Dear Dakota: How To Get Rid Of Tough Interior Design Clients
Dear Dakota,
How do you deal with difficult clients and know when it's worth it to keep going or get rid of them when things feel really tough?
This is such a good question and one that doesn’t have a one-size-fits-all answer. The problem is that it’s sometimes difficult to pinpoint when a client is too problematic to be worth your time. On a really bad day, every client may seem difficult, right? And when you don’t have a pipeline of paid clients, you can sometimes fall into the trap of feeling like you need to say yes to whatever comes your way, even though every one of your instincts is screaming NO!
Neither of these scenarios should be the case, though. When a client (or their project) is not a good fit for your business, you shouldn’t put yourself through the pain of trying to appease someone who may never be happy with what you provide.
Clients can have varying hotpoint issues: Can this problem client not make a decision? Do they repeatedly change their mind? Are they late to pay? Are they looking for the lowest price out there? Do they want their third cousin twice removed to weigh in on the design? For this client, is a scratch on a sofa leg that can only be seen with a telescope a deal breaker?
Preventing Bad Fit Clients In The First Place
I find that usually, the red flags from tough clients are there from the beginning. That is IF you have well-defined services and processes. When you have both of these things in place, it should be clear prior to or during the discovery call that the client or their project doesn’t align with your services, process, and company.
So, to prevent bad fit clients from getting into your pipeline, it’s really important to know what you offer and how you’re offering it.
For example, if you know you like to design “behind the scenes” and that your process typically takes eight weeks, then a client who wants to shop with you, be involved in every single selection, and wants it done tomorrow is NOT going to be a good fit. Don’t even let them pass GO.
At the discovery phase (so they have only inquired with you and you’ve done a discovery call, they haven’t signed a contract or paid a design fee yet), it’s actually fairly easy to stop these bad fit projects in their tracks before bringing them into your well-oiled machine of a company (#goals). You would simply politely decline their project…on the call if you can, or after the discovery call once you’ve had time to assess their scope and needs only to realize you won’t be able to accommodate their project.
Removing Bad Fit Clients From Your Pipeline
Dealing with a problem client who is already under contract with you is another issue altogether. They’ve already made their way through and now you’re seeing their true colors. GULP! Here are a few ways to handle tough clients:
FALL BACK ON YOUR CONTRACT
As you are contractually obligated to the terms of the contract, you may be stuck. BUT, if you have a good contract in place (please tell me you’re using a contract), you should have some protections built in so you can say byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyeeeeeee to a nightmare client or at least stand your ground when let them know things need to change. In this case, you’ll simply want to abide by the termination policy in your contract and follow those steps.
A few other good policies to include: communication, reinstatement, revisions, contract length, fee structure, and additional services. Oh, and don’t forget a detailed scope of work, too. Check out my full service contract template with sample scopes here.
In all cases, establishing a well-defined scope of work from the onset is key. If you put a fine point on your deliverables, timelines, revision allowances, and areas of responsibility — you should be able to shut down any difficult communication or complaints by going back to your verbiage and assuring the client that all is going as promised.
→ But, let’s say you aren’t covered in your contract and you don’t have any policies or processes in place to protect you. At that point, the best you can do is try to make the remainder of the project go as smoothly as possible. Here are some tips:
MAKE SURE YOU INFORMED THE CLIENT OF YOUR EXPECTATIONS FOR THEM
More often than not, “bad fit” clients are really just “uninformed” clients. And guess who is responsible for informing YOUR clients about YOUR process and policies?
YOU!!
There’s really no going around that.
If you didn’t tell your client they have three days for revisions, then you can’t say they’re a bad fit when they’re MIA for two weeks immediately after presentation.
If you didn’t tell your client that meetings need to be scheduled, and they keep texting you with emergencies to stop by their house that’s under construction, is that their fault?
No!!
Most clients have never worked with an interior designer before. You can’t expect them to know how the process goes. All they know is what they see on HGTV (and that means entire houses are built, designed, and furnished in a week, with a five-person design team, an entire construction crew, and a full house of people on install day).
Yeah, not true at all.
You have to let your clients know what they can expect throughout your process and what you need from them at each key milestone. And if you need help with that, be sure to check out our Client Experience templates.
NOTIFY THEM RIGHT AWAY WHEN SOMETHING IS OUT OF BOUNDS
They text you repeatedly at midnight? Let them know the next day, VIA EMAIL, that you don’t use text messages for project-related correspondence, and please keep everything centralized in email.
They are rude or disrespectful to your team? Let them know immediately your expectations for how they should interact with your team and that going forward, they should no longer communicate with that person, only directly with you. <—This one, for me, is grounds for immediate termination/release/firing of a client.
DOCUMENT EVERYTHING
If it’s a tough client and you’re starting to think you may need to term your relationship with them in the near future, be sure to put all documentation and correspondence into email or writing. This way, if anything ever does come of it, you have proof that you told them x, y, z.
OVERCOMMUNICATE
If they are simply a hard client, like personalities clash, expectations are out of alignment, or nothing you do makes them happy, you’ll want to correspond extensively about the next steps so there is less room for them to find fault or areas for complaint.
Many of these issues could be prevented or at least minimized by introducing a formalized onboarding process. Read all about designing an elevated onboarding process here.
FIND A SOLUTION TOGETHER
Consider other ways out of the tough client situation. Here’s the thing, if they are miserable and being horrible to you and your team, they may want out of the relationship as well. Talk to them openly to see if they have a solution in mind.
Oftentimes simply acknowledging their frustration and behavior can jolt them back to reality and get them to calm down.
You may also consider offering to part ways. “Hey Susie, it seems like we aren’t able to get into a good flow with your design, and I’m worried you’re not having a good experience. I really want you to get your living room project finished, and want to talk about next steps and if I’m the right designer for your project. Here are some options: option one, option two.”
If they agree, then you may be able to part ways amicably and everyone wins.
ALWAYS BE PROFESSIONAL
No matter what, never let a nightmare client turn you into a bad person. They can be rude and unprofessional, but not you!
In a tough situation, always view every bit of correspondence through this lens:
If this nightmare client took a screenshot of this email and posted it on social media, would I look like a jerk, or would I look like a professional trying to reach a resolution?
FIRE THEM
If it’s a really difficult client, you can certainly terminate the relationship and let them know you will no longer be able to work with them. The fewer reasons you give the better. You may need to complete open items or outstanding work. You may need to offer a refund. But sometimes, that is the best thing for your mental and physical health. In this instance, I want to remind you of this:
There are some clients who will never be happy, regardless of the outcome.
So whether you suffer through another six months of them OR terminate the agreement and give them their money back, they will likely be miserable and give you a bad review either way. And there’s really only one thing you can do about it, which I will talk about in my next tip.
LEARN FROM YOUR TOUGH CLIENTS
The best thing about bad clients is they are the best to learn from! Look for signs to identify (and avoid) in future clients. Use your newfound experience with these tough clients to tighten up your processes, services, marketing language, policies, and contracts for every future project. I often think we learn more from the “bad ones” than we do from the good ones.
The really good news about dealing with problematic and unpleasant clients is that, when you own the business, you can set the rules and proceed however you see fit. That is, as long as you’re protected by your contract and have been a professional throughout (to reduce the risk of disparaging word-of-mouth or social media posts). If a client has made your life miserable, your sanity is far more important than that client and their project, and you can certainly choose never to work with them again (or anyone like them).
Looking for more? Keep reading:
