Client asking for free work

james_lawrie · ‎05-01-2019

I have a client who happily signed off two milestones but is now asking for revisions and refusing to set a new milestone. Instead, he is expecting the work for free and threatening me with a dispute. What are my options?

stecchino · ‎05-01-2019

My opinion is that this is going to depend on your own weighing of pros and cons. You shouldn't do free work, but if it's something for which you could see yourself being at fault and/or revisions won't take you very long, you may want to consider it. Otherwise, I would part ways with that client. You did good work for him, as evidenced by his acceptance of previous milestones, and what he's asking for doesn't sound particularly reasonable. Do what feels right to you.

james_lawrie · ‎05-01-2019

Hmmmm. I get the feeling, like many clients who use this platform they skipped through the tutorials and terms and conditions and aren't really aware of how this platform works. Although I feel for them it's not really my job to educate others on how to use this platform or do free work when they make a mistake through sheer negligence.

gilbert-phyllis · ‎05-01-2019

Your options are to get off your high horse and do the revisions, on the grounds that part of freelancing involves making sure each client leaves happy; or stick to your guns and see where the dispute process takes you.

As you weigh those options, you may want to keep in mind that your current feedback history pretty much screams "hard to get along with". You've been dinged several times on communication and cooperation--and that's just in the public feedback. This is not to say you are deficient in communicating and cooperating, but that's what clients are saying and the reality of contract work is that what clients say is mostly what counts. Yes, some clients are bonkers and some are impossible to please. The key is to mostly avoid those ones, and when we find ourselves tied up with them, to manage the work and the client so as to get out of it unscathed.

kat303 · ‎05-01-2019

James L wrote:
I have a client who happily signed off two milestones but is now asking for revisions and refusing to set a new milestone. Instead, he is expecting the work for free and threatening me with a dispute. What are my options?

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Your options are

1. To do the revision up to a reasonable limit.

2. To not do the revisions and accept the dispute, mediation and possible arbitration

3. If the revisions are unreasonable and "endless" to tell the client to close this contract and open another one on an hourly bases and you'll do all the revisions they need.

As another freelancer pointed out, you seem to be lacking in the communication department. And I think your response to one of your clients was extremely unnecessary, unprofessional and even childish. I don't care if a client's English is bad. or their spelling is wrong. I care that I complete their job to their satisfaction and that I get my payment.