Shoutout to that client who ghosted me for 3 weeks then begged for a rush job

I had this web design client back in March, a small bakery in Portland. They went completely silent after I sent the first mockup, no response for 3 weeks. Then out of nowhere they emailed asking if I could finish the whole site in 2 days for their grand opening. I actually said yes but charged a 50% rush fee and made them sign a new contract with no revision rounds. To my shock they paid it without arguing and the site turned out fine. Learned that silence doesn't always mean they hate your work, sometimes they're just terrible at planning. Has anyone else had clients disappear then come back with crazy deadlines?

2 comments

2 Comments

michael_williams12d ago

50% rush fee is actually pretty smart, I might start doing that. Did you have to pull any all-nighters to get it done that fast or did they actually have decent content ready to go?

karenc2012d ago

Oh, that's a good question. Honestly, the content was a mess. They sent over a folder of stuff that looked like it was written by three different people, none of whom had talked to each other. I ended up having to rewrite half of it myself just to make it flow right. No all-nighters, but I did work through a couple of dinners. My wife was not thrilled, but the extra fifty percent made the pizza taste pretty good. I guess the real trick is having a client who actually has their act together, which is rare as hen's teeth.