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rahulbangar786
Community Member

Client want me to delete screenshots

Recently, I got a client on Upwork and I created a Facebook ad campaign for a client but the client is asking me to delete all screenshots and refund money.

 

Let me explain.

 

The client is saying that I made a mistake in the ads?

 

What I did wrong?

 

I just picked up a slightly wrong product image for his product which was for an electronic gadget for stopping a dog from barking.

 

I didn't run ads, I just sent them to him for approval so he can check everything.

 

In another ad, I duplicated the ad but forgot to change the description. 

 

So, yeah. I made some mistakes in the ad because I was new to the business but I didn't publish those ads and asked for his approval.

 

Now the client is saying that you cheated me on Upwork because my mouse movement was less in the screenshots.

 

The client is saying that he charges $150/hour and he spent 4 hours with me and I wasted his time. So, he wants me to delete screenshots and refund his $90 ($10/hour).

 

My question is that I also spent lots of time on this project for understanding this project, analyzing his previous campaigns(he had lots of campaigns), his Google analytics, finalizing products, talking to him (3-4 hours), website, and competitor analysis.

 

If I offer him that I can create a new Facebook ad campaign for FREE just to make him happy. Is this against Upwork terms and conditions or I can do this?

 

 

19 REPLIES 19
petra_r
Community Member


Rahul B wrote:

 

If I offer him that I can create a new Facebook ad campaign for FREE just to make him happy. Is this against Upwork terms and conditions or I can do this?


It wouldn't be against the terms of service, but I am not sure the client would want that. You made some pretty fundamental mistakes, and if the client wanted to waste more time checking if you haven't put the wrong photo on an advert or forgotten to change the description again, chances are they could just do it themselves.

The product image was not that wrong, it was just slightly wrong.

 

It was not totally a different product and I didn't publish the ads. I just asked for his approval and his previous campaigns/ads were using the same images.

prestonhunter
Community Member

Rahul:

Remove all the time segments from your work diary. Refund any money already earned. Then close the contract.

 

I believe that will satisfy the client.

 

If paying you zero dollars and having the contract closed doesn't satisfy the client, that is unfortunate. But it will have to do because there is nothing he can really do to you at that point.

 

You do not need to do any additional work for him.

What about the time which I spent on the project while talking to him, website and competitor analysis, campaign analysis, analyzing his Google analytics data for creating a strategy, campaign creation?

 

I was losing $1000 each month on Facebook ads and I tried to make money for him.

 

If I keep deleting screenshots this way for every client how I am going to feed my family? He at least 4 hours of mine just talking to me.

 

Rahul, nobody here is telling you to delete screenshots or refund money for every client you work for.

 

You made some serious, fundamental mistakes on this project.

 

I very rarely advise freelancers to refund any time at all or delete any screenshots. I consistently explain to clients that they should pay freelancers for their time even if they don't like the freelancer's work.

 

Your situation is an exception.

 

I am sorry if you are disappointed by how this project turned out.

 

The advice I gave you was advice I believe you should follow in order to help YOU.

 

You have the right to NOT delete any time segments. You have the right to try to ask the client if he will pay you SOME money for your work on this project. But I believe that this working relationship has been soured too much and that this can not be salvaged. So I think trying to work things out with the client would be a waste of your time.

I can't find delete option, from where I can delete screenshots captured by Upwork?

Go to Upwork -> My Jobs -> My Jobs

 

Click on the contract listing.

Click on Work Diary.

 

Click the checkboxes next to each time segment.

Click the delete button.

I know this but I don't see a delete option there.


Rahul B wrote:

I know this but I don't see a delete option there.


Is the contract still active and open?

(Not paused or on hold or closed)

 

You need to tick the segments you want to delete, then click on delete

 

 

The contract is paused.


Rahul B wrote:

The contract is paused.


Tell the client to unpause it so you can remove the time. You can't delete time on a paused contract.


Rahul B wrote:

If I keep deleting screenshots this way for every client how I am going to feed my family?


Don't make a mess of your job, then. I have never had a client ask me to remove hours and I've got over 14.000 of them.

 


Rahul B wrote:

He at least 4 hours of mine just talking to me.


I bet the client wishes he had his time back too, he actually said as much.

kinector
Community Member

Rahul, without commenting this unusual situation you found yourself in, I just tell you my simple principle for screening clients and their projects.

If after a short discussion I cannot understand with 100% certainty how my client will turn my work into their profit, I don't go for it.

Simple, right? 1% uncertainty, no point starting. Not here, at least, when the system offers limited ways to deal with people and their businesses. (I do differently with bilateral contracts.)

So that's only for the dependency on the clients business.

Second principle is that if I'm not 100% I can execute the job, I don't go for it. Not here, at least.

Yet, I may take insanely complicated gigs knowing that I may have to spend more time on them. Yet, as I only do projects that are good for my personal strategy at the same time (yes, "synergies," the most overused word of our time), even doubling the hours in the case of a disaster is not an actual disaster... since anyway I get something out of even the worst project.

It could even be a project where I have to learn a lot of things in which case, being conscious about my own learning capability, I might still go for it and spend the necessary extra time on the project on my own.

So, 100% certainty on the business impact on top of 100% certainty on the execution.

Then only I go for it. Uncertainties included. 😉

Hope this helps. 👍

I was 100% confident that I can do this job but the client is very impatient with me but he was not impatient with the girl who was wasting his $1000 monthly ad budget and got zero response.

 

Recently, I generated $100,000 in sales for one of my clients.

 

Deleting double post


Rahul B wrote:

I was 100% confident that I can do this job but the client is very impatient with me but he was not impatient with the girl who was wasting his $1000 monthly ad budget and got zero response.

 


You still don't seem to be taking any responsibility for this poor outcome. The image was only "slightly" wrong? If it wasn't the correct image, then it was the wrong image - there's no "slightly" about it. Then trying to place blame on the client for not checking your work. Making excuses instead of apologies is probably what caused this client to lose patience with you. (And just for the record, I've read hundreds of Preston's responses to situations like yours, and I believe this is the very first time I've heard him say that a client deserves a full refund. He's usually very firmly on the freelancer's side.)


Rahul B wrote:

I was 100% confident that I can do this job but the client is very impatient with me but he was not impatient with the girl who was wasting his $1000 monthly ad budget and got zero response.

 

Recently, I generated $100,000 in sales for one of my clients.

 


If you are so fabulous at your job, then don't delete the screen shots. Let the client dispute them. If Upwork believes there was adequate work and you followed the rules, you'll get paid.

The client is going to review your work and it will affect your JSS. So, before you even bother to post that question: No, you can't dispute the client's feedback and it doesn't matter whether you think it is fair or not. 

You can waste as much time making comparisons and arguing over opinions all you want but the reality is, you'll be paid if you followed the payment rules for hourly contracts. You'll be reviewed for your work and you'll have to live with the consequences. 


Tonya P wrote:


If you are so fabulous at your job, then don't delete the screen shots. Let the client dispute them. If Upwork believes there was adequate work and you followed the rules, you'll get paid.


He says in his first post, "Now the client is saying that you cheated me on Upwork because my mouse movement was less in the screenshots." If it's true that the activity levels weren't sufficient, then it's game over. I think it would be better to apologise and offer a refund instead of making the client even angrier.

Unfortunately, I will have to delete screenshots.

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