Never say to me “This should be easy”
First published on Apr 23, 2010 by Simon Foust
File this under “things that will get you stabbed in the face with a spork”: someone recently said to me, “This’ll be easy for you”.
I’m going to try to my best not to overstate this.. whenever you’re asking a professional to do some work for ya, whether a graphic designer, photographer, front-end developer, WordPress specialist, car detailer, landscaper, whomever.. and you end the request with something like, “This should be easy for you,” A LITTLE PIECE OUR SOUL DIES.
When you say, “this should be easy”, what we hear are things like this:
- Your time means nothing to me.
- I’m an incredible cheapskate.
- I don’t think what you do is very valuable.
- I have no respect for you or what you do.
- I am a tool. A giant, giant tool.
In fact, I’d RATHER you say those things to me outright than the passive aggressive, “This should be easy for you.”
Anyone who is self-employed probably hears some variation of “this’ll be easy for ya” on WAY too frequent occasion. Those are the emails we don’t even respond to. And that’s my advice, by the way, for those just starting out. Just don’t even waste your time responding to people who don’t value your time. Or just link them to this article. If they weren’t being toolish consciously, maybe they’ll realize what they said to you comes with implications. And maybe they’ll email you again asking for your services without the underhanded insult.
Do people really think that if they frame a question to you in these terms that your tiny monkey brain will somehow be tricked into believing that, in fact, your time is not valuable? That, they’re right, this will only take me 5 minutes and therefore I shouldn’t charge them at all? Well, not this nitwit. George Banks is saying NO.