Virtual assistant with a question...

cutey1983

Is having a demanding, impolite client who hardly ever says thank you a good enough reason to end the working relationship?

I am in this situation right now and in two minds over whether I should voice my concerns to the virtual assistant agency owner.

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thank you :-)

Marcon

cutey1983 said:

Is having a demanding, impolite client who hardly ever says thank you a good enough reason to end the working relationship?

No. Clients are often demanding (which is not at all the same thing as 'difficult') and may have different standards of courtesy from your own. Good client management is all about finding ways to deal with all manner of clients, not just the ones you really like! Toughen up - it's unlikely to be personal; that's just how this particular client behaves.

cutey1983 said:

I am in this situation right now and in two minds over whether I should voice my concerns to the virtual assistant agency owner.

You're not going to impress the agency if you complain that a client isn't saying thank you often enough/is expecting high standards of service from you - you'll just make yourself look a bit silly and probably ensure you get no further work from the agency. 

cutey1983

Marcon said:

cutey1983 said:

Is having a demanding, impolite client who hardly ever says thank you a good enough reason to end the working relationship?

No. Clients are often demanding (which is not at all the same thing as 'difficult') and may have different standards of courtesy from your own. Good client management is all about finding ways to deal with all manner of clients, not just the ones you really like! Toughen up - it's unlikely to be personal; that's just how this particular client behaves.

cutey1983 said:

I am in this situation right now and in two minds over whether I should voice my concerns to the virtual assistant agency owner.

You're not going to impress the agency if you complain that a client isn't saying thank you often enough/is expecting high standards of service from you - you'll just make yourself look a bit silly and probably ensure you get no further work from the agency. 

Thanks for your advice. You do make some good points, however there is a fine line between having standards and being plain disrespectful. 

There’s also a fine line between knowing how to “manage all manner of clients” and being walked all over. The client isn’t always right, irrespective of the fact they are paying. 

Manners cost nothing and are not beneath anyone. She never acknowledges nor thanks me for anything I do, yet is quick to message when I do something wrong. 

She’ll ghost me for weeks on end when I’ve asked her a question about an apparently “urgent” task, then suddenly reappear asking for help with the same task. It’s just plain rude, infuriating and ignorant behaviour. 

I feel this particular client is on a power trip most of the time. She’s the lowest value money wise, but ironically the most demanding. For example, she texted me outside of my available hours at 8pm on Thursday night. It was a non-urgent request. Then on Friday morning at around 9am another message arrived telling me I should give lots of notice if I’m on annual leave! It was literally 12 hours, most of which were overnight. She’s a nightmare. 

We’re just not a good fit personality wise and I don’t think I’ll make myself look silly by telling the agency this. 

Dakta

It sounds like you've answered your own question?

Most of us do dislike dealing with discourteous people, but they do exist and if you can't work with them it may demonstrate a limitation your side. 

If there was abuse, neglect, bullying, you were being disadvantaged or a tangible harm resulting from this, it'd warrant a deeper look at. But someone asking you to give more notice (whether reasonable or not) is not something I'd consider greivance worthy.

However, contacting you out of hours does actually in my opinion fall into an area you could reasonably complain about, because (and just in my opinion) that would put you into tangible harm as there is an expectation to react in your downtime. You'd need to double check the context, did she expect a response or was it something to let you know about the next day, was it your personal phone etc,  But it's going to take stuff like that to make a reasonable case. 

Marcon

cutey1983 said:

Marcon said:

cutey1983 said:

Is having a demanding, impolite client who hardly ever says thank you a good enough reason to end the working relationship?

No. Clients are often demanding (which is not at all the same thing as 'difficult') and may have different standards of courtesy from your own. Good client management is all about finding ways to deal with all manner of clients, not just the ones you really like! Toughen up - it's unlikely to be personal; that's just how this particular client behaves.

cutey1983 said:

I am in this situation right now and in two minds over whether I should voice my concerns to the virtual assistant agency owner.

You're not going to impress the agency if you complain that a client isn't saying thank you often enough/is expecting high standards of service from you - you'll just make yourself look a bit silly and probably ensure you get no further work from the agency. 

Thanks for your advice. You do make some good points, however there is a fine line between having standards and being plain disrespectful. 

There’s also a fine line between knowing how to “manage all manner of clients” and being walked all over. The client isn’t always right, irrespective of the fact they are paying. 

Manners cost nothing and are not beneath anyone. She never acknowledges nor thanks me for anything I do, yet is quick to message when I do something wrong. 

She’ll ghost me for weeks on end when I’ve asked her a question about an apparently “urgent” task, then suddenly reappear asking for help with the same task. It’s just plain rude, infuriating and ignorant behaviour. 

I feel this particular client is on a power trip most of the time. She’s the lowest value money wise, but ironically the most demanding. For example, she texted me outside of my available hours at 8pm on Thursday night. It was a non-urgent request. Then on Friday morning at around 9am another message arrived telling me I should give lots of notice if I’m on annual leave! It was literally 12 hours, most of which were overnight. She’s a nightmare. 

We’re just not a good fit personality wise and I don’t think I’ll make myself look silly by telling the agency this. 

That's a much more reasonable reason than complaining someone is 'demanding and impolite', although her behaviour sounds pretty typical of quite a lot of clients.

In the interests of your own sanity, look again at your take on client management. If someone texts you outside your working hours, then make sure they know you won't deal with it until your next working day - and that should be the message your agency is emphasising, too. If they are cheerily assuring clients that you're always willing to deal etc etc...don't go there!

Dakta

^ that's actually a good point, even with contact out of work hours, it may be fixed with a gentle prod rather than a potentially self destructive complaint. Good idea. 

Marcon

Dakta said:

^ that's actually a good point, even with contact out of work hours, it may be fixed with a gentle prod rather than a potentially self destructive complaint. Good idea. 

Indeed. The priority is to maintain a united front where both agency and assistant are ensuring clients understand the rules of the game  as agreed  and then sticking to them. No reason at all why clients shouldn't do things 'out of hours' (get a different SIM and email address for client work to stop them disturbing you), but doesn't mean you have to read them, let alone react, until you are officially 'back on duty'.

cutey1983

Marcon said:

Dakta said:

^ that's actually a good point, even with contact out of work hours, it may be fixed with a gentle prod rather than a potentially self destructive complaint. Good idea. 

Indeed. The priority is to maintain a united front where both agency and assistant are ensuring clients understand the rules of the game  as agreed  and then sticking to them. No reason at all why clients shouldn't do things 'out of hours' (get a different SIM and email address for client work to stop them disturbing you), but doesn't mean you have to read them, let alone react, until you are officially 'back on duty'.

Marcon said:

Dakta said:

^ that's actually a good point, even with contact out of work hours, it may be fixed with a gentle prod rather than a potentially self destructive complaint. Good idea. 

Indeed. The priority is to maintain a united front where both agency and assistant are ensuring clients understand the rules of the game  as agreed  and then sticking to them. No reason at all why clients shouldn't do things 'out of hours' (get a different SIM and email address for client work to stop them disturbing you), but doesn't mean you have to read them, let alone react, until you are officially 'back on duty'.

Spot on.

I would understand if she had sent that second message the next morning towards the end of my working day, but it was literally 10 minutes in! If that isn’t impatient and borderline neurotic, then I don’t know what is.

I think the reason why she’s getting to me so much is because I just can’t bear authority and hate being told what to do. A regular job just isn’t for me. I always end up feeling trapped and frustrated. 

On with my entrepreneurial pursuits I shall continue! 

Marcon

cutey1983 said:

Marcon said:

Dakta said:

^ that's actually a good point, even with contact out of work hours, it may be fixed with a gentle prod rather than a potentially self destructive complaint. Good idea. 

Indeed. The priority is to maintain a united front where both agency and assistant are ensuring clients understand the rules of the game  as agreed  and then sticking to them. No reason at all why clients shouldn't do things 'out of hours' (get a different SIM and email address for client work to stop them disturbing you), but doesn't mean you have to read them, let alone react, until you are officially 'back on duty'.

Marcon said:

Dakta said:

^ that's actually a good point, even with contact out of work hours, it may be fixed with a gentle prod rather than a potentially self destructive complaint. Good idea. 

Indeed. The priority is to maintain a united front where both agency and assistant are ensuring clients understand the rules of the game  as agreed  and then sticking to them. No reason at all why clients shouldn't do things 'out of hours' (get a different SIM and email address for client work to stop them disturbing you), but doesn't mean you have to read them, let alone react, until you are officially 'back on duty'.

Spot on.

I would understand if she had sent that second message the next morning towards the end of my working day, but it was literally 10 minutes in! If that isn’t impatient and borderline neurotic, then I don’t know what is.

I think the reason why she’s getting to me so much is because I just can’t bear authority and hate being told what to do. A regular job just isn’t for me. I always end up feeling trapped and frustrated. 

Are you sure client services is for you if that's the case? Clients hold the cheque book and can be far more demanding than a direct employer...