Recently, a client hired me to work on a project for him. He gave me clear project guidelines and I followed them, bringing my own touch to the project. At the end, he responded with “Good job! I really like it and I think it’s ready to use… but I made some additions of my own.”

I looked at his changes and they were bad.

I’m not exaggerating. They were terrible. (I’d give details but then I’d be revealing who this client is). The bottom line: His “last minute additions” transformed the project from something that would accomplish the goals he wanted to accomplish to something that would fail. I knew it would fail. I’ve been doing this for long enough to know.

My recent experience was not unique! As I was writing the above paragraphs about a recent incident, my memory was jogged of two separate occasions when this same exact situation happened with other clients. This “employer input” happens frequently: A business owner hires a professional to do the job then makes “small changes” that destroy the end result.

It’s completely understandable why this happens: The business owner is caught up in his or her industry so meaningless details to the rest of us are all-important to them. And, at the same time, we freelancers might be approaching a business or industry that is new to us and trying to get up to speed quickly. Then the business owner reviews our quality work, sees that some detail is missing, and adds it in, wreaking havoc.

So what do you do? This is not an easy situation! You have to do a delicate dance: You need to tell the customer he or she is wrong without insulting them. And yes, you HAVE to do something about it. This is not something you can get out of. After all, if they hire you and make changes and then fail while using your work, they’re not going to accept the blame themselves! They’re going to blame you for the failure… regardless of whether the cause of the failure was their very own efforts.

Here are a few ways to avoid this situation (or to reduce the damage if it is unavoidable).

• Send the file in a form that is not easy to edit. If you’re a writer, send your document in PDF (rather than a .DOC file). If you’re a graphic designer, send it in PNG or JPG (rather than a source file). Invite them to make recommendations to you and you can add any changes.
• Using a tool like http://a.nnotate.com which allows users to make online reviews of documents and images. If this is your defacto practice, your clients won’t think twice about adding notations instead of inserting their own edits.
• Don’t send the finished copy as your first copy, even on smaller projects. Send a near-to-finished copy and invite them to make changes and send it back to you to “smooth out” the language and iron out the wrinkles.
• If they make changes that you can’t change, be honest. Say something like: “I’ve created this kind of work before and, if I may give my professional recommendation, I think it might need some work before it is sent out.” Use the phrase “professional recommendation” to suggest changes because then it doesn’t sound like your opinion that is talking but your expertise.
• Articulate your concerns and suggest a split test, using your client’s work to one group and your own work to another.