Client who can't figure out what content they want to use

[kinn]

Hi all,

Indulge me if you will - any advice is always greatly appreciated. I know somebody out there, if not all of you have delt with 'this guy' before

I'm a small time web designer, with a handful of clients who are happy with my work. They are happy, I am happy - we're all happy.
Until one day, a very non-committal client comes along proclaiming to know 'nothing about this sort of thing', and requesting that I 'hold his hand' and 'babystep' him through the whole process.
Since then it has been a nightmare. We had our initial meeting in which I rattled off my 13 page questionnaire that covers everything. I fired off a quote that I couldn't get to him fast enough, only to wait for 6 weeks for him to want to move on it.
Fine, I say - I had room in my schedule, we met again, sketched a little site outline, discussed content/ideas, and off I went to design.
He loved the mockup 'I'm impressed' he says - so on we went to html.
Now he has a beautiful frame, but has no idea what to put in it, which is entirely contrary to everything we had discussed in our first 2 meetings. In person, he seemed to know exactly what he wanted - I could see the bubble over his head with his idea in it. Now, he's not sure how it's all going to 'tie together', and he needs to see it 'in action' before he can decide whether or not he likes it.
Here's an example - I actually did acquire a collection of photos to be displayed. He asked me to start placing them on the website leaving room for him to write a text description underneath. I asked him for a little more direction (how many pictures of each category would you like to display?) He says that until he sees it active he cannot decide if he wants 3 or 6 or 12 on a page. So I respond that I will be placing three pictures, because, as the designer - I provide the suggestion that I think will work the best. In some cases, I did not even have 3 pictures for that category, so I used repeated pictures. I'm sure you can guess that after he saw the layout he asked how he was going to display more than 3 pictures. It turns out that after he saw it with 3 pictures, he realized he would need to display many many more. I, of course, responded in a way that required him to pay more money for adding more pages to display more pictures (as our agreement does indicate a page limit), unless he wants his users to scroll on forever. I do not even have the 'many more' pictures yet.
And finally, after increasingly large intervals of silence between our communication, and his assurance that he will not 'rush' me, he suddenly needs to have it complete in one month, and I still don't have all of the content yet.
When I ask for it, he suggests another 'meeting' - I can't continue to have meetings to brainstorm - I can do that over the phone (It is over an hour for me to drive to his location and back, and I absolutely refuse to have clients to my private residence - which is where I work).
I have never worked with a client who can't figure out what they want on their web pages. I repeatedly suggest times that I am available for a call, but he makes no attempt to contact me during those times. (I did let him know up front that I had a limited availability).
Anyway - whether its deliberate or not - it's very difficult. I've found a way to respond to change requests, but how can I get him to figure out what he wants, when he won't communicate with me over the phone, and it is very inconvenient for me to travel to his location every time he has trouble visualizing.
__________________
debt management info amsterdam hotels

[WingedPanther]

This sounds like something where he is trying to pull a "scope creep" on you. One of the things my company does is have a meeting to define what work will be done in a project. The details are spelled out on paper and no quote is issued until all sides can agree on what is to be done. Once that is accomplished, a quote is issued. Any changes to the quote require a stop of work and a return to the quoting process. No functional "mockups" are produced, but instead a specification is generated.
Some customers don't appreciate this approach to doing business, but it protects us from running into problems later on. In addition, "brainstorming sessions", etc that involve more than the sales people are also considered billable work. They make an appointment and agree to pay in advance for the session if it involves travel, or it is included in the quote after the fact.
My sense is that this customer will NEVER make up his/her mind until it starts to cost money. We include timelines as part of our quoting. Rush jobs get charged extra. We will not quote for work we cannot do.

[Sionofdarkness]

That sounds really frustrating! At some point, you just need to cut your losses and drop a client. You should always try to be accommodating and understanding but everything has limits.