What to do about unresponsive client so that I can commence work?

[chris_hecker]

I was awarded what seemed like a really good project earlier today in terms of pay.

I happily accepted the project several hours ago and the funds are in Escrow. I signed their NDA (very common for transcription projects) as well.

I have since messaged them with a couple of questions that I need answered so that I can commence with the project and have had no response.

Not sure what to do at this point. Should I wait a few more hours and contact support to see if they can contact the client on my behalf?

I definitely don't want to terminate the contract and risk having my JSS drop any further.

[feed_my_eyes]

Did the client say that they were in a huge rush and needed their project to be finished immediately? If not, then just calm down and wait for them to get back to you. There's no need to contact support; they can't tell your client to hurry up either.

[ladyelexia]

You just accepted a few hours ago, and its the weekend. If your questions need to be answered in order for you to start or complete your work, the client will see that and get back to you when they can. Just calm down and be patient. 

[schardo]

While you wait, double check their time zone. I always try to be mindful of that when I'm interacting with my clients (and it may explain why they're MIA - they're asleep).

I'm sure they'll get back to you soon.

[prestonhunter]

Chris: don't panic about this project. As others have pointed out, it is the client's project and the client's timeline. Not yours. If the client wants to take a break, that is fine.

However: don't do this again.

You made a mistake, which I hope you won't repeat.

Do not accept a fixed-price contract until you have all necessary input files and all necessary information sufficient for you to complete the task.

That way, you can always complete the work and get paid even if there is no communication with the client.

And definitely do not contact support. It is never appropriate to waste customer support's time in a quest to pester a client in a situation like this.

[tlbp]

"Unresponsive" is weeks without contact, not hours. Your client may be a middleman who has to get the answers from someone else. They may be taking the weekend off. They may be asleep. 

In general, as a service provider, you want to respond as soon as possible to any client inquiry. But, also as a service provider, you must learn to accept that your priorities are not the client's priorities. So, you may not hear from them for days. This is true when you have a question and when you are waiting to be paid. 😉

[richard_wein]

---

Tonya P wrote:

So, you may not hear from them for days.

---

Days? I have a client who sometimes doesn't respond for months. I've been working with him on a job for over a year that could have been done in days.  (To be fair, one time it was my fault, as I overlooked an email from him. Since he often doesn't reply for months, I assumed the ball was still in his court!) I don't mind. It's an hourly job, and he doesn't mind paying me for the time it takes me to refresh my memory.