There are bad customers and there are bad designers… and developers… and writers… so on and so on. Bad “workers” usually know they are bad. They know their skills aren’t up to spec and they know they have bad work habits. Frankly we all have something we would love to improve.

Bad customers however sometimes have no idea they are bad customers because they don’t necessarily know what they are asking. It is a fine line of “how much do I have to educate myself on a topic to be a good customer”. I mean the reason you are paying someone to do something is that you don’t know how to do it/or don’t have time to deal with it. There is no need for a customer so spend hours and hours reading up on the latest web design news… that is what the designer is there for! However sometimes the lack of knowledge on a subject can lead to foolish assumptions and bad decisions on the customer’s part that get them branded “a bad customer”.

The guys over at MB Web Design have a great article on “Nightmare Web Design Clients“. Although humorous, the points are pretty universal. If you don’t want to be a “bad customer” I would advise checking out the article, have a laugh, but make sure to understand the deeper meaning of each story.