[thelist] Business/Payment Question........

aardvark roselli at earthlink.net
Sat Dec 29 02:10:43 CST 2001


> From: Erik Mattheis <gozz at gozz.com>
>
> >that client will walk when someone comes along who can
> >offer the immediate service they want...
> 
> Hell, if a client "walks" because you're down on them for not paying,
> so be it ... warn the next victim if you can.

that wasn't my argument at all... if you have a client for web work, 
and you *cannot* or *will not* provide same day service when they 
request it, then they'll look elsewhere...

the context of the post was that this client *does* expect it, and 
creating a billing arrangement that still allows this *and* protects 
the developer (while benefitting the client) is always worth looking 
at...

i fear you got the completely wrong idea of my post (as evidenced 
by the only two lines you chose to quote)...

> My contract says I own the work until final payment has been made and
> my hosting contracts states when I can take down the site due to
> non-payment ... I've acted on those clauses twice - still have one
> client and the other one paid up and is now hosted on a free service
> ... fine with me.

that's one way to do it... i base my approach on the client... those 
who don't pay don't get their work until they pay (final product), 
those who do pay get their work ahead of payment... any one 
approach (always hand it over, or always hold it) won't handle all 
clients, and trying to fit all clients into the model won't do anyone 
any favors in the long run...

> This is something I've seen before in independent designers ... it's a
> trap to think clients are so precious that you can't stand up for
> yourself ... your clients are likely more business savvy than you so
> you have to remind yourself that a client that doesn't pay is in
> almost all cases no better than a blank slot in your client list.
> 
> Leave the working for nothing thing to musicians.

um, is this a response to my post?  i'm not an independent, i run a 
firm... and my post suggested exactly the opposite of this... offer 
the client a deal on pre-payment -- saves them money, cuts out 
hassle of chasing down payment for you... my other post goes into 
more detail based on the situation cited... again, i think you've 
completely misinterpreted my post...  nowhere do i suggest buying 
the client or taking it in the can...

> I'm now in a sucky situation where I am owed money for a project that
> was still in the "proof of concept" stage ... the only action I can
> take is telling them I'll delete the files on my hard drive and charge
> again for recreating them if they don't pay up ... and that's exactly
> what I'll do if the response to my third "I haven't received your
> check yet" email doesn't result in a situation that satisfies me. -- 

deleting the files doesn't help you at all...  this is a case where 
prepayment is clearly a must... without knowing the situation, 
however, i wouldn't purport to know the right way to fix it...





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