Constant Client Phone Calls

[Debbierocket123]

Hello Mumnetters!
I am a freelance graphic designer and having trouble dealing with a client. She calls me between 6-10 times a day to "check in" with me on her projects. Sometimes I answer but sometimes I am busy with another client or on another meeting/call. I have communicated to her that I want to offer the best possible service but am oftentimes not available for ad-hoc phone calls and if she would like to arrange a daily catch up call at a certain time that would be the best way for me to efficiently get her work done on time, while also giving her peace of mind that I am meeting her deadlines. However she still continues to call me up to 10 times a day and I am at a point where the phone calls arn't the best use of my time and I need to get some actual work done for her and my other clients. I have tried everything I can think of to get these calls to stop but she still persists. Does anyone have any advice on what I can do? Thanks in advance ;)

[TheFlis12345]

I would pick a fixed hour each day, tell her you are available for calls during that time only, and only take her calls in that hour.

[Inneedofanewwardrobe]

Book in a slot for the phone and go through everything at once. This client sounds like a nightmare.

[memberofthewedding]

Almost my work with clients is email based. My clients are mainly in the USA so I only take calls by prior arrangement because of the time difference. Americans can be quite demanding and I do sometimes have needy customers who can send me multiple emails spread over the day about different aspects of the same transaction. I dont answer all the emails and when I do I conflate the answers into one message when I do respond. Sometimes I get accused of ignoring their messages but I just use stock phrases like "away from the computer" and "helping other clients" or "checking progress on your order".

Since yours is a phone based business you will need to put in place methodologies for dealing with challenging customers, as suggested by the previous poster. Unfortunately it is often the case that a very few of your clients may be more trouble than all the others combined.

Sometimes you have to think hard about whether you want such clients. With the "I pay your wages/I want some service" types I sometimes have to cut them loose and block them from my site.

It depends on what their business is worth to me.

[Debbierocket123]

My business is not phone based. I am a graphic designer which requires me to get my head down and concentrate on creative concepts. Phone calls slow me down and disturb that process of thought. I am emailing and calling this person once a day now and making that clear that this will be the last email/call until our catch up at x time tomorrow. In the meantime I am trying to find other jobs that will replace the work they are offering me because I can’t afford to let them go right now.