As an example:
A client named "Frank" hired a freelancer to develop a website.
The freelancer did a great job and finished the project on time, and on budget. Frank was very satisfied with the project.
Frank hired another freelancer to develop another website.
Everything was going fine for two months. And then progress slowed to a crawl.
Frank was the SAME CLIENT. He used the SAME APPROACH. He thoughtfully selected a freelancer. He paid well. He communicated regularly.
What happened?
Well... Ultimately, it may not really matter. Because Frank's goal is to get a website made. His goal isn't to write a report about why a freelancer stopped working on the project.
I imagined this conversation between Frank and his sister, Sally (who happens to have significant project management experience):
Sally: "It sounds like the freelancer just got bored. Or distracted. Maybe the freelancer joined a bowling club."
Frank: "But that's unprofessional!"
Sally: "Lots of things are unprofessional."
Frank: "Maybe I should contact Upwork Customer Support."
Sally: "What are they going to do? They don't have a button to click to make a freelancer interested in your project again."
Frank: "So what do I do? The project is getting behind schedule."
Sally: "You know what needs to be done next, right? Assign that work to other members of your team."
Frank: "I don't have any other freelancers on my team."
Sally: "Then you should hire some. And assign them to do the next work that needs to be done."
Frank: "It sounds like the freelancer will get away with unprofessional behavior."
Sally: "Yes, probably so. But the users who come to your website don't care. They don't know who the freelancer is, and they don't care if you used one freelancer or three freelancers to create the website. They just want it to work."
Frank: "And the freelancer gets away with this kind of thing?"
Sally: "Well, you can close the contract and leave honest feedback that reflects your experience."
Frank: "The freelancer knows the system better than anybody. What if I need his help?"
Sally: "Then don't close his contract right now. Keep the contract open, but move responsibility for new work over to other people. The original freelancer can help you by answering questions, coordinating work with the new people, and so forth. You should do whatever you need to that helps the project."
