Client From Hell ...

I haven't posted anything in quite a while (well, 3 days is quite awhile for me anyway ...) It's been partly because of my workload and the other part is because I'm such a lazy pig at times :) I've been so lazy that I've even neglect my running for close to 4 days now, well, it's also due to the rainy evenings we've been experiencing in my area. I could just run in the rain, I have no qualms about it, but it's the lighting accompanying the rain that frightens me! I guess I'm gonna have to step up my training from tomorrow (today cannot la in case you're wondering, need to do grocery shopping with the wifey, who knows maybe can get those 'almost-free' longans again ... hehehe).

I actually have no idea what to post right now. I wanted to bitch about this client I have who gave me grief a couple of days ago, but my anger with this particular client has subsided. I'm a person who seldom loses my temper, if and when I do, I usually cool down pretty fast (like maybe in a couple of minutes ... hehehe).

Well, since I'm on the subject of anger, I might as well rant about what happened with this client I mentioned about. I have this client (duh), a public listed company (I shall not name names for fear of being sued!) and all that. We're one of the Agencies on their panel. We do quite a lot of work for them, have been for the past two years or so. They expect a lot from us, in terms of creativity, concepts, costings, delivery, time lines etc. As a professional (we'd like to think we are anyway ... hehehe), we often go out of our way to accommodate their requests. I personally had to work till the wee hours of morning when we were doing their annual report making sure everything was completed on time. Had weeks of sleepless nights and all that (to the point my wife was complaining ... ).

So, the other day I called them to ask about outstanding payments (which is quite a bit by the way), some even dating back to September of last year. I called the accounts department and asked in a polite and friendly way about whether there was any cheques ready for us. Boy, was I ever not prepared for the response I got. She went in this loud, unwomanly, irritated, shrieky voice 'NO, NO PAYMENT LA, DON'T CALL ME' and hung up the phone! Who am I supposed to call if not the accounts department? I was speechless for a whole 30 seconds (which is an eternity for a blabbermouth like me).

For a while there I thought we owed her money or something cos from the tone of her voice it sure seemed like it. Then when I finally recovered I was totally boiling from rage. I mean, here I was just inquiring politely about our payment status and I got treated like shit! Hey woman, your company owes us tons of money, the least you could do was reply politely that the cheque wasn't ready, how hard is that? I didn't dare call her back to give her a piece of my mind cos I know I would have said some very nasty (maybe even vulgar) things to her. I was that mad!

Sometimes I wonder if it's worth going through all the trouble for clients who in the end have no respect whatsoever for the individual or the Agency. I treat all my clients with the utmost respect (after all they are what pays the bills for me). I never say no when they ask for something to be done within impossible deadlines. I personally go out of my way to get things done and I'll always find a way somehow to make it work for them (by harassing my suppliers no less ... hehehe). Even my wife complains that I baby them too much. Maybe I should just be nasty to them ... then again, I can never be nasty. It's just so not me. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to put up with the crap they throw at me.

But all that said and done, I'm not letting that accounts lady off the hook so easily, the next time I call her for payment which will be next week, I'll be much more prepared and I have a 'nice' response ready for her ... muahahahahaha ... I'll let you guys know how that went ;)