How can i deal with picky customers?

[naza2321]

There's this customer that has been asking me to change or fix things in the drawing i'm making for him, 10 times already, even more, i lost count, and it isn't necesarly my fault that he doesn't like what he is seeing, but him that doesn't know what he wants, he asked me to make changes that didn't had to do with anything in the drawing at all, he asked me to make more folds in the clothes, then he wanted me to smooth them out, then he asked me for a totally different design, he asked me to remake the shoes like 3 times, he asked me to delete something from the lineart which it took me quite sometime to make, then wanted it back, then wanted it off again, etc, etc. And i just had to ask for more time because he takes on average 30 mins per response to actually tell me what he wants changed or added, in which in that time i could of have literally ended the drawing if he weren't so picky. I had almost 10 customers, he would be the eleven one or the tenth one. He doesn't really even show any respect at all, he just asks for something in a way that is really hard to understand. I don't want this type of customers to be constant. How could i possibly deal with this type of customers without sounding rude or like i'm not doing my job or something in those lines.

Long story short: Picky customer doesn't know what he wants. 

[sabinespoems]

The pitfall you've created here for yourself is offering unlimited revisions. I definitely understand how annoying this can be, but technically this buyer is just making use of the service you're providing. 

When I first started I figured it's logical to give buyers unlimited revisions. Why not incorporate this in your gig and show clients you're willing to not stop until they're satisfied?! Well precisely this situation. You can run into buyers who will be difficult to satisfy and nitpick over everything. That is until they have to pay extra of course (generally speaking). Luckily I didn't run into such buyers, but after spending time on this platform I realized it's not wise to incorporate it. Because giving unlimited revisions also communicates the sense that you're not able to finish the job within a few tries. 

So the long story short from my part would be: Delete the unlimited revisions! 

[naza2321]

5 minutes ago, sabinespoems said:

The pitfall you've created here for yourself is offering unlimited revisions. I definitely understand how annoying this can be, but technically this buyer is just making use of the service you're providing. 

When I first started I figured it's logical to give buyers unlimited revisions. Why not incorporate this in your gig and show clients you're willing to not stop until they're satisfied?! Well precisely this situation. You can run into buyers who will be difficult to satisfy and nitpick over everything. That is until they have to pay extra of course (generally speaking). Luckily I didn't run into such buyers, but after spending time on this platform I realized it's not wise to incorporate it. Because giving unlimited revisions also communicates the sense that you're not able to finish the job within a few tries. 

So the long story short from my part would be: Delete the unlimited revisions! 

I appreciate it, you're right. I didn't want to just not give people the chance to regret, but mostly they just don't. How many revisions would you recommend that i give for free? Or just straight up, i shouldn't give revisions for free? 

[sabinespoems]

1 minute ago, naza2321 said:

How many revisions would you recommend that i give for free? Or just straight up, i shouldn't give revisions for free? 

Giving no revisions isn't wise, because it's very normal for a buyer to have some things they want to change.

The amount of revisions you should give for free depends a bit on the experience you've had so far with buyers! For me personally I noticed 2 to 3 revisions is enough. For both big and small orders it usually covers it and I haven't run into any problems. However, the bigger the order the more revisions I include. Not just because the order is big but also since they pay more so to me that's only fair to include in the service. 

Also what just came to mind; in order to avoid the back and forth about details with this buyer you can ask him to make a small list of the things he'd like to see changed. Then you can make all the changes at once. And then of course hope they'll be satisfied soon enough...😅

[sesoru]

Yea even on commissions off the website I offer revisions ONLY during the sketch phase unless it's something that will only take me 5 or less minutes to change, and even then I might not do it because if they didn't catch it during the sketch phase that's not my fault. Simply color changes I could see, but telling an artist "Hey can you completely redraw this?" or anything like it is just the buyer trying to get as many designs out of you as they can. It's even possible they are now using your artworks, all 1918272 revisions of it, as different pieces and they only paid for one 😞 

[naza2321]

37 minutes ago, sesoru said:

Yea even on commissions off the website I offer revisions ONLY during the sketch phase unless it's something that will only take me 5 or less minutes to change, and even then I might not do it because if they didn't catch it during the sketch phase that's not my fault. Simply color changes I could see, but telling an artist "Hey can you completely redraw this?" or anything like it is just the buyer trying to get as many designs out of you as they can. It's even possible they are now using your artworks, all 1918272 revisions of it, as different pieces and they only paid for one 😞 

You're right about that, in my fiverr page i say that most of the changes i make, are during the sketching process, after that, they are mostly colours and maybe effects, most of the ''big'' changes, he asked during the sketch, but i tought that it was a bit too much, anyways, i don't think he can use any of those designs, at least he would have to pay another guy to just finish those sketches, and they were all in a white background

[naza2321]

1 hour ago, sabinespoems said:

Giving no revisions isn't wise, because it's very normal for a buyer to have some things they want to change.

The amount of revisions you should give for free depends a bit on the experience you've had so far with buyers! For me personally I noticed 2 to 3 revisions is enough. For both big and small orders it usually covers it and I haven't run into any problems. However, the bigger the order the more revisions I include. Not just because the order is big but also since they pay more so to me that's only fair to include in the service. 

Also what just came to mind; in order to avoid the back and forth about details with this buyer you can ask him to make a small list of the things he'd like to see changed. Then you can make all the changes at once. And then of course hope they'll be satisfied soon enough...😅

Yeah, i tought of actually using revisions as an excuse to just tell people that are really picky that they ran out of revisions, but i don't really mind people asking me to make like 4 to 5, but this guy straight up asked me to make, more then 45 changes, some small, some big, and some, really annoying. 

I will offer 3 revisions, but if someone asks for something really small and they show a ton of respect, i will surely give them a few for free. Or is that something that i shouldn't do?

 

[sabinespoems]

10 minutes ago, naza2321 said:

but this guy straight up asked me to make, more then 45 changes, some small, some big, and some, really annoying. 

Yeah I can understand that's really annoying! But luckily now you know how you can avoid this situation to happen in the future 😄

11 minutes ago, naza2321 said:

I will offer 3 revisions, but if someone asks for something really small and they show a ton of respect, i will surely give them a few for free. Or is that something that i shouldn't do?

Oh I definitely have no problem with that! If something really isn't an effort, I always go ahead and make changes without a fee. I've also had cases where an order either was accepted or automatically completed, and the buyer asked for a small revision still. I made those changes without charge. Some might disagree since time is money. But I really don't mind if the buyer was really nice and respectful as you said. Doing such acts might also lead to them becoming a returning buyer!

[imagination7413]

One other thing you can/should do is include IN THE GIG ITSELF what does and what does not count as a revision. Be upfront. Be proactive.

Quote

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

–

1 ) Every gig that offers revisions needs to mention what revisions include and sometimes what they don’t include. Setting up your boundaries before hand can save you a lot of trouble later.

*For example:*

Q: What qualifies as a revision?

A: If I make an error in the finished job that is clearly in contradiction to the original specifications of the order placed, I will fix the error at no charge. Revisions do not include change orders.

–

2 ) 
Q: What is a change order?

A: Please see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Change_order for more information. Any requests made before the product is delivered to any stage of the project already completed and verified by the buyer will also be treated as a change order.

*But, what is it? Summary, please.*

‘Change order’ or ‘variation order’ is a project management term:

Quote

Any modification or change to works agreed in the contract is treated as a variation. These modifications can be divided into three main categories

1. Addition to the work agreed in the contract.
2. Omission to work agreed in the contract.
3. Substitution or alteration to work agreed in the contract.

In short, if a buyer’s change to an order costs me, that cost is passed on to the buyer.

–

3 ) 
Q: What if I do need a change order?

A: Change orders can be expensive. It’s important that the original project is thorough in details. I can and will charge according to the amount of work that a change will cause, per change order. If this requires starting over from the start, it will constitute the cost of a new project.