I have two problems with a client and I don't know how to deal with them in a proper way. Help.

[narodowski90]

Hello! This is my first post: 🙂

Everything was going fine with this client, when he suddenly started asking me to redo the same task over and over. I had no problem with it until a certain point, but suddenly the client said "I'm going on a vacation for two weeks, I'll leave you with this other person for communication". It's going to be a month in a few days and neither he or the person he left for communication are responding in the chat.
My questions are:

- How do I proceed if the client ask me to redo the same task again and again? Of course I can do it until a certain point, but after a certain point I have to charge him extra. How do I do that?

- How do I proceed if the client doesn't answer for a big amount of time and the job is almost done?


Thank you in advance!

[wlyonsatl]

You don't mention what type of work you are doing, but if you have completed any milestones I hope you have submitted them all for payment. The 14-day review period the client has should be enough time for them to come back to you with any change requests. And seeing a charge on their credit card might nudge them into being responsive.

There is no reason to do any additional work as long as the client is unresponsive. Sometimes clients just move to other things and let their Upwork projects die on the vine. It's odd behavior, but it happens.

I suggest you send  him a message today via Upwork messaging notifying him that you consider the project to be on hold until you hear from him.

If he comes back with still more re-do requests, let him know that there is a limit to how much you'll do without adding further milestones. He may or may not be unreasonable in his requests, but you know what your own tolerance for doing unpaid additional work is.

You never know what's going on on his end. If he's completely unresponsive for two months, I'd send him a notice you'll close the project if you don't hear from him within, say, five days and then close the project. Then ding him for poor communication in your feedback.

[prestonhunter]

Nicolas: if you have any milestone work you have completed, then submit the work immediately using the official Submit Work / Request Payment button.

Never ask a client if the milestone is finished. It is up to you to decide that it is finished, and then you use the Submit button. That is how the system works. The Submit button allows the client an opportunity to ask for changes if the task is not done.

If the client does not do anything, you will be paid AUTOMATICALLY in two weeks.

Clients are not allowed to ask for free work.

This client was violating Upwork rules. You were facilitating him.

But you do not need to report him. Just use the submit button and get paid.

[barada00]

"We are beyond the scope of this job. If you need further revisions we can open a new hourly contract. I'd be more than happy to do further revisions with an hourly contract. Thank you for your understanding"

PS: The last sentence is optional.

[prestonhunter · Accepted solution]

Nicolas: it is important to understand that clients are never obligated to respond to freelancers. And there is no way to force them to. Structure your contracts and work accordingly.

Whenever I have a fixed-price contract, from the moment it begins, I have everything I need to complete the work and submit it and get paid even if the client never communicates with me again.

If communication with a client is necessary in order to do a job, then it is an hourly contract.

[wlyonsatl]

Every project is different, but I can't imagine a situation where I would not expect to communicate regularly (as often as daily) with a client as a project progresses. I can't complete the type of projects I do to my own satisfaction without client interaction. 

[prestonhunter]

Will:

My fixed-price projects always involve regular communication.

I update clients, often even more than daily, about the progress of my work.

But for all of my fixed-price contracts, that communication may be one-way only.

You may do a different kind of work than I do. Maybe for you fixed-price projects that require communication are okay.

But I never accept fixed-price contracts that require communication, because there is no way to guarantee client communication. I simply have no interest in doing work and then not getting paid for it becaus a client is on vacation or died or something.

So my serious recommendation - to everybody - is to make this a factor in deciding whether or not to accept a fixed-price contract.

[wlyonsatl]

Yeah, I almost never do fixed-price contracts. But it's not because I expect to have a problem communicating with clients.

[prestonhunter]

LOL.

My hourly contracts often involve a LOT of communication. And I bill for every minute of it.

When clients want to chat about their projects (and many of them do), then that's totally fine with an hourly contract!