Loading…
15
The client who said 'no rush' then emailed me 5 times in 3 hours
I picked up a logo redesign gig last month for a local coffee shop in Portland. Guy said take your time, no deadline pressure. Then three days in he starts emailing me every 30 minutes asking for updates. By Friday he'd sent 17 emails total, none with any actual changes to the brief. I finished the work on day 10 like we agreed, and when I sent the invoice he went silent for two weeks. Finally paid after I threatened a lien notice. So here's the debate side of it: is the 'no rush' client actually the biggest red flag, or is it worse when they give you a hard deadline right away and then keep moving it up? I lean toward the first one because it feels like bait. Has anyone else found that clients who say 'no pressure' end up being the most pressure?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
wyattramirez5mo ago
@martinez.paul nailed it, "trapdoor" is the perfect word for this.
8
martinez.paul5mo ago
Having dealt with similar situations doing custom work, that 'no hurry' client is usually a test to see how much you'll put up with. Your example of the silent treatment after delivering on time tells me they knew they were being unreasonable. A hard deadline that gets moved is at least honest about the pressure, while the 'no rush' thing feels like a trapdoor you don't see until you're already falling through it.
0