The Difficult Client

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At five o'clock on the last Thursday of the quarter, Ravi, an account manager at a design agency, was reaching for his coat when his phone rang. It was Ms. Brandt, the marketing director of their biggest client, and her voice was sharp. "Ravi, I've just looked at the new logo, and frankly, I'm not happy. I want a complete redesign on my desk by tomorrow morning."

Ravi sat back down. Three weeks earlier, the very same woman had approved this logo in writing, but he knew that pointing it out would only make matters worse, so he chose his words with care. "I completely understand your concern, Ms. Brandt," he said. "Could you tell me what exactly doesn't feel right to you?" There was a pause, and when she answered, she sounded less like a director than like someone who had been cornered. "It just isn't right. It's not bold enough. And my boss has been extremely critical."

"That makes sense," said Ravi. "So, if I'm hearing you correctly, you need something bolder, and you need it before your boss sees it." "Exactly," she said, slightly less sharply. "I'm afraid that a complete redesign by tomorrow isn't realistic," he went on. "A good logo takes days, not hours, and I wouldn't want to hand you something rushed that we would both regret. What I can offer is this: our designer will prepare three bolder versions of the current logo by ten tomorrow. Would that help?"

There was another pause. "Three versions," said Ms. Brandt. "Bolder. Ten o'clock." "Correct. And should none of them feel right, we can schedule a call in the afternoon and go through the options together." He heard her breathe out. "Fine," she said. "Thank you for listening. You know, the last agency never did."

At ten the next morning, Ravi sent the three versions with a short, carefully worded email. Twenty minutes later, Ms. Brandt called back, sounding oddly subdued. "I've shown them to my boss," she said. "He looked at all three, and then he said, 'Actually, I prefer the original.' He said it was clean, and that you had been right about it from the start."

Ravi managed not to laugh. "I'm very glad to hear it," he said. "Would you like me to send the original again, with a small change in the color, just so that it feels a little bolder?" "Yes, please," said Ms. Brandt. And for the first time in three weeks, she sounded relieved, as if a weight she had been carrying alone had finally been lifted from her shoulders.