A (now ex) client owned a pizza shop which had two main competitors. One was a small gourmet with local loyalty, the other one operated out of a local club with a large membership. Neither delivered.
He asked me for marketing/business suggestions. I suggested he introduce delivery with a small branded hatchback as a point of difference. I also suggested he run campaigns around sporting events to capture the local sport fans who had drunk too much to drive anywhere for pizza. I suggested he implement these ideas through a customer retention scheme involving MailChimp newsletters.

He turned these ideas down as being too expensive and not worth the risk.
I had taken him on during reestablishment of my business after having children, and was working at a reduced price. He often gave vague briefs, which I persisted with despite his many changes – which, of course, increased the final cost of work.

After two years, I informed him that I needed to raise my rate to the full rate. He said he was not happy with my work and that I charged too much. I proposed that we work together to iron out the creative briefs and save both my time and his money. He admitted that he couldn’t find anyone to match my original rate, but he still decided to take his work elsewhere.

He now has a bright yellow hatchback, and a loyalty scheme operating on Mailchimp. In the first newsletter I received, he was offering discounts for football final nights.