10 Warning Signs of Toxic Clients
Keith Granet, author of “The Business of Creativity,” on how designers can build healthy client relationships.
Signing onto a new design project can resemble the headiness of a second date—the first meeting gave off a palpable spark, there was a melding of minds, a consensus over where things might lead. But like any relationship, the designer-client bond doesn’t always end in a long-term commitment. And sometimes, it can lead to acrimonious disagreements over the execution of a conceptual direction, scope of work, or payment. But if designers tune in to the warning signs of a toxic client, says design consultant Keith Granet, they could save months (if not years) of aggravation, fuming, and second-guessing over who’s at fault.
The following is an excerpt from Granet’s forthcoming book, The Business of Creativity: How to Build the Right Team for Success, published by Princeton Architectural Press, outlining the clues designers should look for after they hook up with a client who turns abusive.
Let me begin by saying there is a difference between difficult and bad clients. Difficult clients are not a rare thing. Few people get to a place where they can afford to hire a designer without being somewhat demanding and difficult. Difficult is actually not the issue; the issue is clients whom you do not trust. The most essential ingredient of a good relationship is trust. Most disputes come from a lack of trust and a lack of communication skills. It may sound like a cliché, but trust must be earned, and you need to fill up your trust bank account in order to successfully navigate difficult situations.
When you first work with a client, the slate is pretty clean. You can form a deep relationship in which trust builds quickly or you can have a standoffish client who takes time to trust you and let you in. These are both acceptable situations; the clients to look out for are the ones who come into the relationship with a preconceived notion that they trust no one. They tend to be very negative people and tend to not respect your talents.
Trust your gut. If something does not feel right about a potential client, most likely it is not right. Here are my top ten warning signs of toxic clients:
1. They don’t offer you a glass of water.
It may seem flip to think that clients who don’t offer you a glass of water are not good clients, but trust me, it signals that clients aren’t thinking of anybody but themselves.
2. They don’t ask you anything about yourself.
You are about to spend a great deal of time over several months — maybe years — together, and if they don’t seem interested in you or your work, the relationship is sure to be strained. They need to understand you as much as you need to understand them; that is the basic ground rule for effective communication.
3. They don’t tell you anything about themselves.
If it is difficult to get clients to open up about who they are and how they live or work, then designing their project will be very difficult. If they are coming to you for your design, then they are buying a product from you. But if they are coming to you to help them articulate their design, you will need to know who they are and how they function.
4. They tell you that they make quick decisions.
The only clients who ever say this are the ones who have been told that they can’t make a decision or that they are difficult to work with. It is a huge red flag. You will decide for yourself whether they can make quick decisions. If they can’t, your project could be very costly and drag on much longer than anticipated.
5. They tell you that they are easy to work with.
See number four. If they tell you they are easy to work with, it is usually because they have been told that they are difficult and they are trying to sell you on working for them. Again, only you will be able to tell whether they are easy to work with, once you have started their project.
6. They promise you future work if you discount your current fees.
If designers made this sort of deal every time a client proposed it, we would all go broke. It is a typical strategy for developers or homeowners who have multiple projects. The truth, however, is that the most time-consuming projects are the first ones because it takes time to understand a client. I recommend that my clients reverse this offer. Say, “I am happy to talk about discounts for multiple projects. Let’s finish the first one, and if all goes well, we would certainly consider a price reduction on the next one, if that makes sense for the project.” Remember, however, that projects are not prototypes; each one tends to be unique, and if you agree ahead of time to discount the second one and it is completely different from the first, you risk losing money on that project. Economy of scale comes only from efficiency and understanding your client better on the next project. If Vincent van Gogh had painted a picture for clients and they asked for a second one, would that one be worth any less? You may not be van Gogh, but your value is your value. But also remember that just the fact that a client has asked for a discount doesn’t mean you should turn down the project; it is simply a warning sign that you may be asked for a deal project after project and you will need to make sure the client understands your value.
7. You are their third designer.
This is such a personal profession that it is not a good sign if clients burn through designers. Of course, if there is a reasonable explanation for their having worked with multiple designers, it is worth understanding, but chances are these clients are difficult people.
8. You don’t get to meet them.
In today’s world, some clients are surrounded by a battery of handlers. I have experienced cases in which a client lets handlers manage the entire project. This may not be an issue for a commercial project, but for a residential project, it is almost impossible to design for an absentee owner.
9. Only half of them show up to meetings.
When you work with a couple, the person you meet may not be the one writing the checks. Too often a designer can be led down a path that matches the expectation of one partner, and then when the other one shows up, he or she doesn’t agree with the direction or the budget, and the project needs to be redesigned. Make sure both parties attend all major decision-making meetings.
10. They have chronic amnesia.
If clients constantly can’t remember that they approved an idea or design or if they forget to make payments, these are signs you are dealing with bad clients. Each of these warnings signs is significant, but they are not the only reasons to say no. They are merely warning signs, and you will need to dig deeper to understand whether this client will be too difficult to work with.
The good news, according to Granet, is that it’s sometimes possible to reform a bad client. “It all comes down to educating the client,” he writes. “If a client really doesn’t know how to work with a designer, expectations of how to treat the designer and of how to build the relationship can be far off the mark. It will be your job to clear this up and build a more realistic framework for your interactions.” And if that doesn’t work, your only recourse may be to call it quits.
