I am a freelance engineer that specializes in 3D prints. I create technical drawings, construct objects in CAD, provide rendering as well as prints. A client once needed a spare part for a specialized tool. I spoke with him for an hour about what he needed, and then told him what I would charge for designing and printing this piece.

Client: What? Are you serious? I am not paying that amount of money for a piece of plastic!

Me: Well, I can’t just print it from nothing. I need to design it, and I need to determine that the piece will meet your requirements in terms of strength and tolerance. That’s why we’ve been talking about what you need for over an hour.

Client: Look, I can buy this part off the shelf for thirty bucks. I just thought it would be cheaper to have you whip it up.

I was speechless.

Client: I need lettering for the side of my truck. Just my company name, phone number and what we do. Something simple.

Me: Ok, I would recommend [X] size and in white since your truck is black.

Client: No, that’s too big. Make it smaller and in gray.

Me: I can do that, but at that size it will be hard to read and if it’s in gray, it will be even harder.

Client: Oh, I don’t want anyone to see it.

Client: I need your help with this document.

Me: Okay, what seems to be the problem with it?

Client: I can’t get the slanty letters.

Me: You mean italics?

Client: No! I want them in English!

I’d just finished a photoshoot on the 8^th of January.

Client: I know that your contract stipulates a two week delivery time after the photoshoot, but we’re in a hurry. Could you send them by the 15^th? We’re ok with a rush fee.

Me: Well, I have other work in progress but I will deliver the final shoots on the 14^th. The rush fee will be xx€. Instead of delivering them on a CD, I will upload them on [service]transfer.com so that I can get them to you more quickly.

Client: Great ! You’re saving my life!

Monday the 14^th, noon.

Me: Here is the link to your photos on [service]transfer.com. Please note that this link is valid for only seven days, then the files will be automatically deleted.

Wednesday the 23^rd, evening.

Client: I’ve just tried your link. The web page says “Data expired.” How is that possible? Send us the photos immediately, we’re in extreme rush.

Me: The link I gave in the previous mail was valid for one week only. The files were then automatically deleted.Here’s a new link. Please download your files as soon as possible.

Tuesday the 29^th.

Client: I just downloaded the photos, thanks! They will look great on our spring publication. We will send you the April 2016 issue when available.

Client: Can you help me? This training site won’t take me to the page whenever I hit “Launch.” My pop-up blocker is turned off, so that can’t be it.

Me: Sure, let me take a look.

Client: Let me just close these tabs that keep opening. 

They close several identically-named tabs next to the one they’re working with.

Client: Okay, so all I do is click Launch, and then this window pops up.

A small window pops up telling them they’ll be redirected to the page. At the same time, another tab opens along the top, identical to all the ones they just closed. They click OK.

Client: And then nothing else happens.

Me: What’s in that tab that just opened?

Client: This?

They click on it, and in it is exactly the page they were trying to reach.

Client: Oh, you mean I had to click on the tab?

Sometimes it pays to actually read things before you close them. IT lesson 101, ignored by 70% of my clients.