I think all designers in the world had met at least one client that got them out of their minds. And this time I want to tell you about the worst client I've ever had.
As I couldn't put a picture with my client, here's the face I have when I talk about him
He is a singer from Romania, in his fifties, who used to be very popular back in the days and he wanted more people buying tickets at his concerts. He came to us to promote his concerts on Google and Facebook, plus designing a website and once a week a new poster.
So far, everything nice.
The fact with this one is that he had some issues with his vision about the posters. Sometimes he would like the title to outstand, the other times he thought it must be small. As for the photographs he gave me, they were very noisy and I always had to try fixing them. Couldn’t just use them and take care of the design.
Until now, things still seem ok. But I'll never forget the following incidents.
One Friday evening, after work, I went to see a movie, so I shut down my phone. When I reopened it, I saw tons of desperate messages. Called him and he told me that he urgently needed a poster that night! I had to go back home and start working. The thing is at the time, besides making design for clients, I was also working full-time at a really tedious job.
I got crazy when he also asked me if he could come over to our place and stay with me while I'm making the poster. Lol. Hated him a lot . I was so tired!
Anyway, I started working until middle of the night. The poster was meant for a huge concert hall, where people can stay at the table, drink or eat during the event. This concert hall always had the posters in the same manner, with a strip at the bottom, having the shape of Bucharest buildings. I had to do the same badge, and keep the same style. I sent him the poster but didn't get any answer back, so I thought that he was probably asleep. So I too went to bed.
Thought to myself that I could wake up in the afternoon and get my beauty sleep.
At 8 in the morning, he called us, interrupting my sweet sleep and told me that he's on his way to me. He said I didn't understand what he wanted and we must talk face to face. Guys, guess what he couldn't explain to me by phone! That he didn’t want me to crop him. Simply that. He sent me a really noisy photo, having in the back some ugly furniture, that didn't have any reference to music so I cut him out of it. He found it hard to say on phone that all he wanted was to leave the full picture. He wanted the picture just like that, ugly.
Ok, I've made the changes, just as he wanted them, but I tell you, the result was really really bad! Anyway he was glad about it and I was happy about that. Now I was deligthed that I could finally get some more sleep. But before leaving, he and his wife wanted to drink some coffee and smoke. I just had to endure.
Later that day he called Alex, my boyfriend and also the one I'm with in this business, and told him that the concert hall just wanted a picture with him, not a poster. Because they already had the template. I knew it! I had already told him so!
I couldn't had found such a troll not even in Lol or Dota, where haters rise from the ash. I was angry that he didn't call me, but he probably knew that I wouldn't take him lightly. But what about direct apology? None, just some submitted through Alex.
The story doesn't end here.
He invited us to his concert. Got there, he behaved really nice and everyone was happy. There were 2500 people waiting for him to start his concert, when something happened and someone started gathering the instruments on stage. What the hell is happening? After some time, one of the band members came to our table and told us they left and we should too, before people start asking us questions.
Didn't believe that this was happening. You have 2500 people wainting for you to sing, who applauded you out of their core. You wanted people to start coming to your concerts, they do and you run away? This was just too much!
We also went home and we later found out that he didn't understand with the manager about money and they quarreled. So what? He should have gone on stage whatever the cause, out of respect for those 2500 people who paid a ticket to see him. Well, the next day I had to answer to all the hateful comments on his Facebook page. They were many.
After this event, he took a break. Then, after some time, he called us to tell that he separated from his wife who also sang in the band, and that he would like us to delete all the picture with her on the website. Also, after some time, I found out that he also removed all the posters I've made for him just because his wife appeared in them.
Again, couldn't believe it. You start raising your popularity and you mess it so badly. The posters were a testament to all the concerts he hold and yet he erases them all for a childish reason.
From that moment on, he went back from where he started. We didn’t collaborate with him anymore and I would never want to work with him again in this lifetime.
Now when I think back it sounds like a fun story, but putting myself in that position again, I was really angry at him and I didn’t understand his actions. And I still do not understand them.