How do experienced Sellers deal with new Jeckyl-&-Hyde clients?

[desmond_aubery]

Scenario
Pre-Gig acceptance discussions go fine.
Client kept well updated on project progress
Client happy
Early delivery made
Client expresses happiness, thanks and praise with your work

Then...
Begins trying to ask advice post delivery outside agreed scope of supply.
Calls for commitments that were never made
Shown clipped comms exchange - client agrees
Then tries again, and again - rinse repeat
Extremely manipulative - almost bi-polar

I counter...
Exercising sincere diplomacy
Offer an extra time for further discussion - via Fiverr
Client never picks up on this
Continues trying to ask for more unpaid information
Seems to be trying to push towards final payment acceptance - feel question time
Eventually offered a separate consulting Gig
Client finally accepts.

New Gig...
Scope twice confirmed before order, directly after order placement
Project starts
Regular updates
Early delivery
Cycle repeats - questions beyond agreed time agreed
Please check this, please check that, I only have a small budget... etc
I hold firm and offer an extension to the Gig - multiple times
When client finally realizes the 'free consultation' has closed - rage quits - pays - storms off

For the record
I have been in the Engineering Consulting game for nearly 40 years, but am new to Fiverr. This is one of the worst clients I have ever encountered. Very manipulative, bordering on abusive. With face-to-face discussions, this kind of client normally just storms off in a huff when they don't get everything free they try for.

I'd love to hear comments from our experienced Fiverrs...  

[emmaki]

Sounds like the perfect candidate for blocking. You might want to consider a frilly message explaining how you're not a good fit etc pre-block.

If you don't want to do that, enforce question limits (maximum 1 hour / 10 questions or however you do it) and note that any time over this will be charged at $X. 

The reviews look okay under the new review system. I would have blocked after the first gig though. These clients don't change. 

[desmond_aubery]

2 hours ago, emmaki said:

Sounds like the perfect candidate for blocking. You might want to consider a frilly message explaining how you're not a good fit etc pre-block.

If you don't want to do that, enforce question limits (maximum 1 hour / 10 questions or however you do it) and note that any time over this will be charged at $X. 

The reviews look okay under the new review system. I would have blocked after the first gig though. These clients don't change. 

Thanks very much for your reply. Very much appreciated.  😊

I really like your idea of 1 hour, X questions - whichever comes first. Then offer to charge at X$ - and stop at the hard stop.

It was my very first Gig on Fiverr, so I really bent over backwards to assist, but, there seemed to never be an end to the demands. I treated it as a loss-leader. My problem is that I'm a bit of a softie, sometimes.

After the 2nd Gig, I did actually block the former client. Glad to see I did the right thing.  🤗