Dec 21, 2019 03:30:17 AM by Bryan C
Hello to he or she whom reads the content of this post. In lieu of the subject of this message, I'm creating this post in an effort of discovering how I can go about reporting a client who has recently (and quite falsely if I might add) accused me of not fullfilling a contract that was completed and closed out over two months ago. The reason why I'm posting this question is not to be a "tattle-tail", but it's to ensure that other contractors do not have to endure the headache that I've had to here recently from dealing with a specific client whom shall not be name in the post itself. If anyone has any advice and is willing to address this question, I'd greatly appreciate what assistance they have to offer. Thanks a buch and hope to hear from you soon!!
Solved! Go to Solution.
Dec 21, 2019 08:59:29 PM by Tiffany S
Bryan C wrote:
If you don't think that this type of conduct is unprofessional and deserves to be reported, then I'd hate to say it but you my dear have a horrible sense of what true professionalism is
You're missing the point. No one is saying, "Hey, that was great professional behavior!"
What everyone is correctly saying is that being unprofessional is not a violation of the Upwork terms of service, and therefore reporting has no effect. Reporting is for actionable violations of TOS, like feedback manipulation, asking for free work, taking work off the platform, etc.
There's just no rule against being unprofessional. And when no rule has been broken and you make a report, it's a bit like calling the police to tell them that your neighbor was rude to you at the mailbox. Rude, sure. Socially unacceptable, maybe. But, no enforceable policies have been violated.
Dec 21, 2019 04:11:31 AM by Petra R
Bryan C wrote:I'm creating this post in an effort of discovering how I can go about reporting a client who has recently (and quite falsely if I might add) accused me of not fullfilling a contract that was completed and closed out over two months ago.
What is it you want to report? There isn't really anything to resport. Two months after the contract has been closed, there is nothing the client can do anyway.
Dec 21, 2019 01:57:53 PM by Bryan C
Dec 21, 2019 02:18:32 PM by Jennifer M
Incompetence and unprofessionalism aren't against the ToS. lol Move on.
It doesn't sound like the client did anything wrong. Doesn't even sound like he was "unprofessional" (what is it about this term that everyone uses it as soon as they disagree with someone? lol). He manipulated you because you were desperate to keep him even though it's obvious you already lost him.
It sounds like he was unhappy with something, asked you to fix it and felt that you should fix it. You disagreed and asked for a contract, which the client said he would and never did. You delivered work anyway.
Whether or not you did the work as asked, we don't know. If you believed that you did, then you should have told him to kick rocks if the contract was already closed OR waited until a new contract was opened before you did more work. It doesn't sound like he ever intended to create a contract, so this part of the story doesn't pass the sniff test. It sounds more like the client (his fault) did not check the work thoroughly, came back to you to fix it, you fixed it and client disappeared. There's nothing wrong with this.
Dec 21, 2019 04:39:53 PM Edited Dec 22, 2019 12:36:40 AM by Vladimir G
Dear Jennifer, please understand that I value your feedback and respect your opinions, HOWEVER, please understand that blatant disrespect toward complete strangers is in fact HIGHLY UNPROFESSIONAL. Try to think about it like this: You are a contractor and I'm your client. I've hired you to create a sculpture for me of a male model and have provided you details as to when I need it completed by as well as additional coordinating instructions as to where I need the sculpture built and delivered to. You say okay and all is well. I pass along the task of coordination to my assistant and the two of you hash out the details. After you've received the details from my assistant, you successfully complete the sculpture and deliver it ask requested. I see the sculpture has been delivered and apply the stamp of approval allowing payment to be transferred to your account. All is good, right? WRONG. The following day my assistant tells you that we're not satisfied with the sculpture and would like additional details to be added, and for certain characteristics to be omitted. You tell him that's not a problem and ask what details he's referring to, at which point he decides is the right time to be completely clear about how we want the sculpture to appear. At first we told you that we wanted a stature of a male model. Now we want a statue of a male model to look like "The Thinker" as created by Auguste Rodin. You tell me no prob, at which point we offer to create a contract an additional contract on Upwork not on just one occasion, but two completely separate occasions. You say cool beans and await for the contract to be submitted in Upwork. Nothing comes your way. No email traffic, no Upwork contract, nothing at all. The deadline for the revised statue is approaching, and you decide that it's best to contact me and my assistant to inform us that you are waiting for the second contract to arrive in Upwork containing additional instructions, but for whatever reason, neither I nor my assistant respond to your inquiries. Two months roll on by and I contact to tell you that my assistant is no longer with the company that I work for, and that I can't find the first statue that you created. I then proceed to ask for your assistance in locating it, to which you do successfully in a timely manner. As before, after viewing the original statue I'm still unsatisfied with the final results and ask you what happened, to which you politely convey to me that you were awaiting my response from two months ago. Now, for whatever reason, I lose my cool and tell you that YOU should have known that I wanted the statue to look like the one created by Auguste Rodin because it was written clear as day in the original job description (which it wasn't by the way), and that I don't feel like I should throw away my money on someone like you by creating a second contract for something that should have been delivered properly the first time.**Edited for Community Guidelines**
Now how do you feel? If you don't think that this type of conduct is unprofessional and deserves to be reported, then I'd hate to say it but you my dear have a horrible sense of what true professionalism is, because this is essentially what occurred to me and is why I've taken the liberty to report it. I get the fact that there are rude people out there, trust me, I've been around the block a time or two. And quite frankly, if it happened anywhere but on a platform dedicated to seeking professional contractors I probably wouldn't care at all and would just shrug it off. But the fundamental principle of the matter is that this form of behavior is occurring on what is supposed to be a platform dedicated to professionals. I mean if an **Edited for Community Guidelines**
Dec 21, 2019 07:49:04 PM by Petra R
Bryan, being a freelancer means running your own business, which includes having the skills to deal with tricky clients.
There is nothing to report.
Move on.
Bryan C wrote:
And quite frankly, if it happened anywhere but on a platform dedicated to seeking professional contractors I probably wouldn't care at all and would just shrug it off.
Good.
Move on.
Dec 21, 2019 09:02:21 PM Edited Dec 22, 2019 12:40:32 AM by Vladimir G
Dear Petra, I apologize if my response comes across as too blunt, but I must say I believe you're missing the point entirely. As someone who's worked and managed in the field of customer service with the US Military (logistics management) and the civilian sector (retail services) for over half a decade, I can assure you that my customer-relation skill set is well above average. Conflict resolution and dealing with "tricky" customers are not the underlying issues here. To put it simply, the issue here is that I'm attempting to file an official grievance with an organization whom I contract my professional services to, and all that I'm being told by multiple parties is that professional misconduct acted upon by clients is not worth reporting. I understand that as a "community guru" you're most likely not the point of contact that I should be taking this issue up with, as you most likely lack the authority to take action upon this matter. However, I ask that please remember this post is can and most likely will be read by others out there who are experiencing issues similar to mine whenever they perform a google search for "How to report a client".
Seeing how this will most likely be my last response to any and insensitive responses to this thread, I'd like to conclude this address by saying the following:
**Edited for Community Guidelines**
Dec 21, 2019 09:27:17 PM by Petra R
Bryan C wrote:
To put it simply, the issue here is that I'm attempting to file an official grievance with an organization whom I contract my professional services to
You don't contract your professional services to Upwork.
You contract your professional services to clients via Upwork.
Dec 22, 2019 01:15:04 AM by AleksandarD A
Hi all,
Thank you all for participating in the conversation. This thread has been closed for further replies and few of the posts were moderated and removed. Please, be mindful of the Community Guidelines and avoid making personal attacks.
Thank you.
Dec 21, 2019 08:59:29 PM by Tiffany S
Bryan C wrote:
If you don't think that this type of conduct is unprofessional and deserves to be reported, then I'd hate to say it but you my dear have a horrible sense of what true professionalism is
You're missing the point. No one is saying, "Hey, that was great professional behavior!"
What everyone is correctly saying is that being unprofessional is not a violation of the Upwork terms of service, and therefore reporting has no effect. Reporting is for actionable violations of TOS, like feedback manipulation, asking for free work, taking work off the platform, etc.
There's just no rule against being unprofessional. And when no rule has been broken and you make a report, it's a bit like calling the police to tell them that your neighbor was rude to you at the mailbox. Rude, sure. Socially unacceptable, maybe. But, no enforceable policies have been violated.
Dec 21, 2019 02:08:55 PM by Bryan C
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