I am going to highlight my experience with Steve Garbus of SteveGarbus.com. It was nothing like I would expect it to be.


First, we're going to visit his webpage: http://www.stevegarbus.com

Exerpt from the above website:



As a full-time web, graphic & print designer located just outside of Buffalo, NY, I can proudly say that my customers are my first priority and always will be. Rest assured, your project will be completed to your exact specifications and on-time for any deadline you're being pushed to meet. I'll constantly keep you updated on the status of your project by whichever means of communication is best for you.

What I highlighted in bold above is exactly what was not done.

I initially hired Steve a while ago - can't remember when, at least a few months back. He was hired to make me a full WHMCS integration - meaning a fully unique template that looks nothing like WHMCS. I showed him some examples and he was fine with it. We agreed on a payment of $350. I sent it via. eCheck, but I had delays getting him the logins/FTP. By the time he had received the information it had been ~1 month - so I don't blame him - the job turned out bland but I tolerated it and moved on.

There was another incident above. I had paid him an additonal ~$200 to complete the work since I had a delay - two of my payments got reveresed as I used a bad funding source. He instantly IMed me and raged, removed the work from my servers, etc. His balance was -$90 (or so) so he wasn't happy.

I'm fine with that - I told him I'd contact PayPal and have it fixed immediatley. I told him it's not my full fault and that I'm very sorry - just give me a few. He IMed with remarks like "You're out to get me..." (not exact words).

After about an hour or two the issue was resolved and the work was re-uploaded to my server.

Not too happy with the work, I posted on WebHostingTalk.com for some requests to do a similar job for me. Steve Garbus PMed me again saying he could do the work.

I first was hesitant due to the first job with him - but I am not the kind of person who grudges and grudges over something that is partially my fault. I accepted his request and we agreed on $250 this time.

I sent him the money (instantly) via. PayPal. This was on the 27th of March 2010.

He started working right away which was great. I then asked how much would it take to get done in two days (keep in mind - I have had similar service done before and it turned out excellent in a days work, he is a full time service man).

He stated it would cost $300 more for full orderforms (total wipe and redo), a stunning design and fast completion.

I was fine with this -- but I wanted to see some work before I sent the money. Steve was quite worried about getting his $300 fast fast fast -- as apparent in the following screenshots:

http://screensnapr.com/u/i/a1li0g.png
http://screensnapr.com/u/i/a1li0g.png
http://screensnapr.com/u/i/c178f6.png

Keep in mind the "how long more" was on the 28th of March.

We agreed on three payments of $100 - one when I saw some orderform updates, one when there was more updates, and one on completion.

I saw some updates so I sent the first $100, he then urged me to send another $100 and offered that he'd work VERY hard on these - so I sent that. I then left as something came up and, the next morning, NOTHING was done.

I assumed it was because he wanted his last $100, so I sent it.

He then logged on and started working. He got the main portal done, but not in any timeframe. After two or three days he finished it - and now, on the second of April, my tolerance has run out.

Why? Not because of the delay on the main portal - but the orderforms! He stated he'd have them done two days ago, then the next day for sure, then the next day.

Here are some chat log snippets:



Conversation with stevegarbz at 3/30/2010 9:54:25 PM on sarorahs (aim)



(3:33:45 PM) stevegarbz: 1:24:06 AM sarorahs: can we finish tomorrow evening
(3:33:51 PM) sarorahs: by tomorrow evening, yes
(3:33:54 PM) stevegarbz: why would I expect that I needed to have it all done in the am?
(3:33:55 PM) stevegarbz: yeah
(3:34:01 PM) sarorahs: evening isn't like 11pm
(3:34:04 PM) sarorahs: it's like 7-8
(3:34:05 PM) sarorahs: maybe 9
(3:34:15 PM) sarorahs: will you be able to finish by then?
(3:34:24 PM) stevegarbz: I'll try, not if you expect it to be better than E2's
(3:34:33 PM) sarorahs: well, if I do, "when" can I expect it
(3:34:45 PM) stevegarbz: I don't have an exact ETA at the moment
(3:34:49 PM) stevegarbz: it will be ready by then easily
(3:35:08 PM) stevegarbz: I'm going to get it done tonight
(3:35:22 PM) sarorahs: Ok

(E2 is an example I gave Steve, something I wanted to make mine as good as).

Another:



Conversation with stevegarbz at 4/1/2010 7:40:13 PM on sarorahs (aim)



(9:32:12 PM) sarorahs: lets make this stunning man
(9:32:21 PM) sarorahs: one thing that's nice is just wiping the page or re arranging the form
(9:32:26 PM) sarorahs: so it is "the same" but re arranged
(9:33:36 PM) stevegarbz: I'll have that done shortly
(9:33:40 PM) stevegarbz: yeah
(9:33:53 PM) stevegarbz: I will do that w/ the form, just gonna need some time
(9:34:41 PM) sarorahs: how long :)
(9:34:45 PM) sarorahs: can we plaese get it done shortly
(9:34:49 PM) sarorahs: it shouldn't take that long :p
(9:34:51 PM) stevegarbz: yeah tonight for sure
(9:34:55 PM) stevegarbz: within the next couple hours
(9:34:58 PM) sarorahs: ok thanks
(9:35:02 PM) stevegarbz: np

Keep in mind that I tried to IM him around 11PM:



(11:03:11 PM) sarorahs: you here
(11:05:45 PM) sarorahs: im me asap please
(11:09:16 PM) stevegarbz: what's up
(11:31:49 PM) sarorahs: hows it going

..and I was not able to get any more communication from him - I tried IMing him every hour till ~2-2:30AM.

I IMed him this afternoon and said my tolerance has run out - I need this done.



(3:18:13 PM) stevegarbz: I had it pretty much all ready last night
(3:18:21 PM) stevegarbz: you wanted some extra changes that I told you would take a bit longer
(3:18:29 PM) stevegarbz: I've had things to do this morning


Here is the "stunning work" (orderforms is what I'm concerned with) that he did:

http://screensnapr.com/u/i/hiavhq.png
http://screensnapr.com/u/i/jagdx9.png
http://screensnapr.com/u/i/qde2ub.png
http://screensnapr.com/u/i/6p2uds.png

It does look nice - but not anything special or huge. With the amount of 'overtime' he had taken (ie: it took him the night yesterday and the whole day up to now to fix a text on a button and about 15 lines of CSS/HTML code) I would have expected something a lot better.


He told me I told him the buttons (the ones in the screenshot - like 'View Cart') made it look amazing, and that he was apparently done - he said 'lol ok' when I told him that I was not saying you are done, just said it makes it look great. (?)

Not to mention the very many times he's "gone out" or "has to step out" (in the middle of work) and always returns later than promised in 90% of cases.

I really was not planning on posting this. The excuses have really drawn me up the wall and for a project that was to be completed on the 29th (ish) - I am disappointed to say the least. I can easily tell he's only done X hours of work and done other things (although he claims it takes forever to do this and that).


Anyways, I'm done with Mr. Garbus - I wish him all the luck in his future endeavors with clients and his website really needs to be updated to show his real nature of work. The $550 was sent with hope of a second time being better, but I am done with him.

I rarely reply here anymore due to the flaming that always come out of these threads. You're really missing a lot of information here, Shikhir, and it disappoints me to see a bad review after you've told me you love everything I've done so far.

As far as the order forms are concerned (even though he 'loves' the main design/portal), I did modify them quite a bit and obviously more than you know. As per our conversation from last night, you did say you loved how it all looks:
8:40:04 PM sarorahs: ok
8:54:39 PM sarorahs: Fyi
8:54:43 PM sarorahs: the buttons really make it look amazin
8:54:47 PM sarorahs: :p
I fixed the rest of the order forms up to match the layout/style of your new portal. This went well until you asked me to make a few changes late last night (which were completed this afternoon). You ONLY requested these changes:
9:32:10 PM sarorahs: change the continue shopping buton to next step
9:32:14 PM sarorahs: lets make this stunning man
9:32:24 PM sarorahs: one thing that's nice is just wiping the page or re arranging the form
9:32:29 PM sarorahs: so it is "the same" but re arranged
Apparently that part confused me quite a bit as after I uploaded my changes today, he told me I did nothing (which is incorrect, because I fixed the form he asked me to -- at least in the spot I had assumed he wanted it).

Following that, I did tell him I had to run out for a bit. I requested detailed instructions via email (15 mins before he posted this) so I could fix this exactly how the OP wants, but apparently a WHT thread was better for him.
3:30:14 PM stevegarbz: well I've gotta run out for a little bit
3:30:20 PM sarorahs: k
3:30:22 PM stevegarbz: so you can email detailed instructions to me
3:30:25 PM stevegarbz: and I'll look over them

I'm not even sure what to say here... Shikhir has been nothing but satisfied with the work I've done throughout this entire process, and apparently, due to a misunderstanding/lack of communication, there's another bad review here for something that the OP loves. Unfortunately, there's much I can say here anymore -- it did take a couple days (literally -- couple at max) longer than it should have, but I had no problem meeting the majority of the deadlines set.

The OP loves the main design, told me the order forms looked amazing with exactly what he's posting saying he doesn't like now (?). Had you provided me with a bit more detailed instructions, this would have been taken care of to your exact specifications and avoided the need for this thread all together.

Take care and good luck Shikhir -- if you want to complete this, feel free to send me an email with the information I requested.

Steve, I think it is time for you to take a break from the design/development industry. I admit it can be difficult to produce high quality work, be professional and meet deadlines, but honestly it doesn't look like you are trying very hard.

Over the past few months there have seen at least (http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=918865&highlight=steve+garbus) 3 (http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=924053&highlight=steve+garbus) people (http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=938410&highlight=steve+garbus) posting about their negative experiences with you.

You can come up with excuses, apologies or even complain about the review, but you need to realize that the client felt so strongly about their bad experience that they are taking the time to share it with others. This should under no circumstances ever happen.

The amount of bad reviews you have received in the past few months is inexcusable and I think it may be time for you to consider another profession.

Sorry if I offended you but the truth can hurt sometimes.

Shikhir I hate to say it but you got screwed... I don't see anything changed to WHMCS except the border colors, background colors, and buttons - not anywhere worth $250. Honestly this work could have taken anyone with any CSS knowledge under 10 minutes.

Check out the similarities:
http://screensnapr.com/u/i/hiavhq.png
http://demo.whmcs.com/cart.php

http://screensnapr.com/u/i/jagdx9.png
http://demo.whmcs.com/cart.php?a=add&pid=2

Not sure what type of customization you were looking for, but this doesn't look custom at all... You mentioned in your post you wanted something where someone wouldn't know it was WHMCS so I must say this was a complete fail.

When I think of custom I think of this:
https://secure.eleven2.com/cart.php?gid=1

Of course this type of customization cannot be done overnight, so you need to be aware that when you find your next designer you give him time to do his thing. Best of luck!

Yeah and people still trust this guy. Steve Garbus is pure trash..

Payton,

The screenshots he provided do not show the design at all -- the WHMCS design is 100% unique and custom as per the PSD mockup I created for him. NOTHING about it looks like WHMCS at all and is custom in its entirety.

As per the OP (and those screenshots), the order forms were not 100% complete, but the main design was (and he stated he was happy with that part of it). The OP said he loved the buttons and changes I made to the order forms but wasn't specific on exactly what else he wanted me to add/modify, hence the issue here. I have every intention on finishing this project to Shikhir's requirements, all he needs to do is email me a list of modifications (as I requested earlier today before he posted this thread) and it will be complete. I don't know what more to do when my client says he loves the work yet posts a thread trashing exactly that.

Payton,

The screenshots he provided do not show the design at all -- the WHMCS design is 100% unique and custom as per the PSD mockup I created for him. NOTHING about it looks like WHMCS at all and is custom in its entirety.


Understandable... I was wondering exactly how this alone was worth $250. You must also keep in mind what it takes to convert a .psd into a WHMCS template -- could be more work than you anticipate.

Yes the client loves the design, but it seems like you stepped out to take care of other things at the wrong time. From what it looks like, you quoted him based on a deadline and applied a rush fee which means you MUST complete the project within that time. He probably got tired of you leaving the project for other business and opted to post a thread.

Overall, looking at the worked needed to be completed, there is no way you could have coded this design into a WHMCS template within that time. If I were in your position I would refund the rush fee and continue working on getting the design up to your clients standards.

Sorry to hear about your horrible experience.

Anything to do with WHMCS I use HostPenguin, there is NO ONE better than these guys. Their rates rock! Check out hostpenguin.net/ - For less than 40 bucks they can integrate your WHMCS to look just like your website.

And to customize your forms and etc., a few extra bucks and they'll do this too. On time, cannot complain. Best damn company out there of anything to do with WHMCS customizations.

{o,o}
|)__)
-”-”-
OWL

Sorry to hear about your horrible experience.

Anything to do with WHMCS I use HostPenguin, there is NO ONE better than these guys. Their rates rock! Check out hostpenguin.net/ - For less than 40 bucks they can integrate your WHMCS to look just like your website.

And to customize your forms and etc., a few extra bucks and they'll do this too. On time, cannot complain. Best damn company out there of anything to do with WHMCS customizations.

{o,o}
|)__)
-”-”-
OWL

Did you read this thread at all? It looks like you just signed up so I assume you are trying to reach your post quota.

There are many companies out there that can do a header/footer integration like HostPenguin. This was regarding a complete overhaul of WHMCS which I'm pretty sure they do not do.

"Did you read this thread at all?"

Yes I actually did, I read every bit of it.

I do realize what he was trying to achieve and Host Penguin does do these options as well when you request them. I've had work done through them on several occasions and have had form work as well. They've improved the overall look of my WHMCS so it does not look like the standard WHMCS.

"It looks like you just signed up so I assume you are trying to reach your post quota."

Yes I am trying to reach my post quota. However this has nothing to do with my posting to this thread. I've trolled these boards for weeks now debating whether or not I'd sign up, and from what I've heard its an amazing place and what I see a lot of people rely on it for good reviews and such.

Reasoning behind why I've decided to start taking part. :)

I've seen 2 threads in the last 2 weeks about this same guy, yes while trolling the boards and I think its horrible. I see now this is an amazing place to find reviews as there are many in here and like this one its a damn shame.

All I wanted to do was recommend a good company that I believed would help.

{o,o}
|)__)
-”-”-
OWL

I'm going to reply to Mr. Garbus first.

I was *semi* satisfied with the template - I was on my mobile device a lot of the times I talked to you. The template (portal) is good - it looks fine. The orderforms look like crap. Payton, I paid him $550 - not $250.

You sent a few quotes in a sheer attempt to defend yourself. Sure, I like the orderforms - the stuff you did. But the fact you're saying 'tonight', 'tonight', and 'tonight' for three days in a row annoys me. The fact that you have to 'head out' every time and do not do things fast vexes me even more.

There's nothing worse to me than terrible planning/bad organization. You were in decent communication with me but never offered anything special - you just took my money and asked for more for guarantees you could not suffice.

If everything went well, I should have an orderform template that looks nothing like WHMCS's default one. I bet if I show the current orderform to 10 people here they will identify it as WHMCS in a second. As Payton said, it is an exact replica of WHMCS with changed CSS (not hard to do, just change the color hex #) and a few buttons (30 minutes to design them). Moreover, that'd all be done on the 29th (if you truly guaranteed your promise) or at least two days/one day ago at the latest.

Honestly, if you were a good person with some ethics left you would think: 'I think I will refund you a few hundred that was paid for the rush fee, I'm sorry that it didn't work out between us.'

As the old saying goes, it really will show if you are a 'real' man or not - essentially stealing someones money (basically not providing what was offered in the exact deal) is not a good way to do business.

I also have logs (on my other PC) stating that you actually put me ahead of the queue. You said another client of yours wanted a full template for $250 and "when bigger projects like yours come up" I "don't care about that stuff."

Excuse me? I went along with that when it was said, but I thought it was terrible business ethics. Just ask Payton, he has a business major..(or will soon) - that's pathetic. Although I agree that I paid more money, treat your clients the same - or at least refund the guy (I'm referring to the other negative review updated as of a few days ago regarding a logo etc...).

I'm sorry, you really disappointed me. No matter what you try to come up with - yes, I did like the work that was done in a hope that you'd continue working but you just give me excuses and after six hours you update a single color and CSS line - that honestly doesn't show me crap about my purchase.

I do have to complement Micheal @ InterDeviant.com.

Although I did not use the guy, he was up front with me in that he could not complete it within the timeframe I needed. I asked him for a timeframe and if he could go faster and he said (clearly) that he could not do it.

That's a real company right there. They don't try to get the buck, they keep the promices.

Nothing more to say really -- it's pretty pathetic how you do nothing and spend six hours doing whatever and then spend an hour coding something.

Payton, you're 100% correct - HostPenguin do not offer the full overhaul.

I'm going to reply to Mr. Garbus first.

I was *semi* satisfied with the template - I was on my mobile device a lot of the times I talked to you. The template (portal) is good - it looks fine. The orderforms look like crap. Payton, I paid him $550 - not $250.

You sent a few quotes in a sheer attempt to defend yourself. Sure, I like the orderforms - the stuff you did. But the fact you're saying 'tonight', 'tonight', and 'tonight' for three days in a row annoys me. The fact that you have to 'head out' every time and do not do things fast vexes me even more.

There's nothing worse to me than terrible planning/bad organization. You were in decent communication with me but never offered anything special - you just took my money and asked for more for guarantees you could not suffice.

If everything went well, I should have an orderform template that looks nothing like WHMCS's default one. I bet if I show the current orderform to 10 people here they will identify it as WHMCS in a second. As Payton said, it is an exact replica of WHMCS with changed CSS (not hard to do, just change the color hex #) and a few buttons (30 minutes to design them). Moreover, that'd all be done on the 29th (if you truly guaranteed your promise) or at least two days/one day ago at the latest.

Honestly, if you were a good person with some ethics left you would think: 'I think I will refund you a few hundred that was paid for the rush fee, I'm sorry that it didn't work out between us.'

As the old saying goes, it really will show if you are a 'real' man or not - essentially stealing someones money (basically not providing what was offered in the exact deal) is not a good way to do business.

I also have logs (on my other PC) stating that you actually put me ahead of the queue. You said another client of yours wanted a full template for $250 and "when bigger projects like yours come up" I "don't care about that stuff."

Excuse me? I went along with that when it was said, but I thought it was terrible business ethics. Just ask Payton, he has a business major..(or will soon) - that's pathetic. Although I agree that I paid more money, treat your clients the same - or at least refund the guy (I'm referring to the other negative review updated as of a few days ago regarding a logo etc...).

I'm sorry, you really disappointed me. No matter what you try to come up with - yes, I did like the work that was done in a hope that you'd continue working but you just give me excuses and after six hours you update a single color and CSS line - that honestly doesn't show me crap about my purchase.

I do have to complement Micheal @ InterDeviant.com.

Although I did not use the guy, he was up front with me in that he could not complete it within the timeframe I needed. I asked him for a timeframe and if he could go faster and he said (clearly) that he could not do it.

That's a real company right there. They don't try to get the buck, they keep the promices.

Nothing more to say really -- it's pretty pathetic how you do nothing and spend six hours doing whatever and then spend an hour coding something.

Payton, you're 100% correct - HostPenguin do not offer the full overhaul.

Well said, and it doesnt shock me one bit that Steve would say that. Steve Garbus is trash... Once he got's your money he either will toss you to the side or not work the project 100%.

Greetings,
The name Steve Garbus seems come come up often on WHT, I actually remember one at the tail end of last month. It is sort of sad really.

Steve is now 'going to finish' by tomorrow at 12, and I have sent him the exact standard of what I needed.

If he cannot finish, I will update, actually - I will update either way :)

SA

Steve is now 'going to finish' by tomorrow at 12, and I have sent him the exact standard of what I needed.

If he cannot finish, I will update, actually - I will update either way :)

SA

Good.. Hopefully he does what he need's to.

Steve is now 'going to finish' by tomorrow at 12, and I have sent him the exact standard of what I needed.

If he cannot finish, I will update, actually - I will update either way :)

SA

How did it go?

I had a similar experience 4 days ago with Steve. While my project was much smaller ($50), I was assured repeatedly that "it will be done tonight", which is the word I then passed on to my client. After 2 days of that nonsense, I told him to forget it and send me a refund.

I then hired another company for $39 who had it done within 15 minutes with no excuses.

Be weary of this man.

Everyone seems to be having similar experiences with Steve getting things done on time. I do remember experiencing the same when I had Steve design a few banners for me (or was it a landing page). However, it didn't bother me as much since I was somewhat occupied myself at the time, a few days late was no big. Steve has done a few things for us in the past and his quality of work was acceptable for the price we paid. Things definitely seem to be going downhill for him recently though. Perhaps all these overdues are because of lack of time or other occupancies in his life?

If that's the case, he shouldn't be taking on any projects.

When I tell a client that it will be done TONIGHT, I mean it. So I expect the same from people I hire to do work for me. I looked like a fool to my client because I passed along Steve's "Tonight" promise multiple times.

It honestly just sounds like he's taking on too much work... When you start to promise things to all your clients there's obviously some projects which will be delayed.

I've learned its always good to be honest from the beginning. Don't lie to complete the sale...

Here is the final update with Steve.

1) We agreed yesterday at around 9:45PM that he'd finish everything by afternoon - 12PM EST today.

2) I went to bed earlier yesterday (as a result of being up all night the other day) - around 11PM ish.

3) I had changed the FTP password earlier and he had not been notified of this change.

4) At 9AM EST the next day (or today), he e-mailed me saying "FTP is not working." Being a weekend, I woke up rather late (11:30AM ish) and sent him the FTP information promptly then.

5) Steve said it'd take him till 2, maybe 2:30 to finish - he stated the following - "another hour or two." (this was around twelve).

6) At 2:30, I promptly IMed him asking for another update. He showed me this:

http://is.gd/bdtYX

That (as well as a one minute button text change) was the only thing he'd done since 12PM.

I was a little upset, but I asked him to do something which was a bar like this on Site5's design:

http://is.gd/bdu6g (this is an image from Site5.com)

He never did it...well, I told him to stop around 5PM.

What happened? At 4:20PM I was simply upset so I started to argue with him. Many reasons why:

- Firstly, the design he'd done for the main portal was this: http://is.gd/bdubF

Talking to a friend on AIM, he reminded me how designs can be ripped easily (thanks Payton :)) - I checked in on Eleven2, the design I told him (Steve) I liked, and I saw this:

http://is.gd/bdufQ

- I told Steve it was a rip - he told me it was inspired, at most. It may not be a rip, but it's a lot more than an inspiration - the exact elements are copied with a color change, CSS change and a small background change. It's the exact same 'table' with the exact same style and it is far from the $550 unique quality I had paid him.

At this point Steve got upset and told me it's not his fault. He stated that his whole day revolved around the fact that the design was to be done by 12 and it is my fault competley for not getting him the FTP information faster.

I stated that he said he'd be done by 2:30 at 12PM - after I gave him the FTP information. He'd told me he'd woken up at 8AM EST to get it done by 12 (so ~4 hours). I told him at 4:30 that it has been over that and I see far from complete (I gave him specific standards the night before that I needed done).

He then told me that it 'did not matter' and it is all my fault. He said that 'I am blaming him' for things that he apparently 'did not take any fault in.' I then came and mentioned how he'd overdone his timeframe almost 300-400% and he stated that I kept changing my requirements. Not true. I told him right from the start that I needed something stunning and nice like Eleven2's panel, which is really good. He stated that I told him the stuff he did (such as adding the buttons) made the design looked amazing. It did - but it didn't mean its done. Somehow Mr. Garbus thought this implied the design was done and thus my fault that it didn't turn out the way I wanted it.

He also stated that I should have said something before if the portal was a 'rip'/over-inspiration. I told him that I forgot how the E2 panel looked exactly, but when he'd shown me the design I asked him "Is this ripped; it's not right?" and he clearly stated "No, I don't do that kind of stuff at all - all unique."

Sure, I take some fault for delay of FTP but he told me that it's ALL my fault and that I changed over and over and that he had other things to do after 12PM.

Heh - funny he was online and active from 12-5PM so I didn't see him 'head out' when I was still working with him.

So that's the end, at around 5PM I told him to stop working - 100% - and I hired another designer to do the PSD for the WHMCS templates. This took about 2 hours and he did 6 PSDs (5 for the orderforms, 1 for the homepage) - and I only paid the guy $185. It wasn't too in to it, but the guy I used got the design files to me early and maintained constant communication. I like the work and am going to trash Mr. Garbus's design. Time to contact the card companies to reverse at least 85% of the funds sent - this work he gave me was complete garbage - an overly inspired project with 100% the same elements as E2 and incomplete orderforms, bad communication, twisting of my words (to make it look like it is all my fault), and never finishing the design on time. Now to get the other one coded...

Thanks for listening guys,

SA

Hi Shikhir,

As many other's mentioned he simply just fails to accomplish what he say's he can... his favorite quote is have fun trying to get a refund this is a tangible good (Least you didnt have to hear that). He knows what he is doing and I'm glad to see other's mentioning there personal experience with Steve Garbus aswell he is simply horrible! And yes i also recommend contacting your card company to get your money back!

After seeing the work he did for you, I don't see how he calls himself a "professional" designer. Anyone with basic photoshop knowledge can draw rounded corner rectangles and fill them with gradients.

ie. http://screensnapr.com/u/i/e627qv.png

That is pretty basic stuff and nowhere near "stunning"... That plus the poor work ethics and lack of professionalism... and coming up with an excuse for everything, even finally blaming the client... I really don't see why people still give him work.

Anyways, glad you got everything sorted with your new designer.

Hmm, despite the work he's done for us in the past it definitely looks like he's gone downhill. I suppose I will be staying away from him until he picks up his act. Sorry to hear about your frustrations Shikhir.

Shikhir,

Once again, I was unable to meet your strict timeframe requirements due to the FTP password not working. I woke up this morning at 8:00am to finish all of the work you needed (by 12pm as agreed), and wasn't able to get a response from you until around 11:45am when you finally fixed the issue.

Here's the summary of the conversation (not quotes put into sentences by the OP) of why I was unable to complete this AFTER the deadline that had already passed for something that was no fault of my own. It's Easter weekend and I can't spend 12 consecutive hours of my day working with 1 client because the FTP passwords change on a daily basis.

4:17:22 PM stevegarbz: The point is I don't have 12 consecutive hours in my day to work with you hand in hand on this
4:17:35 PM stevegarbz: I woke up EXTRA early to get this done by 12 and the info was changed
4:17:39 PM stevegarbz: usually you're up at 7-8 am
4:17:45 PM stevegarbz: yet today, no response till 12pm
4:18:19 PM stevegarbz: My ENTIRE day/schedule revolved on finishing this by 12 so there wouldn't be much work left after that time -- not to start then and have to work the entire day

I told Shikhir this and yet again, he was not happy.

As far as Shikhir stating that the design was "ripped" is completely misleading. We've had correspondence for at least 6+ months now and he's seen and referred to Eleven2's design multiple times in the past. I had told him I could do something similar to E2 which I did, and is definitely not a "rip". If Payton is helping you out so much, did he explain to you when I had to DMCA the copy of precisioneffect.com he had in his portfolio that he ripped from mine (image by image, style by style -- even leaving our Kayako code intact)?

You paid $185 for 5 design mockups uncoded -- that seems like quite a bit of money to me. Considering the majority of the work is in the code, I have a feeling you'll be paying much more than $500 to get this redone in your strict timeframe and schedule.

Unfortunately, there's no need for me to further reply here. You have no idea what my schedule is like and assume I can work with you on a daily basis for 12+ hours a day, and it's simply not possible. If I do such bad work, why would you EVEN THINK about asking me to code the new design you had made? It simply makes NO sense.

Good luck and take care Shikhir... look forward to seeing what you can do with the design.

Shikhir,

Once again, I was unable to meet your strict timeframe requirements due to the FTP password not working. I woke up this morning at 8:00am to finish all of the work you needed (by 12pm as agreed), and wasn't able to get a response from you until around 11:45am when you finally fixed the issue.

Here's the summary of the conversation (not quotes put into sentences by the OP) of why I was unable to complete this AFTER the deadline that had already passed for something that was no fault of my own. It's Easter weekend and I can't spend 12 consecutive hours of my day working with 1 client because the FTP passwords change on a daily basis.


I told Shikhir this and yet again, he was not happy.

As far as Shikhir stating that the design was "ripped" is completely misleading. We've had correspondence for at least 6+ months now and he's seen and referred to Eleven2's design multiple times in the past. I had told him I could do something similar to E2 which I did, and is definitely not a "rip". If Payton is helping you out so much, did he explain to you when I had to DMCA the copy of precisioneffect.com he had in his portfolio that he ripped from mine (image by image, style by style -- even leaving our Kayako code intact)?

You paid $185 for 5 design mockups uncoded -- that seems like quite a bit of money to me. Considering the majority of the work is in the code, I have a feeling you'll be paying much more than $500 to get this redone in your strict timeframe and schedule.

Unfortunately, there's no need for me to further reply here. You have no idea what my schedule is like and assume I can work with you on a daily basis for 12+ hours a day, and it's simply not possible. If I do such bad work, why would you EVEN THINK about asking me to code the new design you had made? It simply makes NO sense.

Good luck and take care Shikhir... look forward to seeing what you can do with the design.

Sadly this is a great example of Steve.. Pure excuse's..

The reason why he let you keep working is because YOU contacted him promising it... And now you dont have the time to make this client happy after $500 that he has sent you? That's quite funny...

Sadly this is a great example of Steve.. Pure excuse's..

The reason why he let you keep working is because YOU contacted him promising it... And now you dont have the time to make this client happy after $500 that he has sent you? That's quite funny...No, that's not it at all. I just can't have every modification back to him and complete within a half hour to an hour like he expects. Keep in mind he also lost a full day's worth of work by posting this thread and then telling me I could get started again at 10-11pm the same night.

I offered to finish up by tonight (even with the extra design changes he requested to make it more unique) and that was not good enough. Unfortunately, beyond 12pm, I had family gatherings and real-life scheduled tasks on a Saturday (Easter weekend) because once again, this should have been COMPLETED by 12pm, not STARTED! I'm really, really sorry if any of you here are telling me you'd work the ENTIRE day hand-in-hand with Shikhir when you're already on a set schedule, but I can't do that on a busy weekend due to his lack of responsibility here as well (FTP password, saying he 'loved' the original design even after I told him it resembled E2, order forms looked amazing, etc.).

That's all!

I offered to finish up by tonight (even with the extra design changes he requested to make it more unique) and that was not good enough. Unfortunately, beyond 12pm, I had family gatherings and real-life scheduled tasks on a Saturday (Easter weekend) because once again, this should have been COMPLETED by 12pm, not STARTED!

The fact of the matter is that if things were completed earlier and on time it would have never gotten to this point. You would have never had to work 12-hours straight... The only reason you had to was because you failed to get all the work done after March 27th when you were paid.

Being a designer sucks sometimes because when you miss deadlines you need to do whatever it takes to get it done including putting "real-life business" on hold. I understand your frustration because the FTP was changed, but you could have easily worked on things locally or even on a demo installation.

If you can't hold up your end of the deal, partially refund the client so he can get the work done elsewhere.

Best of luck to you two!

Being a designer sucks sometimes because when you miss deadlines you need to do whatever it takes to get it done including putting "real-life business" on hold. I understand your frustration because the FTP was changed, but you could have easily worked on things locally or even on a demo installation.!Throughout this entire process, I've been working remotely off Shikhir's servers (which he knew as well). He had already changed the password earlier in the day and I had to ask him to change it back, which is why I would have never imagined it would be changed again. I had no possible way to grab the latest design files off of his server as he was not replying to my multiple IMs (from 1am that night to 11:45am that morning) and a demo installation would not have my current modifications already in place.

Throughout this entire process, I've been working remotely off Shikhir's servers (which he knew as well). He had already changed the password earlier in the day and I had to ask him to change it back, which is why I would have never imagined it would be changed again. I had no possible way to grab the latest design files off of his server as he was not replying to my multiple IMs (from 1am that night to 11:45am that morning) and a demo installation would not have my current modifications already in place.

Yeah I could see that being quite annoying... Hope you guys get things straightened out!

Yeah I could see that being quite annoying... Hope you guys get things straightened out!And unfortunately, sometimes you can't put real-life business on hold for clients who expect the world every minute you're working with them. For example, today I had to give my girl a ride to and from work (which is about 20 mins there, 20 mins back) so she could make it by 1:00PM. Of course, this also takes about another hour or two out of my day and when Shikhir is expecting updates every 5-10 minutes, it's simply not possible and then threads like this pop up.

As Shikhir said himself, Heh - funny he was online and active from 12-5PM so I didn't see him 'head out' when I was still working with him. -- obviously that is not true by what I just said! Just because my AIM is connected doesn't mean I'm here 24x7, and I do reply to Shikhir via my iPhone when away from my computer just so I don't have to hear a fuss about stuff like this.

When I already wake up at 8:00AM expecting to finish all of this, I shouldn't have to be working till 2am in the morning (like I pretty much do EVERY day -- much more than the usual 8 hours full-time) because his lack of responsibility for maintaining FTP passwords and that I was 100% set to continue working on this project after he posted this thread.

Stop with the excuses - I've answered what you stated in my previous posts. I've already called Discover Card and we'll take care of this shortly. Thanks.

First, you wouldn't have had to do any of this if you actually finished the work agreed (orderform better than E2, etc.) on the 30th of March.

Second, what you did was not professional - it was an entire inspriration and not LIKE E2, it WAS E2 (minus some colors).

Do better work my friend...don't have time anymore to deal with your crap.

It seems you've ripped many people off here, and you're making excuses with me not giving you an FTP (delaying 4 hours of work when you've had countless days) - stop it, I have no more to say.

I don't care for what you say - either way, I am the client and I should be satisfied.

Had enough of your excuses but you will not get another cent of my money my friend - your work is questionable at best - and your 1 line code updates every two hours doesn't help me.

You had at least two hours after 12PM to do further work - you did nothing. Nothing. Besides something that takes about 10 minutes, no progress. I can damn well tell when you do work and when you give me crap like "It takes 10 hours to do this!"

Stop putting the FTP blame on me - you've had more than enough time to do what you did.

Whatever. Grow up. Satisfy your clients. Stop trying to get 200 customers and tell them all you'll have work done in a day to grab the easy buck. It's okay to decline and push that refund button. Isn't that the first thing you learn as a businessman - the client is always first?


SA

[...] demo installation would not have my current modifications already in place.

Why would you put yourself in that position that you wouldn't have your own files locally? Do you not have any kind of version control to ensure maximum redundancy to avoid scenarios like this?

Whenever I work directly on a server, I'm constantly downloading modified files to my computer which the folder is also setup to sync with Dropbox. Those files are also setup with SVN in case I screw up and overwrite a file. Or someone else does.

I do this for my own projects and even when I was working as a FT developer. No way am I going to let something like a server crashing or a password issue prevent me from getting work done.

Stop with the excuses - I've answered what you stated in my previous posts. I've already called Discover Card and we'll take care of this shortly. Thanks.Good luck signing the affidavits and other legal documentation from your credit card company if you think all of this work was at no cost (work which was all delivered to you by the way). I didn't do all that work for free Shikhir, and with your correspondence throughout this entire process, it's clear that you did receive the product and 'loved' it, so I'll have some nice evidence for your credit card company assuming you do follow through with that threat. Good luck. :D

Good luck signing the affidavits and other legal documentation from your credit card company if you think all of this work was at no cost (work which was all delivered to you by the way). I didn't do all that work for free Shikhir, and with your correspondence throughout this entire process, it's clear that you did receive the product and 'loved' it, so I'll have some nice evidence for your credit card company assuming you do follow through with that threat. Good luck. :D

You have clearly exceeded your timeframe and that is not hard to prove. I did say I liked your work - it was fine - until I found out that it was merely a rip (or atleast a VERY bad 'unique' attempt) and until the updates you made became so long and trivial that they were becoming worthless to me.

You shouldn't put your client in a position to find out that a design you did for them is a ripped/bad attempt at unique design at all.

As said in a post or two above, you should have kept backups for worst case scenarios. It's not like I paid $10 for this job.

I don't need to fill out any large 'affidavits' my friend, it's already been sent and screenshots have been sent with clear statement of when it was supposed to be done and how it isn't..proven by your statement of "I'll finish tonight" (sent around 4:30PM today EST) - that is all they need to see that you were supposed to finish by X and did not. They are not designers - they're not going to go and critique your work because I said it was nice. That's not what I told them/am contacting them about.

I should say (with the vast majority of people who you have worked with here complaining) good luck to yourself!

SA

When I think of custom I think of this:

A standard WHMCS singlepage orderform isnt exactly "custom" is it ?

A standard WHMCS singlepage orderform isnt exactly "custom" is it ?

The back-end is somewhat custom if you have an account there.

Just to let everyone know I got Payton Designs to code the design I had and it turned out great - took him ~2.5 hours to get it done and the designer took ~5-6 hours so it was an eight hour project for less than I paid Steve :).

SA

And unfortunately, sometimes you can't put real-life business on hold for clients who expect the world every minute you're working with them. For example, today I had to give my girl a ride to and from work (which is about 20 mins there, 20 mins back) so she could make it by 1:00PM. Of course, this also takes about another hour or two out of my day and when Shikhir is expecting updates every 5-10 minutes, it's simply not possible and then threads like this pop up.

As Shikhir said himself, Heh - funny he was online and active from 12-5PM so I didn't see him 'head out' when I was still working with him. -- obviously that is not true by what I just said! Just because my AIM is connected doesn't mean I'm here 24x7, and I do reply to Shikhir via my iPhone when away from my computer just so I don't have to hear a fuss about stuff like this.

When I already wake up at 8:00AM expecting to finish all of this, I shouldn't have to be working till 2am in the morning (like I pretty much do EVERY day -- much more than the usual 8 hours full-time) because his lack of responsibility for maintaining FTP passwords and that I was 100% set to continue working on this project after he posted this thread.

I'm usually in and out a lot... I never set my status to 'Away' or log off... does that mean I'm still there, just lying? :eek:

Would love to see what Payton has done for you.

Could possibly be interested in having mine redesigned as well.

Yeah - I had STL Web Design design and code a template for $250 and Payton integrate it into WHMCS for $200.

Looks wonderful. Did you end up getting a refund/compensation from Steve at all?

Looks wonderful. Did you end up getting a refund/compensation from Steve at all?


No, I did not..

No offense intended to the WHT staff but why are you so lenient with these people?

On the majority of forums that I frequent; dishonest & untrustworthy people get banned (providing that there is enough evidence).

If you let them get away with it, they will never learn.

Sorry if I'm out of line, but I'm sure I'm just saying what everybody else is thinking.

;6736786']No offense intended to the WHT staff but why are you so lenient with these people?

On the majority of forums that I frequent; dishonest & untrustworthy people get banned (providing that there is enough evidence).

If you let them get away with it, they will never learn.

Sorry if I'm out of line, but I'm sure I'm just saying what everybody else is thinking.Are you kidding? I did the exact same amount of work that Shikhir just paid Payton and the other designer to do. I told Shikhir that I'd redesign it (since he thought it wasn't unique after the ENTIRE design process anymore), although he chose not to go this route because he was not happy that I told him it'd take at least another 12-24 hours. He wasn't satisfied with that deadline and decided he was going to get the entire thing redesigned again, which he also just stated that he paid $450 for.

There is nothing special about the new design that wasn't present in the old one -- if Shikhir had thought it wasn't unique enough, despite telling me he loved the E2 design and wanted to do something similar, he should have said so before approving the design mockup and stating that he "loved it". We discussed this project multiple times and he's seen and referred to specific elements of E2's client panel throughout the course of time we've been working together. To say that it looked like a "rip", even though I've asked many people and they've said it's merely an inspiration is ridiculous. Especially since I told him I would redesign and fix any elements he wanted me to so he could have the design to his exact specifications.

There's no reason Shikhir even needed to use another designer because of what I was going to do for him. It was the day before Easter and I had a strict schedule as is, and even told him I could fix anything he wanted (asked him to email me and changes/modification requests) and I'd get them done within 12-24 hours. Shikhir was the one who was unhappy with this timeframe, and went with another designer to get it done and had Payton code it. This alone took Shikhir over 48 hours (I was watching for progress and he even updated me when it was complete) to get ready and complete. There's no reason he needed to do this because I offered to take care of everything for him and even redesign the entire thing for free, the only catch is that it would take at most 24 hours -- something he didn't want to wait for.

Who are you to bash for negative reviews anyway? Looking at your staff list, I can find some negative reviews about those who work with you and represent your company as well. I also wouldn't go around trying to speak for all of WHT, because you're making yourself look like a fool and egotistic flamer. ;)

;6736786']No offense intended to the WHT staff but why are you so lenient with these people?

On the majority of forums that I frequent; dishonest & untrustworthy people get banned (providing that there is enough evidence).

If you let them get away with it, they will never learn.

Sorry if I'm out of line, but I'm sure I'm just saying what everybody else is thinking.

Greetings,
I should go on record to mention that is it not WHT's staff's policy to get invloved with the business conducted by users on the forum. There however have been a few hosts whos names have been banned from WHT but they will never say why.

Greetings,I should go on record to mention that is it not WHT's staff's policy to get invloved with the business conducted by users on the forum. There however have been a few hosts whos names have been banned from WHT but they will never say why.


Oh I see, that explains it. Thanks for clarifying.

Steve, it took you 6 days to produce a very heavily inspired design and code. With all your false timeframes and non unique designs how could I believe you - it isn't easy my friend. I said I liked E2 and a few more but you told me you'd be going with that style - I did not expect it to be near same. I can show the two designs to anyone and they can easily tell the 90% similarities. There's no excuses for your overdone time frame regardless of FTP because when the project was due nothing besides a half coded design existed.

I am really not going to argue more, you exceeded timeframes and merely copied a design - regardless of what you say.


Are you kidding? I did the exact same amount of work that Shikhir just paid Payton and the other designer to do. I told Shikhir that I'd redesign it (since he thought it wasn't unique after the ENTIRE design process anymore), although he chose not to go this route because he was not happy that I told him it'd take at least another 12-24 hours. He wasn't satisfied with that deadline and decided he was going to get the entire thing redesigned again, which he also just stated that he paid $450 for.

There is nothing special about the new design that wasn't present in the old one -- if Shikhir had thought it wasn't unique enough, despite telling me he loved the E2 design and wanted to do something similar, he should have said so before approving the design mockup and stating that he "loved it". We discussed this project multiple times and he's seen and referred to specific elements of E2's client panel throughout the course of time we've been working together. To say that it looked like a "rip", even though I've asked many people and they've said it's merely an inspiration is ridiculous. Especially since I told him I would redesign and fix any elements he wanted me to so he could have the design to his exact specifications.

There's no reason Shikhir even needed to use another designer because of what I was going to do for him. It was the day before Easter and I had a strict schedule as is, and even told him I could fix anything he wanted (asked him to email me and changes/modification requests) and I'd get them done within 12-24 hours. Shikhir was the one who was unhappy with this timeframe, and went with another designer to get it done and had Payton code it. This alone took Shikhir over 48 hours (I was watching for progress and he even updated me when it was complete) to get ready and complete. There's no reason he needed to do this because I offered to take care of everything for him and even redesign the entire thing for free, the only catch is that it would take at most 24 hours -- something he didn't want to wait for.

Who are you to bash for negative reviews anyway? Looking at your staff list, I can find some negative reviews about those who work with you and represent your company as well. I also wouldn't go around trying to speak for all of WHT, because you're making yourself look like a fool and egotistic flamer. ;)

Steve,

After 4 months without a completed design and you ignoring my E-Mails and responses in the other WHT thread I am demanding a refund of my $250. The last E-Mail I received from you was on March 25th:

"Something came up last night and I had to leave town at the last minute for an emergency. I'm on my way back to town and will get an update your way as soon as I can -- you're first on my agenda."

I am not happy at all about this.

yet another garbus is evil thread, starting to see a trend here.

Steve,

After 4 months without a completed design and you ignoring my E-Mails and responses in the other WHT thread I am demanding a refund of my $250. The last E-Mail I received from you was on March 25th:

"Something came up last night and I had to leave town at the last minute for an emergency. I'm on my way back to town and will get an update your way as soon as I can -- you're first on my agenda."

I am not happy at all about this.

Ouch hope you guys get this one resolved... once he got's your money its basically over.

You were the client he told me that he didn't have time for since my project was larger.
..good luck.

Steve,

After 4 months without a completed design and you ignoring my E-Mails and responses in the other WHT thread I am demanding a refund of my $250. The last E-Mail I received from you was on March 25th:

"Something came up last night and I had to leave town at the last minute for an emergency. I'm on my way back to town and will get an update your way as soon as I can -- you're first on my agenda."

I am not happy at all about this.

You were the client he told me that he didn't have time for since my project was larger.
..good luck.

Ouch, that's pretty much a slap in the face to kjp.

I hope this isn't another Jerret scenario where Steve doesn't have the time to complete the project, but also spent the funds so cant provide a refund.

Yeah - I mentioned this in my initial review. Unfortunately Steve continues to defend himself and not take action. For example, he said he'd use $250 of the 550 I sent him and refund him as I told Steve he had to take care of his negative reviews.

Ouch, that's pretty much a slap in the face to kjp.

I hope this isn't another Jerret scenario where Steve doesn't have the time to complete the project, but also spent the funds so cant provide a refund.

That is a slap in the face, yikes.

As for the design - Very nice work Payton. I will be using you in the future.
Who are you to bash for negative reviews anyway? Looking at your staff list, I can find some negative reviews about those who work with you and represent your company as well. I also wouldn't go around trying to speak for all of WHT, because you're making yourself look like a fool and egotistic flamer.

I'm not exactly sure as to what you are trying to say here, considering you are the one in a defensive position, "bashing," "flaming" and "making yourself look like a fool."

You were the client he told me that he didn't have time for since my project was larger.
..good luck.

Thanks for letting me know. That puts in perspective what kind of a person Steve Garbus truly is, scum.

I'll be sure to let anyone know who is interested in his services on WHT how he scammed me out of $250. You pissed off the wrong person Steve.

OK, I feel that I should at least chime in here... I had some design/coding work done by Steve over a span of roughly 2 months that was completed in March of this year. There were definitely delays throughout the process and I admit I did get frustrated at some stages due to missed timelines. However, Steve remained communicative so it's not like he disappeared and ran off with my money like other designers I've read about on WHT. I don't want to speculate on the reasons for the delays as I'm sure unforeseen things come up during the day. Maybe too much work was being taken on at times, but who I am to speculate on that? Anyways, overall, I'm very pleased with the final product and will release the website soon. Of course, I'm not challenging the authenticity of others' experiences with Steve (some don't sound so good), but just wanted to note that my experience was all-in-all not bad at all.

I was going to say pretty much the same thing.

If he could start giving some sort of timeline to his clients, and work on his communication he wouldn't have to worry about threads like this being created. [Which does hurt his image.]

Orien - you were lucky. Maybe the fact that you're a WHT moderator or the size of your project influenced Steve into finishing your work within the deadlines.

Steve did remain communicative. I will *try* to ask the guy for compensation or replacement design/programming services before going on with the dispute.


The fact of the matter is I paid Steve specifically to do the work faster and he graciously accepted. When he couldn't finish he tried to put the blame on me or tell me that "something came up." However, his excuse is the same for every client, as shown in other review threads. He always has something to do besides working -- and when he is working it's not much more than a few changes that are five lines of code in 2 hours. He exceeded timeframes when I paid him $xxx more for a faster turnaround. To make it worse, he didn't make anything unique and his orderforms were far from stunning. They looked fine but weren't perfect at all - nothing made them like what he'd said he'd do. When I complained it became my fault as I told him I liked some of the stuff he was incorporating. I guess he assumed that meant he was done working. He didn't offer any compensation and he degraded his smaller clients. That is bad business.

OK, I feel that I should at least chime in here... I had some design/coding work done by Steve over a span of roughly 2 months that was completed in March of this year. There were definitely delays throughout the process and I admit I did get frustrated at some stages due to missed timelines. However, Steve remained communicative so it's not like he disappeared and ran off with my money like other designers I've read about on WHT. I don't want to speculate on the reasons for the delays as I'm sure unforeseen things come up during the day. Maybe too much work was being taken on at times, but who I am to speculate on that? Anyways, overall, I'm very pleased with the final product and will release the website soon. Of course, I'm not challenging the authenticity of others' experiences with Steve (some don't sound so good), but just wanted to note that my experience was all-in-all not bad at all.

Being a moderator on these boards would definitely have a greater influence because if he screwed you over then it would heavily impact his reputation a lot more.

However, I can agree with you. Steve has also done some work for us in the past and we were always happy with the final product. Delays were always there too though. Although it didn't bother me as much since we were always heavily occupied with other things and the work we had paid for were not exactly urgent. However, delays should not happen if deadlines are agreed upon. Especially in Shikhir's case, he paid extra for the work to be completed early.

I believe the critical mistake here is the rush fee for both sides. I tend to ask what would you loose if your very custome design was done in a week and till that time you use the original one. Also I would ask to designer why would you ask for a rush fee and not rush it? You can not ask for a rush fee and then say that you have no ETA for the project thats just not ethical.

I believe people must be carefull with whom they work and choose them carefully as this situation many times hurts the innocent party just s much as the faulty party reputation wise.

take care all.

Well since Steve Garbus has proven that he cant live up to what he says he can (stated on his site) maybe he should simply remove it?

Have you ever worked with a designer who was frequently offline, provided poor communication or treated you as if you were just another number? Never again LOL

I can proudly say that my customers are my first priority and always will be. Rest assured, your project will be completed to your exact specifications and on-time for any deadline you're being pushed to meet. I'll constantly keep you updated on the status of your project by whichever means of communication is best for you.
LOL

Well since Steve Garbus has proven that he cant live up to what he says he can (stated on his site) maybe he should simply remove it?

Have you ever worked with a designer who was frequently offline, provided poor communication or treated you as if you were just another number? Never again LOL

I can proudly say that my customers are my first priority and always will be. Rest assured, your project will be completed to your exact specifications and on-time for any deadline you're being pushed to meet. I'll constantly keep you updated on the status of your project by whichever means of communication is best for you.
LOL


I have mixed feelings about some of the guys I had worked with but I guess I would think 357,5 times before writing my bad experience :) (I have my reasons) I am freaking scared LOL.

I have mixed feelings about some of the guys I had worked with but I guess I would think 357,5 times before writing my bad experience :) (I have my reasons) I am freaking scared LOL.


Being scared about a designer is a bad thing - you are paying them - and you are free to write a review. Some threaten that they will take your design away, but you will rightfully own the design - don't worry about it since you paid for it. Writing a review is something you are allowed to do under freedom. :emlaugh:

As far as the rush fee, Steve accepted the fee - by him accepting it he has to give me an ETA and keep his promice. In fact, I asked him when he could get it done by the fastest for how much. While I agree charging a rush fee for a complex design is a bad idea, this work has taken several other designers (about 5 different ones) the same amount of time - 24 - 36 hours - to produce a full, 100% unique design and code into WHMCS for me. I did not use them because a lot of them were overbooked with work and were up front/clear to me about it.

If 5 other designers can do this in 24-36 - Steve can. He claims to be a expert in this field doing it full time. He states (right on his site, SteveGarbus.com) that he can get the work done within any timeframe his clients require. He told me himself that he can do this work in XX hours (which was 36) for $ZZZ - which was given to him (in this case $300, which included advanced orderforms plus that rush fee). The timeframe was determined by him.

Being scared about a designer is a bad thing - you are paying them - and you are free to write a review. Some threaten that they will take your design away, but you will rightfully own the design - don't worry about it since you paid for it. Writing a review is something you are allowed to do under freedom. :emlaugh:

As far as the rush fee, Steve accepted the fee - by him accepting it he has to give me an ETA and keep his promice. In fact, I asked him when he could get it done by the fastest for how much. While I agree charging a rush fee for a complex design is a bad idea, this work has taken several other designers (about 5 different ones) the same amount of time - 24 - 36 hours - to produce a full, 100% unique design and code into WHMCS for me. I did not use them because a lot of them were overbooked with work and were up front/clear to me about it.

If 5 other designers can do this in 24-36 - Steve can. He claims to be a expert in this field doing it full time. He states (right on his site, SteveGarbus.com) that he can get the work done within any timeframe his clients require. He told me himself that he can do this work in XX hours (which was 36) for $ZZZ - which was given to him (in this case $300, which included advanced orderforms plus that rush fee). The timeframe was determined by him.

Well, I understand and I completely think that you are right . I also think by acting like this Steve has hurt his own reputation badly. Wish you better luck with new ones in the future.

All the best

Just a followup. I received an E-Mail from Steve last night stating he would refund my $250 by the end of the week latest. We shall see.

Hope he will realizes what service he offer!

I am glad Shikhir found a new designer! And I am about to go for Steve but after this review. No thank!

Thank you for review him!

Just a followup. I received an E-Mail from Steve last night stating he would refund my $250 by the end of the week latest. We shall see.


Heh..good luck, I see no reason why he can't refund you now. He states he keeps no money in PayPal (that's what he told me about 8 days ago - he said it'd take 3-5 days to refund you at most when I asked him to clear his 'debt' with you)..but still, there's things like instant transfer, debit card payment (if his money is in the bank, all banks offer debit cards), or even an eCheck (at least you know the money is coming, and all bank accounts with PayPal can send eChecks).

Heh..good luck, I see no reason why he can't refund you now. He states he keeps no money in PayPal (that's what he told me about 8 days ago - he said it'd take 3-5 days to refund you at most when I asked him to clear his 'debt' with you)..but still, there's things like instant transfer, debit card payment (if his money is in the bank, all banks offer debit cards), or even an eCheck (at least you know the money is coming, and all bank accounts with PayPal can send eChecks).

I've informed Steve numerous times about how you don't need to have money in your Paypal account to refund people... he apparently doesn't believe me.

Just want to throw this question out there, since everyone seems to have a difference in opinion..

What is an acceptable timeframe for creating a design preview ?

Just want to throw this question out there, since everyone seems to have a difference in opinion..

What is an acceptable timeframe for creating a design preview ?

I'd say between 1-4 days for a homepage design mockup.

;6741509']I'd say between 1-4 days for a homepage design mockup.

Ditto. But the timeframe isn't what's important. What's important is that you deliver what you say you will deliver when you say you'll deliver it.

Just want to throw this question out there, since everyone seems to have a difference in opinion..

What is an acceptable timeframe for creating a design preview ?

It depends on what the project is and what you're building the site in.

In my case I work virtually exclusively in Joomla and I can run up demos with multiple addons in various styles in around 3-5 days. Then around another 3-5 days for total completion.

But I work every day of the week and put in around 100 hours over that period.....so don't take my "days" as being the norm.

It's also a common courtesy to update your clients on a daily basis, even if you don't have any work ready to show them. They deserve to know what is going on.

;6741529']It's also a common courtesy to update your clients on a daily basis, even if you don't have any work ready to show them. They deserve to know what is going on.

I like your work Sam! Pity you're a Carediff boy though! :D

I'm a Swansea Jack so that's the nearest thing you'll get to compliment from me! :D

I am paying Garbus to do a design for me. I will let everyone know how my experience is working with Steve.

Call me crazy here, but is it normal for a designer to take on 3 - 4 projects at once ?

Call me crazy here, but is it normal for a designer to take on 3 - 4 projects at once ?

When you are dealing with people online who do not want to pay anything near a reasonable price for stuff, yes you almost have to take on 3-4 projects at once to make enough money to get by.

Hi,

This posting came a little too late for me because he seems to have ripped me off in late march.

As soon as he got paid the 50% deposit, I never heard back from him. I sent him several emails asking for a status update but he just ignored them.

If I saw this thread in March, I would have stayed away from this scammer.

For anyone else who might be considering using this guy sgarbus (http://www.webhostingtalk.com/member.php?u=121140) (aka Steve Garbus - STEVEGARBUS.com) avoid him or you'll end up getting ripped off.

SW

Am I the only one who sees mistakes on both the client and the designer side?

Obviously there's a big dispute between client and designer where it's very clear that the designer didn't always deliver the things he promised, but clearly the client made some terrible mistakes too: changing the FTP password at random, not providing clear details ("I want a stunning design" is not a very good requirement). Furthermore, the client said several times I like the E2 design and I want something similar. Upon creation, off course the design looked similar.

So, that's what the client asked for, no? Similar...

In my opinion Steve Garbus is not a very good designer and lacks business skills such as communication and on-time delivery, but he's not a scammer. A scammer is someone who accepts the money and dissappears.

I think if a client provides all the details and makes no communication mistakes, you could get a reasonable experience with Steve Garbus.

My conclusion after this thread is:

Steve Garbus is not very professional, but he's definitely not a scammer.

This posting came a little too late for me because he seems to have ripped me off in late march.

As soon as he got paid the 50% deposit, I never heard back from him. I sent him several emails asking for a status update but he just ignored them.

If I saw this thread in March, I would have stayed away from this scammer.I am on MSN messenger every day and never received a message from you, or don't believe I ever saw you online after the first day we spoke. If you never received email responses from me, please check any spam folders you have as I replied to your emails on March 15th and and 22nd. I've already been working with Sue to resolve everything and get the check requested.

In my opinion Steve Garbus is not a very good designer and lacks business skills such as communication and on-time delivery, but he's not a scammer. A scammer is someone who accepts the money and dissappears.Unfortunately, I probably took on a bit too many projects back in mid/late March and it's unfortunate to see this all happen. When you work with one client who expects the world, I lose a lot of time with my other customers as well and then they start wondering what's up with their project. I've already started to finish any current clients up and then decrease my workload to make sure this doesn't continue happening. I love my customers and would never do ANYTHING to intentionally take their money or delay their project, and I have many clients who have had nothing but a great experience and love what I've done for them. It's all about changes and what you can improve on (as the rest is history), so I will be doing everything in my power to increase customer satisfaction, communication and decrease my workload.

This goes back to where I was working with Guy Edwards (http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=932976) who scammed me out of around 40 hours of work and around $1,200 -- a lot of time and money to a designer who needs to make a living out of what he does. After (and during) the project, I was greatly relying on this payment so I could chill out on picking up work and relax with what I had, but unfortunately that was not possible and didn't work out that way. These past 4-5 weeks have been nothing but hell with Guy and playing catch up for previous work, but I'm doing everything I can to get that done and projects finished with happy clients

Well Steve, I honestly believe that your intentions are good and that you are not a scammer, but you should learn some things in business. Here are some of the things I do when I accept a project (I'm a programmer, not a designer, but the basics are the same):

- Always make a document stating all the requirements in detail.
- Make sure you state very clear the things you're client needs to comply to: such as access to server, needed documents, references, ...
- Set a time frame and live up to that time frame
- Whenever a client changes his mind (happens in about 90% of the projects I work on), state the consequences on timeframe and on cost
- Do not charge clients upfront, ask for a down payment of 25% the first time you work with them and charge 75% on delivery (making sure of course you can retract delivery if the 75% remains unpaid)
- If clients are not happy with your result, refund them, complete. Reviews such as this one will cost you a lot more than a complete refund
- If you have too much work, just tell clients that it will take some time because you have lots of customers waiting. This is not only fair to your customers, but it will make them more confident of you, because they know you have a lot of customers and are an honest guy. Some of them will look for another designer because they are in a hurry, others will be very happy to wait. In this actual thread someone is actually bragging about someone just because he told him he couldn't do it.
- If you have taken more customers than you could handle, talk to your existing customers and aplogize for the delay, offering them a discount.
- Never ever direspect, insult your customers or call them liers, you can't win! (see this thread).
- If a customer writes a bad review altough you fulfilled everything of the requirements and followed all of the above rules, it just means the customer is a scammer and wants to make advantage of you (which is not the case here though!), make sure you have all the documents ready and explain everything in detail from start to end. People on this forum will read every detail of it and I'm very sure they will just agree with you and the thread will even be good advertisement for your business.

The main point of all this is, keep your customers happy even if this means loosing some money. In the long term, probably some people with try to make advantage of this, but if you get some good reviews you will have lots of customers just by word of mouth. Reviews as this one will cost you at least a bunch of customers who otherwise would have contracted you.

Just my 2 cents of business ethics...

^ Well said ! :agree::agree:

Definitely not a scammer since there are NO confirmed reports of Steve ever taking anyone's money and running away.

Good to hear that you're trying to clear things up with your current projects. Hopefully you'll get back on track soon.

Definitely not a scammer since there are NO confirmed reports of Steve ever taking anyone's money and running away.

Good to hear that you're trying to clear things up with your current projects. Hopefully you'll get back on track soon.


I would not call Steve a scammer...no he is not - upset at his business ethics and handling is all, and he probably will/can offer reimbursement.

Hello,

I must disagree because as of today, he still hasn't returned the initial 50% deposit which was made to him a month ago on March 12, 2010. In my opinion, he is a scammer who took the money and ran. He has yet to deliver on a single promise he made.

Read the entire story at this thread:
http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=940602

Thx,

SW

Hello,

I must disagree because as of today, he still hasn't returned the initial 50% deposit which was made to him a month ago on March 12, 2010. In my opinion, he is a scammer who took the money and ran. He has yet to deliver on a single promise he made.

Read the entire story at this thread:
http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=940602

Thx,

SW

Steve Garbus dug his own grave... :uhh:

I never understand why so many people choose to comment on others 'reviews'. You and I obviously had nothing todo with the transaction, so we should just take the post for what it is. A review. No need to get our panties in a bunch!

I never understand why so many people choose to comment on others 'reviews'. You and I obviously had nothing todo with the transaction, so we should just take the post for what it is. A review. No need to get our panties in a bunch!

It doesn't exactly work this way here... This is a community forum, when you post something you're looking to attract replies and feedback.

It doesn't exactly work this way here... This is a community forum, when you post something you're looking to attract replies and feedback.

Payton is correct, and not only that everyone has the right to speak their mind if they actually had experience with the same designer or if not ... How ever i do dislike when people just bash for no reason but that's not the case here.

Thanks for information.

Hello,

I must disagree because as of today, he still hasn't returned the initial 50% deposit which was made to him a month ago on March 12, 2010. In my opinion, he is a scammer who took the money and ran. He has yet to deliver on a single promise he made.

Read the entire story at this thread:
http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=940602

Thx,

SW

Still no update on this? Any luck on getting your deposit back?

I have nothing to say, but you should see his own web design, doesn't look anything advanced for such a "GREAT" web designer. it's just a javascript, a picture & black background..
Well you can try to call your card company tell this guy he ripped you off, & you have a big chance to get your money back

BTW next time take some reviews & read up on google before you order something ^.^just a suggestion.

Hi,Still no update on this? Any luck on getting your deposit back?Nope not yet...which shows you what kind of guy Steve Garbus is...

SW

Hi,Nope not yet...which shows you what kind of guy Steve Garbus is...

SW

Would like to have Steve shed some light on this situation..

lol, that was just awful. So $550 for a button?? and few other pages. I mean, I would file a complaint to the (I think) DDMA? Or something like that in America.

As I'm in the EU, things are slightly different.

But over all, No work done at all and you've wasted this guys time and everyone else's steve. GET ANOTHER JOB.

lol, that was just awful. So $550 for a button?? and few other pages. I mean, I would file a complaint to the (I think) DDMA? Or something like that in america.

No work done at all and you've wasted this guys time. GET ANOTHER JOB.Perhaps you should learn how to read (and use some logic). Everything you just said is 100% incorrect -- do you do that with your hosting customers as well?

Would like to have Steve shed some light on this situation..He filed a PayPal dispute and they're currently holding the funds while investigating.

Please Steve, Prove me and wrong. What new or and improvements have you done then to the original project? I see no evidence of any improvement since the print screens at the beginning of this thread.

Please Steve, Prove me and wrong. What new or and improvements have you done then to the original project? I see no evidence of any improvement since the print screens at the beginning of this thread.The problem is that you never even read the thread. Perhaps you should do so before making baseless allegations and looking like a fool. The moderators have already removed 1 of your rather unintelligent posts, care to make it more? ;)

I worked with Steve recently and didn't have problems. Just saying.