Most insulting thing a client has ever said to you? And did it get to your manager?

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“We’re just continually shelling out money to you with nothing to show for it.” WORST clients I’ve ever had. Toxic company, never understood PR or it’s value.

I told my manager immediately.

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Maybe they didn't get the point. I hope your manager was on your side.

Second job out of school (first agency-side,
AE at the time). Sitting by myself on the floor at 10pm trying to decide if I want to expense dinner or transportation home (ride-share) that night, when it came time to wrap it up.
Client calls my cell phone just utterly shrieking. SHRIEKING! I had never heard real, legitimate shrieking in real life. I am totally by myself, haven't slept in days, running on total fumes... and I just BUST out laughing in the most obscene, uncontrollable episode of snorting giggles I could have never imagined I (or another human) was capable of producing. I don't know what came over me in the moment (sheer delirium, surely), but when she finally stopped screaming I said "I am so sorry that this didn't seem to meet your expectations this evening, I can assure you the entire team has been on top of this (truth). I sent out email communications as well as left phone messages much earlier this evening when we did not hear back with xyz. I don't expect any response at this point in the *middle* of the night, so I think it is in our best interest to pick this up with fresh eyes and minds first AM. Also, you are very loud and I have a massive migraine. Goodnight."

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10 PM and got a call... something was wrong with it. I wouldn't answer!

I was presenting budgets and our media buy to a Mitsubishi dealer ad council in the Bay Area years ago. One of the dealers lost his shit and accused the agency of forcing local stations to raise their :30 spot cost to dealers to ensure that we could claim we paid the lowest rates in the market. I cracked a joke at his expense and he screamed, “you are mafia”! He then spit at my feet, in the boardroom.. I lunged toward him and the Mitsubishi Regional VP had to stop me. Yes, my boss heard about it and from thereafter the other dealers and the VP loved me.

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That is a remarkable story! Maybe you are the real mafia! JK

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“You’re such a f-ing c-nt” (he yelled to me across our open office when he showed up unannounced with 20 other franchisees and demanded our biggest conference room for the day, and I told him it was booked) Franchisee clients are, hands down, the worst.

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Sounds awful! I guess some people are egocentric.

"Are you sure you are qualified for the job? Your parents should have spent more money on your education". His rage is originally not triggered by me but by other clients. I just ordered him a wrong coffee though which by the way you don't need a degree.

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That sounds very disrespectful! Maybe that person needed more education...

This thread is wild. Mine just wondered aloud if I owned any clothes that weren’t black.

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I guess you were working with some fashion designers... Nothing wrong with owning just one color or two of cloth.

“Are you the right person to be talking about this?” I wasn’t…the right person (strategy) was out for religious holiday but the client insisted on meeting anyways

„I am embarrassed for you (the whole team) for presenting us this idea but not having any proof of concept or risk mitigations identified“ - client had asked for new ideas and out of the box approaches.

On another meeting, we were briefed to give an in depth walk through of our proposal. After 10 minutes, CFO went at us: „this is a waste of my time, can you do it YES or NO“ and left the room 😂

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