How Do You Know When It’s Time to Fire a Client?

one of the most diffucult-est part in business is to fire a client! have had bad experiences as well.

Boy oh boy does that ring very familiar for me right now. Thanks for sharing that Gini!! The pain of that sucks but i am sure the pain of going further would have been much worse! I appreciate your candid conversation!

@lizstrauss No. Not fun at all.

@lizstrauss oh god yes, firing client is angst driving cc@ginidietrich

Just wanted to say thanks for linking to the blog timing post over here :)

- Janet from Shareaholic

@EnMastBusiness Some people suck, huh?

@redheadwriting @ginidietrich hey hey! two of my favorite CyberCheekas in one tweet :)

@paulepetersen @ginidietrich rocks. Love her to bits. Glad to see you following her. A very smart lady w/stellar team.

Wow! That's a terrible situation. I suppose the friend is not a friend anymore. It's so, so hard for me to say no to a friend. I can't do it easily but I never really had a situation quite as bad as yours. I got caught in a friend/work relationship a few years ago and even though I got paid it cost me 3 times in time than what the job was worth. I had to finish it, didn't I? Yuk. Suffice it to say I have a hard time continuing to call someone a friend if they do that to you.

Good lesson learned for me. I won't take work from "friends" anymore instead recommend another designer to work with them. When a client becomes a friend (as they so often do) there is usually still a buffer of the original professional relationship there that you can always fall back on if it starts to go south. Too bad if it does but hey, we are all "big boys", so to speak.

Thanks for sharing (and reminding me of my story).

Hi Gini,

Thanks for sharing this story. I think too often people are afraid to say no to business (it's not always fun, especially in lean times)--but I've found I'm always better off long term trusting my instincts. When I don't, I need up pretty miserable. And these are always clients that no one (at least me) can make happy.

Love the charitable use of the word "friend" in describing the start of dealing #2 (or #3?) with this client.

Wow what a powerful lesson. Thanks for sharing and being so candid. We all make mistakes but as long as you learn from it it's ok. Listening to my gut instinct has been something my Mom has ingrained in me since I was a child...I remember you giving me the same advice as well. It's always nice to be reminded!

Um and I hope you're not still friends with this d-bag..

@socialmediadds @ginidietrich :))))))

Woaw... some friend...!!

How is this mate's company doing now??? The laws of Karma dictate that they were bought out by a larger/more honorable company than them (Enron?) before being stitched up on the sale price ("Dollars?? No we said - 1 million Lira"). Cue expensive legal battle resulting in loss of personal wealth and a life scouring the multitude of Chicago Discount offers for a cut price lawyer...

I had one of those "should have listened to my gut" moments during my first internship at a PR agency, and I will NEVER not pay attention to red flags again. It was a horrible and demoralizing experience, and I'm kind of surprised I pursued a PR career after the hell the agency owner put me and the other interns through. But, I learned a lot of lessons from it and am now a better/stronger person. But yes...never ignore the red flags.

Thanks for sharing this story. Hopefully it pops into someone's head the next time they're in a red flag situation.

Firing Clients is necessary sometimes - especially when you value your time and are in high demand. Not everyone is in the position to be picky, but it's certainly ideal when you can choose who you work with. Very good topic and story - I'm sure you won't hesitate to Trump the next jackass that raises your flags!

@ginidietrich ..one knows, I've done that twice this year.

Gini

Great reminder -- every time I've ignored that little voice I've regretted it in some way. Funny how out Spidey Sense is so well trained eh?

@TomMartin

Boy, can I relate to your story. My gut told me something was wrong when a client balked at signing a contract. They then insisted on including a quote from a well known rock star in a news release, even though we didn't have his permission--talk about unethical! It got worse when they wouldn't pay their bills and then threatened to counter sue ME if I pursued any legal action. Fortunately I was able to take them to small claims court (not very expensive) and get at least part of the money they owed me. In hindsight I should have insisted on all my money upfront. I know it's childish, but half-way through my engagement with them I added their phone number to my directory so it displayed "F**k Wits" whenever they called me.

I remember the elevator ride down after that first meeting. We both looked at each other: "Don't screw this up!"

Oh, OK. Because we were totally going to, so thanks for being clear.

That was the moment right there - and we've used that as a lesson more than once; to follow instinct. You finally blogged about it. :)

This post reminds me of kind hearted client I'm currently working with now, but I have to say your client sounds a bit more friendlier then mine. People like this deserve success in seeing their energy magnified and returned to their own business.Consider your time spent an investment, you'll never hear from him again. That's probably worth a lot more then what he owes you.

@ginidietrich great, yet sad story. I have always followed my gut = success.

I was also reminded of the fact that sooner or later in the PR business, the contacts you depend on in the media and elsewhere will come to know that you are working with a complete A-hole. That hurts the brand. Thanks for the very timely moral lesson!

Wow! Brings back (not happy) memories: I experienced a similar, "highly motivational" welcome from a new employer on my first day during the "here's the file cabinet, this is the front door key" orientation. And, as this was during our still-ongoing Great Recession and I was so glad to have a job, I optimistically forged onward. Never again. When they come right out at the outset and definitely tell you -- as they did in your case and in mine -- in a few words or with a speech that they don't *really* want to work **with** you, you must believe it, get up, leave the office, and not look back.