Email Mis-Communication Between A Client And Their VA

Hi All,

I came across this post and article on Twitter (see link below). Ironically enough, it was initiated by a client that I just finished serving a few months ago.

It talks about email mis-communication between a client and their VA, from the client's point of view.

Oddly,it emphasizes the importance of clear email communication. I ran into several problems with this client, as he was not clear when he sent me emails, and there was also a 3rd party involved. My job included handling the tasks with the 3rd party, yet, my client was also still dealing with the 3rd party. Hence, there were emails bouncing back and forth between the three of us, and it was
getting very confusing as to who was doing what.

Example, I was to ask the 3rd party to perform a task and respond to me, yet my client also was in touch with the 3rd party doing the same thing. The result? The 3rd party was so confused as to who he should be dealing with, and my client then thought that I was the one who was being incompetent! (He told me so in an email! - yet he was the one who couldn't get it straight - he was frustrating me)

Add insult to injury, this client then took over 2 months to pay me, after chasing him via phone and email. He ignored my calls, even lied to me, saying he had sent the cheque, yet I didn't receive it for almost 2 1/2 months.

My concern is that he is now networking and telling his contacts not to even consider hiring me, hence damaging my reputation. This client was referred to me by one of my other clients, whom I must say, has been extremely happy with me and has just contracted me for a huge social media project.

I have to accept that this is a situation that is now out of my control, the only thing I can do is to continue serving my current client to the best of my ability. I have several years of direct customer service experience, so I know that I am extremely professional, a clear communicator and very diligent about follow-up (hey, it's good to toot your own horn once in awhile!!).

Here is the link to the article: http://ping.fm/SemxA


Granted, the article does provide some guidelines and templates for clear email communication, so kudos to them. And possibly this was the first time that this client had ever worked with a VA, so he may have been inexperienced.


The subject of my next post - Old Style Managers - will address the problem of business people who want to delegate tasks, yet are still hanging on to the notion that for someone to get the job done, the person has to be in a physical office, under the watchful eye of the manager.

Enjoy your day!
Leslie


Leslie Adams is the owner of Adams Virtual Assistance, an independent contractor providing superior administrative services to small business owners. 


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