I recall a few conversations I've had with friends, clients, etc about web designers/developers and noticed a common thread regarding their reservations about working with such people - unreliability. They all mentioned that either themselves, or someone they knew hired a designer/developer only to have them disappear and never again heard from them. It seems as though this is a popular complaint about designers/developers. I would believe that this is due to the nature of the people who decide to take on the job rather than the industry itself - but it seems that many are associating this vice with the the industry as a whole. Now for my questions:

1. Do you find unreliability a common complaint about web designers/developers?
2. Is there anything else that annoys you about, or makes you reluctant to work with web designers and/or developers?

The second question is directed more towards consumers rather than the professionals but please feel free to share what others have told you. Knowing in advance the concerns of potential clients regarding your line of work would go a long way towards preparing you for a successful pitch.

My client, whom i cannot reveal the name here nor where client comes from, told me to complain not able to find any experienced competent PHP/MySQL Nigerian developer to do open-source e-Commerce template installation/modification job that they (developers) are not familiar with. (include the offer paying service rendered fee)

That's how i got this e-Commerce project job that was referred by this NL member the client found so enthused. I found out that the client sought out for help for one year (2007-2008) to resolve e-Commerce issue. I overlooked the past posting. Hmmm!  

I have no idea about unreliable Nigerian designers/developers in which my client does not refer nor not mentioned any names. But complain of lack of experienced e-Commerce developers even cannot resolve the script syntax error problems out there.

I thought there are PLENTIFUL of Nigerian designers/developers out there.

Just as in everything in life, you don't judge a book by its cover.  Sure, there are bad apples out there but that doesn't mean that everyone is a certain way.

I have heard numerous complaints about unreliability but from my experience, it seems the clients concerned, though they complain, are willing to overlook such because, in my opinion, they are cheaper than say, me.  I have heard it all from disappearing with money, to lack of communication to outright incompetence yet again, such clients would rather, in my experience anyways, stick with such than switch to me.  An example: I once had a conversation with someone who complained that the "webmaster" he chose was not heard from in 3 weeks.  This was in spite of paying the person 50% up front.  When the "webmaster" finally appeared, she claimed to have had malaria.  Mad as hell, the client asked me to turn in a proposal, which I did.  He even went as far as telling me he liked my price.  Make we do job now? Na wey yawa com burst.  No deal.  After about a month, while doing what I do best (googling pplz information), I find out that lo and behold, he had another person do the site for him (I know because I saw the first version of the site which the other "webmaster" had done, albeit partially).

Per #2, I outsource to a fellow NL/WOA member.  I am at a point now where I would rather do the backend coding not to mention, I am not exactly the best when it comes to graphics design.  I have received numerous requests from others but I settled on the person I work with now based on: Integrity, looking at his code (from which I derive how he thinks, how he approaches problem-solving and how efficient his code is), his ability to communicate and keep me abreast at all times and (note this because this is important.  I don't mind paying 1 million naira to someone who is capable.  Why not?  All I have to do in turn is transfer the same cost to my clients ) lastly, his pricing.  In fact, when it came to the last factor, he mentioned and I didnt' even bother negotiating because in my opinion, he is worth it.  In fact, if I could, I would pay him more.  In fact, the trust b/w us is so great that, even after the first client we worked together with didn't pay on time, he trusted me enough to work on another site I outsourced to him.  In the end, I paid him a bit extra.

Bottom line, clients need to realize that generally speaking, you get what you pay for.  If they want to go cheap, hey, I am all for saving money and cutting cost but they risk running into the aforementioned issues.  It's a given.  The good ones are out there.  The clients just need to know how to separate the wheat from the chaff. More importantly, when the proverbial wheat is separated, such wheat needs to be treated well so as to show appreciation and to encourage such to do even better.

Finally, in a country like Nigeria where the law practically doesn't exist, not to mention enforcement of existing laws, until we are at a stage where dubious ppl are brought to justice and not just let through the cracks, in general, it will be more of the same.

Thank you both for your contributions. So in addition to poor communication, there's also the issue of inadequate technical skill. Where I was trying to go with this was: a good way of marketing yourself in a rapidly growing industry would be to find out every negative opinion about the industry, do the opposite, and use that as a unique selling point. Yawa, you seem to have given some more insight about that notion by showing that this approach doesn't always work with prospective clients. I find it interesting that some clients are still willing to settle for 'sub-standard' designers/developers, even with a superior alternative clearly in view.

he he, Yolu, I have pretty much heard it all. Here is another story, in reference to your remarks about "sub-standard" work above (for those who have heard this story before, forgive me in advance for the repetition):

A friend of my in-law's was visiting the states and stayed with them while she was here. She mentioned she needed a website for her fashion boutique biz back at home. Naturally, my in-laws give her my number. She calls and the first things she says is (excerpts), "Hi. I need a website but please do something mediocre as I don't have that much money to pay". That pretty much said it all to me and I told her it would take me more time to do something mediocre than it would to do it right. Obviously, I didn't get the job.

It is one thing for a developer to develop a mediocre site. It is another when the client asks for one. As sad as it was for me to here, I must confess, that episode cracked me up.

Not to discourage you Yolu but, I have said it all, as far as sales techniques go and I can say that when it comes to most Nigerian clients in particular, it is like the proverbial female goat who, if you don't hit the breasts really hard, she won't produce any milk (it is better expressed in my language, sorry ).

Generally speaking, both on the developer and client side of things, we have a long way to go.

Lol @ the proverb. I'm pretty sure it would sound better in your language but I think I understand what you mean. I'm beginning to find that clients' psychologies do vary based on their geographical location i.e. UK clients vs those in Nigeria. To borrow a phrase from Orwell, 'all clients are created equal but some are more equal than others'

I guess it all boils down to whether you're willing to lower your standards to land the client. I don't think it's worth it in the long run however. One of the fastest ways of growing your business is through word of mouth - once people know you as the person who does mediocre work for rock-bottom prices, it would be extremely difficult to break away from that reputation.

Exactly Yolu.

I do all my work exclusively based on word of mouth though I am thinking of advertising come next year.

I don't have time to waste when it comes to clients and pricing. Thank God I have a regular job. I stayed from January to August this year before landing a job on the side but since then, it has been one after the other. I have even had one who I turned down initially, call me back a month later to say, "I know you are a professional and have standards to maintain but a discount would be appreciated". Go figure!

ok, now everybody is complaining abt unreliability on the part of designers/developers. What about clients who make u work and then don't show up to claim their jobs or the ones that bring information that they are supposed to bring at the beginning annually? I have personally had some encounters. i have been doing web design for abt 3 yrs now and i can beat my chest and say i have not disappointed any client. either the client disappointed me or the client disappointed him or her self. it's a two-way thing. both parties have to be serious for things to run smoothly.

This really goes both ways.

There are the odd number of designers out there who really only care about making a quick buck. However, you can not use that small number as a metric for measuring the reliability of designers.

If anything, the most unreliable people are clients. OMG, don't even get me started. I read [url=http://www.zeldman.com/2008/12/04/20-signs-you-don't-want-that-web-design-project/]this post[/url] on Zeldman last week, which made me laugh so hard, because all of it is sooo true.

The worst is when you've gone ahead to request a deposit from your client after apparently getting your requirements analysis and project plan in place. And then you don't hear from him again for weeks. He's always busy, or something. The one day you manage to get a hold of him, he tries to convey the importance of finishing his project like, yesterday. And then no-show for days.

The next time you manage to get in touch with him after another 2-3 weeks, he's now completely oblivious as to the original  purpose of setting up the website in the first place. He now talks in very vague terms, telling you "you are the expert, just do something that'll work" without remembering what "work" really entails for that particular site, and then you are back to square zero, and the worst is that this client has made a financial commitment to this project.

I know what you are thinking. . . .Yeah,  I'm talking from experience and it can be so frustrating. I actually had a client recently who thought he (one man and his 16 year old son, maybe) could sit down and type LIVE taxi information into his website for users. This was weeks after he assured me there was a source of Live Data from the local government transport office in Manchester.

I try to keep up with my clients and make things as easy for them as possible. I created a project portal  to which I grant every client temporary access so we don't have to meet every time and to cut out sending huge files via email. They can upload any type of files, make suggestions and do pretty much anything.
But there are those clients who are just not worth the time.

So when you talk about un-reliability of designers and developers, also take into account, there are also unreliable clients and while there is no standard for measuring unreliability yet, I think clients would rank lower on a reliability scale.

Oh yes, it goes both ways pie but speaking for myself, I wanted to stay on point. I can also give you all a recent experience:

A friend let's me know that his friend who runs an NGO needs a website. I meet with the friend and terms are agreed upon. Because of the nature of the NGO, though the terms said 50%, i accept 20% but do the work of 50%. Client emails/calls me at this point pretty much at least 3 times a day. Then all of a sudden, dead silence. No matter the calls or emails to the friend, I get no response back. Yep, the site is still up as I have a weak conscience. Having said that, I am waiting for Dec. 31 to shut it off.

so yes, it goes both ways.

Yolu, the observation is not only peculiar to website developers alone. It is application in virtually all ventures. Its only the relativity, magnitude and dimension that can not be measured. However, i want you to also appreciate that, this knowledge is imported, we are just mastering it, so when you find a nigerian doing close to what the originators had done, lets give them a note of appreciation.

You can view my contribution to the forum here:

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-205014.0.html

Thanks.

Olu Oludimu

System Administrator ; Emmanuel Communications Limited

Admin; http://www.oakservers.net | http://www.oakmediang.com

E-mail : olu@oakmediang.com | Tel: 08051614052

as ews just said, it doesn't apply to designers alone, it's only those guys thats always approach me for a fake website which i normally turn-down and they go back annoyed because i can't offer them what they want,

It's true that we do have some impostors who pretend to b web designers, web developers, application developers; but from my experience these days a lot of clients r looking for cheap but sophisticated apps to be delivered "NOW". A developer worth his salt will in most cases decline such offers or even try to reason with him and try to come up with a more realistic project plan; but these impostors take advantage of the situation tell the client what they 1 2 hear collect the project and POOF! they are off with client's money. I personally do not hesitate to turn down client's request that are unrealistic. If only these clients could be more patient,vigilant and realistic in their requests they would hardly fall prey to these impostors.