Firing clients

Once upon a time there was an agency. 

An agency with a reputation for two things: producing brilliant creative and being a great place to work. 

All who worked at this agency cherished their time there. It was their dream work culture. 

Then came … the client. 

This client was huge, easily the biggest the agency has ever had and they promised the agency they would spend more than any other client the agency had. 

This was true, the client didn’t break this spending promise. 

But the client did demand an enormous workload from the agency. A workload so large that the agency had to hire extra people to keep up. 

But it didn’t stop there. The client demanded more and the agency couldn’t keep up in regular working hours, so all the staff started working overtime. 

Then the client moved up the deadlines and the workload along with the pressure to deliver on time tripled. 

Then the client began to contradict themselves and the agency workers became more confused than ever but were still being pressured to deliver.  

At this point the agency’s formerly great work culture was in tatters. The staff were stressed to the gills. All nighters were becoming the norm. Confusion and pressure were commonplace. Enjoying work was a thing of the past. 

I think this scenario warrants the question – Why is the agency doing this?

The obvious answer would be – Because they’re getting paid and paid well.

But let me follow up with – At what point is it not worth the money? 

When does the agency leader say enough is enough and stand up to or fire the client?