Comments on: Handling Angry Clients

By: nathan

nathan — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 20:44:04 +0000

If a client tells you there’s a high school student out there who can replace you, I can think of a decent couple of French words to reply with.

But seriously, if anyone is that over the top, they’re not worth the hassle, no matter what they might be paying. One of the biggest reasons I enjoy freelancing is not having some hotheaded boss who doesn’t know how to control his emotions when dealing with things like this.

I have, in the past, had a client who was normally a pretty cool guy go over the edge at one point and make some personal insults to me. I took the opportunity to remind him we hadn’t reviewed our contract together in awhile and that I would be happy to do that. I got back to him later that day with a higher monthly fee and told him that it was contingent on him never acting like that towards me again.

He hasn’t since.

By: Web en Vrac #4 | Darklg Blog

Web en Vrac #4 | Darklg Blog — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 13:36:52 +0000

[...] Handling Angry Clients [...]

By: Mike A.

Mike A. — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 18:20:16 +0000

Great advice, and especially relevant when the economy is the way it is; clients are a bit more sensitive these days.

I try to rectify the problem ASAP and keep my cool. If you remain confident in your abilities, I find that in itself puts the client at ease.

It also helps if you can avoid working for people that are difficult…

By: concerned geek

concerned geek — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 17:52:38 +0000

A rule I’ve found successful when this happens: agree with them heartily on the parts of their complaint they are correct about. If that seems like nothing, get more general until something works (“You are so right to insist that timeliness is crucial”, etc.).