Client blames me for not responding to their emails, although I have done so, every time
Thread poster: Anne-Marie Gerritsen
Anne-Marie Gerritsen
Anne-Marie Gerritsen  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 12:21
English to Dutch
Feb 10, 2017

someone who blames you for not responding to their emails although you have responded in time, every time?

The case is this: I've just done a proofreading/editing job with a tight deadline, discussed with the client what was possible and what not, finished the job on time ((although way past midnight) and send it back as attachment immediately after it was finished. The client sends emails that suggest they never get my reply although I do reply to every email but untill now I get e
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someone who blames you for not responding to their emails although you have responded in time, every time?

The case is this: I've just done a proofreading/editing job with a tight deadline, discussed with the client what was possible and what not, finished the job on time ((although way past midnight) and send it back as attachment immediately after it was finished. The client sends emails that suggest they never get my reply although I do reply to every email but untill now I get emails back where they almost scream at me like ; where are you? why don't you reply? and longer ones where they put the blame on me for them not being able to meet their clients deadline.

All my other emails go through, I can still upload, download and do whatever, only this particulair person seems to not be getting any of my emails.

Does anyone know what's going on here?

[Subject edited by staff or moderator 2017-02-10 12:25 GMT]
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EvaVer (X)
EvaVer (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 12:21
Czech to French
+ ...
This did happen to me Feb 10, 2017

Lately, over about 2 weeks, I was not getting e-mails from certain people and they were not getting mine, or mails arrived after 2 days for example. And yes, no problem with others. With some, my e-mails were systematically falling into spam. Electronical communication is just unfathomable. If both sides have Skype, it's a way around it - it generally works.

 
Lingua 5B
Lingua 5B  Identity Verified
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 12:21
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
Hum, no. Feb 10, 2017

I never had something like that happening to me.

Are you sure this company is legitimate, have you done your research, do they have a BB record?


 
Merab Dekano
Merab Dekano  Identity Verified
Spain
Member (2014)
English to Spanish
+ ...
Spam folder Feb 10, 2017

Anne-Marie Gerritsen wrote:

someone who blames you for not responding to their emails although you have responded in time, every time?

The case is this: I've just done a proofreading/editing job with a tight deadline, discussed with the client what was possible and what not, finished the job on time ((although way past midnight) and send it back as attachment immediately after it was finished. The client sends emails that suggest they never get my reply although I do reply to every email but untill now I get emails back where they almost scream at me like ; where are you? why don't you reply? and longer ones where they put the blame on me for them not being able to meet their clients deadline.

All my other emails go through, I can still upload, download and do whatever, only this particulair person seems to not be getting any of my emails.

Does anyone know what's going on here?


In this particular case, it does not seem very likely, but technically your emails could end up in their spam folder.


Klebiano Barbosa de Souza
 
Anne-Marie Gerritsen
Anne-Marie Gerritsen  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 12:21
English to Dutch
TOPIC STARTER
Great advice, thank you so much Feb 10, 2017

EvaVer wrote:

Lately, over about 2 weeks, I was not getting e-mails from certain people and they were not getting mine, or mails arrived after 2 days for example. And yes, no problem with others. With some, my e-mails were systematically falling into spam. Electronical communication is just unfathomable. If both sides have Skype, it's a way around it - it generally works.


Good to know I'm not the only one. And yes, it's the emails from some people, not all. Skype sounds like the answer, I will go and see if I can find this person there. Seems to me like 'big brother is watching you' kind of thing.


 
Álvaro Espantaleón Moreno
Álvaro Espantaleón Moreno  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 12:21
Member (2015)
English to Spanish
It has Feb 10, 2017

Had this. The outsourcer was fuming. Assumed I had just taken the money and ran. Later on apologized and said it was a Microsoft 365 issue (whatever that meant).

 
Anne-Marie Gerritsen
Anne-Marie Gerritsen  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 12:21
English to Dutch
TOPIC STARTER
What's a BB record? Feb 10, 2017

Lingua 5B wrote:

I never had something like that happening to me.

Are you sure this company is legitimate, have you done your research, do they have a BB record?


No, I don't but do have their payment details though. I know that doesn't count for anything but it's better than nothing, right?


 
Lingua 5B
Lingua 5B  Identity Verified
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 12:21
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
Hum. Feb 10, 2017

Anne-Marie Gerritsen wrote:

Lingua 5B wrote:

I never had something like that happening to me.

Are you sure this company is legitimate, have you done your research, do they have a BB record?


No, I don't but do have their payment details though. I know that doesn't count for anything but it's better than nothing, right?


Is this an individual or a company? Bear in mind you are not allowed to name them on this board.

You just go here: http://www.proz.com/blueboard

Type in the company name (search term) and then click search, then check the record results.

Not sure if it's doable for you as a non-member though.


 
James Hodges
James Hodges  Identity Verified
Japan
Local time: 20:21
Japanese to English
Just as an afterthought Feb 11, 2017

To guard against this, a long time ago I set up a second email address on my domain. I explain to clients beforehand why I have it. I use it to CC myself as proof that the email has been sent. If I send an email to the other account and it does not arrive, then I know that there is something wrong. It saves a lot of hassle and is just another way of proving that you keep up your end of the bargain.

 
José Henrique Lamensdorf
José Henrique Lamensdorf  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 08:21
English to Portuguese
+ ...
In memoriam
Sent ≠ received Feb 11, 2017

James Hodges wrote:

To guard against this, a long time ago I set up a second email address on my domain. I explain to clients beforehand why I have it. I use it to CC myself as proof that the email has been sent. If I send an email to the other account and it does not arrive, then I know that there is something wrong. It saves a lot of hassle and is just another way of proving that you keep up your end of the bargain.


That doesn't help. The web has too many "black holes", and too many antispam contrivances that now and then go awry. While bounced messages cause most systems to issue a mailer-daemon warning, if a message is diverted to a virtual trashcan, it will vanish without leaving a trace.

My web site has various online forms for prospects to request cost estimates, ask for information, contact me on other matters etc. I've set each of them to send TWO e-mails to different addresses, on two (paid, not free) completely different servers, though both are physically located here in Sao Paulo.

I've done tracert on both, and it's quite interesting.

On one of them, the path is direct from the web site host to Embratel (the backbone) and to its destination. On the other, though it's the same company that hosts my site, it takes a long tour from Sao Paulo through servers on about a dozen state/province capitals in North America, and then back. Travel time is roughly the same.

While most of the time I get both messages, there are occasions when I get only one of them, and the tech guys from the "defaulting" server can't find a reason, as nothing was changed. The issue eventually gets fixed on its own, without anyone actually doing anything. The problem is when I get neither, and the prospect eventually phones me about it. Fortunately, I think this is rare, though I wouldn't know how many messages to me got lost on the way.

Antispam contrivances can't be reliable either way. While spammers strive to develop ways of thwarting them, antispam developers work hard to improve their effectiveness.

My main e-mail provider, Mandic, is a high prestige one in Brazil. Its founder, Aleksandar Mandic - who is no longer there - was a rather famous case study in Harvard. Nevertheless, once Mandic was "rubber-stamped as a spammer" by the then-pervasive AOL, so it would immediately discard any message from anything @mandic. I called the Mandic leading tech guy, and he said he'd look into it.

A week later, it was fixed, so I called that guy to thank him. He told me he spent days quibbling with his AOL counterparts, and they couldn't locate the cause. So he hacked into AOL, found it, and fixed it!

Bottom line is that the sender can control e-mail sending, however there is no fail-proof assurance that the message will be received on the other end, unless the addressee takes the trouble to confirm receipt. The problem is that they cannot confirm non-delivery when they fail to receive something they are not sure about its having been sent.


 
María Eugenia Wachtendorff
María Eugenia Wachtendorff  Identity Verified
Chile
Local time: 08:21
English to Spanish
+ ...
Mail Track Feb 13, 2017

A great way of guarding against this, is Mail Track, Google's follow-up tool. I use it and it has proven of great help. Highly recommendable!

 
Melina Kajander
Melina Kajander
Finland
English to Finnish
+ ...
Checking BB Feb 17, 2017

Lingua 5B wrote:
Is this an individual or a company? Bear in mind you are not allowed to name them on this board.

You just go here: http://www.proz.com/blueboard

Type in the company name (search term) and then click search, then check the record results.

Not sure if it's doable for you as a non-member though.

It is (if you mean a "non-paying member"), but you can only see the WWA grades, not the individual comments, unless you pay by Brownies. But if the grades are 5 or close, it's already reassuring enough in itself.


 
Jean-Pierre Artigau (X)
Jean-Pierre Artigau (X)
Canada
Local time: 07:21
English to French
+ ...
Anti-spam filters Feb 17, 2017

Some clients have anti-spam anti-virus filters that will block your mail without sending any warning either to your client or to yourself, for example if your message has an attachment with links in it. You should verify by other means that your message has arrived. I suggest calling your client, a good opportunity to tell them you are available to accept another job!
Jean-Pierre


Klebiano Barbosa de Souza
 
Isabelle Fenoll
Isabelle Fenoll
France
Local time: 12:21
French to English
+ ...
Servers differ in time replies Feb 18, 2017

Hi Lingua 5B,

Sometimes, it's the servers that pass on the messages they store for a period after a certain time, not immediately, so your addressee believes there is no message from you while it's actually on its way though stopped in an intermediary storage service.

Sometimes, it's the spam filter that hooks it up and casts it aside though when your address is in your client's contact folders, your message should go through.

Your client deserves the cour
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Hi Lingua 5B,

Sometimes, it's the servers that pass on the messages they store for a period after a certain time, not immediately, so your addressee believes there is no message from you while it's actually on its way though stopped in an intermediary storage service.

Sometimes, it's the spam filter that hooks it up and casts it aside though when your address is in your client's contact folders, your message should go through.

Your client deserves the court's verdict. Get a lawyer, and get them to court.
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Client blames me for not responding to their emails, although I have done so, every time






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