Whatever Happened to Face to Face?
March 4, 2009 by Deb
Filed under Customer Service
Back in the day, when I worked in publishing, freelancers were a regular presence at a client’s office.
They came in to:
- Drop off proposals and resumes
- Meet with editors to go over assignments, rewrites and upcoming projects
- Turn in completed projects
- Brainstorm with the team
Even when when my office began using email, it was very rare for freelancers to never come in to the office. We didn’t do the virtual thing. As a result:
- We had more trust in the people who worked for us.
- The people who worked for us had more trust in us.
- We were able to talk at length about projects and assignments
- We knew exactly who was working for us
Do you think the lack of face to face makes a difference? Do you feel writers who take the time to meet with clients and take more time to discuss and drop off projects are paid more money? Do think it makes a difference for a client and a writer to spend face to face time together?
Discuss…
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I think it makes a difference. If you know them on a personal level and have seen them in person, it’s very different from being an anonymous person with an email address. If you’re anonymous it’s easier to duck the person indefinitely and never have to own up to it (on the editor or writer’s side).
I think both the editor and writer take a risk in contracting work completely online without any in-person contact because the editor doesn’t know for sure if the writer will meet the deadline and the writer doesn’t know for sure if the client will pay up. I’d say if you can meet in person, go for it. If they can put a face to the name, they will feel they know and trust you better, and will give you more assignments. It’s just not always possible, especially if you live outside of the NY area.
When I worked on staff at a book publisher, it was still rare for a writer to come meet with editors in person (that was only for special projects or high-profile authors). It was actually considered a nuisance, and they didn’t really have time for it.
I have clients all over the country, and one in Brazil. Going to the offices would be a little time consuming.
Hey,
The image with my previous post looks just like me!
I have a great relationship with my SEO editor (I live in California and she’s in the mid-west) and we’ve never met (only virtual contact and phone), and it works for us. However, I think things get lost in translation when you don’t have that face-to-face contact on a regular basis. When I work with clients on web copy, it really helps to interview them and talk to them in a person so I can get a “feel” for their personality. I just had a meeting with a potential client last week and it really helps to sell yourself and your writing services/skills/talents in person.
However, I love the fact that I can Gmail chat or IM my editors when they’re online and can get an instant response to my question, especially if I’m in the process of writing my article and need clarification.
I also worked for a publisher and I never saw the authors either. I don’t think the editors and copywriters would have had the time (or patience ha!) to deal with pesky authors coming into the office 24,7.
I think it’s a Catch-22. The Internet makes life easier but I think the personal touch is also lost.