customers !!

10 ball

10 ball

New member
F'in customers, carn't do without em, carn't kill em!

8 weeks! I have been re-drawing a map for a local theme park.
The customer wanted it in a cartoon style - that was the initial blurb.
and what happens after 8 weeks - its to 'cartooney':excruciating:
yes the cartoon map is to cartooney!

What a load of shite:vampire:
 
C

Chrome

New member
I hear you! I drew this for a local community a while back, they wanted it to be playful, inviting and show what they were into, oh and it should depict a wolf:
Ookamismall.jpg


Buuut, it was too playful and not serious enough for a gaming community.
 
TrystanGST

TrystanGST

New member
Ah - you have fallen for the classic trap. You see, if you are to correctly deign the customer's wishes, you must be a mind reader. If you are not, than that is your fault. Customers can't be expected to communicate their wishes, or indeed stick to them once they have decided.
 
noneedforaname

noneedforaname

New member
Even more fun when trying to explain that yes you have just bought £100,000+ of testing products and no the order form shouldn't be used for quotes
 
B

Beelzebrush

Active member
.... You are charging them for the extra work though? I used to have this problem with clients. I now offer 2 visuals (garden design visuals) based on their brief and present them at this point, we then meet and discuss the final direction based on the visuals. The final design is presented and I allow minor amendments. Beyond this it's chargeable as a variation to the initial brief. Works a treat... it forces the lazy buggers to actually think about what they want rather than having them make you jump through hoops. If they don't like the terms they are free to go elsewhere really ;)
 
PaintShaker

PaintShaker

New member
Beelzebrush said:
.... You are charging them for the extra work though? I used to have this problem with clients. I now offer 2 visuals (garden design visuals) based on their brief and present them at this point, we then meet and discuss the final direction based on the visuals. The final design is presented and I allow minor amendments. Beyond this it's chargeable as a variation to the initial brief. Works a treat... it forces the lazy buggers to actually think about what they want rather than having them make you jump through hoops. If they don't like the terms they are free to go elsewhere really ;)
Click to expand...


^^good stuff! I will def implement some of that thanks!

I appreciate this thread. I'm not even a professional, but in doing trading or even pay work I run into this quite a bit. They have an idea, but they don't know. That's why they hire/ask us for help... I can understand and respect this. But they should respect that they DON'T KNOW and respect our ability/vision. A big part is 'helping' them to like it upon presentation. You have to sell-it, even if they've already 'bought' you. And being positive and descriptive during presentation helps greatly, /help them stay, be or get excited about the product. But yea, often they either like it or they don't. I have found that a great deal of response to final product also depends on the personalities of the costumer(s). Douchers are gonna douche and grateful folks are gonna be greatfull.

It also helps to, like a tattoo shop wall, have lots of samples for them to preview.
...but ya have to 'make it right' by the customer, because their referral/ reference is often more valuable than the price, or (unfortunately) dignity. :struggle: <edit: though there is dignity in doing your best all the way through>

OP, as we always hope in our ventures, best of luck next time! :)
 
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No Such Agency

No Such Agency

New member
I'd say this is why it's important to communicate all the way through the process, so the client knows what is developing. If they see it coming together, then they still don't like the final result... sure, start again and bill them for that. This probably goes for miniature painting commissions too :)
 
K

Kalidane

New member
Clients definitely need clear parameters and training to prevent a relationship being a drawn out tooth pulling exercise and it doesn't help when colleagues (or the competition prior) train them in bad ways. The best clients can be those with experience in the industry themselves although some of those can find novel way to irritate.

Looking forward to my next job having no clients and few colleagues...

OTOH as a client I recently gave a painter a very specific brief of a small canvas piece I wanted. After a few weeks of her doing nothing with it I realised my error and told her to do whatever she wanted. My expecting her to render the mental picture I had sucked the entire creative or artistic element out of the process and killed it for her. Now I'll get something unexpected that I may not like but it's actually a more exciting prospect for some reason.
 
QuietiManes

QuietiManes

New member
Kalidane: you're the type I'd love to work for. For an "artist", I'm not "creative" in the least.

This is the sort of thing that makes me fear and loathe taking on art as a full time financial endeavor. Currently I tell people to tell me exactly what they want before I'll even consider doing it (just friends and family and such...wouldn't be that way with random paying clients of course), then I do up quick sketches or get some reference material online of similar things and get them to approve it (it being everything, colours, positions, frame/base/etc) before beginning anything that takes more than a couple minutes. Once I'm comfortable we're on the same page, then I get into it full bore, but not before.

Following up with work in progress pics and/or info can help too. Recently was doing a wire bug for a friend at work and she informed me of some oversights/mis-measurements on my part, which saved my butt since it was being created for her father, an entomologist. On the other hand, it can bite you in the butt too. If the client gets worried because they don't understand what you're showing them or if they don't understand which parts take the most time, often the last stages take the longest and they may expect you to finish early if you get to those last stages so early in the timeline you give them.
 
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