Discussion on:

Dealing with nightmare clients

I agree with the consultants interviewed - there's nothing in the world wrong with bailing on a bozo client, and few tactics work better than "This can be done, but it's going to cost a LOT..."

Hecker may be sugar coating the fact that he needs to disconnect. We usually follow along the lines of holding a meeting, stating initial concerns and 'codes of conduct' that seem to be straining the relationship, and if there is a critical requestthat we do not feel comfortable with, we disengage from the client and explain why we believe the risks are too high, and recommend someone else for them to contact.

After 22 years in the IS consulting business I have found difficulties on all levels with all sorts of clients from Fortune 50 to Ma and Pa outfits. I find 90% is by taking communication for granted. We expect the and also assume what we say or the client says is understood as such, even in memos. I have found the following three mantras tend to avoid the problem.

1. KISS. - If you can't review what has been done in one page where both parties know what has been done and what is going on, you are moving too fast, without confirming your directions. Small pieces are much easier to understand, and correct, than complete phases in a project.
2. Keep in touch - our average developer generates 10-20 emails a day to the appropriate person atthe client, whenever a business case or interface question comes up. The person is a descision maker, the mail is CC:d to all users on the team for comment. This eliminates the go backs and makes the user feel like part of the team.
3. No matter what the managers want, make sure the users have input or the same middle managers that know it all will cause the grief in the end. If the users "don't have time for this" the project will inevitably fail.

I am in the unenviable position of having to reengineer a very undocumented and spagetti-like client/server application. New changes are requested, assigned to a new developer each with their own styles. The development team would like to have formal requirements documents and communicate upfront with the end user to eliminate redesigns. The CIO will allow only one meeting. He does not want to take the user's time. What would you do in this situation?

I liked the lady's direct, more agressive approach. That way there's no beating around the bush, no reading between the lines, no 45-day grace period. Just end it and be done with the nightmare client.

Ultimately, I agree with Kallos and that the earliest mistakes I had in this (Some definately difficult situations) were due to the fact that I plunged headlong into projects for anyone who wanted them. I soon learned the hard way how to screen people up front.

It's usually not the client so much as myself that gets me into trouble if I don't assess a situation accurately in the beginning. You need different preparation and budgets for climbing different mountains, and however you learn thisit comes down to you creating a nightmare or being up to a challenge. If you can't handle it, I would admit this and work up to Everest.

It's not just about the technical side and your abilities either, it's the whole package you bring. Customerservice and bidding skills are at least as important as technical ability to be successful.

I like Hecker's approach as more practical and business world like. To be very honest on the issue it all depends how deep you've gone in to it. Nevertheless, my hats off for selecting such a delicate and essential topic.
regards,

Salman.

A good way to deal with the situation is to avoid it all together. If you network with other consultants you can often find out about some clients.

Locally we have a large firm whose corporate culture is fairly dysfunctional. we don't deal with certain divisions within that firm, due their proven track record of screwing over consulting firms. Unfortunately, the division seems to always come up with some small company that they can play their games with and then discard.

(Actually, my experience with them was what prompted me to leave consulting. I now have a large set of horror stories from my dealings with them. Very instructional for my students, especially if they are planning to consult.)

My wife took a job in a small Psychology office. 3 people work there and they eventually hired me as a consultant to program some specific reports for them. At first, we started on a mutual confidence business, they promised me a fair amount of workahead, and I was in a learning curve with Visual Basic, so I set a cheap rate for the contract. But as months went by, they asked me to change a little of this, a little of that, and I felt cheap to charge a few bucks for a few minutes. In my mind was the premise that that shop would give me additionnal work and I could set lightly increasing rates as work came in, and in that way, it would become a fair business. But that work never came in, and they were still asking for little changes in thereports.

I wanted out of this project, because the client was too demanding, and I didn't want any conflict, beeing my wife's employer.

I proposed a "maintenance contract", to cover for these changes. At first, I set a relatively high rate, presenting it as a bank of hours for any programming purpose. But the client saw it otherwise. The person thought it was a menace, that I wanted to cash in easy bucks, and that she felt forced to accept the contract, or I would let her alone with the project.

In my mind, it was exactly what I wanted, because I did not want to do business with this shop anymore.

We finally agreed on a "per incident" fee of $100, and in 6 months, they called me 3 times.

I sent them a letter, telling them that my schedule will not allow me to continue support for the project after 6 months from now.

Lesson learned: never accept a contract from a little shop where a relative works, because they will take your onvolvment for granted and they will take advantage of your confidence!

I'm glad I could walk away from them!

After preparing a comprehensive requirements document, explaining it in detail, and making it part of the contract that the client signed, the client claimed they did not understand what it said. They did this so they could change the original requirements and have the software reworked at no charge. I finished their damn project, got sign-off and terminated the relationship forever. They came back later wanting me to solve some other problems for them.
I sent them a contract with a stated price so high they never came back. Thank God!

And please inform us Mr Hecker: do you continue to charge clients for your work during the period leading up to the point where you know they will "choose" to fire you. This leave the taste of bad ethics, or possibly even fraud, in my mouth.

Take a page out of lady's book, and be a man about it - tell the client what your problems are and terminate the contract immediately.

An excellent discussion on symptoms but what about the root cause?

A relationship is made up of more than one party. So two are contributing to the problem not one.

The North American approach to consulting is to jump right in a get the job down without laying the "relationship" ground work.

Spend some time to get to know your client and better yet, allow them to get to know you. This allows a foundation of trust and credibility to be developed prior to your onslaught of recommendations.

Why else would someone hire an expert and not take their advise? Because the only basis for accepting that advise when you are at a knowledge disadvantage is how much you trust the individual.

The value of your comment to me is that there are many ways to evaluate a prospective customer. Some of those are quantitative (as the article focuses on) and others are qualitative. Getting to know a customer on a personal level is another way to qualify a relationship before it goes awry. The business plan may be intact but the ethics may not, for instance.

The other aspect of this comment that I like is that it reminds us of our role as consultants in the relationship. When the customer signs the requirements document, it's difficult to be certain that they understand what they are signing. We have worked very hard to refine our requirements documentation so that they are very clear to the customer, but I know there is always the possibility that someone is signing off on something they don't fully understand. I think sometimes consultants feel they are off the hook when the requirements are signed off regardless of whether the customer understands them. In fact, I have read functional requirements documentation that makes it virtually impossible to predict what a system is actually going to be like.

The one thing I'm curious about is the label "North American approach to consulting." Is there a North American style of consulting relationships that is prone to dysfunction? Or is the root cause a North American culture that lends itself to poor relationships in general? I'd love to hear about an alternative style that can actually function effectively within the existing constraints of our culture. I'm not sure being friends with my clients is going to eliminate the problem.

I changed the way I bid and deliver projects, just to "weed out" potential problem clients. If I have concerns, or if the client is very vague about their objectives, then I propose a Project Planning Session, with a fixed price, to define requirements and plan the implementation. I find that those clients that I initially had a gut feeling that they would be trouble, aren't willing to invest in this step. Many times I find that clients appreciate the process and clarity that results from the session, and I feel comfortable engaging with them to complete the project.

This should be required reading for everyone thinking of getting into consulting! I especially liked the series of questions that included "How do you plan to make money?" I recently, and for the first time ever, turned down a client because I couldsee that there was no answer to this question. I liked the business model and was willing to trade fees for shares, but a business model is not a business plan. Since there was no evidence of a plan and no intention to develop one, I backed out.

I agree with both methods depicted, but I tend to like the lady's approach better. By acting that way, she virtually gave those bozo clients a "slap in the face with a silk glove"; by that, I mean she got rid of them effectively, while keeping herself in a position where the client would believe she's got a full schedule at the beginning, then (perhaps) realize he/she was told like "I don't have time to waste with dealing with your temper. Seeya.". A very clever approach.

Before becoming "Saged" into the art and wisdom of relationships (client, customer, family, ...) I was a young man and was a programmer analyst of the low level to top level code.
I found any development (software) of a project required thorough analysis and design. The more time spent up front is less time down the road.

I found that concepts in development is very important and can be applied to any situation (i.e. relationships).

Like any relationship, it takes more than one and the sum of the whole to make it succeed.
I too try to avoid getting involved with anyone who doesn't put much thought into what they want (from a project, job, task, social or family relationship).

Not having as many years left in my own life as I did when I was younger; I don't waste them with non-productive and thoughtless people.

I think we all can use this advice you bring to mind. We have but a short time in our lives and it doesn't have to be filled with the bad times offered by others.

Throughout all of the replies, I haven't heard anyone talk of trying to "save" the client. I wonder how many of you truly understand the consultant/client relationship.

After all, they aren't "customers"...we provide the prospective client withthe tools(knowledge, personnel, expertise)so that they may serve their customers.

The knee-jerk here seems to be to dump the "bad" clients ASAP. In reality, they're all unknowing, sophomoric in the business of technology, otherwise, we'd be out of a job. Therefore, I submit that all clients have the potential to be "nightmare clients", and it is up to us to deal with it!

Ironic that in this day of lean business opportunity, so much energy is spent here on the negative, when we should perhaps be counting our blessings...

I had to let go of three friends due to the personal nature but form the first page I saw my same relationship Watch out for the guy who thinks he knows it all. A sure sign is when they start telling you how to do your job 20 years in the business and this guys telling me what a joke well to put it short I just told him I was sorry but I would have to quit as i couldnt do my job his way with him looking over my head evey time i sat down at the computer at his office so I left and never looked back. The best decision I ever made. Now were still friends and I dont have to go home and cuss his name evey time i think of him

One approach I have always followed is that my terms and conditions form an integral part of the contact between the client and my company.
I have spent a lot of time, mine and my lawyers, to set these up and they work well for me. Also the definition of scope of the project and a detailed process description works well.

In short, both the client and I know what to expect from each other and which services are included in the project and against which rate and which are not. Change Management, with the inherent changes in function performed for the client and the rate changes accompanying these, leave me in a much more controlled situation and leaves both me and the client in a win-win situation. Being extremely clear and open about expectations from both sides still works best!

I've been consulting since 1989. In the early years, I wanted the "relationship" - and ended up on the bad side of a business deal.

Now, when a potential client asks me "... can you do this?", my answer is often "yes, but I don't think you can afford me." Sounds weird, but it allows me to explain my credentials and why I charge the rates that I charge.

If the client pursues the relationship, at least we both know the costing structure. I used to have such a hard time telling clients "how much".

It also keeps me away from the "deal seekers".

One side note. I *will* work with any client. However, there are one or two whose rate is permanently set at "$2500 US per hour, minimum charge 2 hours".

-R

When I started as an independent consultant, I was desperate to find any job.

I found a company that wanted to develop a small project. These people were terrible, almost insulting from the start. I accepted the assignment, knowing there were a bit crazy, but hoping that it would get better during the project (I thought I was going to just concentrate on the job - period).

It was a mistake. This job was like going through hell, and back again.

They finished paying for the project. They never signed the software licence agreement (on paper, they are even not allowed to distribute the app).

Conclusion: If you *feel* it's not going to happen well, just refuse. Your feelings are never wrong.

Marco.

If you're not happy, neither is the client, and vice-versa. I have a 30-day written notice cancellation clause in my contract. On the rare occasions when I need to exercise it, I follow these 3 steps:

1. Talk to the client and state clearly what you want (i.e., I think it would be better for the team if I transitioned out).
2. Follow-up in writing, using the same terms.
3. Follow-through in actions.

Using this process, I have always been able to extricate myself from bad situations, while keeping client goodwill. A clear transition plan implemented in a professional manner says that you care about the successful outcome of the project, even if you can't be a part of it.

Terryn Barill
tbarill@terryn.com

I don't understand this article in the least. It's all about throwing people to the side rather than truly helping them. As consultants, our number one priority is people and personality. Without that, we're closet coders who should be poking away at COBOL all day.

Granted, there are nightmare clients. However, there should be some effort through the discovery process to avoid nightmare clients. If they slip through, they're your own fault and now you have to deal with it!

That said,I have no problem with being blunt with the client. That's what we're paid to do, give our best advise...anything less is unethical. If my advise, presented in the best light and using my inter-personnel skills, makes my client mad, so be it. However, I've never thrown a client to the curb and never intend to.

Also, I question the authority of the folks interviewed. One website I went to looked amaturish and the other kept redirecting me and finally threw an HTTP error. If these folks are supposed to be "experts" in web design/development, I'd expect a little more professional work.

In my experience, from both sides of the fence, a failing project or a mad customer is often caused by a consultant that takes on an assignment they are not equipped to handle or become unequipped during the project. The consulting field seems to build in excuses for their shortcomings and try to blame the customer. A large part of the reason many firms are hesitant to deal with consultants is that thye have been burned by promises unfulfilled.
I agree that there are egotistic customers and projects that will never succeed My experience tells me that a large percentage of the time, the consultants ego and lack of knowledge about the customer or the problem to be solved is a larger problem.

Just my two cents