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lauren_mefferd
Community Member

Was I Rude To End a Contract?

I got my first writing gig on Upwork, a nice, short copywriting assignment. The gig was set up with milestones, even though I would only be completing one task. The client liked my first draft alright but wanted edits, which I was happy to make. Several weeks later, he approved the milestone without any communication. I couldn't tell if he was displeased or was just in a hurry. Three weeks passed, and the contract was still open. I wanted feedback but didn't really understand the proper protocol. So I ended the contract myself and left him positive feedback. It's been about 10 days and I've had no feedback or communication from him. Did I do something rude here? 

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ericaandrews
Community Member

There's nothing wrong with ending a contract if you've delivered the work and the client has become unresponsive for an extended period of time afterwards.  Unfortunately, some clients can be rude in that after they get whatever they 'need', they simply 'disappear' without saying a word. (It literally takes 2 seconds to send a message saying "All good. thanks." as a professional courtesy)  Some folks are unprofessional or don't understand proper decorum: Don't take it personally.  Normally, you want to ask a client if all is well, and if so, please end the contract.  However, if they just disappear and don't respond, it's perfectly fine to just close the contract out. Also, many clients don't bother to leave a review unless they are the one that ends the contract.  They have 14 days after the close of the contract to leave feedback.  If it's been 10 days, they probably won't leave feedback. Getting 'no feedback' no longer hurts your JSS, according to Upwork. It just has 'no impact', which is better than a bad review.   Nothing you did was 'rude' from what I see: If to the best of your knowledge the job was completely satisfactorily and the client disappeared, you have every right to close out the contract and aren't expected to wait 'forever' for a client who many never respond.

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12 REPLIES 12
virtualbrix
Community Member

If you tried to contact the client multiple times and they did not respond after a couple weeks. I think what you did is fine.

prestonhunter
Community Member

re: "Was I Rude To End a Contract?"

 

All contracts are intended to end at some point.

Ending a contract is neither "rude" nor "not rude."

 

A client may end a contract at ANY time. There is no rule against doing so.

A freelancer may end a contract at ANY time. There is no rule against doing so.

 

The question you should ask is whether or not you ended a contract in a professional manner.

 

I read your description of what you did.

You did not do anything rude.

You did not do anything wrong.

wlyonsatl
Community Member

Hi, Lauren M.

 

I don’t usually pay any attention to clients who disappear for up to a month. In my little corner of Upwork heaven, my clients are often working during the day and starting a new business on the side, they are wrapped up in all the minutiae of starting a new company, etc., etc. For them, four weeks fly by and their Upwork project may not be an immediate priority. No worries, as far as I am concerned.

 

After 4 – 6 weeks of no communication I send such clients a note asking if they will need any more work from me in the next 2 – 4 weeks. If not, would they please pause (for hourly projects) or close the project, which we can easily re-start at their option at any time. If they do respond to say they’re about to get back to the project, I tell them I look forward to hearing from them at their convenience.

 

I also tell these clients that it can be difficult for me to win new work on Upwork if prospective clients think I am too busy with other work, so I need to keep my “active” projects to a minimum. (I am not concerned that these idle projects affect my JSS, because they don’t.)

 

I will also send each of them a follow-up note thanking them for their business and telling them I enjoyed working with them (whether or not that is true). If I had a good experience with them, I encourage them to let me know if they need any further help with their project in the future.

 

I have never had a client complain about this approach.

ericaandrews
Community Member

There's nothing wrong with ending a contract if you've delivered the work and the client has become unresponsive for an extended period of time afterwards.  Unfortunately, some clients can be rude in that after they get whatever they 'need', they simply 'disappear' without saying a word. (It literally takes 2 seconds to send a message saying "All good. thanks." as a professional courtesy)  Some folks are unprofessional or don't understand proper decorum: Don't take it personally.  Normally, you want to ask a client if all is well, and if so, please end the contract.  However, if they just disappear and don't respond, it's perfectly fine to just close the contract out. Also, many clients don't bother to leave a review unless they are the one that ends the contract.  They have 14 days after the close of the contract to leave feedback.  If it's been 10 days, they probably won't leave feedback. Getting 'no feedback' no longer hurts your JSS, according to Upwork. It just has 'no impact', which is better than a bad review.   Nothing you did was 'rude' from what I see: If to the best of your knowledge the job was completely satisfactorily and the client disappeared, you have every right to close out the contract and aren't expected to wait 'forever' for a client who many never respond.

martina_plaschka
Community Member

No, not rude, just unrealistic in expecting that a client how didn't respond for weeks will leave feedback. That is more effort than responding, and many clients never do. 

lauren_mefferd
Community Member

Thank you all! I'm relieved to know that I didn't commit any faux pas here. It sounds like I should have reached out to the client with a friendly word before I closed the account, but now I know better for next time. Since this was my first gig, should I be concerned that a lack of feedback from the client will reflect poorly on me in future bids?

It would be better to have a nice feedback on your first contract, but it's not going to be huge problem going forward. 

Thanks, Martina. I worried that no feedback would be a big deal, so that's a relief to hear.

financemark
Community Member

The only rude entity here is Upwork - b/c they allow clients to flake out like this.

 

tlsanders
Community Member

Not rude, but perhaps a bit odd--and counterproductive if you were open to working with the client in the future. 

 

I'm puzzled by how the client approved the milestone "several weeks later," since milestones auto-approve after 14 days. 

It might have been auto-approved and she thought it was approved by the client. 

Looking again, yes, you're right. It was approved after exactly 14 days. 

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