Recognizing Problem Clients and Dealing With Disputes

Every marketer that has been in business for any amount of time has had at least one problem client come into their realm. No matter what you do in your attempts to please them, they are never happy or satisfied. This is an unavoidable scenario for business that deals with numerous individuals from many different cultures.

The most common dispute originates between parties coming from different areas of the globe resulting in a clash of cultures. The sensitivity to a particular tone or view can be radically different and perceived in an unintentional way. An example here is a person from an Asian culture. Even if you know they are wrong and made a mistake, they cannot lose face in any part of a dispute. If they do, it is in their culture to be defensive and hostile with the fact becoming totally immaterial.  Once they lose face, they have to regain it or the dispute cannot be resolved. By knowing this when a mistake is seen, instead of responding with “you are wrong” the approach has to be “would this work better”.  It is all about presentation and perspective.

A common indication that a client might be a problem is if from the beginning they are vague on what exactly they want or need. This can be because of many different reasons. The client might have problems expressing themselves verbally or they might just not know exactly what they want. Many freelancers have problems with this type of clients because the client themselves are confused. They might know where they wish to have the project end up like, but the starting point and the path to get there are unknown to them.  These types of clients can be identified in the beginning when a freelancer notices the project description is not very detailed. When further clarification is requested and the response does not address the issue, this is a major warning sign of a confused client. Handle these clients with care and guide them with caution by asking relevant probing questions. Rephrase your question until you get a clear response to the issue or by picking up key words from the response. Always verify what you understood to make sure you and the client are on the same page.

Then there is always the client that is never happy, no matter what you do. You know the type. They ask a freelancer for one thing. When that is delivered, they claim they asked for something else. When the changes are submitted, they are still not what the client is looking for. Some of these clients even refuse to pay for work they asked for. When you encounter a client like this, ask them which part of the job was satisfactory and which part is not - politely. Have them identify where or what part they are having a problem with. Corrections or adjustments to particular parts are acceptable to a certain degree. But if the client wants you to redo the whole thing is a totally different matter. It is also important to create a file for all correspondences for each client so you can refer to them and verify contents of correspondences, if needed.  

Taking someone to court that is half way around the world will not happen. It is best to resolve any dispute or problem with polite sincerity. Remember, vague clients could be confused and need to be guided without it being obvious while some clients will never be happy. Do not dwell on it. Just move on and remember the warning signs that they sent in their communications to avoid this type of problem in the future.

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