How can I fire this customer?

[RealUnimportant]

I suspect the customer has a different definition of "detail" to the rest of us...

[TheTigress]

As someone who does art commissions for a living I would suggest dropping him like a bad habit. He's one of those people who will never be satisfied and has a huge sense of entitlement about it, like he is doing you the favor by picking you as the artist.

It's not going to matter which stage you are at with the art, it is a 100% certainty that he will bitch and complain the whole way.

The cool thing about being your own boss with art is that you can drop bad commissioners whenever you want to. Fuck that guy. He sounds like a horrid entitled douchebag. If it was me, I wouldn't even be his friend after that ordeal because he really showed his true colors.

I'd keep the deposit because that will cover the time and work you have already put into it. It doesn't matter if he didn't like it, you are being paid for your time too.

[Kiwi]

Be honest with him.

"Given the many hours of work I have already put into this work, including having to decline other work due to the tight deadline I am afraid you won't be satisfied of the final product. Therefore I am declining to work on it further.
I have done my best effort based on the photo you provided that was not clear or easy to work from, I voluntarily started the project over with another image I sourced on my own in an effort to please you and you still seem unsatisfied. Unfortunately this is just not going to work out. I recommend X artist or Y artists and suggest you have a detailed discussion about what level of detail and finish you expect for your project. Best wishes for the future."

[Nashida]

Everyone else has said it better than I could. Stop the work, keep the deposit, and explain why. He's going to cause more frustration than the work is worth.

[workerbee222]

"Clearly my style is not going to make you happy. Owing to that, you will need to find a different artist for this project. Best wishes."

[customersruinmylife]

UPDATE

I fired the SC today. I text our mutual friend warning him of what was going on and possible fallout.

I gave up my two days off this week to finish off the portrait. I was actually very pleased with it considering the amount of stress it has put me through. I have A LOT of other work to do and I could feel this starting to affect my health. I sent him a picture and got a thumbs up. I also sent a message saying I was quite relieved I was finished with it as I could go back to my other projects. I packed it all away and began to work on my other stuff.

Ten minutes later...

SC: Actually, my girlfriend has looked at it and we're not happy. It looks NOTHING like them. You need to work harder.

All I could repeat in my head was "You need to work harder" over and over again. I felt the red mist come down. I managed to keep somewhat calm and did not sent a message full of expletives back to him. I looked back over this thread and composed my reply.

"I will NOT be working any harder on this project. I am sorry that it does not meet your standards, but it seems as though you are unhappy with my style as I do not agree that it looks nothing like them"

Remember guys, I said I traced the piece due to his previous complaints.

"I have spent the past three weekends working on this piece, sacrificing other projects and my social life, and while I also work 40 hours a week at my other job. You are not my only client. I will not be devoting any more time on this piece.

It took a long time for him to reply.

SC: Well I guess I was just expecting something more from you. I will give you half the money and we can just agree to disagree.
Me: All the money or I will repaint the canvas tomorrow and use it for something else.

No reply.

[wolfie]

I will give you half the money and we can just agree to disagree.

Looks like this is the core of the issue - all the complaints were an attempt to "justify" paying less than the agreed price. I'm surprised a SC would put that much effort into trying to scam a 50% discount.

As for how to fire him, I'd suggest using a large ceramics kiln.

[Rebel1012]

what a twat....had an artist paint a copy of school pic of my kids...its damn close but not exact. Loved his work and didnt nag about the little things that were not perfect....its not a photo its not exact you expect this sort of thing.
Im sure your work was awesome, just they expected a larger print of a photo on canvas

[earl colby pottinger]

Excuses

SC: Well I guess I was just expecting something more from you. I will give you half the money and we can just agree to disagree.

Me: All the money or I will repaint the canvas tomorrow and use it for something else.

No reply.

This is a cheapskate looking for a discount, all the complaints before had NOTHING to do with your painting skills, it was just part of their scheme to pay less.

The telltale is the fact they would be happy to take the painting if you take only half the money, if you really had done a bad job why would they be willing to pay good money for it?

THEY WOULD NOT!

They are just trying to get the painting done for less. Don't be surprise if they call back with another offer, but still don't want to pay full price.

[bainsidhe]

The telltale is the fact they would be happy to take the painting if you take only half the money, if you really had done a bad job why would they be willing to pay good money for it?

I don't entirely agree. Why? Because I suspect this SC actually believes his complaints are valid. OP could hand over the artwork for free, and SC would still be convinced he got a raw deal because it wasn't what he wanted. Worse, SC would show others the painting while describing how bad the artwork was and how letdown he felt.

This customer was toxic. Good riddance.

[Nashida]

SC: Well I guess I was just expecting something more from you. I will give you half the money and we can just agree to disagree.
Me: All the money or I will repaint the canvas tomorrow and use it for something else.

No reply.

Drop him harder than Skrillex drops the bass.

[Ironclad Alibi]

Me: All the money or I will repaint the canvas tomorrow and use it for something else.

Will he call up the day after tomorrow wanting to pay, only to find the canvas repainted?

[crazylegs]

Will he call up the day after tomorrow wanting to pay, only to find the canvas repainted?

I do rather hope so, even if it's just with white emulsion

[Cia]

I commissioned a tiny watercolor pendant of my three kitties from an artist on Etsy. It took a bit long for the artist to complete it since she got sick. I could understand how that could happen. The pendant was the cutest thing ever and she even sent me a second cute as hell pendant of just one of the kitties as an apology and a thank you.

[customersruinmylife]

UPDATE 2:

Today is the day before the wedding. I have been getting messages from him and his girlfriend. His messages are very polite:

"I understand how hard you've worked on this and I will always be grateful. If I could pay you half the money we could just call it a day and move on."

The girlfriend's messages:

"YOU'RE A FUCKING DICK!! WE TRUSTED YOU! YOU WERE HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS??? IT'S THE DAY BEFORE THE WEDDING AND NOW WE HAVE NO GIFT!!!"

I can't bring myself to reply to either.

Today is a holiday in the UK. It's also the start of the Easter weekend, which is one of the busiest at the pub. I literally don't have time to deal with this and even IF we could work out a deal, I can't get it to them before the wedding because unlike them, I have to work!