What You Say, What We Hear

I really wish clients would spend more time thinking about the stuff they send us.

Is it that difficult to put yourself on the other side of the conversation and think: “What would this sound like to the person hearing/reading it?”

Apparently it is.

With that in mind I’m going to start doing a weekly insight into what we think/hear when people communicate with us like idiots.

What you say: “I’m paying you people x amount of money! Can’t you do it for me?”

What we hear: “Hi I’m a cheap bastard, you’ve already told me what’s wrong and probably how to fix the problem. But since I’m probably paying for cheapest package you offer I’ll feel like I’m entitled to stuff way beyond what’s supposed to be covered.”

An insider’s look: 97% of time I’ve seen/heard this from a client, they usually are paying for a low end plan and want me to develop their website for them or solve a problem with the POS content management system they’ve decided to use (see Joomla/Drupal).

Lets do a cost comparison and hopefully it will become clear as to why this service is not included in hosting costs.

Average shared hosting package: less than $10 a month. (For a general description of shared hosting packages please see: Webhosting Packages 101.)

Average web developer: $60 per hour, for the level of stuff these guys usually want done  it’s probably more like $90 or more an hour.

So let me get this straight, your cheap-ass is paying less than 1/6th of what a web developer charges per HOUR, per MONTH and you want me to build your website?????!!!!!

I think not.

Related posts:

1. What You Say, What We Hear
2. What You Say, What We Hear
3. What You Say, What We Hear
4. What You Say, What We Hear
5. Off The Clock: Anti-Piracy is Bullsh*t