I was working on a tri-fold brochure to showcase the benefits of partnering with the client. They asked for it to be exactly like a previous one I had made, but with different text and bullet points. Following that template, one of the folds included a large quote from an actual business partner of theirs. The quote was a glowing review, talking about how the company was a joy to work with and truly cared for its customers — a worry-free experience.
The CEO had this to say about it.
Client: “This quote sucks. This isn’t what people say. They wouldn’t really say this. They don’t care about this. You need a quote that shows that they’re going to be making a lot of money with us. That’s all they care about!”
Me: “Well… This is a real quote from [Partner]. And it does paint you in a very positive light.”
Client: “No, it sucks. Why would you even put this? Make one up that’s better. Write me something better.”
Me: “…I am extremely uncomfortable with fabricating quotes on official promotional material. That is false advertising, and I won’t do it.”
Client: “Yeah, whatever. I’ll make him give us a better quote.”
He said the last line while glaring daggers and sounding vaguely threatening. The rest of that meeting was an absolute mess, as well, wherein I realized he’d had a bad day and decided to take it out on whoever would get into a room with him, but that’s another story.
That was also the day I decided to find other work.