Block a client

cvtiquis08 · ‎07-26-2021

Hi i am wondering will it affect me if i block a client . We have an on going project, but I agreed to a very little price because that was my first and when he was interviewing me he said he only need simple or cartoonic art. but when i accept, suddenly he wants a realistic portrait of 8 people and with very detailed background that will take an artist a week. and his payment is only for 1 hour. i talked to him about it twice and everytime it seemed he understood it, but when i submit it again for minor edits only since he was taking a lot of my time and that was the initial agreement. he then again insisting of making it detailed.

what are the effects if i block him with existing contract

prestonhunter · ‎07-26-2021

This is an example of:

Give someone an inch, and they take a mile.

I think you made a tactical error by letting the client ask for any changes at all. This set the wrong precedent. I advise freelancers to say no to changes in fixed-price contract agreements and move such clients into hourly contracts.

If you already have an hourly contract, you need to make sure that you bill for every minute spent working on behalf of the client.

What can you do now?
Either move this to an hourly contract where all time is billed. Or close the contract.

Block? Yes. You can block the clients. But you need to close the contract first.

Is it possible to block a client with whom you have an open contact? I don't know. But don't do it even if it is possible.

Close the contract first. Then block. Or start using a strict hourly contract.

Blocking another Upwork user does NOT have an impact on your JSS or profile.

feed_my_eyes · ‎07-26-2021

Preston H wrote:

Blocking another Upwork user does NOT have an impact on your JSS or profile.

How can you say such a thing? Blocking a client is likely to make them angry and cause them to leave a bad review.

prestonhunter · ‎07-26-2021

re: "How can you say such a thing?"

The original poster asked a question about whether or not blocking someone has an impact. It does not. This is a factual answer.

Upwork does not directly penalize a freelancer's JSS or any other aspect of a freelancer's account for blocking another Upwork user.

re: "Blocking a client is likely to make them angry and cause them to leave a bad review."

I don't even know if it is possible to block a current client. Regardless of if it is possible or not, I told the original poster to NOT block the client before closing the contract or otherwise resolving things.

After this matter has been resolved and the contract has been closed, blocking the client will have no negative impact on the freelancer's JSS or profile - neither direct nor indirect.

Could closing the contract or ignoring all communication from the client cause a client to leave negative feedback? Yes.

petra_r · ‎07-26-2021

Preston H wrote:
re: "How can you say such a thing?"

The original poster asked a question about whether or not blocking someone has an impact. It does not. This is a factual answer.

It is also terribly misleading without the necessary context to warn the OP that just blocking the client is not likely to lead to a great outcome.

It's a bit like telling someone "YES" when they ask if a certain mushroom can be eaten. And then shrugging shoulders when the poor chap dies because the mushroom was poisonous... Like my grandfather used to say "You can eat all mushrooms. Some only once!"

feed_my_eyes · ‎07-26-2021

Preston H wrote:
After this matter has been resolved and the contract has been closed, blocking the client will have no negative impact on the freelancer's JSS or profile - neither direct nor indirect.

You didn't advise her to resolve things, you just told her that she needed to close the contract first or it might not be possible to block the client, and that it wouldn't affect her JSS.

Stating, "Blocking another Upwork user does NOT have an impact on your JSS or profile," is extremely misleading unless you add, "UNLESS they leave you a bad review, which they're likely to do if you don't end this in a professional manner."

feed_my_eyes · ‎07-26-2021

Christelle T wrote:
Hi i am wondering will it affect me if i block a client . We have an on going project, but I agreed to a very little price because that was my first and when he was interviewing me he said he only need simple or cartoonic art. but when i accept, suddenly he wants a realistic portrait of 8 people and with very detailed background that will take an artist a week. and his payment is only for 1 hour. i talked to him about it twice and everytime it seemed he understood it, but when i submit it again for minor edits only since he was taking a lot of my time and that was the initial agreement. he then again insisting of making it detailed.

what are the effects if i block him with existing contract

You can't just block someone and make your problems go away; this isn't Tinder. Once you've entered into a contract with a client, there's nothing to stop them from giving you bad feedback that will affect your job success score. If you've already told the client that additional work is out of scope and he needs to pay you more, and he has refused, then try to get out of the contract in a polite and professional way. You could say something like how you're sorry that you won't be able to do a more detailed illustration within his budget, that you'll turn over whatever files are needed for him to continue working with another freelancer, and that he can go ahead and release your payment. Be polite but firm.

Or, if the price is really small and you don't care whether you get paid or not, then you might be able to limit the damage by offering the client a refund and closing the contract yourself.