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

It's not your fault OP - but it's unfortunately almost certainly a rite of passage in creative agency (where clients are often bloody difficult for a range of reasons) and was going to happen at some point in your career. It's happened several times to me. FYI I'm now client side rather than agency and always try to be a good client!!

Have a big glass of wine then sit down tomorrow and work out how to put it behind you.

Definitely front it up with your manager, talking it through will help. I also think it would be good for you to be at the meeting / call as chances are the client will have calmed down and be a lot more rational on a call than when in keyboard warrior mode - and that's an important part of moving forward.

Don't be put off the whole industry. I'm super sensitive too and hate displeasing anyone and I've worked in advertising for 10 years and now run a team of 5. It is almost impossible to please all clients all the time. Make it more concise/snappy is not feedback that warrants this 'disappointment'.

Take your lead from your manager but don't apologise. If they approved it internally that's on them. They're taking the flack from the client in terms of the call and next draft so may want some explanation. I think it's fine to say you're struggling a bit with feedback and do they have any suggestions for how to handle it in future. If it's a graduate role they need to help support you as much as possible.

If it helps I've had some crazy feedback in the past from clients. Often they just have completely unreasonable expectations. Anyone who works in an agency knows this but most clients have always worked in their own marketing roles and rarely understand that you don't work 100% on their business and are usually spread very thin. Keep your chin up.

I have been working with a graphic designer for over six years and this week we are on a new project. What I envisioned we wanted was actually completely off so I had to send back with some major change requests.

I was pretty frank in my feedback but it was nothing personal just a desire to crack this branding challenge.

Sometimes things miss the mark and we have to take that on the chin and go again.

Keep smiling!

OP, I'm afraid things like this happen a lot, regardless of the industry. So my kindest advice to you would be to take a deep breath, sleep on it and wake up with a fresh outlook - there's no point in quitting over something like this as it will likely happen to you in your professional life again regardless of what you do. You will laugh at it in 5 years' time and share this story with your junior team members as an anecdote. Not worth stressing over! Please listen to many, many of us with a bit more experience. We've all been where you are before.

If it looks like a personal attack and feels like a personal attack... it's probably a personal attack. Some clients are absolute dicks. It really doesn't have to be more complicated than that.

The reason I know the client is being a dick is because the actual concrete feedback looks and feels OK. That's all that they needed to send. The rest is dick swinging.

Hold your head up tomorrow. Go into your 121 and say that you'd like to talk about this first then WAIT. See what your manager says. Don't jump in.

I bet you a fiver your manager says 'Charlie's a dickhead, don't pay it another thought, now how are we going to take the feedback in?'

PS I'm guessing you're a writer, for some reason people are always ruder to copywriters than designers. Cos clients are dicks.

I cannot thank you all enough, I"m going to be reading and rereading your responses tomorrow when preparing for my meetings

I should also add that we email work using a generic company email so they don't know me by name, they only know the senior members of the team. I'm wondering if that makes it worse as they don't think about the person at the end of their email

Ah OP, I've been exactly where you are!

A month or 2 into the lockdown, I received similar client feedback which also felt like an attack. I had similar feelings of shock, sadness and was kept up all night worrying before a meeting with my manager.

Similarly to your scenario, she had a call with the client directly which I agree is a mistake.

Anyway - in my case, the client could not be pleased. It didn't matter how hard I worked and about 1.5 years later we stopped working together. This client clearly wanted to get a reduced rate as well as another PP has mentioned.

And yes it is basically a rite of passage in agency life. You question your talent and your skills - but with time and experience with more clients with better communication skills and professionalism, this will become just a bump in the road. Take care.

No wonder you are feeling raw and hurt…this kind of thing is awful but I think you show you’re maturity and good instincts when you say “ frame it as a learning experience” - that’s exactly what you should do.

It’s easier said than done, but you should not focus on the personal comments the client made. This was totally unprofessional of them and probably were said for some other hidden agenda that you are not privy too. I think there is a high possibility you have a wa@#ker of a client on your hands that was having a bad day and took it out on you( Ive seen that a lot and I’m sure the people you work with have too!). Ultimately, your work was signed off by more senior staff… it would not have been if it was poor quality.

When chatting to your manager you should of course tell them it was surprising and a little shocking but make it clear to them that your focus is on the clients feedback that is relevant to the project. Also, people love to be asked for advice - you could ask your manager if she has had a similar experience and how did she handle it or how would she approach it. I’m sure she has seen this many many times.

DO NOT let this shake your confidence. People can be jealous, people can be insecure, people can tend to put you down to make themselves feel big and powerful, people can be just plain whingers and moaners. The fact is, you, are getting continued good feedback. This kind of incident will probably happen again and again throughout your career( and unfortunately is more common to happen to women in the workplace). Your gut instinct on how to roll with this was correct, focus on being professional always and taking everything as a learning experience.

Also, put this in perspective….the client hasn’t said that your company is fired, they aren’t suing you guys…they want a few things changed on a second draft-that’s totally normal and your gonna do it. This horrible email seems like a big deal now but believe me, after a bit of time goes by it won’t be. In a year or two you’ll be trading “battle stories” with your friends about clients from hell and you will be laughing about it. By the sounds of you, I’d be delighted to have someone who is so game and so professional to join the company I work for xx

Sorry if this has already been addressed, but are you saying that there was reasonable and expected feedback, in which it was indicated that some minor changes were needed, but that a separate email was then sent out of the blue castigating you?

I'm not sure if I have thick enough skin for this kind of industry if this is what it can be like

You get used to it - every client has one. The key thing to remember is that its not necessarily personal, its often about the client themselves or a client trying to game the boundaries of a contract. The correct thing for a junior to do in this situation is to pass it up the line as you have done. Don't apologise or send anything else to the client unless its been agreed with your line manager. Let them deal with it!

Over time you get used to adapting your comms, outputs etc to different clients as with more experience you find you can predict the reactions. Its just experience, you will be fine!

It sounds like you are handling it ok. It's upsetting and it's easy to dwell on things like this but you will get used to it.
Two of my kids used to work in coffee shops when they were at Uni and I was stunned at how people spoke to them sometimes. Some people are knobs. (Look at how obnoxious people on Mumsnet can be😅)

Also, I know one poster said you mustn't cry in your meeting but fuck it if you do. Some people cry and while it's clearly not the most professional thing you can do but it's better than getting angry or not giving a shit. If you do cry don't be embarrassed.

@soupsettttt

I cannot thank you all enough, I"m going to be reading and rereading your responses tomorrow when preparing for my meetings

I should also add that we email work using a generic company email so they don't know me by name, they only know the senior members of the team. I'm wondering if that makes it worse as they don't think about the person at the end of their email

Definitely bound to make it worse.

Here's another useful nugget to remembering through your career- and one I've found to be almost universally true - when a colleague really kicks off and gets nasty, it's not really about the person they're kicking off at.

It's about them.

Something is going on with them that is making them lash out, be it personal or professional. It might be that they have money worries or that they're feeling overwhelmed and unsupported at work.

Just the same with road-rage drivers, too.

I'm in academia so a different industry but last year I had to apply for approval from the ethics committee to start data collection for my PhD. I worked really hard on the application and just before I sent it, I had my first annual review, where I was showered with praise from my supervisory team. The ethics were approved, but the reviewer sent a full page of really horrible, petty comments taking a swipe at me. Their tone was really aggressive and they pulled me up about language I'd used, but I had been told by my thesis supervisor to use those specific terms so it felt very unjust. I felt like this faceless person had ripped my project apart after a year of work, forgetting that a PhD student was at the other end of their email.

I cried the entire day after reading the feedback. It felt so personal even though, much like your client, the reviewer probably had a stack of applications on their desk and mine bore the brunt of them being pissed off or needing their lunch or something! Any sort of creative role is a total juxtaposition because we go into it thanks to external praise telling us how good we are at this particular thing, but then we need to show the world our creation and invite criticism, so it really stings.

Good luck in your meeting tomorrow. If you cry, you cry. It just shows that you care about your work output and you want to do well.

Reading between the lines here I'm guessing you're a copywriter. (So am I, for context, although only part time these days.)

Unfortunately this kind of thing does happen. I've been copywriting for almost 20 years, have been head of copy more than once, and I still get Howlers like this occasionally.

The advertising and marketing industry is brilliant in many ways, but it can also be quite brutal, unsupportive and unstructured, especially towards creative people. Especially especially towards young and inexperienced creative people.

A lot of clients (and sometimes account handlers too) are notoriously bad at working out in advance what deliverables they want out of creative people. But then they also decide they know what they don't like when they see it. And instead of owning up to not briefing you properly they kick out and try to make it the agency's/your fault. So you get 'creative by bumper car' driven by what clients don't like rather than what they do.

Some clients just get a bee in their bonnets and kick off, and sometimes they get nasty about it. You learn to let it wash over you without taking any of it on. (Other than the legitimate feedback that you can action.)

Often what happens is kind of a chain of small failures further up the chain; the client can't articulate what they want, and they're busy, so they pass the buck to the account handler at the agency. The account handler isn't sure either, but they think 'oh well, that's what the creative team is there for' and before you know it, you've got a steaming pile of shit brief on your desk that basically says 'write some stuff for this hole in the design' with no useful info whatsoever.

You do grow a thicker skin after a while. Keep at it.

@MarshaBradyo

Also the agency may be charging more senior rates and client might be more annoyed about that

Try not to take it too personally as the first time this happens sucks but then you kind of learn from it and get better

In that case the client should take it up with the engagement lead, not send a shitty email to the junior.

Sounds like someone who is terrible at communicating appropriately and also a dickhead. Obviously you need to take the substance of the feedback seriously but try not to let the manner of delivery get to you

In that case the client should take it up with the engagement lead, not send a shitty email to the junior.

Well sure. I don’t think I said otherwise.

The other issue is as op said the email is a generic work one so there is no junior name attached.

Some of the processes sound like they could be better.

A lot of what agencies do is organise teams and client contact to keep people from being ‘exposed’ as they put it, to client annoyance.

Especially when they’re junior.

How’s work been today @soupsettttt?

Negative feedback is usually very positive in the long term.

I worked for many years in a Quality and Reliability department of a high tech company and I can assure you that negative feedback got a lot of attention. What one customer is highlighting is something that other customers are probably also noticing but just not saying. Their response is usually to just go elsewhere.

In your case I would discuss with your manager which parts of the feedback are justified and count this as good experience to use going forward.

I haven't read the whole thread and apologise if I'm repeating things already said.

It’s a subjective subject. Could be that your client didn’t communicate their exact needs as much as it could be your proposed interpretation of them. Maybe the client is in trouble for this lack of communication or feels as though they may potentially be so is blaming you.

I bet your bosses will reassure you. You should definitely approach them about it soon. If you weren’t professional at your job, you wouldn’t be in it. The email is rather over the top and suggests the person behind it is unprofessional, is trying to save money or has some issues of their own.

You’ll be fine. Never let anyone dull your sparkle!

The client was unhappy with another piece of work recently so think they are lumping the two projects together and I took the hit of it
I think you're absolutely right about this, and that, as they don't know you by name, they're not thinking about the person at the end of the email.

I hope today goes/has gone OK. I think your manager sounds like they are supportive.
It's one rubbishy email in six months in a tough industry and you otherwise get good results. It's not you, it's them

Some people are never happy, no matter what you do.

You obviously care about the job and the company, hence your anxiety about the meeting and feedback.

You’re at the very beginning of your career - this type of thing is part of the learning.

I work client-side and unfortunately I can tell you from experience that some people are just always dicks to agencies because a) they think they might get a discount, b) they didn't brief the work in properly and they're pretending to someone more senior it was your fault, not theirs or c) they don't manage anyone else and it gives them a sense of power. Don't think anything of it. If your work was signed off internally, that's all that matters.

You don’t need to apologise to your managers as they signed off, and if they had thought it wasn’t good enough they would have told you and you would have been able to change it.

It would be worth having a convo with them about the overall feedback and what you could do differently/learn for next time.

But overall don’t worry, it sounds like the client that complained was a dick. My DH works in a similar field and says it happens all the time that the client has no idea what they want but knows what they don’t want and it can be a frustrating process. If they had been clearer with you up front you would have blown them away.

Personally I absolutely hate negative feedback and also find it crushing but defo don’t let this one negative experience make you feel like you aren’t cut out for it.

You said you are a graduate, this is the learning section of your career. No one should expect you to be the ready-made package within six months as long as they can see you are putting the work in and learning as you go along.

I'm not sure if I have thick enough skin for this kind of industry if this is what it can be like

Unfortunately after extensive research I can confirm arseholes are ubiquitous across all industries. But on the other hand, they are generally a minority!