[consulting] Responsibility for Mistakes

[Steve MacGregor]

*"frantic phone calls" *


This is crisis/emergency support, which in my little world costs a lot of
money because it is a pain. I generally set a standard turn-around time of
3-5 days, even if I get the work done faster. If they demand faster
turn-around I have no problem charging them 1.5x to 2x the base rate.
Usually their priorities change and they don't need it done instantly and
at the end of the day I end up getting treated with more respect. If I get
the work done fast they end up getting a great deal. People respect what
they have to pay for.

*"*explaining, troubleshooting, diagnosing, testing, solving, checking
server email logs, writing emails explaining in detail what happened etc"


These are without question billable hours in my world. If you do decide to
discount, make sure you put the full total on the invoice, and then in
a separate line item add a credit. This ensures your time isn't devalued
and they clearly see the value they are getting.

*"*I feel like they really need to own their web site."


If not now, when? Getting people to deal with reality today is important if
you want to keep them as decent customers tomorrow.

*"*I suggested they add the new members "by hand" they rejected that out of
hand."


That's so cute! I'm sure they won't mind paying you to set up something
that does seamless, automated integration of the two systems. It sounds to
me like the timeless "I didn't want THAT part!" way of getting out of
paying for services rendered. However you look at it, they hired you and
were satisfied with the terms, conditions and scope of work at the time of
hire. You are entitled to be paid for work performed. End of story.

I always find situations like this good motivation to review my contracts
and terms of service agreements, as well as re-evaluating whether my
customers are worth keeping.

All the best,

Steve MacGregor
@nugoat
NuGoat Inc.
tel +1 404-805-6982


On Wed, Mar 21, 2012 at 1:50 PM, Shai Gluskin <shai at content2zero.com> wrote:

> Content2zero Web Development
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