Can I vent?

[tRidiot]

God I hate web designers.... at least the ones we're dealing with now. My folks have paid $2500, with another grand to go, supposed to have had their ultra-modern spiffy wonderful website up Apr 15th. It's still not up, the stupid demo page has tons of errors on it, etc. I just made a list of nearly 20 grammar/spelling errors from only one section of 6 or 8 pages.

Not to mention the thing looks like a form page... old, outdated stock photos, looks like it's literally been typed into a stock page. Not a company who was supposed to be a "national leader". They have done some good work, made a major webpage for a major network TV show, which is what they sold us on.

I'm just irritated... they approached us after a competitor hired them to do a webpage, then backed out before the final payment was paid. Now I'm seeing why... the quality of their work doesn't seem to match up to the hype of their sales pitch. We've asked multiple times, repeatedly, for them to add specific elements, like a simple picture (of a cell phone carrier's coverage map)... even sent them the picture. Still hasn't been added. Now they're saying that the majority of the work is done, they aren't doing a "whole rebuild". Just a few tweaks. What a jip.

My parents' business is struggling through what is supposed to be their best sales time of the year, and if they can't get some kind of kickstart, they'll likely be bankrupt and out of business before Labor Day. Getting ripped off for premium work that doesn't live up to the hype isn't going to help any.

<sigh>

And I encouraged them to shell out the money, because it seemed this firm was going to provide top-notch product. Now, I feel like I'm to blame, and their business may fail.

Great.

Sorry... just venting.

 

[bettingpython]

I think DX3 on here does websites I also have a friend gundogdesigns.com that does websites.

 

[tRidiot]

Appreciate that, but they've already dropped a ton of money they couldn't afford. I don't see them shelling more good money after bad. They're hoping to put the pressure on these guys to do what they promised, but if it doesn't work out, I know they'll just walk away with nothing. I really just wanted to vent, maybe hear some other stories, something like that. Seems to be a plague in America these days with people promising things they can't (or won't) deliver.

 

[inactive]

VeggieMeat does as well:

http://www.vmdoh.com/

He's out west, but I doubt the location matters in this virtual world...

 

[dru]

was going to suggest VM as well. just sue the first company in small claims court....make screen caps and printouts to show judge. recover money. give to VM. enjoy happiness

 

[tRidiot]

That's an option... just hard to prove what was promised vs what was delivered. It's all subjective. Also wish we didn't have to go the legal route. As a whole it seems America is too damn quick to sue, and too damn slow to live up to promises, unfortunately. <sigh>

As for VM... is that VeggieMeat?

 

[HMFIC]

I hear you. In general, not only does it suck trying to get people to do a good job, but it ends up costing an arm and a leg anyway.

As for websites, I did my own just because I already know how high they typically run. Factor in changes down the road and you're spending money on it all the time. Mine might not be the prettiest or have the most high tech gadgets, but it gets me by for now.

Sorry to hear about the problems... hopefully things will turn around.

 

[dru]

yes VM = veggiemeat.

I hear you that its subjective but I think you would achieve one of two goals: 1.) the designer would either put some boot to ass and finish this project up or refund you money 2.) you could get a monetary award from the judge. Do you mean to say you don't have anything in writing, brochures, etc. about what you might be able to expect in general terms from this website in terms of looks, functionality, etc? Still, the threat of a suit might cause them to stop jerking you around.

Yeah its a shame that we are so sue happy in this state but at the same time you paid for a service that hasn't really been done according to "specs" why shouldn't you sue? this isn't a case of somoene claiming whiplash after being tapped by someone else on the bumper at 5 mph

 

[aestus]

I'm sorry you experienced this. There are a lot of bad design firms out there. Anyone can claim to be a "designer" and the only real way to weed out the crap is through solid reputation and word of mouth. I would say that a solid body of work and portfolio is the most important, but not everyone can realistically look at someone's portfolio and tell if the work is legit or not or if the work is a mere "copy" of other people's work or altered templates, ect.

You certainly do get what you pay for, though. Not to be snarky, but $2500 seems on the lower end of the spectrum to begin with, so it sounds like the agency you went to is probably in the lower tier of design shops. Granted, I don't know exactly what type of site was being worked on for your parents.

If you don't mind me asking, who was the design shop. I know people in every major design shop in Oklahoma City. I'm the president of RefreshOKC and former board member of AIGA. You can PM me if it if you'd like. Also, PM me what type of site your parents was having worked on if you don't mind me asking, as well. Is it an e-commerce site? What platform?

 

[kd5rjz]

Yeah, web designers are the serial rapists of the IT world. They've figured out how to do programming, but no well enough to be a programmer, they've figured out graphic design but not good enough to be a graphic designer. Yet they see how much money actual IT professionals make and think they can charge it and stick your website on some hosting service and pretend like they know how to run a server farm. Web designers by trade are a horrible idea, your best bet is always to find a real IT guy that does stuff on the side.

The only thing below web designers on the IT food chain are the people who actually get those stupid certifications instead of degrees. Like any other trade, make sure whoever you are working with actually has a 4-year degree from an actual school. That will greatly increase the odds that they aren't a fraud.