Pro tip: that 'get everything in writing' advice saved my butt last month

A senior dev I used to work with drilled it into me. Always get scope changes in an email. I had a client push for 3 extra revisions on a WordPress site. Said it was part of the original deal. I pulled up the email thread with their signed approval. Showed them exactly where the scope ended. They backed off real quick. Has anyone else had a client try to rewrite history like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

kimblack15d ago

Oh man, a buddy of mine had that exact thing happen with a freelance gig. He started keeping a paper trail after that client tried to claim 2 rounds of feedback was actually 5 lmao.

casey34215d ago

Used to think being too specific was overkill. Figured a handshake and some trust would be enough. But after getting burned a couple times, I changed my mind fast. Now I spell out every single detail in the emails. Word counts, revision limits, deadlines, everything. Not because I don't trust people, but because it saves so much headache later. Makes it crystal clear what both sides agreed to, no wiggle room.

sagejackson15d ago

Hell yeah, that's the kind of stuff that pays off big time. @kimblack's buddy learned the hard way, but at least he learned it early. My question is - how detailed do you usually get in those emails? Like do you spell out every single word count or number of revisions, or just keep it loose and trust the other person to remember? Because I've had people try to weasel out of stuff even with a paper trail if I wasn't specific enough. One time a client tried to argue that "three rounds of feedback" meant three rounds per page, not three total. I had to point to the exact line in the contract where it said "three rounds total for the entire project." People will try anything if they think they can get away with it.