What to Do When Constant Client Emails Keep You from Working
Posted June 16, 2010 in Business, Managing Clients
I love my clients. They keep me in business and they allow me to have the kind of career and lifestyle I’ve always wanted. However that’s not to say they aren’t without their vices. The busier we get as freelancers, the less time we have to answer emails, yet the more emails we seem to get.
What’s worse is that we often get several clients who seemed to need babysitting on the web. While I don’t mind teaching my clients how to use their new sites, I’ve come across several clients that would literally email me at least 10-15 times a day on every subject from their website, to SEO, to using email, to turning on their computer.
The End of Productive Work…
The truth is, we don’t have the time to waste on these clients, and these clients waste a TON of time. Another problem is that these “quick” questions can really add up, and the next thing you know, you’ve spent two hours on their questions and didn’t get paid a dime for it. So how do we politely tell them to stop emailing us so much or inform them that we need to charge for these emails while still keeping them as clients?
While it’s tempting to just put up with it and hope they’ll eventually stop, the truth is, that if you keep giving them free advice, they’ll keep coming back (and not coming back in a good way).
That’s not to say however, that we should charge for every question. There’s nothing wrong with answering questions. But, what if client is still sending you several emails a day, months after the projects finished? What if you get two clients like that, or three? You can easily spend your entire day dealing with these clients and their “quick” emails.
So, How Do We Deal with Constant Client Emails?
There are several ways I’ve dealt with these clients and none of them were easy. It’s uncomfortable to approach the client on this kind of subject, but it’s something almost all of us will have to do at least once or twice in our freelance careers.
- Charge them for emails–I finally got fed up with one of my favorite clients after the launch of their site. They were literally sending me several emails a day, six months after the project ended. So, I spent a good amount of time carefully drafting an email to let them know that I would love to help them, but couldn’t devote all of my time to answering their questions thoroughly, as spending so much time would be unfair to my paying clients. I would happily answer all of their questions for an hourly fee if they wished. Needless to say, they stopped asking questions.
- Charge them for changes–I finally heard back from the same client several months later (I thought I had upset them with the previous email) asking me how to change X and X. I was furious. Hadn’t I just told them I could no longer accept their requests for free? But then I realized something–what if they just didn’t understand how to ask for changes the right way? So, I responded: “I would love to do X and X for you for $xxx. I can fit that in tomorrow for you if you’d like.” To my surprise, they were ecstatic and paid me right away. Clients who ask for stuff may seem like they are asking it for free, but may just not know how to ask for a quote.
- Tell them to stop–Another client I had blatantly refused to pay any more money for the extra support, but would literally fly off the handle, screaming and crying in her emails (yes, I could tell she was crying from an email) if I didn’t help her right away. After refusing multiple quotes I sent her, I finally told her that we had to end our relationship. I felt like I was back in high school with her drama antics!
- Ignore them–Ignoring a client is never a good thing, but sometimes it’s your last resort. A third client I had (I seem to get a lot of bad ones, but I really have tons of great clients!) came from the referral of another client. I normally don’t take on non-agency/freelancer clients, but since I had coded her site underneath one of my clients and she wanted me to take care of maintenance, I went ahead and accepted. Big mistake. She refused to pay for any maintenance on the site and wanted me to walk her through how to do it herself (for free, of course). When I did and she blew up the site, she expected me to fix it (for free, of course). If I didn’t answer her emails five minutes after she sent them, she’d have her manager send another email to me. Five minutes after that, she’d send a third. I got so tired of this, I told her I could no longer work with her due to my schedule. She continued to blow up my inbox until I finally stopped answering her emails, and finally she went somewhere else. I don’t like doing this, but sometimes it’s the only way to break up with a client!
All of these choices are difficult, but thinking about your options before you face the situation can help.
Your Thoughts
How have you dealt with these kinds of clients before? Was it easy?
Share how you dealt with them in the comments.
Image by 10ch
Related posts:
- Working With Other Freelancers to Expand Your Business
- Is That Client Legit or Just a Tire Kicker?
- How to Keep Working at Home from Destroying Your Life
- How To Avoid Monumental Screw Ups When Working On Projects
- Working With Friends And Family? – What You Need To Know
About the author: Amber is a freelancer with over 10 years of experience and specializes in clean, semantic and valid HTML5, CSS3 and Wordpress development. She also writes a web development blog at www.amberweinberg.com and just launched a web app for developers at www.codesnipp.it.
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50 Comments
Ashley Hill
June 16th, 2010 at 8:41 amWhile for the most part I have great clients and their ‘help me’ emails are few and far in between, there’s always the bad egg that comes around.
It wasn’t just emails, I was also getting tons of voicemails and text messages, even when I when I informed them I would be on vacation they kept on.
So I told them that was it, I couldn’t continue with their project, and I’m much happier for it, now.
Jordan Walker
June 16th, 2010 at 8:51 amNever easy, but fully rewarding.
Clint
June 16th, 2010 at 9:01 amTurn off the audio alert (bell/chime) on your mail program and email your clients telling them that you love hearing their feedback but in order to focus on their project you will be checking your email only twice a day, once at 10a and once at 3p. Happy working! :)
Freelancer Dave
June 16th, 2010 at 9:07 amOr you can do like Tim Ferris does and outsource your email management! :D
Antonio
June 16th, 2010 at 9:29 amYou could try asking the client to look for answers on the web. For example, if a client wants a CMS website, before you close the deal, let them know they will need to take time and learn it on their own and suggest them a book or send them the manual. Make your clients work! And if they can’t find the answer then you can help them out. Also, like Clint said, set aside a time for emails and then ignore them until it’s time to check them again.
Chris Mower
June 16th, 2010 at 10:05 amGood ideas. May I suggest adding an email auto responder that has a list of frequently asked questions and their answers. Also, compile a list of questions your clients commonly have, and post their answers on your site online.
Dr. Freelance
June 16th, 2010 at 10:14 amMore problematic for me is the one client I have who’s a chronic Google Chat fan. It’s incredibly disruptive to hear that little “ping”–far more than email, IMHO.
My way of managing it/him is twofold: First, I set “on a conference call” as my default status. Second, I tell him the day before what time span I’ll be available to chat, thereby setting his expectations (usually an hour or two window, max).
It’s a very lucrative account, so if we’re hot and heavy on a specific project, I’ll be more permissive about how much time I let myself be available. It took a few months to find a rhythm that worked for both of us.
Matt Pritchett
June 16th, 2010 at 10:16 amExcellent post, with a lot of helpful info!
Chris has an excellent idea as well! Although I don’t do exactly this, I do have a product information packet that goes out with each newly completed site. Inside is info on maintenance (how to do it, and how much I charge to do it), email usage, and several other FAQ’s. I usually also provide X amount of hours of after completion maintenance and help, but this is included in my original quote. Anything above that gets billed.
Sherry
June 16th, 2010 at 10:18 amWe actually had to resort to the “ignore” thing on this one client. Absolutely maddening that one was! Not only did they email constantly, they also started calling constantly – and messages were coming in AFTER MIDNIGHT! I seriously wonder WTF some people are thinking.
Great article though! My preferred method of choice is the, “I’ll be happy to do x and x for you for $xxx”. Usually works like a charm to either make them stop or make them pay.
Laura Spencer
June 16th, 2010 at 10:20 amI agree with Clint.
It can be really tempting to check your email every hour and then respond to any emails that you get immediately. This can really break up your day if you let it. (I know, I’ve done it.)
Most emails, however, don’t really require an immediate response. As long as you get back to the client the same day it’s usually okay.
In fact, if you do respond immediately to all non-emergencies you are training the client that this is the way you operate. That instant response will start to be an expectation.
If you want to, you can leave a phone number with the client for real emergencies (such as a website being down)–but emphasize that you charge additional for this added level of service.
Angie the Writer
June 16th, 2010 at 10:21 amI love that your client was appreciative when you gave them a quote and went ahead to pay you. The people who generally send me a zillion e-mails/call dozens of times are IT people I’ve written content for who are trying to get free updates (and it doesn’t work).
Matt Hill
June 16th, 2010 at 10:51 amRetainer, retainer, retainer!
Your time after a project finishes should never be given away for free. ALWAYS get your clients onto a support retainer when the main project is over. That way, you know you’re being paid and you won’t mind responding to their queries. If they don’t want to pay for a retainer, then they don’t get any support. Simple.
And NEVER sit on your email all day. TURN IT OFF and only check it at set times. I can’t believe how many people still fail to do this. You’ve only got yourself to blame if you have your email constantly open and keep checking it…
Michael Sears
June 16th, 2010 at 10:54 amThis is a great article and I just had to do the same thing to a client, he was calling me 5 mins after sending the email just to make sure I received the email then would tell me everything in the email. I eventually had to tell him that any changes from now on would be billed to him by the hour and that the SEO reports would come once a month not each week and that it takes some time with SEO work. He agreed and now I don’t get as many calls or emails for changes or questions.
Amber Weinberg
June 16th, 2010 at 11:33 am@Laura I’m so guilty of that. I can’t stand to see that red dot on my Mail program with any number greater than “0″ in it :/
Dave Yankowiak
June 16th, 2010 at 12:08 pmJust send them back a message that says:
“I’m not sure but you could ask my assistant http://www.google.com.”
That’s where I get all my answers anyways. :)
Stephan
June 16th, 2010 at 1:14 pm@Dave that’s hilarious, I’m going to use it!
Great article Amber. Years ago I installed a help desk system on my website and, while it’s taken a while to get my clients used to it, my productivity has increased ten-fold. I highly recommend finding a system that can give you one or more of these options (you’ll see how well they fit into everybody’s comments above):
1) set up SLA’s (Service Level Agreements) per client so that tickets can be assigned as billable
2) most of the admin (you) functions can be done through email piping, such as responding to and closing tickets, so you don’t have to have another program open
3) you can set up Knowledge Base articles for everything under the sun, which can be dropped into the ticket responses OR even suggested before the client finishes submitting the ticket.
other benefits I’ve enjoyed are:
1) you force your clients to put a request into a complete and separate thought, versus a “by the way” comment in an ongoing email thread about something totally different
2) I use filters and flagging in Outlook to separate my help desk notices, and give more priority to them versus the general unread messages (to Clint’s point, those get checked/responded to only a few times a day)
3) there’s a level of accountability with a help desk ticket that you take on, and that looks good to clients & can be used as a selling point. It also makes you look bigger.
4) if you ever collaborate with another firm or hire another freelancer to help you with a client or project, everything’s centralized and backed up in a database, not in somebody’s personal email folders.
Cheap plug: I have used a product from http://www.activecampaign.com called “SupportTrio” (and I think it’s now called “Help Desk”, how appropriate). Check ‘em out, it’s worth the investment in yourself.
Freelance FactFile
June 16th, 2010 at 1:56 pmWhen you submit your quote for the project, you could have something in your terms and conditions that says any changes/updates requested after the project has been signed off will be charged at an hourly rate of X. As a copywriter, I say that there will be up to two sets of amends and any after that are charged at an hourly rate.
Matt
June 16th, 2010 at 3:38 pmGood article, and some really great comments. However, I think it should be stressed that handling difficult/needy clients should be done with care. Especially for newbie freelancers, to sever ties (or even send a snarky “just Googlie it” reply) can have serious repercussions. True, trimming the fat is wise, and getting rid of troublesome clients can certainly be healthy, but remember – “the squeaky wheel gets the grease.” A few pissed off tweets or an angry blog post might cost your fledgling biz big time. I’m not saying not to do it…I’m just saying be bloody careful how you do it.
(Unless, of course, you’re so busy/established/awesome you can lop off whomever you please, however you please.)
I think the better solutions (many included in the comments) are those that take a proactive approach, educating and conditioning clients before they ever start wasting your time. Using prospective questionnaires, contracts, service agreements, FAQs, etc. early, you can establish some guidelines in the relationship with a new client…and the earlier, the better.
TheAL
June 16th, 2010 at 4:13 pmLike some people have suggested, I just don’t check my e-mails at close intervals. I spread it out and I also emphasize my work hours to everyone I work with and clearly on my site. I don’t check any more after my work hours are over, though I do check right before I wrap up.
Amber Weinberg
June 16th, 2010 at 5:04 pm@Matt good points, although I think you misused the “the squeaky wheel gets the grease.” saying. That’s supposed to be a good thing (i.e if you’re a wheel and hurting and you standing out by squeaking, you get the relief of grease) ;)
Ed Gandia
June 16th, 2010 at 5:24 pmGreat post! I see two issues here, though. One is a productivity question — how to spend less time on email and more time on billable work (and have more free time). The other is a project scope issue.
Handling email only on certain times during the day saves me a ton of time. I’m more ruthless with it. That means shorter replies, more deletes and less time wasted.
The other issue is a bit more complex and requires that you’re very clear upfront about what’s included in your scope of work and what’s not, as well as what you’ll charge for change orders, revisions outside of scope, etc. My experience is that being very clear about clients up front as to what types (and how many communications) are included in your fee is paramount.
Stephanie
June 16th, 2010 at 8:34 pmThe only client I’ve ever ignored was the client who kept demanding revisions and more work for pennies. I’m glad I did.
Regarding client emails, I haven’t really received that many emails from my past clients so I’ll just keep this post in mind if ever it does happen to me.
Great article Amber! :)
Erik Walsh
June 16th, 2010 at 9:12 pmJust like @Jordan Walker put it “Never easy, but fully rewarding.” In my opinion, I think the best option is to delegate the task that involves taking care of the customers’ communication, so as to keep the managers or supervisors from not doing their work properly. But I guess it depends on each entrepreneur.
memo
June 16th, 2010 at 9:33 pmDon’t give them your email address :-)
Kammy
June 16th, 2010 at 11:35 pmEd hit the nail on the head. Setting expectations up front is the key- waiting SIX months to tell someone to stop or change their behavior is horrifying. Agreements should state what happens when a project is over. Heck, if you made it CLEAR what type of post-launch support you offered, people might actually ask for it up front. If your clients don’t know how to ask for a quote, it means you haven’t told them how.
Victoria Blount
June 17th, 2010 at 4:11 amThis is an interesting concept, paying for emails and answers to constant questions, but just by the mention of paying for changes can scare off persistent clients, i would always worry if this would be reflected in how good the customer rates your service.
Rare
June 17th, 2010 at 4:53 amWhen it comes to clients my partners and I found a way to very effectively deal with contact. When we first make a commission, our website will let them log into a “live invoice”. It includes a progress meter, billing info, and halfway through a project links to demonstration versions. The live invoice has a contact form that will email us, and we send replies through out website.
Because we use an in-house CMS, once the project is complete our CMS has a help-center baked into it, and I advise customers to refer to the help-center. More/less all the help center does is connect to our website, log them in and display manuals for common questions with an email web form, like our live invoice.
The email form has a limit of 350 characters, and we give customers 20 emails they can send through the form for questions or help. For $10 they get 5 more emails, for $40 they get 30 more emails. The charges for the additional emails are placed onto the credit card they paid for the initial project with. After that, they only get access to the manual if they do not refresh their quota.
We don’t accept phone calls unless it’s a preferred client, but the web form will let them schedule a callback time during regular hours, we try to limit callbacks to an hour at most.
Myself and my partners love the little system we’ve brewed. Once we implemented it, we’ve found that users love the feedback the live invoice simulates, because they can see the progress meter fill up as we meet our milestones. The contact form is great because the customers get a good amount of support and we keep the control in our hands. If a customer reaches us frequently we get paid no matter what, and if they become harassive we put a 3-strike warning on their account. The 350 character limit keeps their questions to the most important bits.
We only had one problem, and that was when a customer didn’t read the contract he signed. He was furious about the initial 20-email limit (which was in the contract) and when he scheduled the callback he copied down my number. At first, while I answered his first couple calls with advice & fixes, for almost 2 months I swear he had me on speed dial. After asking him to use the help center his calls very quickly went very bad. In the end I cut him loose as a client, banned him from the help mailer, and threatened to press charges if he called again. Made my life miserable, I had to block my number after that.
LloydBurrell
June 17th, 2010 at 8:21 amA schedule to check your email is the best solution. Clients will soon get used to it and act accordingly. If not, you’ll soon find yourself trapped in an all-day job that brings you nothing else but continuous updates.
Lloyd Burrell
Publisher
officedeskreviews.com
Men's Online Magazine
June 17th, 2010 at 8:43 amI just dedicate a time in the day to answer all these emails at one time
Laura Sultan
June 17th, 2010 at 9:37 amWe offer site maintenance and support services for our clients once their website has been launched. I send them a new maintenance contract and a copy of our maintenance and billing policies a week after the site goes lives. Phone calls are billable from the first minute. Emails that take longer than five minutes to read and respond to are also billable. As a web consulting company, a large part of our “product” is our expertise so it wouldn’t make sense to give that away for free all day long.
Freelance forums
June 17th, 2010 at 12:25 pmI have stopped keeping that inbox open all day as I used to. I check my emails in the morning and in the evening. For 2-3 minutes and that’s it. And, as you already mentioned, do a little ‘free’ work and then ask for payment, if there’s more. I love offering support for my designs, but, when the client keeps on adding stuff and requiring my assistance all day long, some money should come of it too.
Spence
June 17th, 2010 at 10:49 pmThere’s only so much time in a day. Yes, I’ll give great customer service but clients can’t expect that we be at their beckon call 24/7 without paying us at some point.
That’s the downside of computers and instant access to everything … people (our clients) expect everything now if not sooner.
Cesar
June 18th, 2010 at 12:19 pmYou can also answer a couple of days later with a short sentence. They usually get it :D
Leisa Good
June 18th, 2010 at 12:49 pmThis is something that I had previously struggled with as well. One day I spent almost three hours on just answering emails from “techno-phobic” clients.
I have several good solutions for handling excessive emails from clients. First and foremost, I make it very clear in the proposal and in the contract how many free updates/revisions are allowed.
Then to combat all of the “just a quick question” emails, which are an attempt to get free updates/revisions, I have another solution. I have created a series of FAQs, free help links, and PDFs, which I attached to the email. I usually explain that I am busy, but they can probably find the answer in this attachment.
If all else fails, I just ignore the email until the very end of the day. Many times I find that they have either figured it out on their own, found the information on the attachment or decided to “buy” my time.
Hope this helps.
Allen
June 19th, 2010 at 6:16 pmGreat article to read! Dealing with client emails has also been a time-consuming thing for me also. I’ve been applying a sort of Pomodoro technique where I will check and answer emails at two certain times of the day. Sometimes it’s difficult to follow as some clients want an answer right away, but I think most understand now that I cannot simply answer phone calls regarding their web design or online marketing projects.
milosh
June 23rd, 2010 at 2:40 pmi tend not to check my email earlier than mid-day time and limit checking it to twice a day
billing them for emails and phone calls brings you in some cash, sure. but, doesn’t bring a much needed relief.
my clients know of my email policy and behave accordingly.
Online Calculator
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