Client: “I need amendments made to the website.”

Me: “Okay. What changes would you like to do?”

Client: “The size of the header. Can you make it four inches tall and six inches wide?”

Me: “I am sorry, a website measurement should be in pixels. If you are measuring it by inches, it may look different in my monitor screen resolution compared to yours.”

Client: “Can’t you just get a f****** ruler and measure the inches on your monitor? That is what I am doing now! I can do it; why can’t you? And you call yourself a web designer?!”

We were contracted to develop a website. Everything — from concepts, to backgrounds, to scripts — had to be presented and approved directly by the client so we could move forward. Also, payment had been demanded to be done only after the site’s delivery.

After constant and multiple changes and three months of work — and a month overdue on payment — I email the client. He asks for a meeting.

Client: “Hi! So, the site is okay but not that great, you know? We didn’t really like it. Maybe you could meet me halfway and give me 50% off the price?”

Me: “I’m sorry, but you accepted and rejected every little change, and you said you liked the end product at our last meeting.”

Client: “Well, you know… sometimes a person says they liked something but they don’t. You should have more empathy!”

I am designing a website for a client. This client has validated every concept, piece of art, update, and decision from scratch and has been involved in the entire creative process. After three months of work, the site is delivered. The time to pay comes.

Client: “You know, we didn’t like it so much after all. We are gonna get another one. Maybe you can make this one 50% off?”

I was building a microsite for a client who was running a late-night infomercial to drive traffic. The following discussion took place regarding the infomercial script and site integration.

Client: “So, for the URL, we are thinking ‘[Company]dotcom dot com’.”

Me: “What?”

Client: “Because the actor in the infomercial will say, ‘[Company] dot com,’ and the viewers will probably think the ‘dot com’ is part of the name. So, we need to add ‘dotcom’ to the URL so the viewers can reach the site.”

The room was silent for a few long seconds.

Me: *Joking* “Maybe we should just make it ‘dot net’ for clarity.”  

Sadly, this was taken as a serious suggestion, and the client wanted us to switch the website to [Company]dotnet dot net.

This client wrote the content for their new website themselves and asked me to rewrite and improve it before it went live.

Client: “Here’s the content for the site. Please only rewrite the content under the first four headings.”

Me: “Would you not like the rest of the content rewritten?”

Client: “No need. We just copied and pasted the rest from other websites so it’s fine to use as-is.”