It’s one of the strangest client situations, but it’s not unheard of. Avid Writer Kimberly has a situation in which the client paid up front and then disappeared completely. If only that were the problem we all faced!
But it can be a problem, for now you’re in a place where the client may return at any time and expect immediate help. And that’s Kimberly’s dilemma. She’s waiting and has been for more than a month. She’s hesitant to pick up any project too involved for fear the pre-paid client returns wanting instant attention. Kim, as they say in South Philly, fuhgeddabouddit! Send one more note stating that you have very large projects coming in and you’re not going to be readily available in the coming weeks. That shakes the client into thinking about the project and it allows you to conduct business without the fear of having to turn this client’s work down momentarily when they show up out of the blue. You’ve warned him. Payment up front does not give any client license to keep you waiting endlessly.
I’m still waiting – three years later – for the project I was paid a huge amount of money for to finish. It started. We managed to get halfway through it, then the client became unusually busy (staffing cuts stretched their already taxed time to insanely thin levels). I sent the obligatory notes every month asking where the project was and if I could help. When I got an answer, no one seemed concerned with my idle status. After two months of this, I moved on. After a year of it, I knew it was a dead project, for most of the team had moved on to other employers and the team lead had stopped responding. In fact, the one note I did receive from him had him asking me if they owed me any more money for the work I had done. Obviously that wasn’t the issue. The issue was whether I’d fulfilled my obligation to them in their eyes.
Have you ever been in a situation where work is pre-paid and the client just disappears? What do you think is the right way to handle that? Let’s discuss.
That’s never happened to me. I’m sure Kimberly has thought of this, but is it a company that has more than one person? If so, she could call the client’s office and speak with a receptionist or administrative assistant and at least find out if he’s out sick, hospitalized, etc.
Thanks for the advice Lori. Actually, the client hasn’t disappeared – he has actually given me some other projects to work on (WTH?) which just confuses me further… He’s paid for those projects. But this is one puzzle I don’t have time to solve, so I am going to take your wise advice. I’m going to send him a note about my schedule for the rest of the month and go on with work as usual. 🙂
That really IS odd, Kim!
Once I had a client give me an upfront deposit and then disappear. It was one of my first clients, and they gave me a check. I got a vague “we have no idea when we’ll start” vibe from them, and I felt bad about cashing the check. Too bad–I never heard from them again. Next time the check goes in my bank account.