[LINK] And still the dumb things happen on the Web

Adam Todd link at todd.inoz.com
Thu Sep 28 08:48:30 AEST 2006


At 07:59 PM 27/09/2006, rchirgwin at ozemail.com.au wrote:
>So if I remember - I'm notorious for forgetting phone calls! - I call the 
>company in the morning to book the skip, *and* to ask them if they're 
>still getting charged by Citysearch for a Website which Citysearch has 
>broken so as to focus on "Restaurants, Films, Bars and Clubs, TV, Music 
>and the Arts" and to fsck with some poor sap who runs a skip company and 
>doesn't understand the Web...
>
>I'm accustomed to Web companies treating non-savvy customers as sheep to 
>be fleeced, but this is a real crock.

I had a client who started with me, developed a web site, it was 
great.  Someone discovered them promised them a better looking web site, 
made them buy a new domain name in com.au and told them to reprint all 
their business cards and letter heads.

12 months later, no new web site, mail bouncing and lots of giving out 
their new domain name and web site.  Client came back to me, their email 
was still working and so was their web site - I was lazy, didn't turn it off.

We redeveloped the web site again, incorporating new ideas, but I 
discouraged the use of flash and endless massive graphics for a site that 
has six products and is based on food.  I charged $180 for 2 days work and 
creating 9 pages, navigation and includes.  (That didn't include the 
faxing, emails, and five days of discussions to work out what was required, 
but I didn't charge for that either.)

After 12 months of happiness, some poacher comes along again, promises to 
be cheaper, better, more colourful with motion graphics and blah blah.

Registered yet another new com.au name (now client has two com.au names, 
one that doesn't work) and the cycle begins.  After 6 months there are 
"sketches" of a half complete web site.  Those three pages and one flash 
navigation cost the client $860, plus the $320 for a domain name and $45 a 
month hosting fee for the six months that nothing was working.  Oh and the 
email didn't work either.

Now I charged my client $26 a month hosting including web and email.

So after another six months of paying $45 a month, and nothing else 
happening, and not getting any email on the second reprint of business 
cards and letterheads and getting phone calls from potential international 
buyers who said they couldn't access the web site to download the anaylisys 
documents, he came back to me again.

I reactivated the old domain name I gave them, and reactivated their 
email.  All the passwords were as they were before and away we went.

This time we added a dozen PDF files that were downloadable (that we 
produced using PDF995 so they were really small and slick!) and all was 
good.  I charged $260 odd for the redevelopment to yet another new look and 
adding the PDF's and a few extra fancy features.  I also charged $26 a 
month for web hosting, domain name hosting and multiple email 
addresses.  The client didn't want to take either of their com.au names 
across because in their view, neither of them worked.  I said it was no 
problem, but they didn't want to pay $200 per name per year 
extra.  Especially when I give them a name free :)

After about 5 months, the client was approached by another web provider again.

This time a new com.au name was registered at a cost of $380 and a new web 
site developed at a cost of $950.  The email didn't work for the first two 
months, I wasn't able to send a final bill to the client until the third month.

They don't have the PDF's or the Analysis documents that are required 
online - apparently they can't work out how to put them online.  They 
suggested that maybe I could be asked to leave my version online and they 
can put links to that - but I should do it for free.

The monthly fee is $65 a month, updated and changes to the web site from $50.

<sigh>

Will my sympathy allow the client to come back to me for a fourth time?

It sounds like an on again off again love relationship one has with a 
girlfriend when you are 16.  Sadly, I am so tired of people being fleeced, 
cleaned out, ripped off and told crap about the Internet.

To the point, I no longer care!

I even heard a case in the Supreme Court yesterday where an email was being 
discussed and felt like getting up and saying "Your honor you are being 
conned, what has been said is total rubbish."

But who am I to interfere in the truthiness of others?

aussieskips has been ripped off form the start by being with citysearch.  I 
hope they aren't paying for the service, but you will find that their 
contract says they not only have to pay, but if the site fails or doesn't 
work, they have to pay for the "repairs" or "modifications" to make it 
work.  And there is no termination clause in the contract and auto renewal 
for 12 months.

Fleeced?

Like a sheep who didn't want to give up it's warm winter wool.







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