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up vote 7 down vote favorite

We're students, and we don't have a car. A client would like to meet up, but at a location that isn't far to get to by car, but is a pain by subway/taxi.

It would be awesome if we could handle the entire exchange over phone and email. What is a nice way to say this to a client? Is the truth the best approach here?

The project is a new website, by the way.

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8 Answers

up vote 15 down vote accepted

Don't mean to offend you, but if you think it "is a pain" to meet with your client then maybe you should rethink the whole business-owner thing. If they were hours away, that's a different story but it seems like you're saying it's just plain inconvenient. I'm concerned about your commitment to your clients and the long-term viability of your business.

Having said that, if I've made an incorrect assumption and it is truly a burden to travel to their location, then one way to handle it is to charge them for your travel and leave it up to them. If it's worth their while to pay extra to have you there in person, great. You've covered any expense and extra time. If they don't think it's worth it, then they'll be happy to save themselves some money and conduct business by phone/skype/email.

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Covering travel expenses is a good idea. We thought it might be imposing a bit much, but apparently it's a common theme. And your concern is noted, though in this case extraneous. There are times when an in-person meeting is more than inconvenient, and for students without a car, beginning a business, this is one of them – user745434 Aug 31 '11 at 16:54
May I ask what would be a typical distance for such a meeting, and how would you get there, assuming that you could go to the meeting? I'd be interested to know what we're talking about here in terms of distance, your own effort and costs, etc. – user2757 Aug 31 '11 at 18:26
3  
Generally, clients expect to be charged for mileage at the going rate, which is currently 51 cents per mile. These rates are posted by the IRS each year. But that's if you're using your own car. In your case, you can simply charge whatever it cost you in terms of cab fare or public transit. It's unusual to charge for travel time itself. – JonDiPietro Aug 31 '11 at 18:56
up vote 8 down vote

Just ask for a preliminary meeting over the phone, to review the project, discuss milestones, whatever.

Once you know the project is likely to happen, then maybe it's worth investing the $40 of a taxi ride to actually shake hands with the customer. Just pad your quote with the $40 and you're good.

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You need to pad it more than the $40, since there is always a risk that the business won't go ahead. – Mike Aug 31 '11 at 23:28
up vote 5 down vote

This is a plausible excuse if the prospect is out of town (non local). Or the job or deliverable fee will not be sufficient to justify the time and expense of an in-person meeting.

Usually, for projects of several thousand dollars and up, most customers will expect face time at the start if you're in the same metropolitan area.

Let's say you are bidding a project of $2000, the prospect is in California and you are in Florida. Reasonably they should not expect you to prospect in-person. But then let's say the same sized job is in a different borough of NYC from you: YES, you should meet the client face to face.

Another factor is the possibility of repeat business. One area where you can stand out from the pack is to meet face to face for a relatively modest project, which may lead to ongoing business.

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up vote 5 down vote

You should keep in mind that there are things about how you run your business that the client will not care about. Whether or not you have a car is one of those things. If you have not explicitly put those facts on the table up front, then I believe there are certain reasonable expectations for the client. If the distance is such that another company like yours could easily get there, then you should do the same. And I don't think billing for time/expense in this case is appropriate. If I was the client I would be concerned about your company's inability to perform these basic business functions. Asking for a face to face meeting in the same "city" or location is not an exceptional request. Something which is a hardship specifically for you, because of your choice or situation, is not the client's problem.

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up vote 2 down vote

You have to pick your battles carefully, and the same applies to clients. If they are not worth your time, just move on and look for another one. However, this doesn't seem to be your case.

That said, business is about building relationships. As DiPietro said, if meeting clients is a nuisance to you, I suggest you become an accountant and let somebody else manage the front office of your business. Better yet, sell your business.

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You sound like a fun guy. I didn't say that meeting clients is a nuisance. We simply handle meetings in person and over the phone, and I was wondering how to encourage the latter case. – user745434 Aug 31 '11 at 16:47
The single phrase "pick your battles" carefully is gold. This is a cardinal rule in business. Yes, optimize your time and effort. But don't optimize opportunities right out the door. – user2757 Aug 31 '11 at 18:24
I agree with you to certain extent. But it doesn't seem that the opportunity cost here is too much. Believe me, if you don't have the time to build relationships, networking, meeting with clients, somebody else will. – A. Garcia Aug 31 '11 at 20:29
up vote 1 down vote

Suggest an alternative place that is easy to get to?

Or skip it.

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up vote 1 down vote

In my not so humble opinion, it depends on the price you're charging for the work.

If it is a $100-200 job, then expecting to meet you in person is unreasonable on their part. If it's a $3000 job, then the expectation of reasonable and you should go.

Since you're a student, it's likely that it'll be on the lower end of the scale. Assuming they know you're students, if they wish to meet, let them come to you.

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up vote 1 down vote

As a student, you can learn a lot simply by meeting your clients, and as a new business, you need to do everything in your power to get in front of potential clients.

Unless the travel time by car--public transportation doesn't count--is more than a couple of hours, I'd suggest you make the meeting without asking for travel fees. In cases where the travel time is more than two hours, try to assess your client's commitment by learning more about their goals and budget.

I started in business eleven years ago by knocking on doors and traveling up to three hours without a commitment from or imposing a charge to my clients. Only when we got too busy did I begin charging for travel. The effort paid off, we're still around after a decade, and I wouldn't change a thing.

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+1 for learning by meeting your clients – Susan Jones Sep 4 '11 at 23:50

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