Web Worker Daily

This week has been a bit of a challenge. I’ve been haggling with car dealerships over purchasing a new car. I’m sure I don’t need to explain how frustrating that process has been, but I will say that I’m surprised at the customer service lessons I’m getting out of the experience. Read the rest of this entry »

A friend of mine who is new to teleworking was complaining that her overseas prospects wanted to speak with her on the phone. Since she didn’t want to have to pay for international calls, she turned down these lucrative offers. “I don’t want my fees to be consumed by phone bills,” she said.

“You don’t need to use the phone, you can always use voice chat or VoIP,” I suggested.

“What’s that?”

It seems that not everyone who sets out to do web work knows how to establish their communication methods. There are many tools that allow us to sidestep more traditional — and usually more expensive — means of communicating with our clients, such as client visits and phone calls. For those who are just starting out, here are your options: Read the rest of this entry »

Many freelancers, especially at the beginning of their careers, find themselves working with very difficult clients. When this has happened to me, either I helped change the client’s working behavior or stopped working with them altogether. While I always aim for the former approach, sometimes the better option is to end the working relationship. Whenever this happens I hope that if I do work with the client again in the future, they’ll be more cooperative — but that’s not guaranteed.

When one of your more difficult clients contacts you for a new project, how do you work with them again, without repeating the problems you previously had?

Points to Consider

Before you sign up to work with a previously difficult client, there are some issues you need to address.

Refer to the paperwork. If your client is contacting you for support on a previous project, it helps to go over your signed contracts and documents to see whether the new request is within your area of responsibility.

Understand their position. Oftentimes, I’m the only go-to person that these difficult clients have worked with. This is usually because they’re not that tech-savvy or they have a hard time convincing other professionals to take on their projects. With their situation, they just want to get things done as fast as possible. Keep this in mind if they sound frustrated or in a rush when they’re contacting you.

If you’re going to help them out, know why. In my experience, guilt is never a good reason to stay with difficult clients. This is especially true if they are verbally abusive, need 24/7 hand-holding, and don’t value your work. If they’re immature enough, they might try to appeal to your guilt. Just remember not to give in.

Help out your difficult clients only if you believe in the project and if you’re confident that you can learn to foster a better, mutually beneficial working relationship.

Rebuild Your Relationship

Once you decide to work with a difficult client again, make sure that you’ve learned from your previous mistakes and won’t be likely to repeat them. Use the insights you’ve gained from your experience to make the relationship work this time around.

Improve your contract terms to forge a more balanced relationship. Go over the last contract you signed with this particular client. Are the terms clear and easy to understand? Are there any clauses you need to add or modify to protect yourself from being exploited?

Discuss the things that didn’t work out last time and propose solutions for them. If you had to “fire” a client before, they’re probably aware that your working relationship wasn’t smooth to begin with. It’s best to express your concerns and propose ways on how problems can be avoided this time around — without blaming each other for previous mistakes, of course.

Train your client to be more self-sufficient. I used to provide solutions to my clients’ simplest needs even if they were outside the project scope. While there’s nothing wrong with going the extra mile from time to time, constant support for even the most irrelevant tech issues can be a drain on your time and energy. Instead of providing solutions yourself, point them towards the resources that can best empower them to help themselves.

As freelancers, we see ourselves improving and becoming more professional as we gain more experience. Our difficult clients are the same way. It’s reasonable to expect that they, too, can become easier to work over time.

Have you ever had a difficult client go back to you for more projects? If so, did you avoid working with them again or were you able to establish a healthier working relationship?

Image by danzo08 from sxc.hu

All this time that I’ve been a freelancer, I always blindly accepted real-time customer support as a fact of freelancing life.  I just have to be accessible to clients whenever they have any questions, want clarifications, or need an explanation about the things I’m doing.  Even if I’m not the one who’s always handling customer support, someone’s time is wasted by answering the same questions and explaining the same things over and over.  And that is never a good thing.

But if something is repetitive, then it can be automated.  How can we make our clients better informed so that they don’t ask us the same questions repeatedly?  I believe that the following 5 documents can help:
Read the rest of this entry »

Sometimes, the cause of freelancing mistakes lies in forgetting to ask the right questions.

I know this because it has often happened to me, whether I’m applying as a contractor for a project or I’m the one hiring others to work with me.  Asking these questions, no matter how simple or common they might be, makes you better prepared to take on a project.  Plus, they show your client that you go the extra mile.

So what are these questions and why should we ask them?

What is this for? A few years ago, I made the mistake of accepting a seemingly simple request from a client to write articles about bathroom cleaning tips.  I did the project with a slant on using homemade cleansers, not knowing that what the client wanted was to incorporate the use of commercially available products into the article.  In the end I had to redo the entire job.

Some projects only look simple on the surface, but they turn out to be more layered than you think once you ask your client what they intend to accomplish with your work.
Read the rest of this entry »

You can’t please everybody. There’s a reason why that line is a cliché.  I’ve yet to hear of a freelancer who never encountered a client who was disappointed in their work.  Some clients keep their frustrations to themselves or simply stop working with you.  Others, however, expect you to hear out an entire rant about what went wrong and how they feel about it.

In cases like those, it’s important to take calculated steps in fixing what went wrong.

Don’t panic. Your client is probably emotional the first time they contact you about a problem.  Since that’s the case, it’s your job to be calm and logical.  No good can come from having a shouting match about who’s right and who’s wrong.

Of course, this is easier to say than it is to do – especially if the client calls you on the phone.  It’s easier to be calm and collected (or at least to seem that way) when you’re communicating via chat or email.  On the phone, it takes more willpower.

Read the rest of this entry »

In a previous post about communication tools, WWD reader Melanie made an accurate observation that having an instant messaging client open while you’re working is like having the phone ring constantly.  Despite this, IM is useful for instantaneous back-and-forth exchanges with clients.

How can we reconcile its usefulness as a communication tool with the fact that it can be downright annoying?

Read the rest of this entry »