"If potential clients balk at the fee...[the agent] decides right away not to take them on."

At Merrill, some longstanding clients, especially in Boston, are balking at doing business with the company.

As a result, some clients will balk at the higher rates and reduce their mailings, Mr. Dunhill forecast.

Ms. Kleier figured her clients, who had been outbid on the $3.9 million apartment, would balk.

If potential clients balk at the fee, Mr. Fischer said, he decides right away not to take them on.

To their dismay, the clients balked at paying.

But some clients still balk at that.

It still rankles that his freshman classmates nicknamed him Bill Gates and that clients sometimes balked at signing contracts with a minor.

A few clients balked at first, but they came around.

The client balked at the prospect of no windows, but Mr. Mayne said him goal is to go beyond aesthetics.