How to safely close a project with an unbearable customer?

Question

Freelance

Watch out, sheet!
Applied for a project on upwork (hourly). Bring back to life an Internet store in Magenta. The client (the only thing that alerted me was a woman. I have absolutely nothing against it, I just had a bitter experience in the past) when communicating, she introduced herself to me as a completely adequate person, sent a very detailed description of the task and said that it needed to be done urgently, since the previous the developer disappeared and the site has been in a semi-working state for two weeks. And she has orders and all that.
Ok, I approved the order and I started looking for errors on the site. It looks like a very evil bad person worked on the site before me because it was complete hell inside. Two sites, test and product, were in the same folder on the shared host and folders / files were (my God!) relinked between the "test" and "product" site. What the hell was this made for? This secret is great for me. Gritting my teeth and wading through tons of very interestingly written code, I did everything that the client asked me to do. In general, Madame was satisfied and offered permanent cooperation. I agreed, but with one condition. It would be nice to deactivate the minefield. Well, I asked for a week to complete current tasks with other clients. She agreed, asked for my mail, email and phone number.
Later that evening, I get a call from an unknown number. Picked up the phone. Madam said in a raised voice that her site is down there, and also told a lot of new things about me.
Heels in hand - rushed to save the client's business. I go to the server, and there half of the modules are removed. Where are the modules, I ask the client. I don't know, says the client. In general, in the end it turned out that Madame went to the site through an FTP client to upload some files there and simply deleted what she thought was unnecessary. It's still half the trouble. She also made me feel guilty about it. So she said that the site is now, they say, my concern.
I freaked out from such impudence madam, went to drink a glass of water and seemed to let go. And from that day it began: several letters a day to the mail marked "URGENT !!!", a complete ignore of my letters and every day new requirements to fulfill everything immediately. I understand that the client is always right, but here it's just atas.
They say that even angelic patience comes to an end, and mine even more so.
The last straw was the request to do something with the site, as it is unrealistically slow. He suggested transferring to the VPS, asked if anything else was used on the site. FTP, soapboxes, etc. Madame's answer was no. He warned that everything except the site would be lost. Madame's answer is "URGENT!!!". Well, you guessed it, what happened next? :)
In general, I ask for advice on how to be and how to close this shop without damage to the reputation. Do not offer to contact support, we knew there.
#UPD: In response to my proposal to increase the rate, the client sent a letter in which she said that her friends advised her a developer who does everything cool and not for such a lot of money. Closed the project with a negative review and rating (all 1). One pleases - did not require a moneyback. Thanks for that :)

Answer 1

And what's the problem you raise the rate and work such clients are always a joy a lot of work a lot of money and an extra thousand dollars is not superfluous

Answer 2

She also made me feel guilty about it. So she said that the site is now, they say, my concern.
Typical female behaviour.
Everything is fine.
Is the customer always right?
Not at all.
Always the right customer will make you get on the bike and spin the wheels so that the electric generator generates energy for his VDS.
And now let's look from her side:
She hired you because she herself is not in the tooth with her foot.
You agreed to take on the job, the hour began to tick.
And here is the site.
Who is guilty?
You are to blame.
I would have done exactly the same in any area in which I myself do not understand, but in which I trusted a professional.

Answer 3

How much did they earn with this madam? I didn't find it in previous comments.
If you make a full refund, then this work will not even appear in your profile.
There was also an experience when we discussed a project with one Canadian for a long time, I did something, but at the same time they didn’t even sign a contract (and thank God, as it turned out), to all my reminders that we should sign a contract and something then pay, she politely answered of course, of course, right here very soon. In the end, I realized that it was a pipe, apologized and said that I was not a very experienced specialist and could not solve her complex problems, and it was better for her to look for someone cooler.

Answer 4

Mmm ... Maybe just remove the customer? :)

Answer 5

since the previous developer disappeared and the site has been in a semi-working state for two weeks.

And the cycle repeated again.

Answer 6

You need to think rationally, and if your opponent is "on emotions", then especially, "the client is always right" is nonsense, but within the framework of the budget, the client's problems must be taken into account, try to understand him, and solve them, for this, get used to seeing the task, the goal , and strive for it, and do not let people who have "traveled" go astray towards the goal, and do not rave yourself, your customer also has a leader or clients, this is your task with him, all his requirements must be necessary to solve the problem , otherwise explain, "we don't need this, let's not do it, you want me to do something by Monday, but the deadlines from your leadership are Wednesday, that is, there is time and there is no point in rushing, between meanwhile, haste always harms quality, and our budget is limited, and urgency always costs money,you understand."
You think about yourself, but the person feels bad, you needed a calm, reasonable discussion of the problem, and psychological support, train, this is always a "plus" for the employee, but for now you have nothing "angelic".
In this case, FTP and all work with the site should be done through you, "let's trust this to me as a professional in charge of the site."
And my experience is exactly the opposite.