Re: difficulties with clients

Better late to this party than not making it at all?

I'm not a psychologist (and I don't play one on TV), but having myself fallen into similar traps in the past, I'd like to add a thought to the discussion.

Oftentimes when we get frustrated and push back against clients in inappropriate ways, it's because we have allowed a situation to spin out of control. We're mad at the client and allow it to show on topics other than what has us mad in the first place. I believe the proper term is transference. In your mind you can be mad about how you under-priced the job in the beginning and let others excerpt control even though they're clueless yet your getting huffy and putting on auteur airs over what color the logo should be. It's being dishonest to yourself and can cloud your vision in dealing with real issues.

There's seldom a good reason to be a jerk with clients. Clearly keep in the forefront of your thinking the fact that you are in business. Get the job done in a professional manner as efficiently as possible and move on. For most of us there are many, many more clients out there so extract yourself from the bad ones and get on with it. If you are going to have a disagreement do so based on the actual issues and don't get all "whiney hiney" (sorry, Mark) because it just reflects poorly on you as a professional. It's never a good thing to be described as "difficult to work with" even by a grinder.

And finally, thanks Lisa. Thanks for starting a thread with yet another of the issues so many of us face. The Biz COW is a remarkable water cooler for our extended workplace.