That comment from a client in Bali made me tweak my whole workflow

I was freelancing from a beach hut in Thailand (fancy, right?) and a client said my replies felt "robotic" because I scheduled everything. They pointed out I used the same canned message for time zone overlaps every time. So I started personalizing each response with their local time and a quick note about where I was. Has anyone else gotten feedback that totally shifted how you communicate with clients?

3 comments

3 Comments

flores.mark6d ago

This might be a little thing but I kinda disagree with the beach hut thing. Thailand's not really known for beach huts like that, more like overwater bungalows in the Maldives or basic cabanas in Costa Rica. I mean, maybe you were in a bungalow or a bamboo place, but saying "beach hut" makes it sound way more rustic than it probably was. Anyway, the client feedback thing is real though. That time zone note thing is smart, I've had clients in Europe who got annoyed when I just sent a generic "will respond in 24 hours" without saying if I'm online right then or asleep.

paige_bell815d ago

Jumping into this because I think everyone's missing something. The real issue isn't what you call the structure or the time zone stuff. Its about managing expectations upfront. @emma_jones you can call it whatever you want but if a client shows up expecting a five star resort and gets a bamboo hut with no AC you got a problem regardless of the name. That said time zone note is smart. I started adding my local time to every email footer years ago. It cuts down on the angry messages asking why I didn't respond at 2am their time. Saves everyone the headache.

emma_jones6d ago

Guess I should start calling my beach stays "rustic luxury cabanas" now.