How long should I wait before firing

my web designer? We signed a contract back in early may and the site was scheduled to be finished in late June but here I am sitting in the second week of July waiting on a completed eCommerce site. So far all I have seen is a layout but I have already paid for 80% of the website, holding the final payment for the completed project. He's not a bad guy by any means, he answers all of my emails promptly and tells me that things are not going as scheduled but I really need to get this business up and running. Am I just being impatient or do I have a valid concern here?

 

I've no doubt that you'll eventually get your websites running, but I'd expect to be charged less for him taking so long.

Plus, I wouldn't have paid 80% up front, maybe just 50%.

 

I agree with shamess.I have been stung a few times on scriptlance and once they miss the deadline then it usually goes downhill

Never ever pay more than 50% and if you can get away with it 25% and NEVER EVER do escrow!!!

Always get guys from forums or websites where these guys rely on feedback which means on most occasions they will do a good job

Did you use paypal to pay this guy and has he handed over any work to you?

Thanks

 

I would say it depends at least a little bit on what you were asking for. If you asked for constant changes or tweaks, you should expect it's going to take a little longer. If not, then yes, you shouldn't be paying full price. Also depends on the language of your contract.

Jenn

 

well, looks like you don't have very much of a choice (since you've paid 80%) - just stick in there and try to push the guy to complete the work...

it's going to more hassle having a quarrel with him... unless you don't mind losing the 80%...

 

You are right.. I did add a group of drop ship items and some other things afterward so that could be the hold up. He did say it would not effect our schedule but I guess it did.

As far as the 80%.. it wasnt just an up front 80%, since the project was going to run long we agreed to 5 payments as the schedule went along.. I've made 4 of those payments already and never made the last one.

 

A good policy when setting up periodic payments is to have them meet certain milestones in order to release the payment. That way you can set the pace for the delivery of the content without sticking your neck out. A good practice is to have them send you their work as they progress so that each payment works as a safeguard for both of you. In your case, at the 4th payment out of 5, he would have sent you 80% of the work, so even if he was unable to finish the last part of the project, you could easily find someone else to finish the last bit, while still paying the guy for the actual work that he already did.

 

I second that. Then take into consideration additions you request.

Is this guy telling you WHY it's taking longer than agreed? ECommerce sites often involve more than originally planned so it takes longer to implement. If he's not giving you feedback and updates you may have a problem.

Dragging his feet isn't a good enough reason for the delay, but if he's actually working hard on your project and it's just more complex than he thought that's ok as long as he tells you.

I know, I work with eCommerce sites. Generally the owner wants a lot more than originally agreed upon but still wants to maintain the original "due date".

Ask him straight forward "what's the hold up?" Then really listen to his response, it may clear up all your questions or it may be time to talk to a lawyer about retrieving some of that money. Whatever you do DO NOT pay the last 20%.

 

Just as an update, they were working on the site up until september at which time i got fed up and decided to go with another web designer. I asked for whatever work they had done and they could keep the money I sent only to find out they barely completed a working template.

http://alaska.creativesurge.com

I know I know you shouldnt pay more than agreed up front but I did as an act of good faith and now they have basically run off with the money I gave them ($5000) After seeing the work they had not done I asked for half of what I had paid them back since I basically had to start from scratch and they requested that I allowed them to finish the project in 3 weeks as well as pay $1500 to finish the project. I explained to them that I do not have confidence in their ability to finish a project in 3 weeks that they couldn't half complete in 5 months.

Since then I have not heard from them, and the new company (who I found on elance with great feedback) is blazing through the project and doing some pretty amazing things with the site. So all I can do is warn others, stay away from CreativeSurge (www.creativesurge.com)

Since I'm in Atlanta and they're in Canada.. I'm not pursuing legal action.. why? Because getting my business running is more important and the resources needed to go after CreativeSurge would halt my business completely. The $5k they ran off with is a drop in the bucket compared to the work and referrals they would have had from me in the future. Lesson learned and hopefully someone will learn from mine.

 

Sorry to hear that it did not work out for you. You learned what a lot of people have learned as well. Get updates - make them show you their work and stick to a schedule.

Yes things happen from time to time but you waited more than ample time. Did the contract you signed say anything about a time frame? If so, you might send them a payment on demand letter telling them they breached the contract. I know you did not want to pursue legal action but the letter would not hurt.

Good luck with the site!

 

wow. 5K for a template. Really nice work on that though.

You should post the url to the work the new company is doing.

I'm in atlanta too.