Okay, so I was just rude to another artist.

[greyghost]

But SHE pissed me off first.

I was given an ad size by my client - who has always given me the right sizes in the past and I just got tired of calling the publication in question to verify that info.

So anyways, I built the ad, sent it off a week and a half ago.

This morning (Sunday) I get an email from this artist telling me she was away for a week and the tone of her email was just rude. Basically, yes, it was the wrong size. But she had to add other stuff (in full caps) like the PDF MUST be CMYK and at LEAST 300 dpi (ummmmmm, DUH). In short, the tone of her email made me think she thought I was a store owner trying to be an artist. I felt, in a few words, very much put down.

And I sit there and think 'Did she even check the file, or did she just assume I am an idiot because the ad was the wrong size?' And besides that, did it ever hurt anyone to be POLITE in an email?

Anyway, maybe I just took it a little out of proportion. Most days, I would have blown it off and not thought about it. And that's probably (in retrospect) what I should have done.

So I sent the correctly sized file, sent a cheery email (commiserating about needing to do work on a Sunday), but added 'On a side note: I would fully appreciate a little professional courtesy. There is nothing wrong with being polite in an email to an artist or someone you do not know. Thanks - have a great day.'

Okay - you can all berate me for going overboard now. /DesktopModules/dotNetBB/emoticons/oops.gif

when it comes to certain clients, remind yourself:
You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink.

I'm an ARTIST, not a MAGICIAN!

[Ulysses]

I suspect she simply had other things on her mind as a result of planning her week away ... apparently having packed her common sense and manners in her suitcase long in advance. Still ... stress is no excuse. Give her a friendly slap the next time you see her, lol.

[greyghost]

I'd never met her or worked with her before - this was a new publication for me to do an ad for for a client of mine. So she had no idea who I was, other than a freelance graphic artist. My name is known in Tampa, not Ohio!

Anyways, I just meant it for her to think about it before she assumes someone is a dolt. We all have those situations, but just because the ad is the wrong size doesn;t mean it was all wrong. I myself have had times where EVERY ad I got had been done wrong for a publication before, I know firsthand how frustrating it is....

when it comes to certain clients, remind yourself:
You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink.

I'm an ARTIST, not a MAGICIAN!

[EC]

I was rude to someone recently, but she pissed me off first. (and, it was Monday morning well before my first cup of coffee, not my best time).

In January, another designer took over the day-to-day design projects for a longtime client of mine (at my request), so I was somewhat out of the loop. I got an email similar to yours from a vendor about a project that I had submitted probably 5-6 months prior. (the client must have put it on the back burner unbeknownst to me.)

The vendor sent me a HUGE spec sheet, which I had gone through with a fine-tooth comb all those months earlier. I had no idea what the problem was. So, I asked her to tell me what file she was looking at and that I had already gone through those specs and could she help me figure out what's going on. (Also, my client tends to change her mind after-the-fact, so I wanted to get back up to speed to make sure I send the correct file.)

The vendor said the artwork was 'pixelated' which is wrong, that's just not right. I was sure she had her hands on the wrong files. (I had sent the raw illustrator file, but I do typically attach an image file labeled 'proof' and CC my clients when I send in artwork.) If she could have told me a little more detail, I would be able to avoid going through the 25-page spec sheet (AGAIN!) to set up a file that I was QUITE CERTAIN I had set up correctly.

She emailed back and said nothing but 'READ THE SPECS, THANKS.' and attached them again. Oh no you di'nt.

So, I sort of went off. 'You can't help me out here? I have to dig through archive files, get with my client to see what's transpired, go through the specs again, etc., but you can't save me some time here just by telling me what type of files you're looking at?' And I said something about them losing the correct file which didn't seem to please her. lol

So she wrote back and said I was rude, and that (and I quote) 'NO ART CREATER HAS EVER HAD A PROBLEM UNDERSTANDING OUR SPECS'... and that her company is meticulous about backing up client files blah blah and it could not possibly be their fault, that I simply set up the file incorrectly.

But, sent me a list of all the files she was looking at. All I had asked to begin with, *sheesh* ... She was, turns out, looking at all the wrong files. (Have I mentioned I am never wrong? lol)

Ok, that's all I needed to know, so I quickly narrowed down the problem, found the correct file, emailed it. She said it was 'perfect'. Later that day, the client said that the vendor had an email crash and had LOST THE FILE and she just forwarded what she had in her system (the image proofs). *sigh*

There was an apology involved there somewhere for my rudeness, but sometimes ... dang, just because you don't know me personally, is that any reason to treat me like a MORON? Hmph.

Anyway, I felt bad. That is really so unlike me.

[greyghost]

Well, she emailed me back. And was very nice:

I have to apologize, I didn't mean by in anyway to sound rude.
I have had so many clients that have no clue when it comes to
graphics... you know, RGB files, low res.
Please don't take it that way, I appreciate your honesty. I just wanted
to make sure you knew.
Have a great day.

Maybe she needs to join our site! Once Patrick gets his new job, the Soap Box just won't be the same.

when it comes to certain clients, remind yourself:
You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink.

I'm an ARTIST, not a MAGICIAN!

[Patrick Shannon]

It's easy to be misunderstood over email. One time I emailed a customer simply explaining to them why something wasn't going to work, nothing meant by it, just wanted them to understand why (to combat the inevitable 'But why can't I....' question). The customer complains to mein fuhrer that I was being 'preachy' and treating her like a moron. Huh?

Patrick Shannon

'Dear valued customer, go home and die. Signed, your friendly graphic artist.'

http://www.patrickshannon.com/mwwc_sm.gif
My War With Culture (http://www.mywarwithculture.com)
Political incorrectness reinvented.

[CatintheHat1]

I always try to be nice to fellow designers. I work from a home office and because of that and my very casual style, people think we're a very small company. We're not large, but I work with about 100 clients a year, so I do get around. I remember a design company sent me the wrong file format one time and I asked if they could send a tiff. The guy writes me this sarcastic note about 'oh, it's too much effort to change that is it..' Well, no it wasn't, but I can promise you he's lost at least $20,000 in work because of the remark.

Cat in the Hat