by Leo Wiles
23 March 2016
I have a client who is disorganised and always seems to blame me when deadlines aren’t met or things go wrong. Even though the issues are largely on the client end, I struggle to stand up for myself (and also I don’t have a lot of clients so walking away isn’t an option). Any advice? Kevin
When you’re the outsider in a team (as freelancers so often are), it’s easy to be cast as the scapegoat when a project goes wrong. And if you work in media long enough, you’ll have your share of lazy, erratic, substance-dependent clients with more personality disorders than Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson could possibly have dreamt of.
The trouble is, when it’s the fault of a client that a project suffers delays or grounds to a halt altogether, it’s not only their problem, but yours too. If you were counting on getting paid by a certain date, well – you can forget about that. Add to that the annoying possibility that delays on the deadline can also wreck havoc on other clients’ projects you have in the pipeline. And in doing so, potentially affect your reputation.
In the past I’ve spent good money on courses, such as Working with Difficult People. I’ve even shelled out for psych sessions to learn how to handle some of my career’s key players. I’m obsessed with organisation – a reputation I garnered in high-school landing the backstage manger for every notable play – and when working on a project I conduct risk assessments and prepare Gantt charts that would shame Blue Chip companies. But forward planning can only take you so far and the problem you’re facing is more common than you might think.
For example, regular readers will know that I am currently up to my neck in children and a long-term project that is finally drawing to a close after a year. And, with the finish line in sight, I’m almost at the point of dreaming about the day spa and champagne I’ll treat myself to. However nothing could prepare me for today’s wildcard: the client emailing me to say she was too sick and her team too incompetent to deliver the materials I need to continue achieving my milestones.
With Easter on the horizon, I envisage that there’ll be another ‘Oops, sorry’ in the pipeline a week from now too.
So what can you do when the client drops the ball? For me, I work on all the other parts of the project that do not need the client’s input. More importantly, I ensure that there is a paper trail to staunch potential backlash. I also let the client whenever their inaction has threatened my milestones, that if they don’t meet their obligations I will not be able to make their deadline. It might be a good idea to write this into your contract as well.
If the situation is departmental within a large company, I may also CC their line manager or the person who is ultimately responsible for paying me and or rehiring me in the future.
How do you manage clients who may be looking for someone to blame?
I recently landed a nice big project which pretty much filled my funnel for a month but it was on a tightish deadline. So when I quoted the job, I put in one rate that applied if I got everything I needed by x date and a higher rate if I did not get it until after that date. Funnily enough the client got what I needed to me by the date I needed it by.
That’s a great idea Darren – I would never have thought of doing that!