Comments on: Five Tips for Dealing with Unreasonable Client Requests

By: Peter

Peter — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 20:49:09 +0000

Havn't we all been in this situation. As everyone else says, itemise the cost, sell the benefits, and if all else fails, SAY NO. I seem to have had a lot of these recently.

All I would add is that in the case of where a client looks like they are going to be trouble, get them to pay a good proportion of the fee in advance. For a real trouble maker, it may scare them off, and even if they do go ahead, you have at least some protection if the fee goes bad.

By: Mike M

Mike M — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 19:50:25 +0000

I ran a marketing company for 10+ years and I heard all the excuses and reasons why I should basically work for free for just this one client or give this client a great deal etc. I'll admit that I've fallen for it more than I should have. The biggest thing I've learned from doing that is that the people who haggle the most over the money in the beginning are always without exception the ones that want the most work done, the ones that complain the most about what they are getting, and the ones that never generated another sale.

When doing a website design for one client we basically gave them the single page "basic info" style site price but they demanded a shopping cart for their entire catalog, custom scripting that would have eaten up several days of two programmers, photo shoot for their products, and on and on. When we told them the quoted price gets you this and the add ons they requested would be an additional $6000 I thought we was going to have to call the police to have them removed. Seeing as they only paid $400 to start with for $800 worth of agreed work we refunded them $250 (minus our $150 deposit) and all we got for our trouble was a lot of harassing calls and threats of lawsuits.

I'm all in favor of working with people on their budgets and my services but you can believe after that day we drastically changed our contracts. Just my input.

By: Tim

Tim — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:36:02 +0000

Actually,
It's REALLY funny and sad at the same time that someone is posting an ad for a $595 wedding at the bottom of the video viewer.Considering any real pro charges $3000-$5000 to start, that's kind of ironic considering your article topic.
(Which I do totally support!)

By: Maureen Thomson

Maureen Thomson — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:35:56 +0000

I'm a wedding officiant and owner of a wedding officiating company. It's not just photographers who get these types of clients. Officiants get them to. Thanks for some great tips!

By: Marie Rios

Marie Rios — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 19:17:22 +0000

Love the video. I've seen it going around on Facebook too. Thank you so much for these tips. I'm finding right now that asking them more questions results in less negotiations. I think lowering your price while giving the same service is a disservice to our industry. It's our job to show our couples the value we bring. As a Wedding Planner I always give them the vision with and without a Wedding Planner. We can take many things out and customize so that it will work with their budget. No, usually means they need more information.

By: Karl Johnston

Karl Johnston — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 08:17:30 +0000

I love this video, I recommend anyone watch it who has ever talked to a tradesperson or artist and tried to haggle a fee based on their limited knowledge of the work being done.

Sure it costs nothing but labor to change a tire at the side of the road, but a mechanic charges 200$ for a call-out and then there's labour and gas to pay for on his side. The same goes for photographers. "I can print this for 19 cents"

I tell people; feel free, but it won't be my work you're printing for 19 cents.

By: Barbara Clark

Barbara Clark — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 17:05:02 +0000

I loved this article. I am one of those people who find it difficult to just say "no". I try to skirt the issue and in the end this provides an opening for them to try to negotiate terms with me.

This article helped me realize that saying "no" to unreasonable requests is perfectly acceptable and in the end, saves headaches.

By: Chris Moncus

Chris Moncus — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 03:02:04 +0000

Thanks a ton. Hearing these is going to help me say "no" when I should.

By: Bar Mitzvah Photographer

Bar Mitzvah Photographer — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 19:22:52 +0000

Thanks for this article. After having a few bad clients I'll have to start applying #3.

By: Scott Baradell

Scott Baradell — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 17:15:20 +0000

Having been in the corporate executive role for many years, I'm a little embarrassed to say I am guilty of some of these negotiating techniques. But karma is a you-know-what ... now I have to deal with the same techniques from the other side.

By: Maria

Maria — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 14:24:04 +0000

Excellent post. I've seen this video several times; it really does show how unreasonable requests can be.

I'm not a professional photographer, but I am a writer and a helicopter pilot. It's the flying business where customers are constantly trying to squeeze as much out of me as they can. My favorite: the people who want me to do 2 hours of flying work over an hour from my base -- and not pay for the time to get there and back. That's the equivalent of cutting my rates in half, but they don't see it that way.

My point is, your post and its great list of tips, applies to any service professional.

The tip I already use quite often: Just say no. I'd rather have no client and let the helicopter sit in its hangar than deal with cheapskates that'll frustrate and annoy me for skinny profit margins.