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Posted by Carolyn Marenger on 03/21/06 13:24
mjones wrote:
> Hi,
<snip>
I would probably load it in a wysiwyg editor, just to try and get an idea of
what it should look like. I would then use tidy to clean up and the code.
If it was still a confusing mess, I would do a complete rewrite. Ideally
incorporating CSS, but if necessary sticking to the client's desires.
<snip>
> Time is money, but clients don't understand how difficult fixing a few
> lines and boxes can be so you end up just being a nice person.
This is where customer education comes in. At some point we all need to
learn how to put our feet down and tell a client that the apparent trivial
fix is really a two day job. If you elect to give them the hours in order
to earn a client, still make sure they know how much time went into the
job. I would include the amount of time on the invoice, with the hourly
rate and the actual cost. I would also give them a credit of whatever I
felt was appropriate.
For example...
I might tell them, that my normal rates are $60 per hour or $300 per 8 hour
day. The task they want done is a two day job, so it would cost $600.
Because they are a new client, I will give them my standard new client
discount, and for this task, I will only charge them for 2 hours of my
time, or $120. The invoice would show the 2 days at $300 per day, with a
credit of $480 for a total bill of $120.
In reality, I would lock them into a few months of work, at the discounted
rates, until they have had a chance to see what I can do. I have lost a
client by doing this. After I cleaned up the site, they went back to their
previous and cheaper web site developer. A few months later, they called
me again. The second time I told them that I didn't want them as a client.
Carolyn
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Carolyn Marenger
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