Top 13 Most Annoying Client Comments
Ah clients….
They pay us the lovely money so we can't be too mean about them...but sometimes they make us want to saw our heads off.
Here is our list of the most common, idiotic and maddening client comments we hear on a regular basis – and what we would LOVE to answer them with - if they didn’t pay us the lovely money...
1. “We really need this to make” – Oh, OK thanks for telling us because before you mentioned it, we weren’t planning on trying very hard.
2. ‘“Which papers are going to use the story?” – Um - whichever papers decide it’s OK and that they’ll use it?
3. “Do you know what the news agenda is like for June?” – Hang on a second *looks into crystal ball for updates on future murders, natural disasters etc*
4. “Sorry but the release can’t be sent unless the brand name is in the intro paragraph” - OK fine, let’s get absolutely no coverage for you whatsoever. Not any. Not even a Sun Spot.
5. “Do you guarantee coverage?” – Um, No. If you want guaranteed coverage - pay for an advert.
6. “Can you give me a reason WHY the story didn’t make?” Not unless I call every national news desk in the country and ask them directly, which will make us both look like complete tools.
7. “How many papers will the story make it into? – Hang on a second *looks deeply into crystal ball for updates on future murders, natural disasters etc*
8. “It’s what the brand people want, the story has to stay like that” - Grow a pair and tell them it’s crap – and then do your job by telling them how it’s actually going to work.
9. “Can we send the journalist a free gift to coincide with the story being distributed?” - Are you insane?
10. “Can you send this picture of the product out along with the story? - Are you COMPLETELY insane?
11. We need more information in the story about where you can buy the product? - Have you lost every single one of your marbles?
12. “We need to make sure we get page leads with this one” - Oh, OK – could you just hand me that silver wand?
13. At 4pm: “are you able to send this story out to the nationals today?” - Are you in an entirely different time zone?
72Point Blog
72 Point are national news PR & survey specialists. Achieving daily print & online news exposure for the UK’s largest brands and PR agencies.
May 19th, 2011 - 11:53
“Can we make edits to the story after the journalist has written it but before it appears?”.
Yes, you can apply for, and be successful in gaining, a job as a sub-editor on the appropriate publication.
May 19th, 2011 - 11:57
It sounds very like our favourite one here at PRWeek. “How regularly does PRWeek come out?” Errrr, I bet you feel a bit of a twat now after asking that don’t you.
May 19th, 2011 - 11:59
“Can we get this on Google?” - Google, the website? I’ll try my best, but…
May 19th, 2011 - 15:49
Made me laugh. One we often get is when PROs often call us up with a news story - and I tell them we don’t do news. Long silence….
May 19th, 2011 - 15:52
“Can you lodge an official complaint with the editor about the fact that our key selling points and contact details were missed off”
Certainly, and ruin any chance of any coverage for you or any of my clients with that publication ever again. No problem, just dialling now…
May 19th, 2011 - 16:12
Clients like this can be found wandering through Poundland, scratching their heads and sweating over mental arithmetic.
“So… what exactly is PR?” A personal favourite
May 19th, 2011 - 19:03
Just…’can we do a cheque presentation photo’ does me EVERY time. Yes, of course, and then we’ll do a photo for the press that is remotely interesting.
May 22nd, 2011 - 10:39
“A few of us are running a 10k for a local charity. Can you arrange a release to make sure we get coverage in all the papers?”
Sure. Why don’t I also see if they want to send a photographer as well?!!!
May 23rd, 2011 - 13:49
Can you get a profile of my (smallfry) company in the Financial Times?
May 24th, 2011 - 11:39
Brilliant and so true, worryingly
May 26th, 2011 - 09:52
From a ‘PR specialist’ this is an interesting approach to your own PR in the eyes of your clients I must say.
Do you expect them to pay future bills?
June 17th, 2011 - 15:32
Recently a client asked if we could get the coverage on the page opposite their advert. Another asked if the journalist would send over the copy so we could check it for typos etc. To be fair, people who do not deal with the media on a regular basis wouldn’t know the score, but I suppose that’s where we come in.
July 26th, 2011 - 08:14
absolutely brilliant. everything you wanna say but wouldn’t out of common courtesy, hilarious.
October 11th, 2011 - 10:41
best thing Ive read in a long time really cheered me up