Should I Report This Client?

[sjayasuriya]

Hi all, not thrilled to be starting my second thread in 24 hours, but I'd appreciate your advice once again because this concerns other freelancers too. More has unfolded today.

Yesterday I posted about how a client has been continuously asking me to perform extra, unpaid tasks. All these extra tasks have nothing to do with my own work, but rather, the client's projects with other freelancers. At first, these requests seemed minor, so I obliged (clearly my mistake), but they became more frequent and started to grow in scope.

The job itself has also involved more work (25-40 mins extra for each milestone) than was outlined. Basically, they're expecting unpaid copywriting for the book blurb/description when the job post only mentions ghostwriting the main content of the book. I'm certain this is not freebie work because in the past I've been hired to take care of this side of the job exclusively. Copywriting is not freebie work!

Since posting yesterday, I brought up these concerns with the client. Turns out they have no remorse and insist they've done nothing wrong. It's clear they think I'm overreacting, and they've been condescending in response. In their opinion, the copywriting for blurbs is expected in any ghostwriting agreement so there's no need to mention it. My past experience tells me otherwise.

What I find most troubling is they say they do this with all their freelancers and no one else has complained. It's taken me this long to call it out, so I'm not that surprised no one else has complained. However, I now wonder if I should report this client. I've learned that asking for free work is against the ToS. There's no doubt in my mind the client will continue doing this. I would only refrain from reporting if others think this extra work is too insignificant.

Just so everyone can make up their own mind, here are a few examples of what I've been asked to do: 

- Proofread and copy-edit a title and subtitle for a different freelancer's work.

- Discern between American food and British food for one of their cookbooks.

- Advise on British alternatives to American food. (yes, it confused me too)

- Go through one of their books to assess whether it was written for a British audience or an American audience.

Some of these individually can be taken care of in 2-4 minutes, but this time adds up and none of it was mentioned in the job post. They see no issue here because each one alone seems relatively minor.

I'm open to the possibility that none of this is enough to justify a report and that I'm just overreacting as they suggest. While I do feel this is out of line and I do feel disrespected, correspondence with them has made me second-guess myself. In any case, I don't want to be rash about this.

Apologies for another frantic post! Thank you to everyone for reading.

[prestonhunter · Accepted solution]

Sara:

Do I think you should report the client?

No.

This is not a complicated matter.

This client is not a fixed-price client. She is an hourly contract client.

Upwork CAN NOT manage this kind of thing. Freelancers need to be the ones who manage it.

I am NOT SAYING that it is an easy thing to do. But if you are going to accept fixed-price contracts, you need to learn how to handle this.

The FIRST thing you need to do is understand that it is NOT acceptable for a client to ask a freelancer to work for free. If a client asks a freelancer to do anything that is out of scope - anything not part of the original written task agreement - then the client is VIOLATING UPWORK TOS because the client is asking the freelancer to work for free.

If you were hired to draw a picture of six bears, and after seeing the picture, the client asks if you could draw a hat on one of the bears then you say YES. But you DON'T DO IT FOR FREE.

You say: "That's a good idea. Would you like to close the current contract and set up an hourl contract for me to do that, or would you like to add a $50 milestone to the current contract?"

Sara: You need to stop working for free.

Tell your client:

"Pat: Thank you for your note. Yes, I can do that next. The requirements for the current task have been completed. You can release payment and I will do that next."

Then DON'T DO ANY MORE WORK until the client releases payment for the current milestone. After the client has released payment for the current milestone, then YOU should close the contract. AFTER you close the contract, send a message to the client:

"Pat, I'm ready to do that now. You can create a new hourly contract and I will get started immediately."

Your services are no longer available to this client using fixed-price contracts. This is NOT your fault. The client burned her fixed-price card.

You are calm and professional and polite and kind. You are not threatening. You are not negotiating. You are not being mean. You are simply explaining.

If the client does not release payment on the current milestone, THAT IS FINE. Let the contract sit there. What is the worst thing that can happen to you? You stop receiving MORE opportunities to work for free?

[prestonhunter]

I read your post carefully.

I see absolutely no reason for you to report this client.

You have no control over what other freelancers do.

But it is clear that YOUR services are no longer available to this client using a fixed-price contract.

[kinector]

Sara, I cannot see your profile, but I have a devious way out of this kind of things: charge 3-5 times the "normal" rate. Deliver only absolutely brilliant stuff.

High rates filters out most of the windowshoppers from the start.

Also, it gives you an enormous flexibility in terms of what you do for your client even if it is "extra" work, technically. All you need to do is to make your client win big time... But the victory only comes if paying top dollars for it.

[wlyonsatl]

Sara J.,

Of course a manipulative client is going to pretend that no other freelancers have ever pushed back on being manipulated into doing free work. The pursuit of a high Job Success Score, coupled with intimidation, language differences, etc., etc. makes many freelancers a bit too compliant with unreasonable client demands.

This might be one of those cases where you just need to wrap up with this client quickly, but not in a way that upsets the client, and move on. Easier said than done, no doubt.

But I hope that in all negotiations with future potential clients you add to your proposal what your work will and will NOT include. Scope creep is the bane of the fixed price project freelancer's experience and the reason I almost never do fixed price projects. 

And MIkko is right - moving upmarket with clients (and their higher pay rates) who are not extremely budget conscious / cheap will go a long way to avoiding the problems you have faced with this client.

Good luck!

[gilbert-phyllis]

Please don't waste your and CS time by reporting the client because they have not necessarily committed any violation. The 'asking for free work' transgression typically involves asking for a 'sample' or 'test' work at no cost prior to a contract or, in rarer cases, asking a FL to perform extra work without billing it on an hourly contract. Once a fixed-price contract is in place, determining whether or not specific tasks are covered by the fee is a matter of negotiation. Sometimes a client is intentionally manipulative. Sometimes their expectations are honest. You can't know for sure what other FLs have told them/done for them. You can't rely on cut-and-dried standards or assumptions. Just because you've never had a client request or expect extra tasks doesn't mean other FLs don't happily include them. If I have a good client who pays me well, I'm often happy to do small, extra work to make their life easier and keep them happy. Obviously, that can be a slippery slope but it's all part of client/relationship management. You're in charge. You decide what works for you and then communicate it clearly and stick to it. The ability to have this kind of conversation in a business-like, non-adversarial way is one of the most valuable skills a FL can cultivate. Ultimately, you can't control how the client responds but you can initiate the convo and manage your own demeanor in a way that makes it more likely they'll stay professional, too, even if you ultimately can't agree and decide to part ways.

Hope this doesn't sound like a lecture. Just sharing what I've learned (too often, the hard way).