A client assured me the stain she picked out for her deck was what she wanted. Just to be sure, I did a test in a non-viewable area. 

Client: “This looks horrible! This isn’t what I wanted! This is not what I chose; it makes the deck look burnt!”

The name of the stain she chose was “Cinder”.

Me: “I can’t use the photos you put into the Word Doc for your website. I need the original JPEGs.”

Client: “I don’t understand. How did people put pictures on websites before computers and Internet?”

One of my most frustrating clients owns a security company. I was designing ID badges for him, and we were having a back-and-forth on the final touches.

Client: “It looks great, but can we increase the green in the eagle logo by 3%?”

Me: “But the eagle is gray. All of this is in grayscale.”

Client: “So? Just increase the amount of green.”

Not sure how to respond, I sent the same version under a different name.

Client: “See what I mean? Much better! Print ‘em!”

A client called me at 11:30 pm and left a voicemail. Though parts of it were drowned out by the sounds of people and traffic, I could make out:

Client: “…serious issue we need to discuss.”

First thing the next morning, I called the client to clarify his issue. When no one answered, I left a voicemail. I also sent him an email to let him know I had received his message but could only make out parts of it. I told him to call me, return my email, or clarify when we meet at our bi-weekly meeting the next day.

Unfortunately, I received no messages, and the client simply didn’t show up for our meeting.

Concerned, I sent another email, made another phone call, and sent him a text.

Three days later, at 6:00 am, I received a phone call from him.          

Me: “What was the issue you needed to discuss?”

Client: “Oh, yes. We need to talk about how difficult you can be to reach.”

I provided a client a username and password that were both “admin”, intending to have her change both to her preference after the first login. However, she still called me up claiming she was having trouble. After a bit of troubleshooting, she admitted her mistake.

Client: “Sorry, I had the username and password confused.”