Ive worked in customer-facing roles in the retail and hospitality industries, and now Im a freelance writer.
But even when theyre dead wrong, what do you do?
Here are my tips for how to walk that fine line as a service provider.
Dont fall for an ambush
to stand your ground, you’re gonna wanna be prepared.
Being caught off guard is a one-way ticket to being taken advantage of.
I had a contract to write some website copy.
I got great feedback from the client, and the project was complete.
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They insisted on a phone call at a ridiculous hour and refused to talk by email.
Ok, no problem.
It was an ambush.
I knew it then, but I was too flustered to do much about it.
We had a contract, I delivered, and I even got positive feedback.
I hadnt been participating in some competition; it was a job, and I did it.
I stick to email, and it prevents an ambush.
Maybe youll decide theyre being reasonable and thats fine but it puts you back in control of the decision.
Sometimes clients still ask for multiple rounds of edits.
Put everything in writing
I essentially run my entire business through email.
c’mon let me know if you have further questions.
When I started my business, I had no boundaries.
When I realized what was happening, I realized I needed to officially set some boundaries.
That mention had been added by my editor I had no idea what the client was even talking about.
They asked me to remove the mention.
I said I couldnt: my editor put it there, and I dont own the content.
Id really liked working with this client, but I said no.
It meant I lost the client.
And it hit: it was right at the beginning of the pandemic.
I had a client who requested more content than I had time for one month.
They continued even after Id said no, and even accused me of letting greed block my blessings.
That was the end of that client relationship and thats ok.
But there will always be clients with unreasonable expectations.
Others will blatantly have a go at take advantage of you.
And some will simply misremember or misunderstand something to the point where you risk a potential issue.
This article by Ana Gotter was originally published on theZapier blogand is republished here with permission.
you might read the original articlehere.
She works from her home in Orlando with her three dogs and can be contacted at www.anagotter.com.
