55
Kalvin
8y

About a year ago, I did an e-commerce for a client who wanted to sell electronic goods. It was a custom design, so the team prepared a mock-up and we showed it to the client who absolutely loved it. The specs were that he was going to sell only a few products (like 50 or so) so the website had to showcase the categories and didn't need to put a lot of products on page. Also the design had to be unique as he wanted to be different from his competitors.

A few weeks later, during the dev phase the client checks again the design and starts doubting about it. We redesign it adjusting to his oppinion. A week later he schedules a meeting where he starts complaining that the deadline is late and that the design doesn't accomplish his specs. At that meeting he tells us that he wants to sell thousands of articles since he's doing dropshipping.

We start from scratch and make a third design, which he approves after quite a lot of changes. He also asks for a dropshipping plugin which we install in its free version, when he complains about having to update manually, we answer politely that he has to purchase the paid version.

Fast forward, we deploy the website and the design has a few issues related to responsive development. We fix it quickly and the site starts working.

He also has a physical shop, however, since he's competing with big corporates like Amazon or eBay and he can't offer any difference, neither his phisical address or his on-line shop manages to be profitable.

He decides to close the business but before, he calls my PM saying that the website has "never worked" (There were a couple of people who bought with 0 issues and we tested the site countless times). And that we shouldn't have recommended a custom design because the website never worked. He also implied that we should compensate him because of that.

I've never seen my PM to tell someone to "fuck off" as fast as he did.

Comments
  • 1
    Good read, have a ++ and a ++ for your PM to tell the customer to shove it in his/her arsehole.
  • 2
    Great PM man. Shitty client tho.
  • 0
    The nerve of some people. Jezus...
  • 0
    Welp
    Idiot client

    Kudos to him for actually managing to make the whole thing "work", even though not profitable. Obviously, how can you be profitable when it takes a lot more than just some operational infrastructure and hired people to do all that?

    If he had any brains in this, he would've constructed a business plan on how to improve the situation over time and appeal to venture capital to finance this ambitious project.

    But, alas, he decided it's just best to try and rob people of their contractual benefits.

    That's why he lost.
  • 1
    Reminds me of Linkin park -

    I tried so hard
    And got so far
    But in the end
    It doesn't even matter
    I had to fall
    To lose it all
    But in the end
    It doesn't even matter
  • 0
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