Dealing with a Challenging Buyer: Striking a Balance Between Expectations and Revisions

[devlblack]

Hello fellow freelancers,

I wanted to share an experience I recently had with a buyer and reach out for some advice on handling a challenging situation. I recently worked on a project with a buyer who presented a few difficulties, including lack of responsiveness, unclear requirements, and constant change requests. While I highly value open communication and adaptability, this particular buyer has made the project quite demanding to navigate smoothly.

To begin with, the buyer appears to be uncertain about their specific needs and requirements. They often request changes without providing clear guidelines or content, which poses a challenge in meeting their expectations accurately. Consequently, multiple revisions have been necessary, significantly prolonging the timeline of the project.

Furthermore, the buyer has proposed using images from another website for their new website. As freelancers, we understand the significance of respecting copyright laws and creating unique content. Despite my efforts to explain this to the buyer, their insistence on using such images has led to further delays and disagreements.

In addition, the buyer's responsiveness has been notably slow, with responses taking up to two days. This lack of timely communication has hindered progress and prevented the project from being completed within the agreed timeframe. Despite my best efforts to stay on track and promptly meet their requirements, the project is now significantly behind schedule.

As freelancers, we recognize the importance of accommodating clients and delivering a high level of service. However, in this particular situation, I find myself facing ongoing changes and requests, unclear requirements, and a lack of timely communication. I have already exceeded the initial number of revisions agreed upon, and the project has stretched well beyond its anticipated completion date.

I would greatly appreciate any advice or insights from fellow freelancers who may have encountered similar situations. How have you managed challenging buyers who lack clarity, make constant changes, and exhibit slow responsiveness? What strategies or approaches have helped you navigate these situations while maintaining a professional and productive working relationship?

Please note that I do not intend to name or shame anyone involved. Instead, I am seeking guidance and understanding from the community. Your experiences and suggestions would be immensely valuable.

Thank you in advance for your input.

Best regards,
A Freelancer in Need

[smashradio]

7 minutes ago, devlblack said:

To begin with, the buyer appears to be uncertain about their specific needs and requirements.

Hey there, 

You should always make sure you're on the same page before an order starts, and work with your potential buyers to map out their needs and expectations beforehand. That way, you can avoid misunderstandings and buyers leaving you hanging. 

8 minutes ago, devlblack said:

They often request changes without providing clear guidelines or content.

Do you charge for these changes/revisions? If not, you should. 

8 minutes ago, devlblack said:

Despite my efforts to explain this to the buyer, their insistence on using such images has led to further delays and disagreements.

This is unfortunate, as you delivering material you/the buyer don't have the right to is a violation of the terms here on Fiverr. Try explaining the legal repercussions to the buyer. Hopefully, they'll prefer to avoid legal trouble at a later date just as much as you would like to avoid getting banned. 

10 minutes ago, devlblack said:

In addition, the buyer's responsiveness has been notably slow, with responses taking up to two days. This lack of timely communication has hindered progress and prevented the project from being completed within the agreed timeframe. Despite my best efforts to stay on track and promptly meet their requirements, the project is now significantly behind schedule.

I know how you feel. Here's a post I wrote about different types of nightmare buyers, and how to avoid them: 

Your buyer sounds like they qualify for the Scopoflayer level. 

16 minutes ago, devlblack said:

I have already exceeded the initial number of revisions agreed upon, and the project has stretched well beyond its anticipated completion date.

My advice is to end the discussion with a price tag. If you've exceeded the initial number of revisions agreed upon, make sure the client has to pay a fair rate for any work you do from here on out. That usually leads to one of three outcomes: 

• The buyer will realize that they can't take advantage of you, and pay you, or..
• The buyer will accept the delivery as is
• The buyer will accept the delivery but leave a negative review. if so, I recommend you read the following thread from beginning to end: 

[devlblack]

Thanks for chiming in with your response and the helpful suggestions you provided. I really appreciate your advice on the importance of being on the same page with buyers before starting a project. Taking the time to map out their needs and expectations beforehand can definitely help prevent misunderstandings and avoid any last-minute surprises.

In response to your advice, I just wanted to clarify that I did go through a detailed requirement gathering process with the client before starting the website project. We had a customized order in place that addressed the client's specific needs, and we agreed upon three revisions as part of the package. The original timeline for delivery was set at 10 days, but I managed to complete the job in just 5 days since I had some free time available.

Furthermore, we had an understanding that the client would take care of providing the necessary hosting, domain, and content, including images and text. I double-checked this information to ensure a smooth workflow. However, things got a bit complicated when the client asked me to extract "copy" images from a competitor's website and extract text from business cards, which raised copyright concerns. I explained the potential issues and guided the client on adding their desired images themselves.

As for the text content, I made an attempt to extract it, but unfortunately, it didn't cover all the requirements of the website. I communicated this to the client, highlighting how the overall quality of the website would benefit from better text content. Despite my explanations, the client ignored my concerns and requested three changes that were beyond the initial project scope. I decided to go ahead and complete these additional changes as a gesture of flexibility and professionalism.

Now, the website is complete, except for the unfinished text, due to the client's lack of response. I've prepared an exit report that documents all the tasks that have been completed and provides a list of sections where the text content needs to be updated. While I'm leaning towards delivering the project, I do have reservations about handing over something that might be considered "unfinished" since a website is not just about its functionality but also about the overall product.

Given the situation, I would really appreciate any advice on how to proceed when a client is unresponsive, and I have already fulfilled my commitments. It's important for me to maintain professionalism while ensuring the client's satisfaction and bringing the project to completion.

Thanks for taking the time to read and offer your guidance. I truly appreciate it.

[mabelma]

Sometimes when clients are unresponsive it is best to deliver the project and leave things in their hands. Whilst in some cases people are busy and can't really be 100% responsive, many of them will communicate it and ask you to wait or create a new schedule for them. However, when they do not communicate and they don't let you know the reason as to why they are uncommunicative it can be that they aren't as interested in the project overall, and if the client isn't interested in the project then why should you? That all being said, I think an exit report is a good idea, and even though AI for the most part is frowned upon in certain areas of the internet, perhaps Chat GPT or a similar tool can help you complete the information you need without having to ask the client for it? That would be my suggestion, to give some AI generate text a try and then deliver. It is my knowledge that using such tools to generate the content text for a website is not breaking any copyright laws and you will be able to deliver something a bit more complete and then it's up to the client to revise it on their end.

[imagination7413]

@smashradio , OP replied to you without a quote or tag, if you're interested in the response. 

[adeel_gfx]

This is sad part of the fiverr.