Received really negative feedback from a client at work - help please

[soupsettttt]

I work in advertising and today I received a really horrible email from a client about a piece of work I produced. I'm quite junior (it's a graduate role) and have been working there for 6 months for context. My work is reviewed and signed off by two senior members of staff before it goes to the client.

I've never received negative feedback before from a client, even with clients known for being notoriously picky and critical. I'm used to receiving positive feedback.

This afternoon I received a long email in response to a piece of work I submitted saying how bad it was, far below the standard needed/expected, saying I must be a junior person to have produced something of this standard and questioning our internal review process that this quality of work got sent. They CC'd in several senior people at my company.

I was completely and utterly shocked by it. I then looked at their specific feedback on the piece of work and it was a reasonable amount of feedback, more than I'm used to getting from clients but an ok amount for a first draft. Some minor wording changes are needed but nothing too crazy. During our internal review process I had positive feedback with positive comments, so I thought I along the right lines so to get this kind of email felt totally out of the blue.

I feel so upset by it. I'm glad I was working from home today as I burst into tears when I read the email. I have a 1:1 with my manager tomorrow and I know she will bring it up but I don't really know how to discuss it in a professional way. At the moment it feels very raw and upsetting. Should I frame it as a learning experience? Acknowledge that this has been difficult to hear, but it's taught me to how to react to negative feedback and how to work as a team to rectify? Do I apologise to my manager? I just don't know what's the right thing to say

I feel so humiliated

Oh that's crap. Though I am surprised they let you send the park to the client rather than a more senior person.

But it's not on you as your senior people signed it off so it's probably best for them to respond and smooth things over, if it's a grumpy client.

I would be devastated too, probably something you get used to with time, but it's the first time it's happened and it's criticising something you've created, so I think it's understandable you're upset.

From what you've said it seems the feedback is actually raising reasonable points, but they've really laid it on thick on terms of how upset they are, is that right?

The cynical part of me wonders are they setting the stage for backing out of the contract / getting a discount?

This is really disappointing for you, and I can understand why you are so upset. Remember that this is one person's opinion and that you had produced work you felt met the brief and that you were satisfied with. It is upsetting if it's not what they wanted, but how clear were they on their requirements?

I would not apologise. I would acknowledge to your manager that you were extremely disappointed to read this, and point out that your work is signed off by two senior staff members before it goes to the client, and that they obviously felt the work was acceptable at this point.

I'd be asking my manager what the protocol was to deal with this.

@burnoutbabe

Oh that's crap. Though I am surprised they let you send the park to the client rather than a more senior person.

But it's not on you as your senior people signed it off so it's probably best for them to respond and smooth things over, if it's a grumpy client.

The senior staff have taken over and are going to respond and schedule a call to discuss it which I won't be attending it

This work had also been received by someone else in our client's company and they were happy with it with no comments

I don't know if I'm in trouble and need to apologise? Or whether this is just one of those things? Or what? I don't know how I'm supposed to act at work

I think you should take conrol here and message your line manager saying that during tomorrow's 1:1, you will definitely want to bring up the feedback, and discuss what's fair in it, and the company's internal sign-off process.

Is the client keeping the content, or skipping off paying btw?

@OhFuckBloodyHell

I would be devastated too, probably something you get used to with time, but it's the first time it's happened and it's criticising something you've created, so I think it's understandable you're upset.

From what you've said it seems the feedback is actually raising reasonable points, but they've really laid it on thick on terms of how upset they are, is that right?

The cynical part of me wonders are they setting the stage for backing out of the contract / getting a discount?

Yeah the feedback is reasonable, it's things like 'can we make this part more concise', 'can we make this more snappy', etc. Easy enough to change.

It's the long email berating me/my work with everyone else CC'd in that's upset me

Wow, that sounds really harsh. I would ask your Manager if they think the feedback was justified and for advice on how to handle this kind of situation. If you are junior your Manager should be stepping in and helping resolve it and also helping you improve is needs be. I really don’t think the client needed to be so brutal however, constructive feedback would have been enough. I don’t work in your industry so am not sure how common this is, but it doesn’t sound very respectful or helpful in terms of building a good relationship on their part. Sorry you were so upset too.

first of all - big hug

secondly - everyone gets it wrong sometimes. it is normal to have to reconsider work and to deal with unsatisfied customer/colleagues/management.
you will learn from it.

think about 3 things you could do differently next time. that will show your manager that you are committed and willing to learn and improve.

good luck with your manager tomorrow!

@MadMadMadamMim

This is really disappointing for you, and I can understand why you are so upset. Remember that this is one person's opinion and that you had produced work you felt met the brief and that you were satisfied with. It is upsetting if it's not what they wanted, but how clear were they on their requirements?

I would not apologise. I would acknowledge to your manager that you were extremely disappointed to read this, and point out that your work is signed off by two senior staff members before it goes to the client, and that they obviously felt the work was acceptable at this point.

I'd be asking my manager what the protocol was to deal with this.

The brief was quite unclear, I was given a few examples by the clients of what to go off but the project was quite unique so it was difficult to achieve. It's also a type of project that's quite new to this account so we are all quite unfamiliar about it

@SpinningTheSeedsOfLove

I think you should take conrol here and message your line manager saying that during tomorrow's 1:1, you will definitely want to bring up the feedback, and discuss what's fair in it, and the company's internal sign-off process.

Is the client keeping the content, or skipping off paying btw?

They want us to take in their feedback and send another draft

It’s such a cliche but feedback really is a gift. Especially so early in your career. Once you have had a deep breath and a glass of wine read the feedback again in a factual way. Are there things you could have done differently? You can knock the socks off your manager tomorrow if you approach it with calmness and openness as a learning experience. Share your reflections. Ask for help if you need support and correct the bits you feel were inaccurate . If you really want to win at the whole development thing you can even call the person who shared the feedback and thank them explaining you are new in role and keen to develop quickly etc. You are going to get feedback of all types throughout your career (if you are going to have a professional one) so learning to really listen to it and learn from it early is a game changer. Just remember when you are the big boss in a few years to deliver it more carefully than it was delivered to you.

As a response to a first draft what they've said sounds like normal practice and expected.
What's not expected is the personal attack.
I would raise it with my line manager and explain that it was upsetting and that I felt it was unfair. As your manager I would totally expect that and want to support you to continue performing and working on the account.
The chances are the venting wasn't actually aimed at you but something else going on that day with the client.
The question is how do you want to proceed. Come off the account? Or continue to work but have no/limited first contact? Or continue as before?

I don’t work in advertising, but I work in another type of comms agency with a lot of similarities, and this is just one of those things. Some clients are just difficult. I always tell my team that they aren’t to blame when a client doesn’t like something, as someone else in our company reviewed it and thought it was ok, or it wouldn’t have gone out! It’s the senior person’s fault if it truly was bad - but it probably isn’t really. By the sound of the feedback, it’s ok, but just not quite right, but they are one of those clients for whom ‘not quite right’ is a disaster. If you worked for me, you’d be in trouble if you’d gone rogue and sent something out as a junior without internal checks and balances, but otherwise it’s not your fault, it’s a client problem (and if your seniors start saying it is, that’s a red flag for your work place).

OP, it's good to listen to clients and customer service is really important, but here's a tip: professional complainers exist. Their complaint may, or may not, be valid. They may be looking for a discount; they may be having a really bad day; they may not have commmunicated their desires clearly; they may have taken personal exception to the work you've done for some reason. Lots of possibilities.

I would write out your thoughts to take into your meeting tomorrow. Also have a copy of their feedback there with you, all the info you have, including dates, etc.

My work is reviewed and signed off by two senior members of staff

So I'd be asking for their input, too.

Ultimately you want the client to be happy, but the first thing to do is a sort of enquiry. Try and set aside your personal feelings as much as possible. It's okay to acknowledge that you were surprised (and even upset, but fgs don't dwell on it, a professional member of staff is self aware but able to set aside personal feelings and deal with the issue).

I'd ask for your managers thoughts and ideas on how to proceed. It may be a mix of how to communicate with the client, how to listen to the client, ask questions and work out what went wrong, what prompted an outburst, etc.

Complaints handled well can end up being positive. Stay calm as much as possible, listen more than talk, try not to take it personally and adopt a curious, interested mindset. So long as you show that you are willing to learn and open to taking action to set things right, this can end up working in your favour as much as against you. Dealing with complaints/clients is an art!

Well it sounds as if the feedback was warranted but it wasn't delivered very tactfully.

The client is probably a bit of a tosser. There are people like that in all businesses.

Don't take it personally.

This was always going to happen eventually. Everybody makes mistakes. Everybody also reads a client wrong sometimes.

It's okay and understandable that you're upset at the moment. This is a learning experience though. Next time you won't be so shook, and eventually you'll shrug this kind of thing off. Some clients expect you to read minds; some clients are just dicks; some clients just genuinely have wires that get crossed.

The best thing you can do is admit to your manager that you've found it hard, but you can see that you can learn from the feedback and you're keen to use this to improve for the future.

It sounds like you've done nothing wrong. As you are junior, it's your senior colleagues' responsibility to check the quality of your work.

There were no major issues anyway in the feedback.

It sounds like a political argument between your company and theirs, or a fight between certain personalities, that you have got caught in the middle of.

It's quite normal, OP. I immediately thought that your seniors would take over and deal with the client in this situation. That's what I'd do for my juniors too.

Unfortunately it happens that people won't be happy with your work. I'm not in creative industries, but I can quite easily see that it's very subjective and you need to be prepared to get negative reviews sometimes. You also need to learn to assess client's communication styles and expectations early on. Some are very direct (not to say brutal), some are very demanding. I always tailor my communication style to their needs and if I know someone is extremely picky, I go an extra mile - if I value them as a client. Once you and them have solid, honest foundations it's much easier. It's difficult for you now because you're new. At the 1-2-1 tomorrow, see what your manager has to say to you about this and if asked, say that you are grateful for the feedback, and whilst some of it was challenging to receive, you take the valid points on board for future projects.

Who knows, it might be a known difficult client. It might be your boss will turn up tomorrow and say, we wanted to get rid of them, this is the last thing we do for them, total PITA. You just don't know.

But most importantly, don't worry. It's part and parcel of working life.

You’re overthinking it.

It’s not nice to get this kind of feedback, but your work was reviewed before it went out the door - the senior people on your side of the fence obviously did not have major problems with it.

Shit like this happens. Your managers are doing the right thing, which is to take steps to mollify the angry client, and on some level you take the hit so that the firm can appear responsive. I hope they put in some time with you so that you feel better about it. But you need to take it on the chin.

The advice from others to “take control” and own the situation is, I think, extraordinarily dangerous advice. I’m sure it’s everyone’s fantasy to step in and own the place, but there could well be politics here you don’t see.

If your managers are treating you with respect and you get decent feedback from them, move on and show you’re resilient that way.

Please remember that your senior teammates will have been around the block and seen clients like this come and go. When I was in a comms agency I saw our CEO resign two clients simply because of the way that they spoke to and engaged our people.

I’m not saying that there was nothing valid in the feedback, I’m just saying that the severity and sickness you’re feeling about this probably won’t even cause your leaders to bat an eyelid.

Chin up chuck!

I work in advertising and whether it's creative work, a strategy deck, research, a competitor review there is so much in this industry that is subjective and you get tossers who deliver there pov tactlessly. There is an art to PowerPoint decks and storytelling and practise makes perfect. If I was your boss I would pull client up on tone not feedback.
Don't get too upset...we all get things wrong and need to learn whatever the job...I've actually consoled a bus driver who took the wrong route on his first day and seen a friend lose her client 100k in her first year ...no one died...live and learn and ignore the idiotic tone but make sure your boss handles the situation but make it clear you want to learn from it. How can I make sure this doesn't happen again, what can I do and do you agree with the feedback are key questions in your 121.
Chin up

Firstly, yes this is shit and it will dent your confidence but this will happen to you a lot when working client side. They're paying for a service and trust me, they feel no loyalty to you. They will tell you exactly how they feel.

You can, quietly at home and not in front of your seniors, wallow and weep and wail and curse the wankers but tomorrow is a new day and now you decide how you deal with the next steps.

How can you improve? How can we (your agency) avoid this in the future? How can the brief be clearer?

But don't fall on your sword. This isn't all on you. You have an approval process for a reason.

Good luck!

I work in an agency.

Bear in mind it may have nothing to do with you or your work. It may be a tactic in trying to negotiate on price or end the contract early.

Or they may just be a total a-hole.

Speak to your acc dir and see what they say about it. I hope they are going to tell the client that they are out of order.

I work(ed) in creative sector and this is tough on you

As hard as it is take it on the chin and learn from it

The agency seniors should take the responsibility and guide you further

Try not to feel bad. Also schedule a meeting to ask senior people how they think you could have done it better.

Gah this sort of thing can be so galling but try and take it on the chin. It won’t be the last time in your career you provide EVERYTHING a client has asked for and they poopoo it. Honestly sending a shitty email copying everyone in says way more about them, than you and any good manager should see that.