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Vent: A client's 'small favor' that ate a week of my time
They asked me to check one typo on their homepage. I figured it was quick, so I said sure without a contract. After I got access, they casually mentioned a few other 'tiny' errors. Then it was broken images, then formatting issues on three other pages. Before I knew it, I had redone half their site structure. I sent a bill for the actual hours, and they acted shocked, saying it was just a friendly fix. Now my follow-up emails get one-word replies, if any. Their casual attitude about the scope was the big red flag I missed.
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coleman.patricia7mo ago
Learned that one the hard way. Always get it in writing now.
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perry.oliver7mo ago
Ugh, that's the worst when they play dumb about the work involved. Even with everything in writing, some clients still act surprised. How do you call out that casual attitude before it costs you a week?
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luna_stone237mo ago
How do you handle scope changes now? I got burned like that once and started sending quick email summaries after any new requests, lol. It creates a paper trail so there's no surprise later.
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