Ask HN: What's the worst type customers you have experienced as a freelancer?

1 pointashleyp2 comments

Curious:

What makes a customer good to work with? What makes a customer bad to work with?

Do you screen customers for any traits now before working with new ones?

The worst customer that I had refused to pay for the completed product, then threatened to sue me for late delivery. That is, they were contracted to a certain delivery date, and hired me after the fact, with no specified date, then waited one month before finalizing and giving me the specs, then got mad at me because it couldn't be done in 1 week. They got penalized as per their contract with the final customer, so they decided not to pay me. I'm just a freelancer, and they have an established company with a lawyer on call. I got screwed out of $3,000.

Moral of the story, don't rely on a handshake or verbal go-ahead. Have a contract with detailed timeframe, deliverables, and contingencies.

Oh, and, don't work for jerks.

http://clientsfromhell.net/ has lots of stories like this. Flat out refusals to pay for work. I'm so glad I never had to argue or wait on a payment (yet?).

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