Discuss: In Defense of Difficult Clients
by Rob Swan
- Editorial Comments
12 Too Relevant.
Great article. Unfortunately, you just described 95% of my clients and even some of our staff. We have designers who swear by tables and think inline styles are the greatest thing since the splash page. So at least they’re on the same page as our customers, sometimes.
And encountering these folks is a rarity for you guys? I think I must live in a backward town.
posted at 06:58 pm on November 14, 2006 by Parker Smith
13 Re: too relevant
And encountering these folks is a rarity for you guys? I think I must live in a backward town.
… at least that means you’ve got a lot of people keeping you on your toes ;)
I’d like to stress that encountering the clients that ‘think’ inline styles and tables are the coolest thing isn’t a rarity, it’s clients that really and truly won’t listen to a well structured and simple argument to the contrary that I think are a comparative rarity.
But then again, perhaps I’m just particularly good at changing people’s minds. Maybe it’s my reputation for beating people to death with philosophy text books… ;)
posted at 07:32 pm on November 14, 2006 by Rob Swan
14 Persuasion
Winning over someone’s beliefs or ignorance is a huge part of proving that your worth the big bucks. It’s a great feeling when you have convinced a not so web savvy client that you did what you did because it was the right thing to do. Happy Client = Happy Designer = Beautiful project you can both be proud of.
posted at 08:18 pm on November 14, 2006 by Robert Fauver
15 Click Here
Also with regards to “Click Here,” it’s just redundant. I mean, what else are you going to do there? “Rub Here?” “Stare At Real Hard Here?” “Tap Three Times on the Monitor Here?” Clicking is what you pretty much do; no need to explain the default action.
posted at 08:36 pm on November 14, 2006 by Duke Boyne
16 re: Click Here
Also with regards to “Click Here,� it’s just redundant. I mean, what else are you going to do there?
The redundancy argument against ‘click here’ is a good example of an argument that I’ve personally found really doesn’t work very well with difficult clients.
One of my clients used (obviously I’m paraphrasing) this retort:
“Okay, it’s redundant, but it’s expected. I expect it. It’s an accepted convention. I see it everywhere online and if web users really are as stupid as you’ve been insisting they are [I’d been explaining some navigational conventions from a usability perspective] what’s the harm in spelling it out?”
There’s a button on my Scuba BCD (buoyancy control device) that’s labeled “Push button to inflate”. Sure it could just say “Inflate”, I mean, what else would you do with a button except push it? But in the instance of my BCD there’s really no harm in spelling it out.
On the other hand there’s really good reasons why it does harm to spell out ‘click here’ on the web – and you need to have all of those reasons ready if you get put on the spot like this.
posted at 09:11 pm on November 14, 2006 by Rob Swan
17
I really enjoyed the article, Rob; thanks for writing it. It’s so very easy to become disgruntled at clients without stopping to ask why they behave the way they do. I’ve found that clients are often how they are because they feel powerless—it’s their website, but it’s also partially mine as long as my hands are in it. So I’ve found that it’s important to teach my clients what they need to know in order to get them to trust me. In the midst of that dialogue, I gai a better understanding of their need and desires, and they better understand the design process. In the end, we’re both better off.
posted at 10:00 pm on November 14, 2006 by amber simmons
18 From a Clients Perspective...
After being taken advantage of by no less than 3 developers, I can tell you that explanations put me at ease. Why? Because I know you’ve put thought into what you are doing. Many of your peers don’t. They look at the client as nothing more than an annoying means-to-an-end. From Day 1!
As we pay the bills, we want to get a little more respect than that. Many developers pass themselves off as experts, when they aren’t. They are unprofessional, have no idea why a accepted convention is a good idea, don’t respect deadlines (even when scope creep is not an issue), don’t execute, and flat-out don’t care. In the process, they make the good ones among you look bad.
As clients, some of us also want to learn. I take interest in knowing why we are doing something a certain way. If you are enhancing my product, I want to know why it is now better than the competition.
posted at 10:02 pm on November 14, 2006 by Sean Byrne
19 Akido Politics
I am reminded of a story about (I believe) Amory Lovins, who tried to get large businesses to become more environmental friendly. The large companies weren’t terribly interested in his efforts to save the planet, but when he shifted his argument towards showing how being environmentally friendly could benefit the bottom line, they were much more receptive.
I have adopted this strategy with web clients. I don’t explain to them why a standard is the right thing to do, I show them how standards can help save them money and provide a better user experience. For example, I might explain that saying “click here” makes sense on a web page, but fails completely on a cell phone. Depending on the client, this can be a huge deal.
posted at 10:05 pm on November 14, 2006 by Geoff Butterfield
20 Working forThe Man
All this rings true in terms of client / company relations. I am currently considering extreme acts of violence given that the Creative Director here thinks good work comes from a batch of popularity contests. If you are cool at one point your ideas will be used, considered and accepted. Otherwise, the current brownnose will reap the benefits of taking the good projects and being his pet.
This law applies to clients.
My policy is to never compromise good quality. Compromise cost, timetable, anything you want but not quality which rings true no matter what relationship.
The work is what prevails.
posted at 11:33 pm on November 14, 2006 by alexis schillen
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11 A day too late
Wow, nice article, but I just dealt with a situation like this… yesterday. You’re absolutely correct, this type of situation does keep you on your toes. Not so much from not knowing the ‘why’ from a design aspect, because I think most of us know why we do things as designers, but expressing the ‘why’ in lamens terms can be tough. Just saying “well, it improves accessibility” clearly isn’t enough. Working mainly with small businesses, I find the best way to get them on your side is to explain the benefits of standards compliant design with respect to how it will improve the experiences of their users, and thus improve the likelihood of those users becoming customers.
With my clients at least, successfully bridging that gap in the clients head between web users and new business has been a big help.
posted at 06:57 pm on November 14, 2006 by kabari hendrick