High Maintenance Clients 101. How Not To Lose Your Money?

In an ideal world, you would be able to only take orders with clear-cut requirements. Your clients would be pleasant and always satisfied with your work. You wouldnt need to waste time trying to understand their needs. You can, of course, wait for the perfect order to come your way. Or you can learn to communicate with customers in a way that ensures you get paid for the hard work you do.

The Hallmarks Of A Problematic Order

Sometimes, you can tell the order will be more trouble than its worth from the get-go. Other times, you are halfway through the paper, before you realize the client is out to get you. Here are some signs that the project youve taken can turn into your worst nightmare.

• There are no details about the order besides the topic, the deadline, the number of pages, and the academic level.
• There is an inordinate amount of files enclosed for a short paper.
• The client is asking a lot of questions about the refund and the revision policies.
• The customer sends you several messages every day to check up on the papers status.
• The client refuses to clarify the instructions and refers you to the original order details.
• The customer is addressing you disrespectfully and tries to bully you into revising the paper for the tenth time.
• The client cant point specific problems within the paper.

Now that you know how much trouble one customer can cause, lets discuss the ways to minimize the damage and get paid for your hard work.

The Client Doesnt Provide Clear Order Details

Any academic writing order can quickly turn into a nightmare, so you should get a good idea of what you are asked to do before you start working. If the order details are not clear, reach out to the customer for clarification. If you get a flippant Ive already explained my requirements, rationalize that you wont be able to begin writing until you get clear instructions. Some clients use this trick to claim you did not meet their order parameters, which makes them liable for a refund.

Other clients cant make up their mind, they provide contradictory instructions. In this case, ask them to outline the requirements one final time and confirm in writing that you are to follow this set of instructions. To make sure you understand what is requested from you, rephrase the requirements, as you understand them, and ask the client to confirm them once again.

The Client Wants To Get Updates Every Hour

There are nervous clients who need to micromanage your every step. They will send messages ten times a day to check up on your progress and request preliminary drafts. They will panic if you dont answer within ten minutes of receiving their messages. To get rid of such distractions, explain, that you dont check your email every minute. And your time is better spent writing the paper they ordered instead of answering their messages. Gently explain that they disrupt your focus and slow down your work.

Some customers want to be helpful, but end up distracting you. They send dozens, if not hundreds, of files to help you work faster. If you look through all of them, you will never be able to meet the deadline. Instead, explain to your client, that you wont be able to work with all the files you get. And ask them to only upload the documents that are pertinent to the paper.

The Client Is Bullying You To Revise The Paper

Even after the paper is ready, it is still too early to relax. The client has to approve it for you to get paid. So what should you do if you get a message saying a 12-year old could have written a better paper? First, dont panic and dont get insulted. Some customers can be nasty, though most of them are really nice people. Second, dont let the client bully you. Ask for clarification of the problem and remind the client that you are a professional. Request the client to treat you with the same respect you offer them.

Examine the request for a revision carefully. If it contradicts the original requirements of the order, point it out to the customer. You dont have to rewrite the paper simply because the customer could not formulate clear instructions in the first place. If, after the number of free revisions is up, the client asks you to rework the paper again, refer them to the revision policy and a support team manager. They are better equipped to deal with problematic customers who are trying to get you to work for free.

The Client Is Not Satisfied With The Paper

To lure in paying customers, most academic writing companies offer a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. However, academic papers cant be evaluated objectively. One person may find the paper you write perfect, while another will consider it mediocre. Therefore, the quality of the paper you provide can be only assessed through objective factors, like the absence of grammar and punctuation mistakes, the appropriate academic level.

There are customers, who declare their desire to get a refund, simply because they dont like the paper you provide. If they cant explain the reason for their dissatisfaction, rationalize that you have written the paper to the best of your ability, according to the clients requirements outlined in the order details. If the client insists on a refund, refer them to the support team. Qualified managers will review the order and the paper you have written and make a ruling.

As you see, there are ways to reason with problematic clients, even if you end up working on their orders. Follow this advice, and you wont lose your hard-earned money. And dont forget to check out our guide on how to work with a support team to avoid getting fined!