I fired a client yesterday...

Potential client. I'd never met him in person, but in the past 2 months he has:

- asked me for my pic
- asked if I was married
- asked if I lived alone
- asked if I would meet for drinks
- asked if I would meet for dinner

:crazy:

I fired him via email, then he went through the 6 stages of grief in his next 3 emails to me. :)

:nopity:

You DU people can ASK ME ANYTHING, especially when I say ask me anything!! Not this guy though. That right is only reserved for DU-ers!!

:loveya:

O8)

But I can't find them. The pics, that is...

I'm not bold enough to post true pics of me on the internet :D

}(

Did say I would answer!

(I'm so mean!!)

:hi:

Do you live alone?








Am I on ignore yet? :silly:

But you're on my pre-ignore list!

:evilgrin:

Kidding!

Could still be stuck in disbelief...That's where stalkers come from...

Hopefully this has stopped him. He seemed needy and lonely and manipulative and creepy. And those were his good points

Are there 6 stages of grieving? I just guessed...

:D

Denial (this isn't happening to me!)

Anger (why is this happening to me?)

Bargaining (I promise I'll be a better person if...)

Depression (I don't care anymore)

Acceptance (I'm ready for whatever comes)

"Awww, fuck it! Life's too damn short!"
:D

we work out details of the project. In most cases it is data analysis.

In this guy's case, I was going to teach him a certain software. He was going to get a copy of the software, and I was going to set up the lesson plan.

Only, he never got the software, and he would keep asking me questions, and wondering if I would load my copy onto his computer, and asking if I would reduce my prices.

So I got all this grief before he even paid me a penny!

I'm learning to set boundaries, which is helpful.

Or you sure it's not a "she" writing incognito?

It was a guy.

Now what reason would a guy pretend to be a woman to another woman? :shrug:

i once had a client who brought his work to me in garbage bags (i am an accountant), then he got all whiny when i charged him accordingly. i told him to find someone else eventually, but working with him (the insulting little manipulative twit) taught me to set my standards for clients a lot higher.
as you mention, you always end up losing money or time or both with high-maintenance types.
:toast: good on you for giving him the boot.

to fill garbage bags?

:crazy:

It's the cheap, nitpicking ones that are the worst. How long did you work with him? Did you have trouble setting ground rules for people like this? I'm a wimp, but I'm getting better.


Btw, do you want to do my taxes? My stuff is very organized, I promise O8)

he was completely disorganized...and cheap...and he never did any filing. he wanted me to do all the crap he hadn't done in a year, and of course, he didn't want to pay for it...typical. i worked with him on a two occasions and that was enough. he's a minister and his minister friend kept screwing up his books, so i told him since he wouldn't listen to me, an actual accountant, and preferred to get his accounting advice from a minister, clearly he didn't really need my services. like many ultra religionists, i think he had a problem with the fact that i am a woman, and definitely not the subservient type :D

he taught me to value myself and my services more...and to charge accordingly. those who are broke, needy, codependent, or relying on advice from ministers, etc need not apply as clients :D i find that contracts tend to help set boundaries, but some will always try to test you, so you have to stand your ground, and as you know, sometimes it's better to pass on a troublesome client because they eat up not only your profit, but also your energy. i had another high-maintenance client who would fall to pieces everytime something arrived in the mail from the IRS, and she'd expect me to drop everything to calm her frazzled (and slightly crazy) nerves. she got the boot too :7 in my profession, it is important to educate clients on what i do...and what i don't, so i make sure they know i am not here to do their filing or whatever little shit projects they don't want to do. and i don't tally receipts either...i make them do that.
now i work mostly for larger companies that value my skills up front...vs folks who prefer faith-based accounting methods and expect me to "prove" myself or do their crap work.

:toast: you did good...you are NOT a wimp :7