[webproducers] Re: [wwwac] Vetting long distance clients.

Ruth,

On a related note, how do you handle it when the situation goes the other way 
-- when the client continually delays, unable to respond with deliverables and 
approvals?  For instance I was dealing with a person who, according to our 
contract, was the main contact for the project and responsible for al 
deliverables and approvals.  However, it turned out she needed to get a 
consensus of all the partners in the company, approximately 10 people, to make 
any decision, even on small things such as a homepage blurb or colors.  Do you 
build in penalties into the contract for the failure of the client to live up 
to the agreed schedule?

Lee


At 04:44 PM 10/16/2002 -0400, you wrote:

>On 10.16.02 2:32 PM, "Carl Friedberg" <friedberg@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>> As a consultant, when I get a new client, I always insist on billing my
>> first day's time immediately, and wait for that check to be cashed,
>> before I put in any serious work. After the first check, with most
>> companies, subsequent payments tend to come out on a more-or-less
>> regular basis. It's the first check that can raise the red flags.
>
>Likewise, in a recent experience I had with a "difficult" client (who
>happened to also be long distance -- Paris), I stated clearly in the
>Statement of Work that work would not commence before receiving payments in
>hand (as per the payment and production schedule) AND that any delays in
>payment, client deliverables, and feedback would result in a delay in the
>deadline -- no leniency on this point.
>
>On a tangent, this was the same client who wanted to penalize me for
>lateness -- I had posted about that a few weeks ago. The specific request
>for the penalty structure was set forth during our first encounter and
>entailed a "discount" for each day the project was late; the client left it
>to me to define what this "discount" would be. (mini-rant: do I look like a
>masochist??)
>
>Further to that demand for a penalty structure, I increased my prices
>(without actually letting him know), stated that my pricing was not
>negotiable, and insisted that I create the schedule including all milestones
>and deadlines. I offered choices in terms of project scope enable him to
>control costs and deadlines, but did not budge on prices and policy. In the
>end, although my client was apparently more comfortable with my hard-line
>approach (I suppose he believed that I truly intended to deliver on my
>commitments), I still walked away from the business because I had a strong
>suspicion that things would not go well down the road. I had collected a
>$100 down-payment prior to writing the proposal, which I kept as
>compensation for the strategic consulting inherent to the proposal/SoW I had
>produced. I'm not sure how one would formalize that kind of down-payment. He
>just handed me a crisp $100 bill over a cup of tea, as a sign to proceed
>with drafting the proposal. There was no paperwork.
>
>
>
>..............................................................
>Ruth Kaufman
>212.828.6386
>917.623.7423 (mobile)
>ruth@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>http://ruthkaufman.com
>..............................................................
>
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