Project has been taking too long for a client review

[pixel_pusher_]

hi! not sure if this is the right channel to ask. But I need a professional advice. The freelancer I hired for a short motion graphic animation submitted a finished output. I then had to submit it to my client who has millions of things at hand and couldn't find a way to review and assess the submitted animation. I have multiple ongoing projects with this client and things are going well, except for this animation... he probably needs his peer reviews and approval for it. The project has started about 2 months ago and the freelancer's completed output file was submitted about 40 days ago. He is now trying to force me to accept that delivery so that he can close the project. What should I do? Any advice on this matter is highly appreciated 🙏

[newsmike]

50 minutes ago, pixel_pusher_ said:

hi! not sure if this is the right channel to ask. But I need a professional advice. The freelancer I hired for a short motion graphic animation submitted a finished output. I then had to submit it to my client who has millions of things at hand and couldn't find a way to review and assess the submitted animation. I have multiple ongoing projects with this client and things are going well, except for this animation... he probably needs his peer reviews and approval for it. The project has started about 2 months ago and the freelancer's completed output file was submitted about 40 days ago. He is now trying to force me to accept that delivery so that he can close the project. What should I do? Any advice on this matter is highly appreciated 🙏

That is tough for the freelancer.  He has done the initial work, and won' get paid until you accept either the original or revised finished product. Just as it is expected that the freelancer must deliver on time, the buyer needs to understand that 40 days to review is a needless delay, and not really professional.  This is the equivalent of being 40 days late on a payment. But I understand the client is busy. Bottom line is the client can't make people wait forever, and 40 days for a "short video" is abusive in my opinion. How would it go if he were 40 days late in paying landlord? 

The buyer can let the freelancer get paid and then pay for revisions if needed. If 40 days had passed, I would consider any revisions included would have been forfeited and not valid without payment anyway. 

Edited August 22, 2023 by newsmike

[catwriter]

1 hour ago, pixel_pusher_ said:

He is now trying to force me to accept that delivery so that he can close the project.

Well, he's working with you, not with your client (nor with your client's peers). It shouldn't be his problem that your client is slow to decide what he wants (or can't get an answer from his peers). And this kind of behaviour is one of the reasons why some freelancers hate to work with middlemen, or even refuse to work with them.

Not to mention that the freelancer you hired might have had to hire other freelancers for a part of this work (a script writer, a voice over, unless you have provided those), and that he had to pay them, too. Out of his own pocket, while hoping to get paid by you.

1 hour ago, pixel_pusher_ said:

What should I do?

The only fair thing I can think of is to close the project so that the freelancer can finally get their funds (which will be a week or two after the project was closed, so they'll still have to wait to get paid). If some revisions are needed later, pay the freelancer to do them. And apologize for the delay. And hope that they will accept to work with you again; there are those who would block you after making them wait like this, and it would be hard to blame them.

[pixel_pusher_]

@newsmike @catwriter thank you. I needed your kind of perspective. I've been on this platform for quite a while but I rarely had the need for it, honestly. Just haven't had the time to know the ins and outs. I didn't realize I could end up with this kind of predicament when I started the project. I guess this is one of those risks that I should just own up and take the loss. I feel the freelancer's pain and I do freelance work on the side as well.

[newsmike]

12 minutes ago, pixel_pusher_ said:

@newsmike @catwriter thank you. I needed your kind of perspective. I've been on this platform for quite a while but I rarely had the need for it, honestly. Just haven't had the time to know the ins and outs. I didn't realize I could end up with this kind of predicament when I started the project. I guess this is one of those risks that I should just own up and take the loss. I feel the freelancer's pain and I do freelance work on the side as well.

Hopefully a very rare occurrence.

[catwriter]

14 minutes ago, pixel_pusher_ said:

I guess this is one of those risks that I should just own up and take the loss.

Yes, it's definitely one of the risks of being a middleman.

It can be lucrative, but it can be risky, too.

[pixel_pusher_]

Lesson learned