Published on | Prototyping: From UX to Front End — Medium Andréa Linzmeyer

I’ve had three completely different agencies experiences and have discovered that it comes down to the account manager, and the team they put together.

In this article, I’m going to be discussing when agencies can’t get their acts together, the hierarchy of a poorly run team and how that affects the client and possibly the overall team.

Safety Is Better Than Being Cool

I had the displeasure of dealing with a “too cool for school” agency in downtown Toronto this past summer.

The “too cool for school” agency was hired by the company I was working for this summer and was located in the dreadful, scuuurry and snooty part of downtown. I never understood the point of having an agency there. Do they want their clients to possibly get mugged on the way there? This agency actually had two account managers — each for their own respective brand under the company’s umbrella. Which is why I figured out that it depends on the account manager and the team they assemble.

On Their High Horsies Of Illusion

Appearances, smiles and charms can be deceiving but respect or lack-there-of is clear as day.

I had been invited by my then boss, to the dreadful agency’s commercial shoot. I showed up on time but clearly I didn’t get the memo that you’re supposed to show up late. Hours late, if you want to.

The director for the shoot was some old guy, white hair, dressed in black goth clothes with a black fedora on. Apparently, either thought he was or was a big shot at some point in his life. I was representing the client, where the money is coming from to pay for his interesting sense of style at that age. Do you think I was greeted? No. Was my presence at all acknowledged by anyone there? No.

It was a total bros show and one of the most disrespectful experiences in my life.

I watched as this female intern followed Fedora around like a sad puppy, asking questions and wanting to learn from him. I noticed he treated other women this way too. I also began to notice the female/male ratio — the men ran everything and the women were “the help”.

No one bothered with me until my (male) boss showed up and they realized I was The Client.

No Work Ethics

People really should stalk who they’re going to hire. I did visit the agency in person once. I can’t say I felt welcome or good about the prospects of their abilities. I think there should be major flags if you’re allowed to have, and drink, beers in the office. A whole fridge of them. At client meetings.

It was like walking into a “professional” frat house.

It was amazing to me that months after being signed on, they couldn’t willingly cough up a simple presentation for an important meeting the client was having. They kept saying they didn’t want to show unfinished projects because it would “reflect poorly on their skills”.

I don’t really think their skills were the issue. If the person who’s paying your bill gets fired from lack of presentation materials and updates, then do your “skills” really matter?

<a href="https://medium.com/media/b85dfbb5286d8a25cf2e754b9462cf45/href">https://medium.com/media/b85dfbb5286d8a25cf2e754b9462cf45/href</a>

The Risk Of Poorly Run Agency Teams was originally published in Prototypr on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The Risk Of Poorly Run Agency Teams

Cool stuff, every week

More Articles