Grrrr…. here is the basics of an email I just received…
Hi Valerie—I haven’t had much of a chance to talk to you about our web page. How is it going in_____. Do we know any more about getting our ________ on the computer and web page? We still need to update our web page–I noticed that ___’s picture is still not up there–___ apparently hasn’t sent it to you. You might want to call or email her.
I’ve got you some help to work on the web page, but you will need to teach him. ________ has just retired and wants to help with the web page. I told him I would give you his phone number and you all could get together. His number is: __________
Let me know that you got this email. Thanks for all you do!
Note that second paragraph.
AGH.
This just bugs me. I mean, it’s great to have help and everything but I don’t have time to teach someone web design!
:hammered:
Especially not when considering some of the things I’m planning on doing to that website like some things having to do with PHP. I don’t have time to teach HTML and CSS and what little PHP I know. Just don’t have time. Nor am I that good of a teacher. It’s hard for me to teach this stuff, ask anyone, I either end up doing it myself or I give them FrontPage and say “figure it out.”
And it bugs me that instead of this person being given my phone number, or better yet - email address, I am given an email that says I should call this person who is being pushed on me.
Did I mention I do this website for free? Yeah, free design.
This is the second time this has been pulled on me. Only last time it was someone else (yes another free website - that one gets free hosting, too) and I replied back with “oh really? blah blah blah blah blah give him my email address” and then I never heard from the guy. :cheer:
It just gets frustrating sometimes I guess dealing with people who have absolutely no idea what they’re talking about.
And as far as the other parts of the email, the third sentence - I’ve done everything I know to do on that subject and am left waiting on other people who also have no idea what they’re doing, apparently. I’m trying to communicate here yet no one else seems to have any communication skills. And the fourth and fifth sentences - I have emailed and talked to that person about that and I was told, “I will get you that later this week.” Yet nothing. I can’t put up info/photos I don’t have, it’s just not possible.
Sometimes I wonder why I do this, why I put myself through all of this. You’d think getting fired by my Grandpa would have told me something, but apparently not. (Yeah he’d rather someone else do it who was already on their clock instead of also paying me. That later resulted in them losing their domain name and the quality of the website going down.)
Maybe I should just act like I never received the email. :evil:
Okay what do you think should I –
1. Call this guy and tell him that the best way for him to help me is to pass along info and updates and ideas and to participate in the website features to encourage other participation and to advertise it instead of doing actual design?
2. Email this guy who sent me the email in the first place and tell him that?
3. Ignore it and pretend I didn’t get it? :evil:
4. Change the website over to a CMS and say, here, everyone, do whatever you want? hmmmm… that’s an idea… :idea:
Grrrr… at least he said “thank you” though. :grr:
aww man.. that ougghtaa suck. I mean, you are helping them doing it for free afterall, and they push it even more? I think that’s just cold-hearted in my opinion. I’d say your such a nice and lovely person that would even help people that don’t really have much of a clue of web designing i guess =/. Man, I would get cooked up if i recieved such an e-mail o__O’. I guess most people don’t understand this phrase as I always hear it in my life “I don’t have time.” That’s true, even trying to fix up your own website; you hardly have time since you have a life.. and im sure most of us do. *sigh.. shrugs* im not sure what to do with the e-mail.. lol. Maybe other people have a better input :).. see you soon!
The fact that you will have to teach someone sounds like it willl take too much of your time. You don’t know how computer literate this person is, if at all. Doing your first choice just means that there’s one more person to miscommunicate with. If he doesn’t do what he’s supposed to, then it will make you look bad. I’d do your last choice with a really good excuse. It sounds like you’ve been more than nice to these people already…
3. Ignore it and pretend I didn’t get it?
Stop getting walked over :-P
4. You’re begging to get emails/calls whenever they can’t figure out the CMS, and then you’ll end up coding the CMS instead of the focused site you intended.
3. You’re begging for another email that says the same thing as this one, but in their pick of a whiney, exasperated, or beligerant tone.
1. You aren’t providing any support documentation of what you have done, nor a generating a record of what yet needs to be done that you can point to in future correspondence.
So… 2: Be sure to forward copies of the emails you sent to the relevant parties asking for what you need. Be clear that you can’t get the materials you need by yourself and that apparently their involvement is required. Mention how long it took you to learn what you know, and that it would be an innappropriate use of your time to train someone to the required level of competence for doing the excellent results you intend to provide. Follow up with a call to make sure the email is clear about what you need to continue, and that you’re still interested in getting the job done.
If you’re really ticked off, metion that you can forward on the names and rates of a couple of other professionals who can take on their project if you’re not meeting their needs. Maybe he’ll better appreciate what you offer. Doubtful it’ll ever be so, because this is the plight of the web designer, but it’s theoretically possible.