Ask HN: How do you communicate with inexperienced clients?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33433222

by jmconfuzeus • 4 years ago

2 3 4 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

Sometimes I get clients who don't know how development works and end up getting angry when I charge them more than expected hours.

For example, they ask me to add a feature to their app but then I take 10 hours to install their project on my computer because the previous developer added package-lock.json to .gitignore. Then I take a couple more hours getting through the spaghetti code so that I can actually figure out how to add the feature.

Have you experienced this before? If yes then how can you communicate with the client that you're not trying to scam them?

tempxyz• 4 years ago

Manage expectations.

dfraser992• 4 years ago

Be very explicit, from the beginning, that you do not do fixed price contracts (which is essentially really what clients always want) unless the job is obviously trivial enough to estimate properly - and even then, there is always a chance something might occur.

Make better estimates to account for such unknowns like having to install packages because you're dealing with a codebase someone else developed - be very detailed in these estimates you provide as well and provide not a single number but a range.

If they still grumble about the cost, then maybe offer to reduce the cost of trivial work like setting up the necessary environment by 1/3 or something (only if the client is a decent one and just needs a bit of education...)

Provide good info about the reasons for extra time - you're trying to get the client to ultimately trust you, that you know what you're doing, and are focused on trying to not spend as much of their money as you'd like. So keep them in the loop as much as possible w/o being annoying about what is going on. A daily or weekly update? A heads-up before diving into something time consuming? E.g. if the code you're dealing with is garbage, explain that in a professional way (and clearly, but not too much detail) so they understand the issue (to the extent they need to understand it)

So basically it's a process of educating the client, over time or however efficiently enough, about the true nature of IT work. Metaphorically, you're a plumber or a general contractor, or a carpenter, not a factory worker. Everyone knows that sort of work always involves more time than expected sometimes. If they still complain, then they're a bad client and let them go find someone on Upwork instead.

brudgers• 4 years ago

1. When a client asks for additional work, prepare a proposal for the additional work, then only proceed once the client has signed the proposal for the additional scope.

2. Alternatively, work with clients who understand development.

Good luck.

Ask HN: How do you communicate with inexperienced clients?

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