Client History

[kathy1010]

Hi, Coffeebreakers: Quick question. I always vet potential clients with care. As we all know, so many have a long list of open contracts, which I tend to avoid. I have noticed that some of these open jobs have a title in black and cannot be opened, while others have a green title and can be opened. Anyone know the difference? It will probably help with the vetting process.

Thanks.

Virginia

[AndreaG · Accepted solution]

Hi Virginia,

The green title links take you to the original job post used to create the contract. Since some job posts are private and not available to review, the respective contract title shows black and it's not clickable.

Hope this information is helpful!

[kathy1010]

Very helpful, Andrea. Thanks. That does mean that they are all still open, just as I thought.

[petra_r]

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Virginia F wrote:

Hi, Coffeebreakers: Quick question. I always vet potential clients with care. As we all know, so many have a long list of open contracts, which I tend to avoid.

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Why would you avoid such clients when you can easily end contracts yourself if a client doesn't?

[moonraker]

I'm with Petra.

You could be missing out on some very good opportunities for no good reason. 

[kathy1010]

To Petra and Jamie:

I am always afraid that if I close a contract first, the client will retaliate with a bad review. I have two contracts in that position at this moment.

Is my fear unfounded? I'd love your opinion, Thanks.

[moonraker]

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Virginia F wrote:

Is my fear unfounded? 

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I think so, yes. 

You should let them know beforehand. Send a polite message asking if the contract can be closed if they have no more work for you. It is best they close it first because that way you are assured of (hopefully good) feedback. 

If they are not responsive, say after a couple of weeks or so, just close it yourself. They are unlikely to be upset and, even if they are, they are unlikely to be around to leave feedback anyway considering they didn't reply to your messages. They only get two weeks to leave feedback after the contract is closed. 

[kathy1010]

Thanks. I admit this is a phobia of mine, and I will work on it. Appreciate the support.

[wendy_writes]

Virginia, seconding Jamie's statement. 🙂

[kathy1010]

Thanks. I will trust the experts. 

[zoe-barnett]

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Jamie F wrote:

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Virginia F wrote:

Is my fear unfounded? 

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I think so, yes. 

You should let them know beforehand. Send a polite message asking if the contract can be closed if they have no more work for you. It is best they close it first because that way you are assured of (hopefully good) feedback. 

If they are not responsive, say after a couple of weeks or so, just close it yourself. They are unlikely to be upset and, even if they are, they are unlikely to be around to leave feedback anyway considering they didn't reply to your messages. They only get two weeks to leave feedback after the contract is closed. 

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That's good to know. I'm sitting here with old open contracts from clients who were very happy with my work but just drifted away. I wrote to both recently, and asked them politely if they would either close them or let me do it. I've had no answer, so my finger's hovering over that button.

I've been worried whether closing a contract myself will have a negative effect on my JSS, but as I understand it, the only bad thing that happens is you don't get a review for your profile. So the only thing I'm struggling with now is what kind of a review to leave for the clients. The projects all went without a hitch, but if I give them five stars and they're eerily silent it feels like that won't look good on my profile.

[moonraker]

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Zoe B wrote:

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the projects all went without a hitch, but if I give them five stars and they're eerily silent it feels like that won't look good on my profile.

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I don't think it would look bad at all. Quite the opposite.

Leaving good feedback suggests that your relationships with your clients go well. Honesty is the best policy if you ask me. 

[petra_r]

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Virginia F wrote:

To Petra and Jamie:

I am always afraid that if I close a contract first, the client will retaliate with a bad review. I have two contracts in that position at this moment.

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Why in the world would they? Retaliate for what? Why would a client be angry if you close a contract? 

If the contract went well, there is nothing to retaliate for and most clients who fallen off the face of the earth don't actually leave any feedback at all. Generally, if they can't be bothered to respond and can't be bothered to close the contract, they can't be botherd to leave feedback.

Also, think about it logically. Clients who don't leave feedback don't leave feedback, so avoiding them for the feedback they might leave doesn't actually make any sense at all.

[resultsassoc]

I have to agree that in most cases simply ending the contract yourself is the best route. Concern about feedback is, in my opinion, distracting. There are exceptions, of course. In commodity services, which are awarded primarily on price, bad feedback can harm you. In non-commodity services, feedback is less important, because clients are looking at verifiable experience and a solid proposal.

[zoe-barnett]

Hello. Thanks for all your feedback. I think it was all a bit of a storm in a teacup. I closed three contracts and got great feedback for one project and no feedback for the others.

I have to admit that the sky didn't fall down.

I also have a tidier profile.

Writing this for anyone else stuck in this position: the "go ahead and close it anyway" advice given by the folks here worked for me.

[astepanov83]

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Virginia F wrote:

I am always afraid that if I close a contract first, the client will retaliate with a bad review. I have two contracts in that position at this moment.

3.5 years ago I started a contract with a EU company. Things went so well, that they invited me to the their office in the Netherlands. They paid for everything. We met each other personally, discussed plans, etc. It was amazing, and the future really seemed very bright. I still remember it with warmth. But right after the trip, things started to decline. After several months we decided to part. The last messages were polite, and noone accused nobody of anything. Still, I realized, that they didn't like my work. And I also had a bit of resentment about how they behaved in some situations. So, we parted, but the contract was left opened: I told them, that I could hand over my work to someone else, if needed. This never happend. And the contract stayed opened for for more than a year. I feared to get a bad review. One day, the guy I mainly worked with, closed the contract, left no message, gave me 5 stars, and did not ruin my rating. Now I think, that I should have done this right after we agreed to wave hands. I would be much less worried, because every time I looked at that opened, but dead contract, I did not know what to do, and that bothered me.