Question on choice of recommender

[hitmis]

I have a choice among 3 for recommending me. All three have been enthusiastic to recommend me but my query lies on how much they would be able to be anecdotal in their recommendations

2 recommenders are my previous supervisors who I worked with over 4 yrs ending Feb 2010.
1 recommender is a former client who I worked with during a difficult pressure period in 2006-7

My initial idea was to keep my client as one recommender for all applications and the supervisors I would distribute across applications, choosing only one of them as appropriate.

While writing outlines I'm having 2nd thoughts about asking my client to fill a reco for me. Two reasons :-

1) For e.g. Haas asks for 3 strengths and 3 weaknesses exemplified. I had a good number of examples to choose from my work with both supervisors. With the customer, she has seen only the work I've done outside my organisation in discussions with customers, but she has not seen all the work and effort I have put behind the scenes in the team to deliver project bids, negotiate timelines, etc etc.
So I'm wondering if adcoms will find one reco as very enthusiatic spruced with anecdotes and the other a lukewarm one in terms of examples.

2) Another disadv is that the client has gone back to university to study to be a teacher. Doesn't have a email id with a domain name. She does some free lancing and has a name for her freelance org, but not a mail id that reflects that. I read on many websites that you need to have real good reasons to give a generic yahoo mail id and I'm worried the credibility might be low and not worth the risk ?

Should I decide against using the customer recommendation for these 2 reasons? Ofcourse i'll lose out on a customer recommender this way, which I think gives more backing ? Would find your advice very useful.

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear hitmis,

Schools generally like recommendations from supervisors, either current or former, best. Other perspectives can also be valuable and helpful, but supervisors usually offer the most comprehensive view of the applicant. While I think your concerns on the former client are valid, I am actually more concerned with the fact you worked together almost 5 years ago and not more recently. I think using recommenders you worked with for at least a year, but more recently, are probably the better choice. Additionally, recommendation forms are sent and received electronically, so if your former client does not have an active email account or issues with email, then that is another reason to consider using someone else.

Good luck,
Lisa

[hitmis]

Thanks for this Lisa.

I think I'll stick to my supervisors then.