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Kristian Wilson's avatar
Kristian Wilson C Community Member

Client lied on feedback - Worried this will affect my ability to attract more clients

The first client to ever leave me feedback has lied in their response. I was hired to beta-read their fantasy novella, which they explicitly said did not need editing or proofreading, as it was already published. They just wanted to know how a typical reader in that genre would respond to the work.

 

Now they're saying that I missed a deadline, when they told me twice that they were flexible and to let them know if I needed more time. They're also saying I did not explain myself and that they "had to guess what the solutions were" to the problems I found. Readers, I sent them 7 single-spaced pages of feedback. That document included answers to all their questions and suggestions to correct the big-picture issues I found. I did not do any in-depth developmental or line editing, because that is not what I was hired to do, nor is it what they wanted out of this project. I also invited them upon submission to reach out to me with any questions they might have about my feedback so that I could clarify it for them. They never took me up on that offer.

 

I'm frustrated. Having this as the only feedback on my profile won't help me land clients. It feels worse than having no feedback at all. I know the general consensus on the forums is not to respond, but I really feel like I should clarify what actually went on here. I'm workshopping the following as a proposed response:

 

I am a bit surprised by this feedback. I received no indication that the client would consider my submission as past due. They made it clear that, although they had a preferred date of return, their timing was flexible. They even invited me to ask for more time if I needed it. A pressing family matter came up that required my attention, and I notified the client immediately. Their response: "No worries! Go ahead."

 

I sent this client seven single-spaced pages of feedback on their work. That document answered all of their questions and provided them with a detailed reader response, including broad suggestions to improve the big-picture problems I found. I did not provide any in-depth developmental or line editing services, because the client made it clear to me that that was not their goal for this project. In fact, they told me upfront that "no editing nor proofreading [were] required," because they had already published the work in question. I was hired to tell them "how [their] target audience receives [their] work," and that is what I did.

 

Furthermore, I would never offer feedback without being willing to clarify it; for the client to say that they "had to guess what the solutions were" is disingenous at best. I asked them when I submitted the document to please let me know if I needed to clarify any of my comments. The client said they would get back to me and never did, other than to thank me and close the contract.

 

Whatever advice/feedback folks have to share would be greatly appreciated.

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Jonathan's avatar
Jonathan L Community Member

I think that you should respond to the feedback. But it needs to be professional and clarifying only. Your draft is okay. I think statements like "for the client to say that they 'had to guess what the solutions were' is disingenous at best" cross the line into character feedback. You should strictly adhere to addressing the facts of their claims, with neither judgment nor speculation.

 

Your second paragraph can be condensed by using phrases such as "X, Y, and Z services were not within the scope of the project".

 

Third paragraph can be condensed to the last two sentences.

 

And finally, make sure to run your draft through a spell-checker before you post it. Disingenuous was misspelled. Typos are a hazard in your field.

 

ETA: I just read the actual review. Altogether not that bad; I suspect that they are the Client's genuine thoughts.

I think a comprehensive response could be done in 4 sentences or less. For the deadline issue - just stick to the family emergency statement, since the review already mentioned that you provided advance notice of the delay.

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Jonathan's avatar
Jonathan L Community Member

I think that you should respond to the feedback. But it needs to be professional and clarifying only. Your draft is okay. I think statements like "for the client to say that they 'had to guess what the solutions were' is disingenous at best" cross the line into character feedback. You should strictly adhere to addressing the facts of their claims, with neither judgment nor speculation.

 

Your second paragraph can be condensed by using phrases such as "X, Y, and Z services were not within the scope of the project".

 

Third paragraph can be condensed to the last two sentences.

 

And finally, make sure to run your draft through a spell-checker before you post it. Disingenuous was misspelled. Typos are a hazard in your field.

 

ETA: I just read the actual review. Altogether not that bad; I suspect that they are the Client's genuine thoughts.

I think a comprehensive response could be done in 4 sentences or less. For the deadline issue - just stick to the family emergency statement, since the review already mentioned that you provided advance notice of the delay.

Kristian Wilson's avatar
Kristian Wilson C Community Member

Thank you for the response! You'll have to forgive the typo; it was around 3 AM my time, and I was working in notepad for speed's sake so I could post this and get to bed.

 

My biggest issue with the deadline comment is not that they seemingly ignored the family emergency, but that they made it sound as if we had agreed upon a much stricter deadline than "this is what I prefer, but let me know if you need more time." 

Jonathan's avatar
Jonathan L Community Member

A soft deadline is still a deadline.

Kristian Wilson's avatar
Kristian Wilson C Community Member

If the roles were reversed, I would never characterize what happened as a missed deadline, especially not after inviting the contractor twice, unprompted, to take more time if they needed it. 

Jonathan's avatar
Jonathan L Community Member

Be as that may (and I wholeheartedly agree), I think you are giving too much weight to this issue, since the Client already stated that you provided advance notice and opened the door for you to explain the reason for the delay.

Anthony's avatar
Anthony H Community Member

Kristian,

 

It's a learning experience and now you've got this one out of the way. Freelancing can be cutthroat and many people have had to dig their way out of a lousy review that devastates their score.

It can be done. Take on a bunch of short term jobs, really rock the living --- out of them, get some solid reviews, get back on the horse, put this client in the rear view mirror. 

Kristian Wilson's avatar
Kristian Wilson C Community Member

Thanks, Anthony. I appreciate your optimism, truly. I'm no stranger to freelancing, I just haven't worked on a platform like Upwork since my tutoring days in undergrad. My old writing/editing clients are all defunct now. For the last few years, I was making enough at my job to not need to freelance anymore, but I was laid off in November. Very frustrating to have years of experience and be starting over like this.

Jennifer's avatar
Jennifer M Community Member

Honestly, it's not that bad. I understand if I were in your shoes I'd be annoyed, but it's not really that bad.

Preston's avatar
Preston H Community Member

Kristian Wilson:
I think it could help you keep things in perspective and better deal with client feedback if you keep these two facts in mind:

 

a) ALL client feedback is false.

b) ALL client feedback is true.

Kristian Wilson's avatar
Kristian Wilson C Community Member

This made me smile. Thank you. It's been a long time since I had an exercise in cognitive dissonance.

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