Client cannot see my messages, nor I can see his most probably

[chris_bannu]

Hi everyone,

I am new here, and got my first gig not long ago. Me and my client had a video chat, we text chatted in the upwork chat, everything was fine and dandy. I finished the project, but my client stopped responsind suddenly.

Then I realized that meanwhile, my profile got verified using video chat, and some (God knows what) restrictions were disabled (don't know why they were enabled in the first place). Since then I've been getting a weird spam from upwork, asking me to rate the profile verification video chat, which I did, even twice, but I still receive this message almost every day.

And then it hit me: maybe there's a bug in the chat system, and maybe the client is not receiving my messages, and maybe I'm not receiving his either. Because this suddenly started to happen immediately after the profile verification process.

Please advise, and please help.

Thank you,

Chris

[petra_r]

What makes you think the client did not get your messages, and what makes you think the client tried to contact you? If you can see your comments in the message room, your client can as well.

Some clients don't respond once they have the deliverables.

I am more concerned with the fact that I see no logged hours....

Did you actually track the time on your hourly contract?

[chris_bannu]

Hi Petra,

He does not have the deliverables, he only has a screenshot.

So after having the video interview, my client told me to send him any ideas I might have, and any work in progress I have, for feedback. So I did, and he was always very quick about replying. He liked what he saw, told me to keep up the good work, and we agreed to talk last Wednesday, when the deadline was due. So please keep in mind that this client spent over 50k on upwork, and he's got a 4.5 rating, and he was always answered my messages in less than a day.

After my profile video verification, I never talked to him again, that was last Tuesday, and Wednesday was my deadline for the project, and I did send him the final screenshot on Wednesday, but no answer so far.

I also sent a support ticket to upwork, but instead of receiving support, I receive an invitation to rate the support I received for this issue, which was not either replied to, or resolved.

Thanks,

Chris

[chris_bannu]

Also, I have don't know how to log my worked hours, I missed that step I guess. If you could give me a few tips, I would really appreciate it.

[kochubei_valeria]

Chris,

I checked Messages on both your client's and your end and everything is showing. Most likely the client hasn't checked the Messages yet. Please, allow him a few days to check the files especially since it's a long weekend in the US and a lot of people take additional days off. 

Unfortunately, it doesn't look like manual time is allowed on the contract so you'll need to discuss this with the client and ask him to either pay you a bonus or allow you to enter manual time. In the future, please make sure you log time using Upwork App as you work on hourly contracts.

[chris_bannu]

Hi Valeria,

Thank you so much for checking. I was only afraid of losing my credibility (which is basically non existent), thinking that my client will think I've missed the deadline and stopped answering my messages 🙂

I'm very new to UpWork, and I had no idea I was supposed to track time using UpWork, I just learned about that today. I guess I should start reading the forum posts more often 🙂

Thank you kindly,

Chris

[pandoraharper]

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@Chris B wrote:

I'm very new to UpWork, and I had no idea I was supposed to track time using UpWork, I just learned about that today. I guess I should start reading the forum posts more often 🙂

Thank you kindly,

Chris

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At the very least, you need a better understanding of some of the below items. There are support pages for a lot of this stuff, and tons of forum threads also.

First, read this thread - https://community.upwork.com/t5/New-to-Upwork/Getting-Started-on-Upwork/m-p/264214#M2460

Now, read the forums and Support Pages to get up to speed on:

1.  How to get paid (and knowing the details of both fixed-price and hourly contracts)

2. How long it takes to get paid (hourly and fixed-price work differently)

3. Client Communication - How to be professional and impress your client (lots of forum threads about this.

4. Proposals - Lot's of threads about this too. Don't send canned ones.

5. Basic understanding of WHO you work for here, WHO Pays you, and who you REPORT to:

You offer services to Clients, who join Upwork and post Jobs. The client pays you, and the money is passed through Upwork. You reporr to the Client who you are supporting. Upwork hands the money that the client to you after a security period.

[chris_bannu]

Thanks for the tips Pandora, I will read them thoroughly 🙂

[pandoraharper]

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@Chris B wrote:

Thanks for the tips Pandora, I will read them thoroughly 🙂

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Your welcome, and I just thought of one other thing, that relates specifically to your OP.

I'm famous on the forums for saying "have the means to contact clients above and beyond the Upwork Message center". Because between the down times of:  the Upwork Message Center, the Upwork Site, email notifications (yours, the clients, etc etc.), a lot of time anything related to client communication on Upwork is suspect.

I personally do this via a dedicated private Gmail account, and a dedicated work Skype account, as well as a dedicated Business only phone # (also through Skype.) Maybe overkill for you, but please take this seriously.

I can't even begin to count the number of "my client isn't getting my messages!" posts I've seen in the forums.

This is a not a diss of Upwork, but simply a "business on Upwork" recommendation.

[chris_bannu]

Yeah, great idea, relying on only one way of communication can be risky 🙂 Same thing for relying on only one income source 😛