Question about a client who ghosted after a 50% upfront payment

I was at my home office in Seattle, staring at a finished logo design for a brewery client who stopped replying after I sent the final files, so I waited the 30 days outlined in our contract, then sent a formal invoice with late fees and a note that the files would be locked, which got a payment and an apology within two hours. Has anyone else had to trigger a contract clause to get a client to pay up?

4 comments

4 Comments

nora_murphy28d ago

Ugh, it's like people only move when there's a real consequence. I see this everywhere now, like with my apartment's parking garage. They sent ten polite emails about a new fee, and nobody paid. The second they said they'd tow, everyone paid in a day. It feels like the basic social contract of just doing what you said you'd do is broken, and you have to have that locked door, digital or real, to get any action.

ryanj1028d ago

Reminds me of my old gym and their "lost and found" box. It was always overflowing with water bottles and towels until they posted a sign saying unclaimed items would be donated every Friday. The box was empty by Thursday. Sometimes the threat is the only thing that clears the clutter.

sarah_davis27d agoMost Upvoted

Right? It's like you have to set a hard deadline for people to take anything seriously. What's the last thing you had to put a real deadline on to get it done?

kelly_rivera14d ago

Totally get this. My building had the same issue with recycling bins being full of regular trash. They put up nice signs for months and nothing changed. Finally they said they'd start fining the whole floor if it happened again, and like magic, people sorted their stuff. It's frustrating but @sarah_davis is right, that hard deadline or real penalty is what flips the switch for people now.