I received a strange email from one of my freelance writing clients last weekend. Rather than trying to describe it to you, I’ll just copy and paste the whole thing here for you to read:
Hi,
How you doing? We made a trip to London (United Kingdom) unannounced some days back, Unfortunately we got mugged at gun point last night! All cash, Credit card and phone were stolen, we got messed up in another country, stranded in London, fortunately passport was back in my hotel room. It was a bitter experience and i was hurt on my right hand, but would be fine. I am sending you this message cos i don’t want anyone to panic, we want you to keep it that way for now!
Our return flight leaves in a few hours but I’m having troubles sorting out the hotel bills, wondering if you could loan me some money to sort out the hotel bills and also take a cab to the airport about ($2000). I have been to the police and embassy here, but they aren’t helping issues, I have limited means of getting out of here, we canceled our cards already and made a police report, I won’t get a new card number till I get back home! So I really need your help.
You could wire whatever you can spare to my name and hotel address via Western union:
XXXX XXXXXXX (this was actually my client’s name)
272, Coriander Avenue, Docklands, E14 2AA ,
London United KingdomGet back to me with the details, would def refund it to you once we arrive! Hopefully tomorrow.
Needless to say, I ran down to my credit union, withdrew $2,000 and had it wired to London immediately. Right after I sent the Nigerian prince his $23,296.
Now, there were several things about this email that indicated it was a scam, not the least of which was that this client has always been extremely professional and would never have used the word “cos.” But, for the three and a half minutes I wondered if the email was real, it got me thinking about something:
What do you do when a freelance writing client needs your help?
I can conceive of a number of circumstances in which a client might need help. They might need to delay a payment, or they might need you to put a rush on a particular freelance writing job.
For me, if the client is a repeat client and they’ve been reliable, I think I’d be willing to help them out (within reason). No, I’m not going to wire $2,000 to London, but I might move their job up on my editorial calendar or work with them on terms. After all, more than one client has worked with me on deadlines or other concerns in the past, so why wouldn’t I?
What do you think? What are you willing to do when a client asks you for something?
I’ve helped clients in the past with various and sundry of their “issues”, personal and professional. If I can help, I like to. But yes, by the time I was done reading that email, despite not knowing your client, I felt sure it was a scam. In a situation like that the help I can be to the client is to notify them that this kind of fishing is going on with their name attached.
But in what other ways have I helped? I’ve done exchange of services work when a client was facing financial difficulties. I’ve spear-headed fundraisers when a true emergency has arisen. I’ve given to support a charitable cause in their name or at there request. I’ve given unpaid hours to talk them through a problem they were having. I’ve dropped everything to do an emergency (“OMG my site was hacked/crashed/disappeared/etc.” or “Help, I can’t get connected to the internet!” or “A family emergency came up and I can’t get this gig finished by tomorrow can I sub you?”) job. I’ve done promotion for their event, offered to host their promotion efforts on my own sites, and examined my own network to help them find jobs when they were having difficulty.
Sometimes, the best way to develop good will with a client is to be willing to give and help when they truly need it. Of course, it’s one thing to help when you can but don’t let them steamroll you into doing things you would rather not do. I think it’s also important not to do things that remove their personal power. If a client comes to me saying, “I need $2000″, I’d rather offer them ideas for how they can earn it, than give it to them out of my own pocket. Empowering them to help themselves is another fantastic way to help.
.-= Rebecca Laffar-Smith´s last blog ..Jen Nipps On Writing Romance =-.