How to gently merge the customer or ask to hurry up?

Question

Freelance

Good afternoon, I have been corresponding with the 'customer' for 3 days now. He clarifies something all the time - he asks .... although the work there is for 1-2 days maximum (add 2 pages, edit a couple of pages, change the header a little ... krch on trifles). He writes to me and then disappears for half a day ... in half a day he will write something again. Honestly, I already want to merge it, but just write "sorry, you're long. Don't waste my time" is somehow rude or something .... How can I gently drain it?

Answer 1

In this case, the cycle is as follows:
1. the customer decides something
2. asks to fix it
3. looks at the result
4. GOTO 1
And all this in small portions.
Yes, you can work this way if you have free time and the hours spent on it are well paid.
In any other case, say something like this:
“Sorry, but I don’t do finishing work or improvements at the level of an ordinary freelancer and I don’t work at such a “stretched” pace. I
offer you a choice of two options:
1. If you want me to do these simple improvements - save up a pool of 10 (or more) tasks and give them to me for execution in the form of brief descriptions in a DOC document.
2. Find a more free (not loaded) and less qualified freelancer for these simple tasks.
Choose any of the options I have proposed."
This will be the best option to resolve the issue of continuing cooperation for all parties!

Answer 2

In the understanding of the customer, you are free 24 hours a day, you are a freelancer. How is he supposed to understand that you are in a hurry to get an order if you do not tell him about it?
It is necessary to clearly define the boundaries of your free time and employment. For example: "I'm free for one more day, then you have to wait indefinitely." Then the person himself will understand that it is in his own interests to hurry.
But practice suggests that the longer a person answers, the less he is interested in something. So there is no need to spend a lot of time on such customers. Look for more agile ones.

Answer 3

just next time he writes - just tell everything as it is. say that time is ticking, that besides it you still have orders. tell him to quickly decide if he needs your services or not. if not, don't waste your time.

Answer 4

Maybe I don't understand something? The client writes once every half a day, the answer to his letters does not require a lot of resources from you - so why merge it? Do other things, and allocate certain time intervals for this client - well, for example, "I read and answer mail from this client twice a day - at 11 and at 17 o'clock."

Answer 5

Get some other work and say you're busy right now. You can continue the discussion when you're free.

Answer 6

why not convenient?
Of course, you can formulate it more politely, they say it’s convenient for you to discuss it in a voice, to speed up the conversation
, and who prevents you from looking for other projects in the background?

Answer 7

don't write anything. stop answering. business then. why waste time on empty negotiations.

Answer 8

Hurry but softer in America it is not customary to speak sharply, this is our feature

Answer 9

Rather, it’s just a schoolboy sitting there, trying to barry, he doesn’t know how to generalize with a direct customer, so it takes a long time for you to answer those questions. Feel free to add and forget in an emergency.

Answer 10

Krch guys, I decided that if on Monday I can already start work, then everything is OK, but if not, then I’ll just write they say 'sorry, I'm busy with another order. You'd be better off finding another artist. (here I can leave the contacts of a friend - let him suffer.)

I hope you can start working on Monday -_-

Answer 11

Tell him that one of your regular customers has asked you to do some urgent work for good pay. And since it is not yet clear whether this (first customer) will hire you, you agreed.