Flaky Clients and How to Deal with Them
November 22, 2007 by Deb
Filed under Freelance Writing
Yesterday we talked about flaky freelancers. Today I promised to go on a bit about flaky clients. It happens more than you think. Here are some ways to spot flaky clients:
- They ignore emails.
- They respond to emails days, weeks, even months later.
- They rarely offer feedback.
- They “forget” to pay.
- They promise information and don’t get back to you for days or weeks.
I know we’re all busy, but it’s important for clients to treat us as they’d expect to be treated. If you want us to adhere to deadlines, answer emails and requests in a timely manner and behave with a certain modicum of professionalism, you’ll need to treat us with the same respect.
Then there are the other kind of flaky clients – the ones that flake out on you before the project begins. They:
- Tell you they love your work and you never hear back from them again.
- Request more information and you never hear back from them again.
- Contact you for a project and you never hear back from them again.
I understand if you change your mind or if the project isn’t quite ready to bring in writers. If you contact me once however, do show me the courtesy of either a “no but thanks for playing” or a status report as to when the project will be online.
Freelancers are expected to behave in a business-like and professional manner. Is it too much to ask our clients to do the same?
What do you do if you’re dealing with a flaky client?
If you haven’t started a project and you’re not receiving a response to your inquiries, don’t get worked up. Move on, find something else, and remember that person’s name in case it comes up in the future.
If you have started a project and you’re not receiving a response to your inquiries, after a certain point I think it’s fair to send an email to say (nicely) “hey look, I really can’t proceed without hearing back from you. This project is going to be halted until I get a response.” I like having the return receipt feature checked off for these types of emails. So there can be no mistake.
If you’re asked for feedback but haven’t heard anything, proceed, especially if you’ve received a deposit already. Finish the job to the best of your ability. If your client isn’t going to respond to your requests, he really can’t gripe about the end product.
If you don’t receive payment, you have several recourses. Unless you have another agreement, your client generally has until 30 days after receipt of the invoice to pay. If you haven’t been paid, send a gentle reminder. If your gentle reminder is ignored, send a somewhat less gentle reminder. If he still doesn’t respond, call the big guns out on his butt. Make sure he knows he can not use your material unless you’re paid. If he publishes your work and you weren’t paid, sue his butt and report him to the Better Business Bureau and anyone else you can think of.
Yeah I know, freelancers sometimes get a bum rap and other people think we’re flaky because we work at home all day and make our own hours. I submit that for every flaky freelancer, there’s a flaky client. Professionalism works both ways.
To answer the question, “Are you a flaky freelancer?,” I would have to say that I am only that way to flaky clients.
I have flaked twice, but I believe it was reciprocal flaking and I don’t worry about it. They were very small bridges to burn.
Part of the reason I like to set up a pay for achieving milestones type of contract is that I’m never out more than a small amount if this happens. I also always get a retainer, mostly to be sure that the check doesn’t bounce (yes, that has happened to me).
But I totally agree with the basic gist of what you say here, Deb, which is that it’s best to move on with it as best you can. You have to protect your reputation as much as your cash flow.
It must be awful to have someone publish work you did and not have the check in hand for it. That does sound like a good time to sue.
If you aren’t getting responses to email, it might be because they’ve hit a spam filter or something wonky happened with your email. I hate to do it, but sometimes you just have to be proactive and pick up the phone and call the editor.
I agree. There are flakes on both sides. Flakes, people who can’t count, people who claim all six reminders about your invoice got lost in their spam filters even when they receive every other piece of info you’ve ever sent them, the list goes on. Contracts and letters of agreement cut down on a lot of the bull, but there are always some people who flake regardless. Luckily the good ones tend to outweigh the bad.
Nope this does not sound familiar at all.
Just kidding. Actually it sounds all too familiar. Which is too bad. You know what I’d add to the list. If the client only answers your emails like this:
“J,
TIMM! ha ha, LOL, WOTSPN.” (HUH?)
I don’t know how many times I have to say how lame this is before the not lame fairy comes and helps me out.
I think I may have just been flaked on. Badly.
Signed a contract that stated ‘payment two business days after work received’. Submitted two of the ten, never heard a thing, here it is a week later and an email came in saying payment would be processed that night. Nothing. My deadline is friday and I am thinking about dropping this assignment due to the client flake-age. Am I wrong to do it? Also, when I went to look at the contract, which I signed first and it went back to them, THEN I got a copy, it was changed from 2 buisness days to ‘after satisfactory receipt of articles’.
Alarms?
I, too, have asked myself that question: why are freelancers expected to behave like professionals, when half the time clients reciprocate with very unprofessional behaviour? I’ve had people sound all a-go and then drop me like a hot potato as soon the time comes for them to give me the go ahead on a project. Ah well. Those I don’t mind so much, as I learn the true nature of the client before it’s too late. I’ve also learned not to hold my breath!
To Amanda’s point, one should check out prospective clients as carefully as they check you out…are there online complaints (one place where blogs can be very helpful) about non-payments, do other writers in forums such as this have experience with some clients, etc.
The other thing I’ve found helpful is starting slowly with new clients. This is difficult when there are bills to pay, but it helps from getting burned.
Another important caveat, if a regular client starts paying more slowly, cutting back work or bringing up complaints about the economy, lack of work, etc., know that these are warning signs of potential non-payment in the future. This is true even of “established” businesses. I worked at a newspaper that was owed $1 milion by Goldblatt’s when it went under.
As in a previous discussion that Deb had, having a variety of clients helps to soften the blow of one who unexpectedly becomes flaky.
Excellent post Deb!
Yes, after several years working with a great client, I have recently come across one like you mentioned in your post. The delayed emails, the promised information never turning up. The chasing up for a response, only to have a false promise of interest during their hectic schedule. Then the promise of pay only to receive nothing.
There were warning signs from the beginning but after an interesting telephone conversation and great praise from the company, I guess I just ignored the signs… until they became really apparent!
Again, Phil, an interesting post. Yes, the lending of an ear on hard times and the economy did ring a warning bell especially from an established business with quite a good profit margin.
Hey all,
Does anyone know where I can post a complaint about an editor who has taken well over a year to pay for one of my stories?? She is a very well known editor that is also well respected, but as far as my dealings with her; she has barely bothered to update anyone on the status of the anthology since accepting the submissions and it’s been MONTHS since she last contacted the contributing authors saying that ‘payment was on the way’! Dreadful woman!
Thx:)
I just stumbled on this site and I’m very happy about the contents of this freelancewritinggig.
I just want to ask seasoned writers what to do on the following occasions:
1.) what to do when client did not send payments and ignored all ” reminders” ?
2.) what to do when I wrote the article as requested by the client, sent it, only to receive ” your article is a double-post of what we receive and hence, could not accept it”. I have been a writer for 10 years and I am always cognizant of plagiarism. I never copied anyone’s work. Is this a lame way for not paying my work or it’s just me who experienced this?
Thanks in advance for your responses!