All the guy wants from the freelance graphic designer is a logo and a few pie charts for free. If prospective clients bite, the designer could make "good money."
(Big thanks to Writing Boots' Hong Kong correspondent Lorne Christensen for alerting us to this.)
Thanks for the laugh.
OMG. Can that really be for real???
I think it is …
One has to assume that either this freelancer is so well-known and talented that he doesn’t need to care about how this makes him look as a professional and a service provider, or he’s independantly wealthy and only works when he feels like it.
We’ve all felt like doing this at one time or another, but do any of us really think this was the right way to handle this – in public where you not only embarass your client, but make yourself look petty and childish (even granting that the jerk deserved it)??
Not everything is a case study in client relations, Kristen. Sometimes you just gotta let the bastards have it.
I can tell this guy has dealt with a hundred goofs just like this “client”; I’ve known some of them myself. Facile favor-askers, bullshitters, sloppy operators and the bank error is always in their favor.
They need to be poked in the eye every once in a while, and since they have no conscience, public is more useful than private.
Wow. Thanks for sharing, David. What a satisfying revenge fantasy for anyone who has been asked to do work for free with a vague promise that it could lead to lots of paying work. I agree with Kristen that the designer is taking a big risk to his reputation by publishing his exchange with this guy. But his responses are so hilarious and confident that one assumes he knows what he’s doing and has decided it’s worth the cost. I’m going to follow this blogger in hopes there’s more hilarity to come.
When I freelanced, I required 50 percent up front. LEARN TO DO THAT, FREELANCERS. If the check didn’t clear, there was NO COPY. And that was that.
Not everything is a case study in client relations, Kristen. Sometimes you just gotta let the bastards have it.