What to Do When You Can’t Deliver (A Template For Emergencies)
Posted May 6, 2009 in Business, How-To
We’ve dealt with the topic of not meeting a deadline on FreelanceFolder before. The general rule concerning them is simple: if at all possible, make the promised deadline. Your client is counting on your and your professional reputation is at stake.
That being said, eventually there is bound to come a time as a freelancer when you just can’t deliver as promised.
For me, the only time that I can really remember missing a deadline in a major way was a few years ago when my mother died. For you, the cause of a missed deadline may be something else that is beyond your control. The truth is, even with the very best planning sometimes things go drastically wrong.
In this post we’ll go over one way to help alleviate the situation and help you maintain your client relationships.
An Emergency Template
In an emergency situation it’s important to clearly communicate everything to the client and do your best to salvage the relationship and/or job. Below, you’ll find a draft letter that I’ve created as a guide for handling such emergencies. I wish that I’d had such a template available when my crisis occurred. After all, if a true emergency occurs you may not be able to create such a letter in the heat of the moment.
I’m presenting this information in the form of a letter, but depending on your relationship with your client you may want to use it as a guideline for making a phone call.
Here’s my emergency letter template:
Dear Joe Client,
First of all, I want to thank you so much for allowing me to work on the press releases for your new wig shop. I’ve completed all of the interviews and the finished press release is about 50% complete.
Unfortunately, something that neither of us planned on has occurred to affect the scheduled completion of the press release. Yesterday my house was flooded and the insurance company says it will be a month before I can live in it again.
This disaster has put me about a week behind on the press release project. However, I’ve taken the liberty of contacting Suzy Copywriter, an esteemed colleague that I’ve worked with before. With Suzy’s help I believe that the original schedule for the project could still be met. However, if you need to select an entirely different writer at this time I will understand.
I apologize for any inconvenience that this setback has caused. Let me know what you decide at your earliest convenience. In any event, I enjoy working with you and I hope that you will consider me for future projects.
Sincerely yours,
Frank Freelancer
Now, before you go sending this to anyone, I want to highlight the following aspects of the letter:
- Professional, courteous tone – Your letter needs to be as polite and professional as you can possibly make it.
- Prompt notification – The letter is written as quickly after the disaster as possible.
- Detailed information – The letter informs the client of the project’s current progress as well as the extent of the delay.
- Options are provided – With the suggestion that Suzy Copywriter finish the project, the client is given an option.
- Brief apology – While the letter does contain an apology, it is not gushy or overly whiny.
- Relationship – The letter seeks to preserve future relations with the client in the closing.
Based on my experience, if an event occurs that is truly not your fault most clients will understand. After all, it’s likely that they’ve had an emergency or two happen to them over the years.
Of course, if you are constantly having “emergencies” and regularly miss your deadlines then the client response will likely be much different.
Share Your Feedback
Have you run into any situations where you haven’t been able to meet the project requirements? How did you handle them, and what were the results?
Share your comments and feedback below.
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About the author: Laura Spencer is a freelance writer from North Central Texas with over 20 years of professional business writing experience. If you liked this post, then you may also enjoy Laura’s blog about her freelance writing experiences, WritingThoughts. Laura is also on Google+.
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24 Comments
John Soares
May 6th, 2009 at 9:03 amLaura, this is an excellent post.
Fortunately, I’ve only been late a few times over the course of over 200 projects. In all instances I contacted the editor and explained my situation, said I could meet the deadline by very hard work if necessary, and then finished only a couple of days late.
Sometimes a day or two late is OK. Some editors actually build in a cushion for this.
However, I primarily work in the college textbook publishing field, and if I am late wth my work it can cause further delays down the line, and eventually lose revenue for the publisher.
Whenever possible I finish early, and I notify the editor and let her know the good news.
Mike Sobol
May 6th, 2009 at 9:54 amGreat advice for all sorts of independent contractors. Business happens between people, and people, generally, understand when life happens. Just communicate early and often.
Remember that being professional is not the same as being perfect. I will apologize to clients when THEY make mistakes, as if I could have done something better. They love the “rescue” and it teaches them that it’s OK when something goes wrong– we can work through it, together. So, if and when the time comes that I need a bailout, my “capital” is already built up and the client is happy to “rescue” me, instead.
There is no substitute for good timely work, but when clients feel like we are just peers who are trying our best, the same as they are, the business relationship is more collaborative and less contentious.
Susan Johnston
May 6th, 2009 at 10:02 amWhen my father died last year, I did my best to slog through projects and while I didn’t miss any deadlines, I know it wasn’t my best work. Still, I felt it was important to separate my personal and professional lives. A client found out about it later and he was VERY angry that I hadn’t notified him immediately. Now, perhaps I should have notified him in a timely manner, but I also don’t feel like I’m obligated to share personal details with my clients. If it were a boss in an office, I would have to explain why I was out of the office, but we don’t always have such a close relationship with clients because they don’t see us face-to-face. That client relationship died, but I think there were other issues about expectations and communication styles and the loss of my father was just the last straw.
Samar
May 6th, 2009 at 10:02 amMost editors and clients do keep a few days as cushion for delays – even in rush jobs.
Having a great guide like this helps bring important factor to light. As guilty as you feel for delayed work, don’t apologize profusely. It’s a common mistake and puts you in a vulnerable position for a lot of reasons.
Remaining calm, collected and armed with a solution is important. How you react to a situation often sets the tone for your client’s response.
Melissa
May 6th, 2009 at 10:24 amWhenever possible I try to overestimate the time it will take me to finish the work for a contract by a day or 2. That way when I finish a few days early, the client is always happy and if something comes up to delay the project, it buys me a little extra time without missing the deadline.
Colin Wright
May 6th, 2009 at 10:40 amHopefully no one will ever have to use this! It is a good idea to have a fire drill just in case, though. Practice with a significant other or friend and be sure that you can figure out a way to keep the client happy on the fly. Good article!
Writer Dad
May 6th, 2009 at 10:53 amI build in cushion to everything I do, and have yet to miss a paid deadline, but I’m sure one day life will rain on me and I will. Thank you for an excellent post to help prepare me for the inevitability.
Laura Spencer
May 6th, 2009 at 11:13 amGreat comments!
As you all point out, using these guidelines should be the exception and not the rule. Most freelancers will only have to use this once or twice.
I love the stories that everyone is sharing! John Soares – I’ve done some copy editing on textbooks and you’re right about the process. Usually a freelancer is only assigned to one small step. Working ahead is a great way to protect your client from any unknown situations that might occur.
Wow Susan! That’s amazing that you were able to continue to work immediately after your father died. (I’m sorry to hear of your loss.) I’m also sorry that you wound up losing the client anyway. It’s possible that the client never would have become a long-term client anyway – some clients just aren’t good fits.
Keep the ideas coming!
Susan Johnston
May 6th, 2009 at 11:20 amLaura, I agree. The client relationship just wasn’t working, personal crisis aside. I’m not saying this was the healthiest way to grieve, but I found it comforting that I had work to keep me busy and sane. My family is nearby, so I also saw them and helped with funeral arrangements.
Steve Atkinson
May 6th, 2009 at 1:37 pmTo me there are two items that need to be remembered.
Do not take on a project in which you feel that the deadline may be too soon.
Do add a couple of days, or more, to the deadline when quoting.
Also when scheduling yourself put as your deadline for the project a week or so before the actual deadline and forget that there is a later deadline. Refer back to the two items to remember.
Adam Pieniazek
May 6th, 2009 at 2:13 pmI would add in that you should take a deep breath, calm down and then communicate to your client. If you’re truly going through an emergency it’s important to remember that most people will understand that giving you time to take care of your personal crisis will leave you more focused and energized on the task. Staying on top of business tasks is important but it’s also important to keep your personal life in order and to know when to focus on which.
Yolander
May 6th, 2009 at 9:42 pmI have some clients with more creative projects that won’t even allow me to create a deadline because they know that for the writing to be right, it’s got to be inspired–and inspiration recognizes no deadline. Other projects I can generally work around emergency situations by carting my old school laptop around with me. You can also use library computers and hotel business centers if your home and laptop become unreachable. That’s also another reason why I use net based email and calendar rather than Outlook. Everything is accessible remotely :)
Solomon
May 7th, 2009 at 7:53 amIt’s a good template letter to put to use in crisis. I’ve a very interesting client who wants everything in a jiffy. He calls me and asks me he needs some write-up immediately. He doesn’t understand anything about creative writing process. But, he was the one who gave me my initial break.
One day, he called me to write a leaflet; as soon as I came home I got a call from my sister to start off immediately as my ailing mother was serious. In the time to get our bags ready, I cranked some copy about a summer camp the client wanted me write. I just rattled it off in flat one hour and shot it to the client and told him I’m off. I didn’t tell him what happened but told the art director who might need my help to do the design.
I respected his need and want to reciprocate my gratitude for giving me work. I knew that my mother might have passed away as she was ailing for long. And she did.
Karen Swim
May 7th, 2009 at 11:32 amLaura, excellent points! We’re human and emergencies can and do happen. I try to always build in a cushion to allow for the flow of life. I am often more fastidious about deadlines than clients but emergencies happen and when they do clear and professional communication goes a long way. I once worked with a freelancer who always had an emergency. The first time or two I was pretty zen about it but I stopped using her and never recommended her because while individual clients were not seeing the pattern, I was and it made her unreliable in my book. Your reputation is everything and it is important to do what you say an then when a true emergency happens (and it will) you will not lose your clients’ trust or respect.
Laura Spencer
May 7th, 2009 at 12:02 pmExactly Karen!
I couldn’t have said it better. An emergency should be a rare exception. A pattern of emergencies indicates a problem.
UPrinting.com Printing Services
May 8th, 2009 at 1:45 amWonderful post! And a very well-written letter too. Sometimes clients get angry not because of the delay in the completion of the project, but because they weren’t notified right ahead that there were problems and unforeseen circumstances that prevented such completion. If informed properly and right away, clients usually tend to go through with the project and will usually make allowances.
Totonowe
May 8th, 2009 at 6:52 amHi, I would add one more thing – I try not to get too much into personal details why the delay occurs. In the end most clients do not care and can do nothing with this piece of info. So I try to keep it to minimum. If they ask about details – I explain. Cheers!
Dorothy - Chandler Graphic Designer
May 15th, 2009 at 7:20 pmGreat post. I think as long as you be professional and present a solution most clients will understand. They are human too.
Алексей Рубин
July 21st, 2009 at 11:22 pmДавно хотел спросить, автор, вы где проживаете? В каком городе? :)
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