Question about promising immediate revisions vs making them wait...

So I had this talk with another designer at a coffee shop last month in Nashville... she told me she never does same-day revisions anymore, even if she has the time. She said it trains clients to expect instant turnaround and then they freak out when you take two days. On one hand I get it, setting boundaries and all that. But I feel like if I have a slot open and the client is anxious about a deadline, helping them out builds trust and maybe gets me referral work. I've had a few clients basically demand overnight fixes after I did it once, and it burned me out hard. But also saying "no" when I could easily say "yes" feels like leaving money on the table... Has anyone else found a middle ground on this? Like a policy that stops the expectation train without hurting the relationship?

2 comments

2 Comments

joseph481d ago

Oh man, that reminds me of something that happened to a buddy of mine who does web design. He caved and did a rush revision for a client at like 9 PM on a Tuesday, just a quick color swap, and sent it over. Next thing he knows, that client started texting him at midnight on a Saturday asking for a full homepage redesign because "you're always available anyway." He had to have an awkward conversation about office hours after that. It's like once you open that door, they think they own the key.

sean481d ago

Is it really "caving" though? Your buddy set a precedent by working at 9 PM on a Tuesday in the first place. I mean, clients just figure if you're up and answering then, you probably don't have a set schedule to worry about. That's on him for not drawing that line from the start.