Muddy instructions - is asking the client additional questions too risky?

One of aspiring freelance writers has asked me this question:

"I'd like to get your perspective on something. Right now I'm working for a reputable company, but sometimes the instructions
provided by the client leave a lot of room for ambiguity. I am often tempted to email the client (assuming the deadline allows) and probe with a few additional questions. I am undecided whether this is a good idea, or whether it is bad and just risks opening cans of worms that should not be opened.

Do you think it's best to take the instructions provided at the time of payment and do one's best, or solicit more information and risk getting dragged into a painful discourse about details?"

I thought I'd share my answer:

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In my experience, it is essential to have clear, unambiguous instructions before beginning (or continuing) work on a project. You are right, though - quite often, asking a client for clarity is definitely opening up a can of worms. It is also, quite often, incredibly difficult. I've learned a few tricks along the way to help with that, though - here they are in case they help you too. :-)

First, explain to the client why you need clarity. Usually this will help the situation, because if they see this as something that benefits them (as opposed to making your life easier, which they have less of an investment in), then they are more likely to help you out. Second, ask for instructions direct from the instructor. Quite often, as you know, we receive instructions that are filtered through the client's understanding of those instructions, which often means they are wrong. Insist upon the exact instructions straight from the instructor, and that should help. Third, though, if that does not help, form a question (or questions) that the client can send, unaltered, to his or her instructor; in this way, you can get help right from the instructor.

It's definitely possible to soldier on with muddy instructions, but there is always the very real risk that you will miss the mark, the client will complain, and then you will be left to answer a reasonably legitimate question from said client: why didn't you ask me to explain when you weren't sure what to do? I prefer to avoid that situation and hammer things out before moving on. Sometimes that means missing a deadline, but if you hop on the situation immediately, then any delays in obtaining clarity are on the client's head, not yours. Good luck with the situation!

I always ask clients to clarify their instructions if something is unclear. The client usually appreciates the attention to detail and is happy to answer any questions.

If you don't ask, you risk writing something completely incorrect and then you'll just piss off your client and waste your time trying to fix it.

The approach that works best for me is to ask very specific questions instead of just asking the client to explain further. If their instructions were poor to begin with, its likely they won't know what you need unless you tell them.

So ask, ask, ask!

~ gina

Sounds like you both agree that having clear instructions generally outweighs any disadvantages of asking. When I managed research projects in other industries, sometimes it was a real minefield to clarify details with clients, because it inevitably resulted in scope creep. ("Do you mean X or Y by this?" "Oh that's a great idea, let's look into both.") I guess when you have 1) a fixed number of pages, 2) less complicated contracts & more agility to charge for extras, and 3) clients that tend toward providing too little direction rather than too much, and 4) a reputation to maintain, it makes sense to ask away.

Also interesting that some clients can be so dodgy about it. You'd think they would understand. I guess that's exactly why they're paying someone else to do it.

the worst is when the client is too stupid to come up with a good research question and force you to write on some dysfunctional topic

Clear communication is very critical to producing a satisfactory piece of writing. To me, oftentimes unclear instructions badly affect the quality of a paper more than anything else. It is also true that sometimes a client is unable to communicate to you what they really want.

First, it's not a yes-or-no question; second, it depends a lot on whether it's a private client or a company order.

When it's a company order, my first priority is just making sure that I don't get stuck with a rewrite situation, which can happen when the specs request two elements that are mutually exclusive. The problem is, if I phrase my communication as a question, I can't start writing until a response comes in. Since I specialize in rush orders, that's not practical. Usually, I'll phrase my message along the lines of letting the customer know there's a need to make one choice or the other and I indicate that, in view of the short deadline, I'll be making that choice on my end if a response isn't received by such and such time. In some situations, I'll just explain that it's absolutely impossible to fulfill the specs in the assignment sheet they provide and the specs they requested in their order description, such as where the sheet clearly says "300-word MINIMUM per question" but they only ordered 2 pages for 4 such questions. I'll suggest they add more pages to the order and I'll cover myself by advising them that if no response is received in time to make their deadline, I'll answer the 4 questions as fully as possible in 2 pages and that they can just order more pages afterwards if they need the answers expanded.

Other times, it's clear from the order that the customer had a choice in answering one question or the other or in taking a specific position on an issue. Typically, I might ask whether they're already locked into that choice and suggest that one of the other choices would be easier to write an A-quality paper if it's all the same to them. Other times, the order asks me to take a really stupid position on a social or ethical dilemma. I'll explain that if they really want me to, I can certainly write the "best" bad argument about why the drinking age should be lowered, why same-sex marriage should be prohibited, or why atheism is immoral if that's the position they've actually been assigned, but I'll suggest that if the choice of what position to take on the topic is still up to them, they might want to trust me when I tell them that it would be much easier to give them an intelligent essay arguing the other side of the position if that's acceptable. (As a general rule, anytime you use a writer, you should always leave any choices in the assignment up to whomever is actually writing it and never just make that choice on your end because that topic "sounds interesting" or whatever.)

When it comes to private clients, there's no communication lag because there's no message system in between us; and I don't have to worry about making sure that I won't be responsible for a rewrite as between the company and me arising from any ambiguity in the order. Since we're in direct email and/or phone contact, I'll go into much more detail and make sure any conceivable ambiguity is resolved beforehand. My private work is usually scheduled much more in advance than the work I take from companies, so response time isn't as critical, which makes things easier to get straightened out in time.

If you want to get lost, then don't ask for directions. That is how everything goes in life. If you want to do the job right, ask follow up questions. Probe. Investigate. Make sure the client has given you all of the required information and answered all of your questions before you start working on the paper to avoid 2 things. The first, is an endless request for revisions. The second, is a chargeback claim. These can easily be avoided if the writer does his background checking before he jumps into writing. Never assume that the complete instructions have been provided. Always assume additional instructions unless otherwise notified.

A writer who works using unclear instructions from the client is aching for endless revision requests and a negative review rating. Always work under the assumption that you need extra information. Reach out to the client. Ask questions and show an interest in providing perfect work. It never hurts to see if there is an extra service you can provide. There is no risk involved, only client satisfaction will be produced and gained.