kids or paying for quality marketing. Somethings gotta give. I tried to talk her into only feeding them on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays but she would not do it. Darn kids eat too much.I am just having fun with you but there is some truth here. If she has to give up quality to save the money for family expenses it's not really an option. Hopefully, you can work with her until she gets to the big bucks. I see that day coming in the relatively near future as her reputation is developing and good marketing will accelerate things even more. She is going to call you today to get together and come up with a plan. She really likes working with you and she has some upcoming deadlines that are crucial.

Have a great day. Bob

Wow, really begging now. You sure your not making all this up? What sort of business is "Boopsie" in? Is that seriously her name?

 

[GypsyGraphics]

Boopsie, Bob & Richard Head?????? really?

Think about it Dice.... Richard Head: the villein (hence the name)
What would Richards nick name be? So that would make his name....what?

Was I being too subtle? Maybe so.

Clients, real... emails, real... Richard Head, Bob and Boopsie, real.... names, not real.

Every word of the emails are real, I just went in and changed the names. I don't have the right to use their real names or business names. But I can tell you Boopsie's business has to do with wedding planning. I guess February is some big wedding related convention.

 

[Dan Antonelli]

Get paid the proper amount up front for your design work. State in your contracts the industry standard programs you use, and if the client needs to them converted to other formats, state the fee in order to accomplish that. We ALWAYS relinquish rights to ALL art we create and provide native files. You paid us for your design work, you own it. Stated up front, it puts clients more at ease - because more than likely, they've experienced someone holding their art hostage previously. So just include in your upfront design fees, when the project is done, burn a disk and send them everything.

Least, thats what we do. Web, print, logo - no matter. You paid us for it, you own it.

Just my two cents --

 

[Si Allen]

Gypsy....when was the last time that you heard of a wedding planner that worked on spec? They GET PAID UP FRONT!

Time to get hard nosed!

 

[GypsyGraphics]

Dan,
It may be that you won't wan to answer this in open forum but I'm guessing there a cost in consideration of providing source/native files. Not to say that it would be a line item, but I'm sure in the overall charge that those files are not without value. What would that value be?

In the past when I did subcontract work, all files were released to the agency to whom I was contracted. Also, cleint who came to me with source files, no matter how much work I did, those source files where theirs. Currently the only source files I automatically supply are logo files... in every possible format (for web, print, vector, AI, PSD, INDD, rasterized, layered, 4C, BW, CMYK, RGB, everything).

Otherwise I'm of the mind, as stated by others... my working files, my tool, not owned by the client.

That's not to say I've never released those files, but it was at my discretion.

If not in this thread, would you PM me your thoughts on the value of source files?

 

[GypsyGraphics]

Don't you have some starving children you can pull out for this occasion?

Gee Bob, Boopsie,
I'd really like to cut you a deal, but I've gotta pay the 'lectric bill this month or they're gonna cut me off. They let it slide last month, but that was only after I promised I get caught up.
Little Debbie will be getting her cast off on Tuesday and after a couple more months of physical therapy she should be ready to start walking again.
I'm hoping that by March we'll be able to buy groceries again. Living off Grandpa's bunker rations has been a Godsend, but the dehydrated meals are starting to get a little tiresome.
Let me know what you decide to do....

Oh my Rebecka, behind on your utliltes, little Debbie the poor darling and sharing dear old Grandpa's rations? I'll be grandpa's a veteran too. This just awful news!

"Let me know what you decide to do...."

Well I've decided to work for free for you too.

Oh wait, that was suppose to be my reply to to Bob & Boopsie! Oh well, too late already made the offer to work for you at not charge... my offer still stands.

 

[pointjockey]

"Bob I'm so happy that Boopsie's business is gaining traction. I'm very busy these days and simply do not have any "Free" time to format the files so that you can use them at home. My hourly rate is $$$ and I can schedule time to modify the files for you upon receiving your deposit or prepayment"

 

[iSign]

"Bob I'm so happy that Boopsie's business is gaining traction. I'm very busy these days and simply do not have any "Free" time to format the files so that you can use them at home. My hourly rate is $$$ and I can schedule time to modify the files for you upon receiving your deposit or prepayment"

absolutely perfect!!

nice, short, professional, & fair!

 

[jfiscus]

We do not like supplying the customer with files that we have created, but when it comes to this point you probably figure that you are losing the client/work anyways, correct?

What have you made for them?
Did they compensate you well for printing, your previous work, etc?
Or, is this a "web" deal?

We usually just release the files to the customer to keep them happy, if you are a printer; hopefully they will make their changes & come back for more printing, etc.
It's better to stay friends with them than to burn a bridge that you can never get back if you know what I mean.

But, I personally would supply them with the native InDesign files with images included. Tell them that you only design in professional programs (not MS Office junk liek the customer is wanting to work in) and that is how you can supply it in an editable format, otherwise you can supply art as a JPEG or PDF format that they can place into their own programs (outlined fonts). the customer then has to weigh their choices as to buy InDesign (lump sum) and learn the program or pay you in small increments to make these minor changes. Do not supply fonts, that is another expense that is up to them.