How you handle an angry client probably decide whether you’ll get business from that client again, and whether or not they would recommend or discourage their business contacts from trusting you to do freelance work for them.  You don’t want to risk a client being angry and pointing out what he believes to be your shortcomings to everyone in his email address book.  Whether the client is angry for a reasonable reason or not, it’s in your best interest to deal with it quickly and professionally.  Once the situation is resolved and the client is happy again, then you can decide whether they were  unreasonable, and whether you want to work for the client again in the future.

First, take immediate action.  If you know your client is upset about something, anything, face it immediately.  You’ll look proactive and concerned about your client’s needs.  You might be tempted to wait to contact the client after a cooling-down period.  But don’t assume that everyone feels anger the same way.  The longer you wait to deal with the situation might end up being just a longer amount of time for your client’s blood pressure to rise.  Wait too long, and you might find you’ve lost the client completely.

Second, listen to the problem and acknowledge it.  The worst thing you can do when the client is trying to tell you what’s wrong is to interrupt or even try to explain that the client’s anger is unjustified. 

Third, start discussing solutions.  Explain that you’ve heard what they’ve said, you understand their frustration, and you’ll do whatever you can to make it right.   The client should be able to point out specific things that made them angry or dissatisfied.  If the client is very vague about just what the problem is, you’ll have a hard time fixing it, and chances are they’re just being unreasonable. Explain that you can’t fix a problem if you’re not sure exactly what the problem is.

Finally, be realistic about the solutions you offer.  If the client wants the project revised in 3 days, and that’s what would make them the happiest, don’t agree to that just to appease them if you know there’s no way you can make that timetable.  It won’t be worth the 3 days of peace you’ll have with your relieved client to have them twice as angry on day 4 when you don’t deliver.

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