What do you do if you get a client you find you don't want to work for / with?

[DestinationUnknown]

Have recently set up own business, doing fine and have enough work for the hours I have available. I took on some work for a new client and found them to be rather hard work . I suspect that the more I do the less I will enjoy working with them. I've completed the first bit of discrete work, but the idea is there will be further phases and the client is expecting me to get in touch to this end.

Has anyone "binned" a client? How did you do so?

I know that in theory you should take all the work you can get, but the whole point of setting up by myself is doing something I enjoy without having to kill myself, or work for or with people I don't like. I have enough work and more referrals coming to keep me going happily.

I am getting ready to fire a client as they make me insane.

In my case, in a few months, when our contract expires, I'm increasing my fees an outrageous amount, figuring if they agree, the money will be worth the hassle. And if they don't, good riddance!

I like your style! Don't think I can do the price hike though, much as I'd like to. It would have to be a stupid amount to make it worth it. And I don't want to get a bad reputation.

Well, you might get one just by refusing to work with them. It's the risk you take when you take a stand like that.

I agree reputation is important but I work for myself for the same reason you stated, so I can do what I enjoy without killing myself or making money for someone else.

So you either take a stand and say 'I'm not going to work for you' and perhaps get your reputation tainted, or you put up with whatever is making you not like working for the client.

You can't have it both ways.

What luxury to be able to pick and choose!

It made me chuckle to think of all the people who i would love to fire as clients, the list would be endless!
Im a nurse, there is likely to be about 3 patients a week that i would happily fire, for reasons wholly unjustified!!

Raging shits would be one, nightmare family would be another, abusive or violent behaviour towards me or my staff another.
ooh the freedom i would have!

I walked away from a new client because they had 'nightmare client' written all over them. I guess the only thing you can do is tell them you're too busy.

That's what I did with the nightmare client - told them I'd accepted some other work (they didn't get back to me within the agreed timeframe) and so I was sorry but I couldn't help them out.

nosleepwithworry - perhaps you shouldn't be a nurse? :o

Nosleep, it's not quite the same is it. If you worked privately you cold pick and choose however you don't!

Tee, I get that. I mean I don't want to get a bad rep by not returning calls or emails and looking flakey. Nor do I want to seem arsey and refuse to work with them, just looking for a good way of saying "sorry no can do".

Dowager, I think i will have to work along your lines somehow. I haven't promised my time but we have had discussions about what to do next (which made my heart sink) so there is an expectation from the client.

nosleep, it is nice to be able to choose - I retrained into a significantly less well paid job than my old career precisely so that I could work around school hours, do my own thing and not be put under pressure, having had some horrendous life changes, becoming severely depressed and just being unable to cope mentally (even if externally I looked like I was doing pretty well!). Working for a difficult client means extra pressure and not enjoying what I do in the few hours I do it, which I'm not prepared to do. But I can't very well tell a client all of that! Horrible that you have to put up with abusive patients and not be able to walk away.

ahhh i was just chuckling at the thought!
Been nursing for 22 years, love it warts and all, i have a bit of a fantasy going on in my head now about firing people as they come through the doors of A&E .

pointing Alan Sugar style saying "you're fired" sening ambulance men wheel them back out through the doors

Where possible, I limit my services to clearly defined stages of work e.g. surveys, prepare feasibility and drawings, submit planning applications etc. and then stop when all consents have been granted. Sometimes I will prepare tender documents, run a tender exercise and stop again once I have submitted a tender report.

If the client wants me to provide further services e.g. contract administration, by then I have gained a fairly good idea of what they are like and, if difficult I regretfully decline "due to excessive work".

I work in a similar way to you, Destination - freelance, part-time, from home in my case. I have a couple of clients, am hoping to get more (and that is looking very hopeful just now). I won't say exactly what I do as that would out me completely to anyone who knows me, but that I will say that whilst the work sometimes comes in at a pre-arranged time, more often it is "can you do this today/this week/yesterday?".

Can you be really regretful, but just not have time at the moment?

God that would be brilliant, nosleep. Imagine if you could turn away all the rude sods and people who treat you like waitresses (nurse - my water glass is empty! You're fired, you're ambulant you lazy bugger :o)

Destination - you could put the pressure back on them and tell them you have a short term full time contract coming up and so you're able to do X for them within Y time but otherwise you're busy for the next three months.

The key thing is, as you say, not to get a bad rep. I don't know what kind of work you do but the evil client I turned down (who tried to batter me down to half my usual day rate before I'd even taken a sip of tea) doesn't work in the same industry as most of my clients so I could afford to sack them off. If you work with a very small pool of clients who are all interconnected, you may have to just bite the bullet so that you don't get a reputation for not seeing projects through.

Oh thankGod dowagers, im glad ive not upset anyone, was genuinely chuckling about it. Wasnt trying to be offensive at all

i have had to say no to a couple of jobs with ridiculous deadlines, i asked what their timescale was and then just said i was too busy and that if they wanted i could fit it in two months later but i knew that they wouldn't want that so we agreed they'd get somebody else in.

thank you everyone for the advice (and for the images of an Apprentice-style A&E admissions process!). I don't have an interconnected pool of clients, but do very much get work on a word of mouth / recommendations basis. Also was put in touch with difficult client by someone who could be the source of more referrals.

However I suspect that whatever I do for difficult client will not ultimately be good enough and therefore I could put in loads of effort only to be badmouthed later anyway. I will take the risk up front - will not rush to get in touch and then will say too much else on I think.

OP, you just need to be assertive and say that you have committed yourself to other projects and cannot take on any more work. I would make a couple of suggestions of people/companies who might be able to help them.

Be nice, be firm and be slightly vague. You don't have to explain yourself. You're the boss! Those 'other projects' could mean anything. For me, it might mean decorating the kitchen and taking the cat to the vet! Keep doing this until they get the message. It shouldn't take long.

I work for myself for exactly the same reasons as you. Best of luck!

sorry but ramp up the fees
lots
triple them

or in DHs case he had a job he did not want so he priced it at four times normal rate.
they said yes
we all had a weekend away afterwards

Big fee hike.

Quote very long timescales that won't fit with their plans.

State that something is not your area of specialism and refer them on to someone else you don't like

Very interesting discussion, and may I say, OP, how delighted I was to see "discrete" used properly!

I agree pluto - it's a joy! (am wondering if we can get people to stop using clicks when they mean cliques - it makes me feel quite murderous. I should get myself over to pedants' corner really!)

Let us know what happens, Destination - I can't speak for anyone else but after nearly two years of this, I'm still making it up as I go along to an extent

at proper use of discrete.

I am so new to this, it is brilliant to get support and ideas, thank you everyone.

I've moved from a very corporate career using long words, "strategising" (ugh) and plenty of chatty bullshit to a hands-on job where it's all about my own skill and ability. Am definitely feeling my way! But I know I'm absolutely right about this client and it is a great feeling to be able to make my own choice about that, even if I still have to employ diplomacy and possibly some more bullshit to avoid taking on the work!

Haha, I've been online far too long this evening, and made my way back to Pedants' Corner, where I may have mentioned your "discreteness" (rather than "discretion").

Expect a horde of pedants this way, ravening for the sight of proper English!

I've turned down possible work a few times now using the reason that I'm unable to take on any new contracts at the moment, but thank you for thinking of me for this work.

I think the only reputation you'll get is as someone who is busy (and therefore in demand). Definitely agree with other posters about not committing to too much work with a new client until you've seen how it goes.

Good luck.

I fired a potentially nightmare client a few weeks ago. I fretted for ages first, but in the end I realised that it was high risk, low paid work and that he was a pain in the arse. Don't regret decision at all.