Difficult clients and complaints: a guide for makers who work to order
Updated · 10 min read
Every maker who works to order eventually meets a client who is unhappy. Sometimes the client has a point: a joint has opened, a stone is loose, the glaze is not the colour that was agreed. Sometimes the piece is exactly what was approved and the client has changed their mind. Often it is somewhere in between.
This guide covers how to prevent most disputes, a step-by-step complaint process, how to listen, how to choose between repair, remake and refund, the basics of consumer rights for bespoke goods in the UK and Poland, and how to handle a bad online review.
The law sections are general information, not legal advice. Check your own contract and take advice when the stakes are high.
Key takeaways
- Most disputes start with a gap between what the client expected and what was written down. A clear scope and dated approvals close it.
- A research study of complaint handling found that customers judge it on the outcome, the process and how they were treated.
- Acknowledge quickly, listen fully, check the facts against what was agreed, propose one clear remedy and confirm it in writing.
- If the piece has a fault or does not match the agreement, repair or remake is normally the first step, at your cost.
- Made-to-order goods still carry consumer rights in the UK (Consumer Rights Act 2015) and Poland (Ustawa o prawach konsumenta).
- Reply to bad reviews calmly and in public. Do not offer money to change them; in the UK that is an example of a banned practice.
Prevent disputes before they start
Most complaints about commissioned work are about expectations, not workmanship. These habits prevent the bulk of them.
- A written scope. Dimensions, materials, finish, what is included (delivery, fitting, engraving) and what is not. Our contract template guide shows what to include.
- Natural variation, explained in advance. Grain and knots in timber, inclusions in stones, glaze movement in a kiln, marks on a hide, colour shifts in hand-dyed yarn. Say before the contract what will vary and show examples.
- Samples that match the real thing. In the UK, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 s.13 says goods sold by reference to a sample must match it, except for differences pointed out before the contract. Point those out in writing.
- Approvals at points of no return. See our guide to client approvals and sign-offs.
- Early warnings. A delay or problem the client hears about early rarely becomes a complaint. See handling delays with clients.
What "difficult" usually means
It helps to name what is going on, because each needs a different response.
| What you see | What is often behind it | Response |
|---|---|---|
| Frequent messages, worried tone | Anxiety about money or a date | More regular updates and a clear date |
| New requests every week | Unclear scope | Agree a change process with prices and dates |
| Nothing is ever quite right | Expectations never written down, or a client who may never be satisfied | Go back to the scope and approvals; consider ending the work |
| Late payments, excuses | Cash problems or a dispute they have not voiced | Ask directly, pause work per your terms |
| An angry complaint about a real fault | A genuine problem | Fix it quickly and fairly |
Most clients labelled "difficult" are anxious or have a fair point. A small number are not reasonable whatever you do. Treat everyone as the first kind until the record shows otherwise.
A complaint process in six steps
Having a process means you do not have to improvise when you are upset.
- Acknowledge quickly. Within a working day if you can. Thank them for telling you, say you will look into it and say when you will reply in full.
- Listen and ask. What is wrong, when they noticed it, how the piece has been used and kept, and what they would like to happen. Ask for photos.
- Check the facts. Compare the piece with the written scope, approvals, photos from the build and care instructions given at handover.
- Decide on a remedy. Use the table below.
- Propose it in writing. What you will do, by when, at whose cost and what you need from them.
- Close it. When done, confirm in writing and note what you will change in future.
Stephen Tax, Stephen Brown and Murali Chandrashekaran found that a majority of the complaining customers they studied were dissatisfied with how their complaints had been handled, and that customers judge complaint handling on three things: the outcome they receive, the procedure used to reach it and how they are treated along the way. A fair remedy delivered rudely, or slowly, still feels like a bad outcome.
First reply to a complaint (template) "Thank you for letting me know, and I am sorry the [piece] is not right. I want to sort this out properly. Could you send me a few photos of [the problem], and tell me when you first noticed it? I will look at everything and come back to you with a proposal by [date]."
Listening, and saying sorry
When a client complains about something you made, the natural reaction is to defend the work. Hold that back until you understand the problem. Repeat back what you heard: "So the drawer has started to stick since the heating came on, and it is worse in the mornings. Is that right?"
An apology for the client's experience is not the same as admitting fault. In England and Wales, the Compensation Act 2006 s.2 says an apology, an offer of treatment or other redress does not of itself amount to an admission of negligence or breach of statutory duty. Apologies also work. In a field experiment with a German online seller, customers who had left negative or neutral ratings were more than twice as likely to withdraw them after an apology (44.8%) as after an offer of a small payment (21.1%).
Choosing a remedy
| Situation | Usual remedy |
|---|---|
| A clear fault (a joint opens, a stone is loose, a seam fails, a glaze crazes) | Repair, or remake if repair is not possible, at your cost |
| Does not match the written scope or an approved sample | Bring it into line, or remake |
| Damage from use against care instructions | Explain kindly; offer a paid repair |
| Matches what was approved, but the client dislikes it | Not a fault; consider a goodwill gesture or a paid change |
| Repeated failure after a repair | Price reduction or refund, and take the piece back |
When to remake rather than repair. When the fault is structural, when a repair would be visible on a piece valued for its finish, or when the client has lost confidence in the piece. A remake is expensive, so check the cause first, so the second piece does not fail in the same way.
When to refund. When the piece cannot be made right, when repairs have already failed, or when the relationship has broken down and both of you would be better off apart. A clean refund is sometimes cheaper than weeks of argument.
Remedy proposal (template) "Thank you for the photos. I have looked at them alongside the build photos and the agreed drawing. [Your assessment, in one or two sentences.] What I propose: [remedy], at my cost, completed by [date]. I will need [collection/access/the piece returned] on [date]. Does that work for you?"
Consumer rights for bespoke goods
This is a summary of what the legislation says, not legal advice.
UK. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 s.5(2), a contract for goods to be made and supplied to a consumer is a sales contract. If the goods do not conform to the contract, the consumer's remedies (s.19) are:
- A short-term right to reject, generally within 30 days of delivery (s.22).
- Repair or replacement, which the trader must carry out within a reasonable time, without significant inconvenience to the consumer and at the trader's cost (s.23).
- A price reduction or a final right to reject, for example after one repair or replacement has not fixed the problem (s.24).
A fault that appears within six months of delivery is presumed to have been there at delivery, unless shown otherwise (s.19(14)). A failure that has its origin in materials supplied by the consumer does not count (s.19(2)). Separately, the 14-day cancellation right for distance and off-premises sales does not apply to goods made to the consumer's specifications or clearly personalised (Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, reg. 28(1)(b)). That is about changing one's mind, not about faults.
Poland. For contracts that transfer goods to a consumer, including contracts for a specific work that is a good (umowa o dzieło), the consumer rules in chapter 5a of the Ustawa o prawach konsumenta apply instead of the Civil Code's rękojmia rules (art. 43a). The trader is liable for a lack of conformity that exists at delivery and appears within two years (art. 43c). The consumer may ask for repair or replacement at the trader's cost (art. 43d), and in some cases a price reduction or withdrawal (art. 43e). The trader must answer a complaint within 14 days, on paper or another durable medium, or it is treated as accepted (art. 7a). The Civil Code's rękojmia (art. 556 onwards, applied to works by art. 638) still covers business buyers.
When a complaint becomes an online review
A bad review stings more for a small workshop than for a large company, because it is personal and it is public. Respond in a way that a future client would respect.
- Reply once, calmly, in public. Thank them, acknowledge the problem, state briefly what you offered or did, and invite them to continue privately.
- Do not argue the details in public. Future clients read the tone, not the technical points.
- Do not offer money to change it. The UK Competition and Markets Authority's fake reviews guidance (CMA208) lists offering a refund or gift card to a customer who left a negative review if they change it as an example of a banned practice. It also says traders should not make dispute resolution depend on the consumer not leaving a negative review. In Poland, posting fake consumer reviews or distorting them to promote products is a banned practice (Ustawa o przeciwdziałaniu nieuczciwym praktykom rynkowym, art. 7 pkt 26).
- Report only real policy breaches. Google's help pages say only reviews that break its policies are eligible for removal, and that you should not report a review just because you disagree with it.
Public reply to a negative review (template) "Thank you for taking the time to write this, and I am sorry the [piece] did not meet your expectations. I offered [remedy] on [date] and that offer stands. I would be glad to talk it through: please get in touch at [contact]."
When to end the relationship
Occasionally the right answer is to stop. Signs: the scope keeps changing without agreement, payments are repeatedly late, approvals are reversed again and again, or the client is abusive to you or your staff.
End it in writing, under your contract terms. Set out what has been made, what has been paid and what you propose: finishing to the last approved stage, handing over work in progress, or a refund less the value of work done where your contract and the law allow. Stay polite. Take advice before you send it if the sums are significant.
A short checklist
- Before the contract: written scope, natural variation explained, samples that match.
- During the build: approvals at points of no return, early warnings.
- On a complaint: acknowledge, listen, check facts, propose one remedy in writing, close.
- Know the consumer basics where you sell.
- Reply to bad reviews once, calmly, in public. Never pay to change one.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Laws change, and how they apply depends on the facts of each case. Before a decision about your own contract, product or business, check the current text with the relevant authority or ask a lawyer.
Sources
- Customer Evaluations of Service Complaint Experiences, Journal of Marketing 62(2), 1998: most complaining customers studied were dissatisfied; outcomes, procedures and interpersonal treatment drive evaluations
- The Power of Apology, CeDEx Discussion Paper 2009-12, University of Nottingham: 44.8% withdrew a negative rating after an apology against 21.1% after a payment offer
- Compensation Act 2006, section 2, legislation.gov.uk: an apology is not of itself an admission of negligence (extent: England and Wales, s.17)
- Consumer Rights Act 2015, sections 5, 13, 19, 22, 23 and 24, legislation.gov.uk: bespoke goods as sales contracts, samples, remedies, time limits and the six-month presumption
- Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, regulation 28, legislation.gov.uk: no cancellation right for goods made to the consumer's specifications
- Ustawa o prawach konsumenta, arts. 7a, 43a, 43c, 43d, 43e (consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1244), Sejm RP: complaint response within 14 days; consumer conformity rules for goods and works
- Kodeks cywilny, arts. 556 and 638 (consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 poz. 795), Sejm RP: rękojmia for defects and its application to works
- Fake reviews guidance (CMA208), Competition and Markets Authority, 2025: suppressing negative reviews and paying for changed reviews as banned practices
- Report inappropriate reviews on your Business Profile, Google: only policy-violating reviews are removed
- Ustawa o przeciwdziałaniu nieuczciwym praktykom rynkowym, art. 7 pkt 26 (Dz.U. 2023 poz. 845), Sejm RP: fake or distorted consumer reviews as a banned practice
Questions this guide gets asked
Do consumer rights apply to bespoke or made-to-order pieces?
Yes. In the UK, a contract for goods made for a consumer is a sales contract under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, so the usual remedies for faulty goods apply. In Poland, the consumer conformity rules in the Consumer Rights Act cover contracts for works that are goods. What usually does not apply is the 14-day change-of-mind cancellation right for goods made to the client's specification.
Should I refund or remake when a client is unhappy?
Start by checking whether the piece matches what was agreed. If it has a fault or does not match, repair or remake is usually the first step, at your cost. If the client simply does not like an approved piece, a refund is not owed by default, but a goodwill gesture may still be the sensible choice.
Does saying sorry mean I admit liability?
In England and Wales, the Compensation Act 2006 says an apology or offer of redress does not of itself amount to an admission of negligence or breach of statutory duty. That covers negligence claims, not every kind of dispute, so word apologies carefully and take advice if a claim is likely.
Can I ask a client to remove a negative review?
You can resolve their complaint and leave it to them. In the UK, the CMA's guidance says offering a refund or gift card for changing a negative review is an example of a banned practice, and so is making dispute resolution depend on not leaving one. In Poland, distorting consumer reviews to promote products is also banned.
How quickly should I reply to a complaint?
Acknowledge it within a working day if you can, and give a full answer as soon as you have the facts. In Poland, a business must answer a consumer complaint within 14 days or the complaint is treated as accepted.
When should I stop working with a client?
When the scope keeps changing without agreement, payments are missed, or the client is abusive. End it in writing, under your contract terms, with a fair settlement for work done and money paid, and take advice if the amounts are large.