[thelist] How would you respond to this client

[Whitten, Gary]

Jodi

My company, in a previous incarnation, used to do website design and we
often had this problem.  We changed our procedures after a short while
because of this.  In a nutshell, we stopped using calendar dates for
deadlines.  Instead, we used business days from deliverables.  In
otherwords, if you needed x, y and z to do step 4 of the project, we said
"We will have step 4 done 5 business days after we receive x y and z from
you." with the understanding that no work would begin on a step until the
entirety of  x, y and z were received.  I'm sure there were a couple of
similar things that we did, but I don't remember what they were at this
point.

In terms of what to do on this one, a few people said 'Walk away' and I
agree with them; you can't win on this.  Refusal to sign a contract is
usually a good indication that a bottle of Advil (or Prozac) will be needed
in your future.

Hope this helps

Gary