You Should Fear The Freelancer
This story reminded me a lot of my own experience previously as a freelance coder for websites. I am currently on retainer for a well-known brand and have helped them revamp their dated splash page to a much more attractive and engaging one. I’m well aware that I am a freelancer, and since I’m still in college, I have no real intention to go into a full-time position just yet. This has been made clear to the clients I work for, which, come to think of it now, may have been an error on my part.
For this particular client, the normal manager I have corresponded with goes on maternity leave. Her replacement is a new manager whom I have had no working relationship with before. We are at the stage of finalising the design of the website. Ninety-eight percent of the work has been done, and yep, you guessed it: I am waiting on payment at this stage. I’m emailing the new manager after finishing an important string of code.
Me: “Hello, [Manager]. The code for your splash page is now complete, and I have now enabled it in preview mode for the site. Please take a look at your own leisure and give me your honest opinion.”
After a few hours, he replies.
Manager: “Yeah. I will need to see the code run whilst the website is active so I know it holds up against our expected traffic. I will need you to activate the website as of today, and we will trial it for twenty-four hours before deciding if the code needs further work or not.”
I have to do a double-take at what he’s written. Holds up against traffic? It isn’t the M25, mate. And plus, him asking for me to activate the code is a HUGE red flag that involves me giving the website privileges over to the client before being paid — a huge no-no for freelancers.
Me: “Hi, [Manager]. The code should run fine. This is a usual script that I have run on many websites that I’ve designed before, and in each circumstance, it has held up just fine with no problems whatsoever. Before I activate the site and transfer control over to you, I will need payment first.”
Manager: “So, you have just copied and pasted code from your other works, and you expect us to be happy with that? That doesn’t sound like the attitude we will pay for here. I suggest you get yourself back into the code and make as many improvements as you can before expecting us to pay you.”
Seriously? Coding is very much just that: copying and pasting the essential strings to make a website work. But my main concern is the subtle tone he’s giving me in regards to not wanting to pay up. I lock the website’s script on my end and then reply.
Me: “[Manager], I am afraid that if you are not interested anymore, I will need to trigger the clause in my signed freelancer contract which [Manager’s Company] signed. I do expect full payment by the end of the month; otherwise, I will have no choice but to pursue legal action.”
Manager: “A little freelancer like you doesn’t scare me. Bring it on, you c**t.”
I take some time away from that project for an entire week, but not before I forward the email chain to their Human Resources department, who then redirects me to payroll because I am a freelancer, who in turn redirects me to HR because they say this is an issue between employees.
It is a stressful experience, granted, but [Manager] grows more and more stressed, too. He goes from emailing me outlandish threats to phoning me up and offering half the payment as agreed on my work, which I laugh at and hang up on. It gets to the point where the company’s director gets in touch with me.
Director: “Hello, my name is [Director]. Am I speaking with [My Name]?”
Me: “Yes, that’s correct.”
Director: “Hello, [My Name]. Right, can you tell me from your perspective what happened with the project, please? Because I’ve heard from [Manager], and I want your side, as well.”
Me: “Well, originally, I worked with [Original Manager now on maternity leave], but they left over a month before I finalised the code. [Manager] got in touch with me literally once throughout that period. He showed a laughable lack of understanding of how coding works, and aside from alluding to not paying me the agreed-upon sum, perhaps most importantly throughout this email chain, he called me a c**t.”
The director replies after a lengthy pause.
Director: “Right. This is my email address: [Director’s work email]. Please forward me this email chain from the very first instance of communication with [Manager]. Now, you mentioned that he refused to pay you for work, is that correct?”
Me: “Yep.”
Director: “Very well. Look, I completely understand if you are not interested in returning to work for us, but I will happily increase your payment if you can just finish the code for us. Name your price.”
I decided that a modest £2,000 would be a suitable compensation for having to deal with [Manager]’s crap. [Director] was smooth throughout the rest of the project handling, and even demanded that [Manager] stay as far away from the final stages as humanly possible. [Director] forwarded my payment before I activated the website for them, with an extra £1,000 on top of my modest suggestion. [Director] also told me that he had a strong word with [Manager] about his behaviour before demoting him.
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Their Goose Is Totally Cooked
