Still remember the guy in 2019 who booked a whole website and then ghosted after I sent the first draft

He said 'looks good, send the invoice' and then never answered another text or email. Has anyone else had a client just disappear like that after promising payment?

3 comments

3 Comments

lee.cora17d ago

Oh my, I'm going to have to disagree here. @adam414 I get that your experience was bad, but sometimes clients have legitimate reasons for disappearing. I had a client who ghosted me for three months and then came back apologizing because her husband had a medical emergency and she completely forgot about the project. Not everyone who disappears is trying to cheat you. Some people are just dealing with real life problems that make a web design invoice the last thing on their mind.

kellyallen15d ago

Oh wow, I see this same kind of thing happen everywhere now that I think about it! Like at my old job we had a client who just stopped answering emails for two months and it turned out their whole team was scrambling after the building flooded. @adam414 you're not wrong to ask for half up front though, that's just smart business. It's like how people suddenly disappear from group chats when their life gets chaotic, you never really know what's going on behind the scenes. The tricky part is you can't tell if someone's dealing with real problems or just avoiding you until it's too late. I guess it's all about finding that balance between being understanding and protecting yourself from the actual ghosters.

adam41417d ago

Happened to me twice now. First time I waited two weeks like a fool before I finally gave up and moved on. Second time I sent a follow up email after 3 days and when they didn't reply I just let it go. Its wild how some people will ghost you after you put in all that work. Like they dont even have the decency to say sorry or explain anything. I started asking for half up front after that second one, no regrets.