31
Had a client try to pay me with a bag of loose change for a website redesign.
I was at a coffee shop in Portland meeting with a new client about a site overhaul we agreed would cost $2,500. After showing him the final mockups, he pulled out a literal grocery bag full of coins and small bills, saying 'I prefer cash.' It took me and two baristas 45 minutes to count it all, and we were still $87 short. He argued the 'exposure' from the project should cover the rest. How do you even handle payment methods in a contract after that? Has anyone else had a client pull something this wild?
4 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In4 Comments
taylor.brooke4d ago
Actually, I see the client's point here. Cash is king, and he was just being old school about it. The baristas probably appreciated the story, and you got paid in full with a little community help. @green.laura's rule about electronic only seems way too strict and cuts out people who aren't comfortable with digital stuff. The exposure comment was a bit much, but the actual payment method was just creative problem solving. You got your money, just in a more interesting way than a boring bank transfer.
5
kai_ramirez3811d ago
Portland really does attract a special kind of client, doesn't it? I'd have added a line in the contract after that saying payment must be in a single, non-coin form (like, you know, a check). Maybe also a counting fee for anything that isn't a normal bill, because 45 minutes of your time plus two baristas is a whole thing. The 'exposure' part is just the perfect, wild cherry on top of that mess.
3
green.laura11d ago
Oh my god, that's actually insane. I would have just refused to count it and walked out. My contract now says "electronic transfer only" in big bold letters after a weird check situation... no way I'm dealing with a bag of change.
2