O.K. I have this client... Everything started out O.K.... Then it started going south...
He had me spec everything out, and now he says HE can get a lot of the stuff himself...

He couldn't understand why I was not happy...

Then, in his Theater... He wanted these huge Genelec Speakers... After doing a lot of research, I found out they would be too much for the room, and spec'd in the appropriate models.... Then, he comes back all ticked saying I am now "underselling him" --- when all I want is for him to have a killer Theater, and save him some money, and do it right as per the engineers at Genelec!
This morning I got a call from the client,(and I am not the project manager)... but he was yelling at me because his goofball contractor went out and bought "soundboard to put on the walls... This wierd hard material he got from Home Depot!

I had told, and emailed the client weeks before , that there is a great Owens Corning product that goes onto the wall that you can frame around and cover with cloth from Guilford of Main... But NOOOOOOO!!!! He insists I should have been calling his contractor and checking with him & it's my faulte contractor took it upon himself to put up this other crap!!!

Now he still wants me to spec in the larger speakers, but thinks they are too expensive, and says the larger speakers will have "more body"!

Well, what happens if I DO install the big guys, and he isn't happy? Am I going nuts or is this guy a piece of work?

I'm about ready to tell him to go elsewhere... I have bent over backwards for him, and spent hours and hours doing research for him... (free)!
Any advice?

Time to fire this guy.

Old Adage

A good customer only gets better. A bad one only gets worse.

That's normal


Yes, he's a piece of work


So what did it say in your contract? Don't have a contract. Maybe it's time that you get every client to sign one for the reasons you decribe above. A contract should used to set expectations, the covering your butt part is a result of the expectations that were previously set.

Just this week I almost told the client to screw himself during the contract negotiations (he didn't like the wording of my contract) said it was too heavy and then started to nickel and dime me to death. Wait until it comes time to install the 20 year old B&O system and it doesn't work (time and materials part of contract). At least I now know what kind of person I'm dealing with, before the work begins.

Mr. Stanley. Are you having fun? Are you in this field of work because you like to have fun, I thought so. Life is too short... so say goodbye to this guy because you are probably missing out on someone to work with right now that could be a lot of fun.

Try & collect some $ now if you can in any way & then tell the guy to F-off. If you can't collect, tell him to F-off now & cut your losses! Just like GotGame said! I fired a guy last August that sounds like this guy. Best move I could have made. Life IS too short. Don't put up with crap like that. There are way too many nice people just waiting to use you & appreciate you & pay you very well & feed you & make you part of the family & give you beers & drinks &......

I don’t come across clients like this and the reason is easy, we only install what we sell and we either have the complete job or not.

I can not take responsibilities for his choice or his preferred brand which I do not sell.

Also we do not do anything at all without a contract signed in advanced highlighting our work and responsibly and cost in the project.

Unless your business is hanging on this guy, say goodbye. We have had a few clients that sound just like him and ALL were pains to the very end, were very slow to pay and bitched at the end because it's not what he wanted, even though he supplied the gear against advice.
Now, we only install what we supply unless it is existing equipment.
Remember, when his friends ask who did his stinker of a system he is going to tell them it was you and neglect to tell them it was his choice against his advice.

Simon.

It sounds like you just want someone to tell you what you already know needs to be done. If you are not the project manager, and they want to stay the course, ask to be completly removed from the project. This is supposed to be fun.

We all dream of firing clients like this and I do about 4 times a year before I get started with them. But still there are some pretty lethal repercusions to jumping ship out in the middle of the big chompers. His view (and the contractor's) will be that you're a quitter. I have difficulty sleeping well with that kind label even if I think (or know) I'm fully justified.

Sounds like it's his first house. These types really can be a pain. With a bit of tact he can be taught a few job descriptions and their respective responsibilities. Hopefully the contractor will do better with you on the next house as well.

I'm assuming he found all his equipment on ebay or some greymarket dump in New Jersey. We flat out tell clients we won't encourage or install that junk. Things have gotten quite tense and we've respectfully parted ways several times at this point. But we generally find some way to help smooth things out. Most are smart enough to opt out of the "real deals" on the net if they can read your sincerity in wanting everyone to be pleased at the end of the day.

The question is, how can you fade the heat and come out ok?

In retrospect (because stuff like this can happen all the time), it's not so bad to give a client your professional opinion (and even a strong one at that) and then let them make a less than desireable choice and back off. They got their reasons (albeit stupid ones sometimes).

Some of the best advice I've ever received in this business came from a very cool guy giving a Niles seminar about 12 years ago. After an hour of what I considered a pretty serious lesson on speaker placement & sound reinforcement I raised my hand and asked, "so how do I make a bose system sound good?". Most of the room of 30 or so busted out laughing (except for about 4 real confused dudes).

At this point, Eric Johnson had a great story that I'm sure some of you guys have heard followed by this valuable advice, "your job isn't to save the world from bad sound, it's to make people happy".

This can turn out ok.

(was that a long post or what?)

I'm having a problem with a current client. The contract has been signed and a down payment received. Now he is trying to redesign the project to save himself $.
I feel partially responsible because my contract probably doesnt have enough legal mumbo jumbo to c my a.
Anyone have any advice or links to a contract template tailored to the A/V biz that has the legal teeth neccessary to avoid this?

Not wanting to hi-jack here but we all have our weird ones. I pre-wired a house last year per a clients specs. Client decides to sell the 2+million dollar house without ever moving in. Buyer moves here from California and wants me to come and help him decipher the wiring. After a few meetings and me taking my time to build MDF boxes to audition in walls... he gives me a check and tells me to put him on the schedule. I order everything and two days later... while the stuff is en route... he cancels his check because I had expensive cables on the proposal and "the speakers weren't worth what i was charging for them".

Hey, you're allowed to feel whatever you want but if you thought the pricepoint was too high the WHY THE HELL DID YOU WRITE THE F------G CHECK???? He actually agreed to pay for the freight when I e-bitched him out but he tied up over $8000.00 of my buying power and made me return stuff to my vendors... which I hate doing.

He wanted the names of my good friends who did the cabinet work and I had already supplied that. You can bet I made a warning call to them so they can fire him before he even lights up their phone. If he even has so much as a "wiring question" he can take that one somewhere else. I'm happy to move on from this one.

CE PRO last month had a template I have a copy that I made in M$ word if you want. Email me.

Brandenpro,
Thanks, I'm way behind on reading my trade mags and have'nt read that issue yet. I'm headed for the "library" with it right now.

I am sure you have in your contract you will have the items supplied and you are the only one who can make changes. If not, better seek a lawyer. You can be humble and gracious and try to return the deposit or add that with the info that You will treat the service of the equipment as Time and materials with no functional warranty given on the installation, except manufacturers warranty on the equipment supplied because of the change in design. I suppose you could also get a change order drawn up the same way AND have your Lawyer look at it, then get the client to sign.
Don't feel bad, My contract needs serious overhaulin'too.