Just Can’t Cater To This Request
I used to do freelance web design. I met with a new client one day, and we talked about her website. The site in question was supposed to be for an online catering service.
Me: “Okay. I will need the product descriptions for each one of your dishes.”
She takes out a large notebook.
Client: “I have the text right here.”
Me: “But this is all handwritten. I will need this in DOC format.”
Client: “Can’t you just scan it?”
Me: “No, it has to be typed on a computer so I can paste the text into the site.”
Client: “Well, here you go. You type it.”
She tries to hand me the notebook.
Me: “There are more than fifty pages in there. My job is to make websites, not to transcribe notebooks. You’ll have to transcribe it yourself and hand me a DOC file with—”
Client: “But this will take me at least three days! Can’t you just do it?”
Me: “Well, I’m not going to transcribe a notebook of handwritten text for you. I’m assuming you won’t even pay for a job like this, as it will cost you more than your budget affords.”
Client: “Can’t you just do it for free?”
Me: “No.”
Client: “But it will take me a lot of time to type all this on a computer. I’m not a fast typer.”
Me: “I’m sure you understand that I am also not thrilled about the idea of wasting my holidays transcribing all that text.”
A week later, she called me and accused me of ruining her holidays with boring transcribing.