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Dealing with Difficult Clients
33 Plays6 months ago
If you are a business owner / entrepreneur, odds are you will encounter at least one customer dispute. This can be something simple that you need to choose to overlook and move on from, or something that causes you to end the contract with that client, or something extreme that leads to a legal dispute (although that last one is extremely rare and we are going to talk today about how to avoid it).
In today's episode, we go over each of those three scenarios, give examples, and what to do for each type of dispute. We encourage any small business owner to give this episode a listen and to educate themselves on the topic of contracts and client disputes!
As always, if you have any questions, we are always happy to answer them! Just send them to [email protected], or DM us on Instagram @artofintentionpodcast
See you next week!
Your hosts, Beth and Ayla
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Transcript
Handling Difficult Clients
00:00:00
Speaker
All right, today we are talking about the kind of thing that you didn't know you needed to know until it happens, but then it's happening and you're wishing you would listen to a podcast episode about it. Okay, is that confusing enough? We're talking about how to deal with difficult clients, specifically when a client does something wrong, like objectively wrong, not just something you didn't really like or some clashing.
Podcast Introduction
00:00:22
Speaker
And how to know when to reconcile and keep going with the business relationship, how to know when to cut ties or break the contract,
00:00:28
Speaker
And sadly, how to know when it might be something that takes a more legal turn. Of course, we want to completely avoid that, but that's what we're talking about today. Welcome to the Art of Intention podcast with Beth and Ayla. Two best friends turn creative entrepreneurs. This is a place for us to discuss everything business, friendships, and faith, and occasionally more. We're so excited for today's episode. We think you're going to love it. Stay tuned.
Client Relationship Challenges
00:00:57
Speaker
Okay, so difficult clients, mending client relationships. It's something that's hard about owning your own business. That's usually service-based or very personal. Working with difficult clients notoriously just comes with the job. But what do we mean by this? We wanna make sure that we clarify today we are mostly covering topics that fall on the more serious spectrum when dealing with difficult clients. Legal things that can come up in business and really affect you and the client.
00:01:26
Speaker
So we're not just talking about how to deal with clients that you maybe don't click with or that cause small annoyances. As always, we want to remember to be humble and that we are there to serve and really be ready for all kinds of clients. That's a really beautiful part that can come of owning a service-based business.
Dealing with Difficult Clients: Reconcile, Cut Ties, or Legal Action?
00:01:43
Speaker
some stuff like having a lot of custom edit requests or questioning things, maybe just a client you plain don't mesh with. Well, plain and simple. We've talked about finding your ideal client before episode 26, if you're interested, where we really cover all the kinds of clients that you do click with.
00:02:00
Speaker
I think there is a huge discussion here of like client care 101 and how to properly serve and care for difficult clients. And we are touching that today, but it kind of what we're going into falls under three different scenarios that we're going to be covering.
When to Reconcile with Clients
00:02:15
Speaker
Yeah, exactly so we're talking about basically the three scenarios are when you will number one when you have to forgive and move on and reconcile number two when you may need to cut ties or end the contract and Three the scary concept of when it may have to turn into a legal battle
00:02:32
Speaker
Exactly. So let's jump right in with the first concept. Let's start with a scenario where the best course of action would be to just simply move past it or reconcile. This would be maybe closer to what we first mentioned, the one we said we're not addressing as much, but it's definitely important and it does apply here. And I also feel like this is 90% of
00:02:55
Speaker
the client problems you're going to be facing as a service-based business owner is the little stuff. Hopefully, you know, we pray that you don't have to deal with the hard legal stuff ever, but it might be these tiny things. So here are a few scenarios in photography that this could fall under.
Challenges in Photography
00:03:11
Speaker
Again, these are the things where just kind of reconciling and moving on are going to be your best course of action. And in my opinion, what I mean by reconcile kind of as we get into these topics will be like,
00:03:24
Speaker
you might have to take a bit of a loss somewhere or go outside of your normal business structure a bit to still appease this client and then like move on from the situation generally. Yeah, like almost more of a reconciling with yourself of what you're going to do, not even just always reconciling with them, although there may be some of that too.
00:03:43
Speaker
Totally. So here's a few scenarios kind of in the photography world that this could fall under. Again, we're going to be talking a lot about photography and photo editing today, just because Beth and I have dealt with this one on one and we want to pass that along. So maybe in the sense of photography, maybe they keep coming back to you asking for reedits on images far past when the cutoff time is for custom reedits. Beth, I feel like
00:04:08
Speaker
you've either come across this or just heard this all the time among photography friends. You delivered a final gallery and they ask for re-edits, which do you allow that by the way? Um, no, usually not. It depends. Well, it depends. It's like if it's the sneak peek and they're like, Oh, well we just want this little thing. Like, yeah. But in general I have something in my contract because like they know what they're going to get with my editing style. Um, it's,
00:04:34
Speaker
it's there they shouldn't have I don't know I want to say this in a gentle way but they wouldn't have booked me or shouldn't have booked me if they didn't like my style so there's not going to usually be a reason for them to come to me with an edit request unless it's something like Photoshop which I you know would be an extra fee um or if it's something small like you know I can't really think of a perfect example but like
00:04:56
Speaker
You know, oh we feel like these were a little bit warmer than the vibe we're going for It's just gonna depend on the scenario if I think I think those are edited to the best of my ability That's like how I think that image looks best. That's the work. I want to put out and give to you Maybe I already tried doing it warmer because oftentimes I try quite a few different types of edits on an image Before I settle on the one that's best if I'm unsure I go to them and I say hey which of these edits do you like
Managing Client Expectations in Photography
00:05:21
Speaker
better? but if I don't do that that means I'm pretty confident in the image that I'm giving back and
00:05:25
Speaker
So, it just depends. I certainly have done re-edits many, many times, but not if not once the full gallery is delivered. I mean, they had a chance in the sneak peak to say if they didn't like something. Again, it depends. If it's a wet... I mean, my main goal is for them to be happy, but I also try not to compromise my quality of work in the meantime because it's going to be out there. That's like... At the end of the day, my obligation is to give my best work possible and then hope that they're happy with it because that's the goal.
00:05:54
Speaker
Yeah, so it just depends but that's my general rule is no, but of course there are many exceptions Totally I work for a photographer actually who shot a wedding edited it Beautifully sent her sneak peeks and the bride noticed that she she wore like red lipstick that day and then the editing style made it look like very very dark and so yeah, no harm like no fault to the photographer she just um
00:06:18
Speaker
Might have not noticed that and then the bride was like, oh dang, I didn't know this lipstick was going to turn out so dark. Yeah. Do you
Maintaining Calm Communication
00:06:23
Speaker
mind making it? And she pointed out a different image in the sneak peek where it looked like a little bit more natural. She was like, is it okay if it looks like this and the photographer was like, no problem. Got you. So I think, again, it's one of those things where like you're talking to another human, like, you know,
00:06:39
Speaker
Exactly. Like I've definitely done stuff like that. I think the only thing that makes me wary is like, are they going to come back and be like, Oh, can you Photoshop this and change this? And it drew a completely different editing style. Cause you get all, you know, I've seen that too. I've seen people be like, Oh, can you actually edit it completely like this? And I'm like, that's not my editing style. Like I, I mean, maybe you should have hired someone else.
00:06:58
Speaker
of course always saying it with most respect and truly before I respond I do a lot of um again like reconciling in my own heart like am I willing to do this would they be better off with this would like is this uh you know like sacrificing quality so I don't just respond out of emotion and that's something really important I think to note here
00:07:15
Speaker
Yes, like that's kind of the one of the points we're trying to get across exactly is I don't just respond with emotion Especially if it's one of these smaller I'm gonna say quote-unquote smaller it is but I understand in the moment it can feel big like one of these smaller Scenarios this doesn't require you to necessarily break the contract or go to legal action like just calm down Think about it. You're gonna handle it the best exactly. Yeah, so that's kind of scenario number one again There's multiple of these little things it would be a whole episode in and of itself to cover that but that's kind of the number one, you know
00:07:45
Speaker
And Beth, like you mentioned, like continuously asking for re-edits and you know, there's probably time to be like, yeah, no. The next one that I hear all the time is maybe they were super late to their session, like far beyond the time that you need to be there. Maybe they packed an extra outfit change to your session, but they only booked a package that included one or two and they brought three, four and expected the time for all of that.
00:08:09
Speaker
I see this other one happen to photographers all the time. But maybe they have hired you or are inquiring with you. But they don't actually love your style. And they don't want to give you any really creative freedom with the photo shoot. Like I understand they may have a vision in mind. And we'll get into it in a minute. But you know, booking a photographer outside of the style that they actually want and then hoping that you
00:08:31
Speaker
compromise your style instead of maybe looking for someone who would have been a better fit. I see that one all the time of like, I've been booked, but then I get to the shoot and the client wants me to shoot it this this in this way. That's not what I do. I feel like this has a ton of wiggle room for either the photographer to compromise or the
00:08:48
Speaker
client has to compromise and it's just it can get messy. Another situation I kind of thought of where you would definitely have to reconcile in your own heart as the photographer, I think is in the case of weddings. And again, this can get messy, but any stress or anger coming from the bride the day of for lack of a better word, maybe a bridezilla on or just before the wedding day like towards you,
Amicable Client Demand Handling
00:09:11
Speaker
I feel like, you know, aggression maybe towards not aggression, but just
00:09:17
Speaker
Shortness. Yeah, stress coming to you. In my opinion, so long as everything's paid for, and they're holding up their end of the contract, it is your job to just be flexible, care for them, work with them to the best of your abilities, unless you feel in danger. But again, that's more dramatic. Yeah, I really like that.
00:09:35
Speaker
I like that. I like how you said that. Yeah, I agree. Yeah. So those are some wedding ones. And we will get into the quick like reconciling for that in a minute. But I just wanted to touch on there's stuff that does come up in the photo editing world, too. We're pretty lucky over here in our little nooks to not run into too many legal scary problems with clients. I have seen it happen. But I do have a few scenarios where a client relationship can just start to feel a little bit uncomfortable.
00:10:03
Speaker
A little tense and it may mean that you kindly and peacefully just kind of need to move on from that client or not bring them on in the first place if they're only inquiring. So I'll rapid fire through those really quick and then yeah kind of round out this point with how I would reconcile.
00:10:21
Speaker
This is kind of a different conversation, but real quick, I'll just list off some things that would make me lean away from bringing on a photographer for editing at all. Because I think that's the number one thing that a lot
Setting Boundaries with Photography Clients
00:10:32
Speaker
of photo editors do, especially when they're starting out and just want to get clients in their books. Ignore.
00:10:36
Speaker
red flags. And it's again, not like every detail that you don't vibe with means like, no, I don't want them. But just I could have saved myself a lot of client jumping around and kind of messiness in the first like six months of my books being open if I just kind of known some of this stuff now.
00:10:54
Speaker
And then first and foremost, one is if their editing style is outside of what you edit or want to edit or comfortable editing. The topic of niching down is kind of a whole other thing. I probably don't niche down too much like I accept quite a wide range of styles, but they do still fall under certain categories like if a
00:11:13
Speaker
indoor Macy's portrait photographer wanted my work I'd say like I'm sorry like I really don't edit indoor sessions I don't you know and it's not because I don't want to it's like I I don't know or practice the same skills that somebody else would yes a lot better um
00:11:29
Speaker
So if their style is just outside of what you're comfortable editing, if they ask, oh, can you remove people from the background and you've never tried that before, you know, and they constantly might need that kind of service, they might not be the best client for you. I have reached out and said like, hey, truthfully, I don't know how to do that. But if you want to give me like, give me a shot to practice, I can try. But that really depends on the client you're doing that with. If they don't want to fill out your inquiry form or lend you some hints of their style at all,
00:11:59
Speaker
There's a lot of deficient on this in the photography world about like client contacting and like most photographers are kindly like, Hey, can you fill out my inquiry form? And then some other people in the business think.
00:12:09
Speaker
that you shouldn't have to do that, that client should be able to just message you whatever. Not really discussion on that. I'm just saying if there's a way, if there's a preferred method of contact and they're not willing to do that, they're probably not willing to do a lot of other things you're going to agree. Yes, especially as a business relationship, like an outsourcing relationship. It's like if you can't
00:12:29
Speaker
take five minutes to just quickly get in my system the best way possible, then I don't trust you to edit anchors for me. I don't trust you to communicate with me in this way. I don't trust you to provide me feedback, all things that you need from them. It's a lack of respect for your business structure. You've chosen how to run your business in a certain way through trial and error.
00:12:52
Speaker
Obviously, these things matter to you if you've taken the time to set up a contact form and it's very clear on your website and it has lots of questions that are purposeful. I love what you said just now. I fully agree. I know that's not necessarily what we're talking about today, but I think that's a very important point that people need to drive home and that maybe will encourage some people, photographers and editors to
00:13:11
Speaker
to stick to their guns with wanting people to fill out their contact form because it says something when they want. So love that. Yeah. Yeah. And my last point with that was if they don't want to follow your established method of outsourcing at all, like I've received messages back in my career of like, Hey, I have a wedding to you next week. Can I just send it to you? And I'm like, Whoa, like it's, it's okay. I've done that before. Um, and I totally get it. Like that's right.
00:13:34
Speaker
I'm not I don't have a necessarily a problem with photographers being like, Whoa, this fell behind, I need somebody added this quick, and they don't want to fill out a bunch of forms. And that's why I try to keep my system as simple as possible in the beginning. But back in the beginning of my career, I did get like, can I just send it to you in Dropbox? And I'm like, well,
00:13:50
Speaker
you can send it to me through WeTransfer, here's this link and you need to sign my contract before I edit anything for you. And they were like, well, it's just quick. Like I don't need to outsource consistently. I just need this real quick. And it's just like, well, you know, no, you know, and it's just like, and it's not to just cut that person off immediately. I truly will do my best to see if I can accommodate. But again, this is just a sign if they can't sign their name on a contract.
00:14:13
Speaker
That's just a hard no. You're setting yourself up for maybe what we're going to talk about later, which is the legal problem. Yes, exactly. That's all people before you've even onboarded them, but I did want to quickly just throw that in there that you might have to make some of these hard decisions before they even become a client of yours. Now, if you have onboarded them as a client,
00:14:34
Speaker
You've both signed the contract, but some things still come up. Here's what that can look like. Truthfully, this first one, praise
Handling Extra Client Requests
00:14:42
Speaker
the Lord, hasn't really happened to me, but I have seen it happen to others, so I want to cover it. But not respecting your office hours or boundaries with emails and messaging, it's OK if they email you outside of your office hours, because you don't know when a busy photographer has the time to email you. I proudly receive emails at midnight during busy season, and I don't have a problem with that whatsoever.
00:15:05
Speaker
if you don't want to respond at midnight, I'm not saying I haven't responded to emails at midnight, because I definitely have. And that's my own thing. But say, you know, that's a hard no for you. You stop replying to emails at 5pm. If they start demanding more of your time and attention outside of your working hours of, hey, you didn't confirm this with me, or you didn't download this gallery that I sent you at seven on a Friday night, you know, just
00:15:30
Speaker
I'll go into reconciling, but that's like the first thing that could probably come up. And then the second thing would be just consistently unhappy with your edits. Sometimes the fault is on you and it's an area to learn and grow in your business and get better at the skill that you're mastering. But sometimes a client may just straight up be unhappy with your work and pick it apart each and every time, even though it shouldn't like they're finding new things just wrong with it because maybe they've just never been fully comfortable with the outsourcing process. So they feel like
00:15:59
Speaker
something needs to be wrong every time, maybe if it's not. And it's kind of on them to either let go of some of the smaller details or it's up to you to recommend a different course of action. So those are the two things that can kind of come up with photo editors that can get a little uncomfy that may call for some reconciliation. Yeah.
00:16:16
Speaker
Exactly. So yeah, so how do we reconcile? I'll just summarize a couple of my quick thoughts on that. And I think it looks different depending on the situation of course. So like, let's use some examples. I would say for the first one, like too many edit requests, okay, maybe talking from the photographer's perspective here, you can choose either to oblige them and then remind them that it is outside of the time limit or maybe the number of edit requests, whatever your limit is for yourself, you can
00:16:46
Speaker
oblige them but then tell them you know this is not what I normally do but you'll do it anyways and maybe that's a perfect time by the way to also say something like oh and if you'd love to leave me a five-star review I would love that and give them the link for that so maybe that's what so that you're not getting nothing out of it might make you feel better about doing extra work if you that you aren't getting paid for to kind of do something like
00:17:07
Speaker
I think that I have definitely kind of traded that like before instead of asking for more money or just saying no, I've kind of been like, okay, this might be an awesome time to go above and beyond in my service for them. And then maybe they'll be more willing to leave me a review. You know, I'm giving them some more of my time and maybe they'll be willing to give me five minutes of their time to leave a review. So sometimes there's benefits that you can't see. So that's part of the reconciliation in your own mind of like, you know, do I want to do that? So that's a smart way to go about it.
00:17:35
Speaker
Oh, thank you, thank you. Anything to get more reviews? No. If you absolutely refuse to do that, if you just, if your boundary and your priority is your time and your money, then it can be as simple as like very kindly saying, I'm sorry, but your time for custom edit request has expired or maybe you've reached your maximum of images, whatever, whatever. You can pay more for edits though. Here's my price per edit or per time or whatever.
00:18:03
Speaker
That's how you can move on from that scenario. And it doesn't cause you to break any ties, at least not on your end. And it doesn't need to be a big deal. I've definitely had to say before to a client, like, I'm sorry you've reached your max number of edits or recolling or whatever that I'll do for you. I promise I've given you the best images. You didn't pay for this kind of package, you know, this was a mini session or whatever. And I've said like, you can totally pay
00:18:28
Speaker
for more and she was just like, okay, thank you so much for what you've done so far. We love it. Like we're so grateful. And it wasn't, you know, sometimes we can be so nervous like, oh, if we say no, they're going to get mad, but that's not necessarily true. That's why you have to think about how to say it respectfully. It was actually so nice because I provided her with extra things. I feel like I went above and beyond and she was so grateful in the end. I was worried that her asking a lot was her being ungrateful, but she wasn't. She was just seeing how much, you know, more she could get. She didn't know what, you know,
00:18:54
Speaker
how, when I would say no or if I would say no. So I don't blame her at all for asking. I'm glad she asked and I'm super glad more than anything that she respected my boundary when it was so hard for me to say like, I think this is all, you know, this is it. So yeah, so, so kind. So yeah. That's such an underrated point. That's like so good. I think
00:19:16
Speaker
Again, with the rise of social media and sharing like client horror stories. Yeah, entrepreneurs of all spec, like of all businesses and stuff, how do you start to go into client confrontations angry or like assuming it's gonna be angry and writing this email?
00:19:33
Speaker
But before you've really given them the chance and unfortunately, yeah, I think a lot of the times it does become an uncomfortable situation. But that's such real talk that like just go into it like with kindness and see what happens and if it escalates, you know, then there's different action to take. But I think you'd be so surprised by how chill other clients are like I, I actually shared this on my stories the other day, but um,
00:19:56
Speaker
there was a reel going around that was like me convincing my nervous system that it's just an email and I'm not getting chased by a wild animal. Because with editing, this is kind of like, sorry, this is like a side point, but it's pretty normal for me to ask for feedback on galleries and be like, please provide me feedback. If there's something that's wrong, please show me what it is so I can correct it for next time. And the client actually does that. I'm like, Oh, no, they hated it. They hated everything.
00:20:21
Speaker
they hate, but then I see what their feedback actually is. And they're like, oh, just so you know, when the lighting's like this, I make it a little brighter, whatever. And I'm like, oh, great, I'll do that next time. And then it's not that big of a deal. Like it's not as scary. And I have had clients ask too, like,
00:20:38
Speaker
will you re-edit this way or do you provide this kind of service? And I literally don't because I don't know how, like certain photo shops that I just don't offer. And exactly, you go into it thinking it's going to be this big thing, but I just say like, oh, at this time, I'm not offering these services, but I could recommend, you know, others who do. And they're like, oh, no, I'm happy with your work. I just wanted to know. Like it's actually, yeah, like you don't have to go into it so mad right
Building Long-term Client Relationships
00:21:02
Speaker
off the bat. Like just see what they're actually asking because you lose a lot of tone in email too. And I think
00:21:07
Speaker
others are so mad all the time, but it's actually exactly the situation you described, Beth, where they're just like, oh, no, I was just asking, like, thank you so much for your help. Here's your good review. Like, that's, that's a really good, good point. I love that you said that. Awesome.
00:21:21
Speaker
As far as just some ways to mend the other things I was talking about, and mend and move on for maybe a difficult client in the editing world, the scenarios I just mentioned, it's going to be up to you, unfortunately. It's very case by case, so it's hard to provide an exact blueprint. It's up to you and what you're comfortable doing in your business.
00:21:44
Speaker
I kind of going back to what I said, like if they don't want to follow your established method of outsourcing in general, I have stuck to that sometimes. But then I've also taken that opportunity to create some really unique and custom client experiences that are thriving and doing really well in my business to this day. Like I have an amazing client that I developed a very custom experience for by moving past some of the things that could have been quote unquote, red flags. Like when we had our consultation, she was like, Hey, I have
00:22:13
Speaker
this, this, and this requirements. I know these might sound like red flags. And I was just like, just tell me about them. Like, what's going on? Listen. And we had that conversation of me saying, well, hey, I don't have the most experience in this area. But if you're happy with my work so far, let's experiment on this together and like see how it goes. And it's gone really well. So I just want to say like some sometimes it is a red flag that needs to get immediately shut down. But sometimes if you just listen to what they're actually asking, you might be very capable of providing that service. So
00:22:42
Speaker
That's like a positive note sometimes to stepping outside of what you normally do. It can go very well. If a client is unhappy with your edits and requests re-edits, again, talking to editors here, I actually state in my contract that I don't do re-edits of entire galleries. I think I've offered to re-edit like 25%, but I've never had to actually do that because what I direct clients towards is working with feedback and communication-based improvement.
00:23:12
Speaker
so i asked the client to please show me exactly what was wrong so that i can and through screen recording like very well visually seeing the actual corrections that they're making so that i can mend the mistake going forward if in the case that they don't want to do that because i have run into this where people don't want to give video-based feedback or even email-based feedback but
00:23:32
Speaker
they just keep being unhappy with the edits and say they give you hey I want the shadows brought up so you edit for them again you bring up the shadows and they're like no the shadows were too high I want them down you know whatever like they're just gonna be unhappy I have actually in real life had to have the conversation of I'm sorry it seems as though I'm not the editor that you were actually looking for I don't think I'll be able to fulfill
00:23:53
Speaker
your editing needs. This has only happened to me once I don't blame the client at all. I just think she wasn't quite ready to outsource and didn't quite know what actual style she was going for, which is a big conversation in and of itself, like just wasn't quite ready to take that step within her own business. Right. And then kind of the last point I made if a client's overstepping boundaries, as far as communication,
00:24:14
Speaker
All it would take is a simple email along the lines of like, hey there, thank you for your patience. While my working office hours can be a little inconsistent during busy season, because that's me, I do have my system set up to where I'm not reading or responding to incoming messages or galleries after 7pm my time. I reconvene client communication at 9am the following business day. This establishes the best level of care that I can give to my clients, whatever, something like that. And then if for some reason, of course, they're still unhappy with that, then
00:24:42
Speaker
what we're getting into next, breaking contracts, setting ties might be one of the steps that you take. So that's everything I had for like quickly reconciling. Yeah. Yeah. I was going to say, and even with like your last point you made before this one, like a lot of these things could go a further step into canceling contracts, but even saying something like you said before about, I don't think I'll be able to fulfill your editing needs.
00:25:05
Speaker
This gallery maybe that doesn't even necessarily have to mean the canceling of the contract on your end Maybe it was just a particular gallery that you're just like I can't like I can't know I don't think I'll be able to do exactly you're asking for on this gallery Doesn't have to mean that they're gonna walk away from you So and then of course we'll talk in a second about contracts and cutting ties Maybe it does lead to that but we're also trying to show you guys that Sometimes saying these things that you think oh, no, is it gonna be like a you know, the ending of everything if I say that No, it doesn't have to be so
00:25:33
Speaker
Yeah, but it's, but it's hard to just be like, I'll take your feedback and apply that to future galleries. And then usually the relationship really can grow from there. Again, the client might not be as angry as you think. I've totally had a client where the first like four or five galleries, she had to be like, Oh, can you do this this way? Super kindly. Again, not like
00:25:50
Speaker
What the heck? Like she was just like, Oh, sorry. I guess I never told you this that I like this. She's one of my like, we're besties now. She's one of my faves now. Cause it just took a minute to really learn the specific things she does that are unique to her. And then we're chilling after that. A year went by and now she's like, Oh, I don't even like proof. Look at the galleries before I send them off. I know I don't need to. That's good. So
00:26:11
Speaker
Yeah, really, that's part of the reconciling is just be patient with the client with yourself and see where it can take you. Yeah. And that's why you should always try to keep these things at this level, because it can benefit you more in the future if you try to keep everything here rather than
00:26:29
Speaker
at the next two steps we're about to talk about. So try to keep everything at this level. Try to just reconcile in your own heart, use discernment. This is the level you want to be staying at when it comes to any kind of dispute if you can. So anyways, that's a quick little, well, quick.
00:26:45
Speaker
That's our summary, our hefty summary on the little things that can go wrong in client relationships. So sometimes mending or politely declining, the client relationship is a good thing. But now we're going to like delve a little bit deeper into that concept of difficult clients when it comes to like cutting contracts or fully breaking ties with that client.
Breaking Contracts for Safety or Service Issues
00:27:05
Speaker
Yeah. So here we go. Sometimes things come up where you do have to break the contract or end that client relationship. This is tricky. And we just want to encourage you that we know it's never a light decision. Right. Yeah. And sometimes the decision, by the way, isn't even always made by you. Sometimes they may choose not to go forward with you after the contract. So, you know, we'll give an example of that too, but it's not always on you. We're not just saying like, this is when you need to break the contract. Just to clarify, sometimes it's going to be them choosing to, but okay, keep going.
00:27:34
Speaker
Yeah, so we'll start by saying, oh yeah, the reason Beth's saying is like what she's saying that sometimes it might be up to the client breaking contract is because so your contract should be good enough to cover all the bases and the what if scenarios like Beth and I were actually brainstorming like what are some times when
00:27:54
Speaker
like you might have to break contract and we were thinking thinking we were like well but yeah that should be in the contract so you're not even breaking it that clause should already be there so that's positive if you kind of have that already set up so if the contract is unexpectedly broken like Beth said it will probably be on the client um
00:28:11
Speaker
One of the only times you might break the contract is if you feel like you absolutely cannot work for this person, end of your ropes. Like maybe they're unsafe to be around and might put you in dangerous situations. This sounds dramatic, but it has happened before. So we don't want to eliminate that possibility. Or you have learned that maybe they want something from you that you straight up just can't provide. And you think another vendor would be a better choice. I do this with editing all the time. Like, hey, here's people who can do exactly what you need them to do.
00:28:42
Speaker
And then you should have a clause in your contract that says you can inform them and cut the contract. Like my photo editing contract, it's actually just an expectation of
00:28:52
Speaker
or it's a establishment of expectations contract. And I have in there either one of us can terminate it at any time with 14 days notice. It keeps clients pretty comfortable that they don't have to send me things throughout the year if they're unhappy with the services. And it keeps me comfortable that I don't have to stick with somebody who's crossing boundaries, who's making this an uncomfortable relationship.
00:29:13
Speaker
Right. When we say cutting ties, that really refers to the action kind of after the contract has been broken after the problems happened. There's a lot of examples of breaking a contract, of course,
Contract Breaches: Late Arrivals and Payments
00:29:25
Speaker
but there are still many parts to a contract. Anything from like we said before, a client showing up 40 minutes late and still expecting a full session to adding filters to your photos when they post on social media, refusing to pay you for any of the work you've already done, like maybe you are physically
00:29:42
Speaker
Like we said, being harassed at a wedding and the bride refused to put a stop to it. That's the time where you can definitely break contract and leave. Or if you're like what Beth has said before, have that in your contract that you can leave if this doesn't get resolved. Trying to get a bank refund to go behind your back and scam you to get their money back. Or if a client is using abusive language or taking those actions against you, then you could definitely break the contract. Maybe you have, oh yeah.
00:30:11
Speaker
Maybe you have it in your contract that they have to give you credit when they post online and they don't. So you could break the contract and put a watermark on the rest of their images things like that. We know there's so many examples out there like there are so so many.
00:30:26
Speaker
But those are some scenarios in which the contract has either been broken or you would have the right to break part of the contract. And then after that, you can decide what to do if you don't want to work with that client anymore. This usually involves a written email explaining what they did.
00:30:41
Speaker
and why they violated your contract and what you're doing next. And that's really important to send an email with all that, by the way, you never want to make changes without notifying the client by email first, that could cause legal trouble for you.
Importance of Strong Contract Clauses
00:30:55
Speaker
And then the worst case scenario is the next one that's up is fit turns into a legal battle.
00:31:01
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. If it ever were to turn into a legal matter, you want to make sure you have those emails. So before moving on to part three, we should note real fast, you should always, always have multiple clauses in your contract that stipulate what is not a good reason to break the contract. We really want to drive this point home. So for example, my contract specifically states that not liking the edits I do on the photos is not really a valid reason to break the contract.
00:31:24
Speaker
they have to acknowledge in the contract that they spent ample time reviewing my editing style so they're aware of the kinds of edits they're going to get. Just that they spent time reviewing my work, like enough time to know what my work is like of all different kinds. Also, things like if they find a cheaper photographer that they want to go with after they book you.
00:31:44
Speaker
They don't get, they can do that, but they don't get their retainer back. Things like that. So I think in an earlier episode, um, we talked about like a client situation where I had to end up breaking the contract. Um, not breaking like I, um, like disobeyed the contract, but like you physically, like you really like you end the contract. Okay. That's what I mean often when I say break the contract.
00:32:06
Speaker
when I did have to end up breaking the contract and refused to work with them anymore. So if you're interested in hearing about that one, you can go over to episode number 10. It was titled Our Jobs Before Becoming Business Owners, Boss and Client Stories. I know it's a long title, but it's a really fun episode. So go ahead and take a look at that if you're interested in a deeper dive into a specific example of something like this.
00:32:26
Speaker
Yeah, yeah of an actual example where you did have to know that moving forward you weren't gonna like work with that client anymore. And it's kind of interesting the difference between like the photographer and the photo editor relationship because sometimes with photographers you can kind of go back to our first section about reconciling. Like sometimes it is completing the job and then knowing you won't work with that client moving forward. Like if you do their engagement and it was just rocky.
00:32:49
Speaker
things weren't going well, boundaries were crossed, but you finished it and it got resolved. And then they're like, do you want to work our wedding? You know, you might be like, no, love you, but no, you know, respectfully. Yeah, for the editors, I can be a little bit more like because we go for the long term relationship. So might be a little awkward of like mid cutting somebody off. And I do actually have some situations that I'll go through real quick where I did have to
00:33:12
Speaker
either turn down a new client and the relationship calmly. Because I have some examples, both negative and positive. Like I said,
00:33:21
Speaker
I had one client within my first year of photo editing, but I think it was towards the end of my first year. I had some dream clients, some ideal clients. This was when my business was really first up-leveling and I was really learning who I wanted to work with. I had a client reach out, super nice. I touched on this already in the episode, but her biggest thing was she didn't want to edit anchor images for me.
00:33:45
Speaker
I actually have two clients now who don't edit anchor images for me now. I have their preset and we do it fully custom. That's after several galleries of their work and practicing their work. So still in the beginning, I do require people to edit anchors and I just basically have it now where I'm like, you have to edit anchors in the beginning, but we can work towards the goal of minimal to no anchors.
00:34:07
Speaker
and i told this client that i was like it's totally good if you want to work towards that but in the beginning i really need a reference of your style and they said like oh well this this gallery on your website is what i'm going for and i just that's not
00:34:22
Speaker
I see what they're saying when they look at a different photo shoot and say, I like that style, but different cameras, different lighting, different presets, different this. And I legally can't use another client's preset on their work because that client paid for that preset. So there's just so many reasons why that's not the most helpful course of action. I understand what they're saying, but anyway.
00:34:43
Speaker
just sent me a gallery, no anchors, and was like, can you just make it look like this? And I was like, all right, like, whatever, we'll give this a go. So I do make them look the best that I can, take my own kind of creative direction. I go along with galleries that they've referenced, that they want me to kind of mimic, do my very best, and I send it back, and she's like, oh, I don't like it. Like, your editing is fine, but I don't like this and this and this. Can you do it again? And I'm like, well, can you show me exactly what you don't like? If you could edit them,
00:35:09
Speaker
on screen recording in the way that you like, I will happily be able to have that on file and apply that to edits moving forward. And then she sent me a new gallery with no anchors. And I had to say, I'm not comfortable charging you for work that you're gonna be unhappy with and I'm not comfortable spending the time that this is gonna take if you can edit one just to get the base. These were short portrait sessions. They were only 30. So I was like, if you could just edit one,
00:35:36
Speaker
to get me started that we're both going to be happy with. And she was kind of like, no, like, I don't want to do my own editing. And so I did say I was like, all right, I think there are editors out there that go fully off of anchors in the beginning of the experience. And they just might be they charge more. It's a much more customized experience, but they might be better for you and established over email that I wasn't going to be doing that anymore. So it was a little uncomfy, but it happens. No, that's not pleasant enough.
00:36:01
Speaker
And then I actually had another client. I worked with her a ton when she was one of the first people I brought on. She was so sweet, so kind. Again, kind of customized like a skin smoothing and like masking experience for her. Made it so nice. She was like such an angel. And then
00:36:20
Speaker
end of like 2023 I wasn't seeing as much work from her which was like all good because I leave a lot of flexibility and when people do or don't have to send me anything and then beginning of 2024 I resent out my yearly contracts and I just sent her a quick email like hey I hope you're doing good here's your contract for the year um if your editing needs have changed that's all good just please let me know so I'll know about like your client spot and she got back to me
00:36:43
Speaker
bless her for emailing me back. And she was like, Hey, hope you're good too. I actually have changed some things in my editing workflows a lot faster for me. So I won't be needing any editing this year, but working with you the past, you know, two years has been really great. I hope you're doing well. And that was just a really positive time where the client moved on, not anything I did wrong. She just shifted some things in her business, uh, so that she didn't have to pay for the outsourcing, which is completely fair. So that was like, I want to say sometimes it's positive.
00:37:10
Speaker
when you move on from a client relationship. It's not always a bad thing. Like sometimes each other's needs change and it's nice. Exactly. The only other situation I've had to cut people off is in the case of like client ghosting of like they signed the contract, they've been on, maybe I've edited a couple of weddings for them and then crickets. Again, I'm really flexible with what people have to send me through the year, but I will check in.
00:37:31
Speaker
if it's been like four months and you promised 15 weddings in the year and I've done two and like six months have gone by and it's just a check-in. It's just, hey, hope your season's good. I just am wondering what your estimate is coming up just so I can be ready if there's no reply to that email.
00:37:47
Speaker
Then I'll do one more, like another couple months later, or usually by then I'm resending the new year's contracts out and I'll be like, here's your new contract. Please sign it in order to continue editing. If your editing needs have changed, that's completely good. Just please let me know via email. Sometimes I don't get a response to that email either. And then, then it's. Then you know.
00:38:07
Speaker
Done. Like your client spots filled bye-bye. And which sounds mean, but you know, I think a lot of editors keep a lot of spots open and miss out on a lot of work by doing that. And it's just like, you've done all the work on your end through communication. So it's kind of like saving dates for inquiries. Like I say, if someone inquires with me for a date that's open, I'll save their date from anywhere from three days to like two weeks, depending on what it is. Like weddings, they usually wait a little longer because it's obviously a bigger thing. But if it's like a portrait session, it's probably three days.
00:38:34
Speaker
And like why would I, you know, if I don't hear from you within those three days and I've told you I'm saving your date for three days or two weeks or whatever seven days. Yeah, that's not smart to just keep saving that wind that you're gonna be missing out on other inquiries. So your spots gonna get filled potentially, you know, someone else who inquire. So yeah, of course that makes a lot of sense.
00:38:52
Speaker
But yeah, sorry, I don't know if that took too much time, but I just wanted to go into like the times I have had to do that and what it looks like. But yeah, like I said, it's not always a bad thing. Sometimes just naturally people kind of move on from contract. So that's again, that's like breaking contract moving on. The last little bit we're going to touch on is legal battles.
Legal Battle Challenges
00:39:11
Speaker
This is scary. Hopefully it doesn't happen to you. It's never happened to me.
00:39:16
Speaker
This is probably the least likely scenario, but you've got to be ready for it because everyone thinks it's never going to happen to them until it's happening to them. And anytime you go to own your own business, this is like a possibility that can come around. So we did want to cover it in this episode. So it can probably go without saying, but we want to avoid this. Like Ayla said, as much as possible. This is absolutely 100% last resort, worst case scenario.
00:39:40
Speaker
Don't ever think to yourself for any reason like, oh, if this happens, I'll just sue them or, you know, whatever. Like legal battles are difficult. They're long, they're expensive, they're stressful. They are never the simple fix. So always, always have the best contract you can.
Dealing with Chargebacks
00:39:56
Speaker
We suggest actually that you pay a lawyer.
00:39:58
Speaker
to help you draw up your contracts. You can definitely have them draw up or help you draw up a standard wedding template contract, a portrait shoe one family, whatever, travel one, all those things so you have them ready to go. They don't have to do it for every single client.
00:40:16
Speaker
Let's just jump right in with examples. Let's say a wedding client requests a credit card refund through their bank to get their money back because they didn't like how the photos were edited. If you have a good contract, it should state that something like I said before, that this isn't allowed, they should have reviewed or worked enough beforehand to know what they were getting.
00:40:38
Speaker
And especially if they have any questions, they should come to you and be like, hey, can we re-edit this? Or why does this maybe look a little bit different or whatever? And you should be able to say, well, the lighting was a little bit different there, so I try to get it as close as possible. Or yeah, sure, maybe I can re-edit that for you. That's a conversation.
00:40:55
Speaker
let's say maybe instead of that conversation or after they decide to go behind your back and they just try to go through their credit card company. Sadly, side note, I have heard this is something that clients have tried to do before, to try to scam photographers or other businesses. They'll order something and then they found out if they go through their credit card company, maybe they'll side with them and give them their money back. But okay, sorry. Just so you know, this happens. Let's say the bank sides with them and even after you send them your evidence, because the bank will then ask you like,
00:41:24
Speaker
Did this happen? Is this what this client is saying you didn't like give them the services they asked for or whatever Let's say the bank sides of them even after you send them your evidence. Maybe your your Contract that said whatever but the bank still withdraws like thousands of dollars from your account and it's given back to them Maybe with a few not maybe with a few hundred dollars It's not gonna end up being something
00:41:46
Speaker
that you like, can sue over because it's just a few hundred dollars. I think it needs to be like a lot or something like that. But again, I'm not an expert on this. So I'm just going to try to say like, take everything I'm saying with a grain of salt. I'm trying to just give an example based on what I know. So yeah, with a few hundred dollars, maybe it just ends up being something like,
00:42:04
Speaker
You give them a written notice that you're taking down their gallery from the platform as you feel now you're not being paid for services they rendered. Like that might be the best thing you can do or the best action you can take if you can't like sue them or something. But if this is after the full gallery is already delivered, if maybe if you know you've been wrongfully taken advantage of in this way, then your next step would maybe be to get a lawyer involved.
00:42:28
Speaker
But again, always tell the client first, like give them a chance to settle this outside of court and rectify things. Like again, inform them that, oh, I see this action is happening on your end. Like I just got notified by the bank that you're trying to do a dispute with
Avoiding Legal Complications with Evidence
00:42:42
Speaker
me. Um, if this goes through, I will no longer be paid for the services I gave you. Therefore I will have to take legal action. And until this is rendered, I have put your, I have taken down your gallery.
00:42:52
Speaker
Um, or I've locked your gallery or whatever. Um, you know, just stuff like that. Make sure you're always, you have to always have evidence of, from what I've heard of your communication and never doing something without warning. Um, okay. Anyways. Yeah, for sure. And again, like we're obviously not lawyers or anything, but, um, I like what you said about keeping it maybe away from lawyers as long as possible and trying to like reconcile on your own, but definitely you can never go wrong with, um,
00:43:19
Speaker
keeping every single conversation and having as much in writing or by email as possible, like for sure. Yeah, you have a legal obligation. You'll get in trouble with the court if you, like, try to do something and the judge will literally ask you, well, did you tell them? Like, did you notify? Where's your email thread about this? Where's the three notices you gave them? And if you, especially in a dispute where maybe it's an opinion dispute at the end of it,
00:43:45
Speaker
you want the judge to look on you with the most favor because you were trying to be the most responsible and honest. And one of their biggest flaws is going to be that they went behind your back and did this rather than trying to, you know, tell you, Hey, we're going to ask for a refund. Um, we are asking you directly not going through a credit card company or something like that. So you have to try to be the most honest, even if it's painful, even if you're mad, just you have, you're legally obligated to have that communication thread open. Yeah.
00:44:13
Speaker
Another example that goes kind of serious like this is if a client maybe sells your images without permission online that you actually own the copyright to, you may have to give them a cease and desist or a DMCA takedown letter or, you know, even get a lawsuit involved depending on the size of the scenario.
00:44:33
Speaker
So Beth, I don't know if you've actually seen that happen, maybe not in your business, but in life, because I know the clients get their images back and can do it on socials and stuff, but I didn't really know actually that selling the images without permission happens. Yeah, so how it would work is because photographers usually, and they should, they own the copyright to their
00:44:54
Speaker
So they can say, you can use this on social media, family cards, maybe on a personal or work website. You can advertise with them, you know, whatever, but you can't, you know, put filters over them. You can't put someone else's watermark on them. You can't sell them. So this might look like literally selling to like, maybe it's a photo you took and this person is a model and they want to sell it to Walmart.
00:45:15
Speaker
Okay, to be or to a maybe a photo frame company that wants you like or to a magazine or to a company, right? They might get paid thousands of dollars for that or be giving be given like royalties or something. I don't know if royalty is the right word, but you know what I'm saying? Yeah, that's your work. You should be getting paid for that. That is absolutely not something that's okay.
00:45:33
Speaker
unless there has been a separate contract that says you may sell this or that's what this photo shoot was for. It's for you to use to try to sell this to Walmart or to Kohl's or to whatever. So that's something. Yeah. And so if that happens, that's why we're saying like you may not have a choice.
00:45:50
Speaker
but to take legal action in order to get your money back to and that's what so DMCA is the digital millennium copyright act so that's that's a copyright so like issuing a yeah issuing a DMCA takedown letters basically saying hey I own the copyright test like you could send that even to like Walmart like if this person gave this photo to Walmart or something I don't know why I'm saying Walmart but I feel like
00:46:11
Speaker
People understand what I'm saying when I say that. Any other corporation, this is. You can issue even, I believe. Again, take this with a grain of salt. I'm not fully positive. This is just based on what I heard, and I'm just trying to make sure I reiterate it properly. But you could issue them the takedown letter too and say, hey, just so you know, you're using an image that was not rightfully sold to you. I own that, and I'm not giving you permission because I have not been paid. So stuff like that. And I've also seen...
00:46:35
Speaker
Um people using images like i've seen people do cease and desist letters for people using images of like They were like illegal images that sounds so dark But i'm just saying like maybe an image that was taken illegally in like an illegal spot or something And then somebody who works like the government might go and say um, here's a cease and desist letter Stop taking pictures here and stop advertising using taking pictures. There's something that happens in hawaii
00:46:57
Speaker
Yeah, so there's lots of random scenarios in which that might have to happen where you don't have a choice but to get legalities involved if you want to get your rights or your money back.
00:47:12
Speaker
That's what we're talking about.
Non-payment and Legal Recourse
00:47:14
Speaker
In the case of photo editing, like I said, I'm really blessed to have never had to pursue legal battles and not a lot of people around me have. Most likely never will. It's pretty chill over here. However, there are things that can happen. The main scenario I can think of when legal issues maybe come up is with
00:47:34
Speaker
payment, money gets very uncomfortable. I am a part of lots of Facebook groups with editors, photographers, and that's where I see a lot of this stuff go down. But I have seen it all the time where a client
00:47:50
Speaker
Typically what photo editors are supposed to do is technically you're not even supposed to start editing the job until the client has paid for it. I never do that because my clients are amazing. They always pay me on time. So I just like start editing. And again, a whole custom experience thing. Sometimes I do return tons of work to a photographer before they pay me because they're high volume, but I trust that photographer and they've established they can be trusting. It works out great.
00:48:15
Speaker
A lot of what I see is dear sweet editors will edit a whole wedding, say it's like $700 and they'll return it like, and they, okay, sorry. I'm like, this is jumbled. If I finish editing a job, but the client hasn't paid me yet, I send them an email before returning the job to them. Just saying, Hey, your gallery is ready. Whenever that invoice that's in your inbox is taken care of, I'll get this back to you. And 99.999999% of the time they're like, Oh yeah, pay it. It's fine. Immediately. Yeah.
00:48:45
Speaker
uh I think there's only been a time I held a gallery for like a week for somebody but again again driving this point home she wasn't mad at all that I held it she was just like oh my gosh I was traveling I was out of service like all this stuff so again it can be pretty chill but I've seen this hasn't happened to me but I have seen lots of other editors say like oh maybe it'll be fine and they send the gallery before getting paid
00:49:07
Speaker
And then they come into these Facebook groups and they're like, guys, I know, I know I shouldn't have done it. I know I should have waited to get paid, but I didn't. And now I'm waiting for $700, $600, depending, that would be a really expensive gallery. Let's say four, four to five is like a bit more normal, but you know, now I'm like waiting for this thing. And now the client's ghosting me and I can see that they've read the emails because on Debsado you can see people like read your emails and she's read it. And oh my gosh, I just feel so bad when that happens.
00:49:36
Speaker
Sometimes this can result in small claims court, depending on the amount. But if the amount is small, like let's say less than $800, $900, unfortunately, sometimes the editor will make the call to call it a loss.
00:49:49
Speaker
cut off contact with that client, which sucks sometimes if it's a huge amount of money. Again, I'm not a liar. I don't have the perfect advice for what to do. I've seen some people take it to small claims court. And this isn't the event that they've returned the photos and not gotten paid. If they haven't returned the photos, then you just hold them until the client pays and never return them.
00:50:09
Speaker
And then I think you can say like after six weeks these will be removed from my computer and you won't have them back at all Yeah, something like that, but I have seen where it's like two hundred three hundred dollars and even though it sucks
00:50:21
Speaker
The editor's like, I'm making the choice to just cut off contact. Like I've warned them over and over and over for this. Unfortunately, this will have to be a loss and I can't work with this photographer anymore. So it can happen. That's why if you're an editor, always, always, always get paid before you return the work. I know we just want to be super trusting and I know your clients are probably amazing, but just to protect yourself and your business.
00:50:43
Speaker
Just do that. If it's Beth, I'll return your galleries whenever I'm done with them because we talk almost every day on the phone, so I know it's going to be fine. I trust 100% of the clients I have, which is really great, but when you're starting out and maybe it's somebody new and you haven't established that trust with, just be really careful.
00:51:03
Speaker
Exactly. Like it's important to have that trust and like, you know, between Ayla and I something, for example, like we're not saying to follow our example, but we're best friends. She knows sometimes I'm traveling or out of service and I didn't get to the, you know, to pay her before she was actually with the gallery. Yeah. She just wants to be done with it. Yeah. Yeah. Or you're done with it. You can clear from a computer or whatever, like send it to me. I'm knowing that I will immediately pay you as soon as I get the chance.
00:51:29
Speaker
But, but also, I mean, I wouldn't ever blame her if she was like, ah, I want to be paid first. Like I've been, then I'm gonna, then I'm going to have to wait for my gallery if I can't get to payment right away. And that's fine. Like that's her boundary to draw, not mine. And it's her business. So I follow what she wants.
00:51:47
Speaker
Yeah, sometimes in busy season, I do get really strict on like, let's just do
Maintaining Business Boundaries and Trust
00:51:51
Speaker
that. Because then it's like, I've done it to where I'll send in voices back or send galleries back. And then I forget that they have an outstanding invoice. So the busyness of busy season dies down and my system lets me know, hey, you've got something outstanding. And I'm like, oh, that was my bad. So it just, yeah, it just protects everybody. Exactly. Yeah.
00:52:07
Speaker
And it's up to you if you feel full trust and you're like, I will do it with this person. Again, like we've been saying throughout this, it's up to you. Okay. Um, anyway, so of course we hope you never have to deal with any of these situations. And again, we encourage you to have really good contracts, educate yourself on different what if scenarios and strive to serve your clients just the best as possible while still having like boundaries for yourself and for your business. Um, yeah, like we've been saying, just want to drive that home.
00:52:33
Speaker
Yeah, one last point I want to say with this to kind of help you guys as you go forward, I do hear, like I said, tons of legal and client issues from Facebook groups, actually. So if you're a solo business owner, photographer, editor, any other wedding vendor or service provider, it can be a really good idea to get into some online communities, Reddit, Facebook, where other photographers may share their legal battles and client problems, as well as their solutions for the problems.
00:53:00
Speaker
It can help you understand what clauses you need to add into your contract before they even come up. Because a lot of times I see photographers be like, oh, I'm handling this thing. And then they'll have hundreds of comments saying, yeah, I have that in my contract. And the photographer just didn't know that it had to be in there. So that's a good place to kind of get started.
00:53:17
Speaker
Yeah. And then anyone else who reads those comments, if you're lucky enough to where it happened to someone else first, you know, I'm adding it to my contract right now before it happens to me, which has happened to me. I've definitely learned that way a lot by seeing something happen to someone else. And I'm like, yeah, that would take me five minutes to add that clause into my contract. And I either contact my lawyer to go and make sure they add it, or it's something that I can research the exact right legal way to phrase it. And I phrase it. So.
00:53:41
Speaker
It's
Preparing for Client Disputes
00:53:42
Speaker
up to you. Anyway, so this episode wasn't meant to scare you. Simply prepare you and help you to think logically about different scenarios. We know when a client does do something we don't like, it can be easy to react in anger or fear. So just take a second to think about what the magnitude of what they really did really is. Is it something that you should just move past? Something you can quickly mention to them and rectify? Or maybe you need to take bigger steps for your safety.
00:54:12
Speaker
Yeah. If you enjoy this episode, why don't you take just a quick second, hit that subscribe button or follow button, whatever platform you're using, or take a second to rate us five stars, leave us a fun review. We just love that. If you ever have an idea for an episode, we'd love to hear it. Just email us at art of intention podcast at gmail.com. Or as always, you can message us on Instagram at art of intention podcast.
00:54:35
Speaker
We release a new episode every Tuesday, so tune in on Spotify, Apple Podcast, or Zencaster. Please subscribe and leave us a review if you feel like you want to do that, and we'll see you next time. Bye. Bye.