Troubles with a micromanager

[cesarpinto1989]

Hi, I need some advice from colleagues and maybe Upwork support team.

So, I am having the next issue, I started working with a new client with a 40hr per week contract, pretty cool at the beginning. From the start they have always trying to manage conversations outside of Upwork. Well, sometimes is no biggie, but this has reached to levels where the client even calls directly to my personal number on inappropiate hours, even from different numbers.

So far, I was taking a big breath and have patience because I was getting a good payment (so maybe was worth it, right?) - well, things have become more and more troublesome with each day. The client is a super micromanager, it has reached the point where I even need to have a video call throughout my entire shift so the client can see my screen during all day when I'm working, until this week where even reached another level, the client has been insulting and more. And though I haven't mentioned that I am planning to close the contract the client warned me that if I decide to leave the company she was going to open a case with Upwork so I can refund all the money that she has been paying. 

She says all this pressure and the way she treates me is so I become a "better freelance and worker". Now, I know that I'm not perfect and I may have some errors once in a while, but this has been escalated to a point where I don't want to end losing my money earned during this month.

My fear is that I have read multiple times that Upwork always takes the side of the client no matter what, and I know the client has kept all communications outside of Upwork I don't want to end up losing everything.

Does anyone have any tips on how this could be handled or how may end up if the client opens a case?

[petra_r · Accepted solution]

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Cesar P wrote:

And though I haven't mentioned that I am planning to close the contract the client warned me that if I decide to leave the company she was going to open a case with Upwork so I can refund all the money that she has been paying. 

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It is an hourly contract and if you have used the tracker and had proper work memos and decent activity levels, the client won't win any dispute.

I'd make one last attempt to politely and firmly set boundaries, if that does not work, you'd have to close the contract.

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Cesar P wrote:

My fear is that I have read multiple times that Upwork always takes the side of the client no matter what,

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That isn't actually the case, especially when it comes to hourly contracts.

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Cesar P wrote:

I know the client has kept all communications outside of Upwork I don't want to end up losing everything.

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There is only one thing Upwork look at when it comes to hourly contracts: Your work diary. You keep all hours that qualify for protection, you lose hours that do not.

[cesarpinto1989]

Thank you so much for that!

[wlyonsatl]

Petra,

Do you know why your post was awarded "Best Answer" status so quickly, before anyone else had a chance to post a reply to the original poster?

[wlyonsatl]

Firstly, Cesar P., it is absolutely untrue "that Upwork always takes the side of the client no matter what..." I have only had a handful of problems with clients and Upwork did not disproportionately take the clients' side in any of those cases.

Secondly, if you properly tracked your work sessions using the TimeTracker app (signing in and out of the app for work time only, putting meaningful memos in the app to identify what you are working on), then the client will not be able to successfully claim a refund on all money paid to you.

Tell the client what your standard work hours are, expressing them using your time zone and hers. If the client calls outside those work hours, don't answer the call. And tell the client at the beginning of each work day(not on holidays or weekends?) that you see she called and ask her what she'd like to talk about. Or if you get a call from a number you don't know during these days or hours, don't answer it and later review whether it was she and she left a voice mail message.

If you are considering continuing to work for her, tell her you are shutting down the video feed. All she can see is you, not what you're doing on your computer screen and nobody wants to have someone else essentially staring at them throughout the work day. She will, like all normal clients, have to judge you by your work product.

If you do decide to shut down this contract, the biggest problem you'll likely face is her negative feedback, which will adversely affect your JSS. Trapping freelancers into working for bad clients is one of the Job Success Score's biggest weaknesses. Only you can decide whether it is more important to you to get away from this client at any cost or to find a way to make changes that prevent her worst excesses in micro-managing you and your work. 

Good luck!

[cesarpinto1989]

Hi Will L.,

Petra received that notification because I accepted it as a solution I believe. And the reason why I say Upwork takes the client's side on disputes is because so far I haven't get one but I have read throughout different forum (including Upwork's) that this is what happens usually.

So far, no client has ever asked me to use the memo on the app tracker but thankfully I have added some while working and others directly on the work diary.

And I appreciate the advise. I believe I won't continue with a client like this.

Thanks!

[wlyonsatl]

I see, Cesar.

I didn’t know you had a choice to mark a reply to your original post as either a “Solution” or a “Best Answer”.And I don't know what the difference is between those two designations.

There are always new things to learn on this message board. And some things remain a mystery, but who doesn't love a good mystery?

[richard_wein]

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Will L wrote:

I see, Cesar.

I didn’t know you had a choice to mark a reply to your original post as either a “Solution” or a “Best Answer”.And I don't know what the difference is between those two designations.

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As far as I'm aware it's the same thing.  But Upwork calls it "Solution" in one place and "Best Answer" in the other. Consistent labeling is not a priority at Upwork HQ.

[petra_r]

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Cesar P wrote:

And the reason why I say Upwork takes the client's side on disputes is because so far I haven't get one but I have read throughout different forum (including Upwork's) that this is what happens usually.

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As Will confirmed, it really isn't true.

And a client threatening to dispute if you quit is pretty disgraceful behaviour, to be honest.

I wonder if the client has a history of poor outcomes. Have you checked her history?

[cesarpinto1989]

It happens that the one with the contract is from someone that is part of the client's team and it was someone without too much hires so I tried to give it a try with all of the pandemic going on I had to try out. She has only 6 reviews. But this is a worthy experience to alert me on the future.

[wlyonsatl]

Cesar,

Just to follow up - if you want to assure Upwork's excellent payment assurance will for you then you MUST put a meaningful memo in the memo space of TimeTracker each time you invoke it. Keep in mind the most important person who might read each memo is an Upwork employee who knows nothing about you, your work habits, etc. and only sees what you write to describe your work activity.

So, while you don't need to write a complete paragraph each time, you should write something more like, "Reviewed and edited pages __ - __ in response to client's new comments" rather than, say, "Reviews and edits." For phone calls, "Phone call with client to discuss _________" should be plenty of information.

You only have 140 characters to work with in the memo field of TimeTracker sessions. And if you repeatedly need the same memo text you can use the "Previous memos & Activities" dropdown menu to re-use a previous memo text rather than re-write it each time..

[cesarpinto1989]

Hi, so I am reopening this thread based on the end of this story. So, I told the client that I wasn't going to continue and now she open a dispute for the money from my last week of work. I see Will's comment regarding memo in the work diary, which it makes me feel bad because mine were kind of simple and the client didn't complain the weeks before. I provided a comment to the Upwork team but I am also unable to see the status of the dispute. I don't mind refunding the money but it makes me feel devalued because I dedicated over 30 hours of work to someone who doesn't know how to organize. 

[wlyonsatl]

Cesar,

If you did the work don't agree to any refund of what you've been paid.

Precisely follow the instructions you get from Upwork in regards to this request for a refund. For every portion of the time you used the TimeTracker app properly you should expect to be paid.

Don't worry about the client's feedback - that ship has probably sailed with this type of client. Chasing positive feedback by refunding money earned is not a sure thing.

And keep in mind Upwork has clearly said the following about excluding feedback from certain clients when calculating a freelancers' Job Success Score:

"We understand that some projects have bad outcomes because the client is difficult to work with. So we track freelancer feedback of clients and flag those clients with a history of poor collaboration. If one of your clients has been flagged (or has been suspended for Terms of Service violations), then the client's feedback will not count against your score."

In addition, it is my experience that unpleasant clients are not particularly likely to leave feedback. I suspect their disrespect for common courtesy and Upwork's rules means they are also ignorant of the possibility to leave feedback. 

[dsmgdesign]

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My advice. Close the contract and get on with finding other clients. Avoid having more than 50% of your Upwork income from any one client. That way you can kiss them good bye and move on. No big shakes. And, if they leave you bad feedback, use your perk to kiss that goodbye too.