how often do you ask clients to extend a deadline?

[hatwoman]

I ask because I've never done it, and would have to have pretty extreme circumstances to do so. I've just started a new project where I'm supervising 4 other consultants and am stunned to find 3 of them really casually, with barely an explanation, (certainly not ones that could not have been foreseen) asking for extensions? am I odd/naive/prissy to be suprised by this?

Did they go to my college? My lecturers are always extending deadlines for students who haven't finished projects on time. Its incredibly irritating to those of us who do and surely not a good representation of 'real life' projects.

good name! (had to read it closely).

thanks

If you take a project on, are timelines not discussed / agreed at the start as to what is practicable and fair? I turned down a project recently, because they asked for results in 3 weeks and I needed 5 to meet their objectives. I said the dates I could give feedback for and was thanked for my honesty, but they went elsewhere. Bit annoying as whilst I was busy at the time and juggling projects, now I am not busy and need some projects!

I don't think i have ever asked for an extension unless the client moves the goal posts in terms of what they want to acheive. Really unprofessional of the other consultants.

reading between the lines I think they are young (I haven't met them - they are abroad) and are combining bits of consultancy with other stuff. I think they have over-stretched themselves/under-estimated the work involved. which could mean that coming in hlaf-way through, as I am, could be really tough. oh pants.

No I don't, unless the client has altered the project requirements, then I don't 'ask' as such, just 'let them know' the revised timetable in a matter-of-fact way.

Without wanting to sound ageist... like you, I've been quite shocked by the blase, relaxed attitude to deadlines some of the young people I work with seem to have.

my first proper job was as a journalist on a weekly - it created a deep-seated attachment to deadlines. we had monday end of day deadline for features, wednesday for news, thursday lunchtime for financial news. end of. negotiation was unthinkable. in 3 years of working there I think the only time I saw changes to these was when a king rather inconveniently popped his clogs on a Thursday. I was completely shocked when I changed sector and found that "deadline" had a completely different meaning to an awful lot of people.

I have asked for extensions in circumstances where I feel the end result will suffer if it is rushed...

but that pressure has normally been created by lack of info from other consultants or delayed feedback from the client.

I have had to chase consultants over and over -I start quite a while before the deadline now.