The thing that irritates me the most about clients is the constant and false sense of urgency they all have. Everything is always an emergency - they needed the document yesterday, but they never call until the day after they think they needed it to tell you that. When they finally do call - it is after months of not hearing from them - just when you think the project is dead. This isn't one client, it is every single one of them and it never ceases to amaze me how they all call at once. This week was the perfect example of this hurry up and wait phenomenon. It's hard to take a client seriously when they say they really need something - but of course I do my best to meet whatever time lines they impose.
They story goes like this, every time: No word from the client for several months. Suddenly I get a meeting invite for a conference call on Monday. It's an emergency, things are moving fast and they need the documents as quickly as possible - by mid-week, can't I put aside whatever I'm working on to get this done? (This is impossible - this wasn't my project to begin with and I'm already busy full-time, I am not twiddling my thumbs with nothing to do here. I'm already billing 200 hours a month). The partner tells them they can have it Monday - maybe on Friday at close of business. This is my time that is being promised away - did I just lose my weekend to this? I shift things around, warn the partner I work for, don't do some stuff, stay late, draft the document - there is no way I am giving up my weekend to this. The partner sends it to the client on Friday at 5:30 p.m, (without reading it - I cringe every time my work product gets sent out without a partner reviewing it). The partner tells her he will read it over the weekend and provide additional comments and they can chat Monday.
The client emails back, "Thanks. I won't be able to look at until next Wednesday."
WHAT? Well, good thing I salvaged my weekend then, cause I would have been ticked if I spent the weekend on it only to find out that she couldn't have read it before next Wednesday anyway.
Then, just as I'm assessing how far behind I now am because this threw my whole week off track - I get an email from the partner I do work for asking me if I can do something by Monday. Of course!! Sure!! No problem, I say with a smile on my face. %$@%!^@%@, is what I say in my head.
1 comment:
HI - just found your blog. I'm a broadcast journalist who often feels like a hamster running on one of those wheels - faster, faster and not getting anywhere. Some days I can go with it, some days I want to throw my computer out the window. I'm giving you and e-high-five!
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