Straight retainer vs. hourly retainer for dev shops

I worked with a dev agency in Austin for two years on a straight monthly retainer. When we switched to hourly billing, their responsiveness dropped by half after three months. Which setup actually builds better long term partnerships?

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faith_shah881mo ago

Haha, right? It's like paying for a gym membership vs paying per workout. You show up way more when you've already paid. My last retainer deal was a straight monthly, and I swear they treated me like I was their favorite cousin until the contract ended. Then it was like, "Who are you again?" The hourly thing just makes them hustle for the next invoice, which is fine for small stuff but kills the long game. You ever tried mixing both, like a smaller base retainer plus hourly for extras?

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mark_ward1mo ago

That "favorite cousin" line hits close to home... I found a small base retainer plus hourly for bigger stuff kept them honest and available without either side feeling ripped off.

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