Excuses Excuses
Last Update: May 09, 2012

I'm going nuts. I can't believe how irresposible some people are. Here are some of the excuses I've heard from freelancers and contractors over the past couple months.

Article writer - outsourced articles, but writer is MIA (didn't ask for permission to outsource)

Data Entry Assistant - Family Business/out of town (day after started project)

Article writer/researcher - 2 deaths in the family

Team leader article writer - 1 dead article writer

Virtual assistant - Power outage

PR submitter - invasion of flying termites

So you can bet I went nuts when I assigned a project to start immediately, and the guy went to bed and said he'll do it in the morning.

...also..perhaps writing is a more dangerous job than we all though, there seems to be a lot of writers dying - or maybe just those I hire *cue ominous music*

Join the Discussion
Write something…
Recent messages
Sourabh
I can understand your frustration. It is better to be careful before selecting a provider. I think money matters. If the compensation is slightly raised, % of excuses may reduced to a certain extend. Many people promise to pay the work at lowest bid or wage, but finds themselves in a losing situation when they have to work hours for very small amounts. Top quality providers mostly do not agree to reduce their price for any specific work. hey stick to their own quote and they are genuine people in most cases. So, check these things next time, you will be winner at the end.

Thanks.
taradm Premium
I agree, I think quality would depend heavily on what you are willing to pay. I've thought about trying to offer writing services. But the thing is that it's time consuming, and people starting out in IM or any online business don't have the capital to invest in writing when they can do it themselves. $5 is NOT gonna cut it. Thank you for that lesson fiverr, lol!
nathaniell Premium
True, but some contractors jack up their price trying to look professional. I've had 3 dollar people work 100 times better than 7 dollar people in my experience. It's a character thing. Still, people with character don't always have time, and don't always stick to the freelancing thing. I had a guy who wrote great articles for about 2 months. Then I waited 50 days for a set of articles and he just quite. And I said, "I'll pay you whatever you think they're worth".

He was that good.
IveTriedThat Premium
I hired an article writer from WarriorForum, once. He had a 'guaranteed' 72-hour turnaround on articles. I placed the order, sent over my information, and after a week, nothing.

In the span of two weeks, he was hospitalized twice, his wife had a baby, his email account was hacked, and his dog ran away. He must have been the world's most unlucky dude. It took about three weeks to get my first 450 word article (150 words less than the ad offered) and then there was a 2-day delay between every other article.

Never again.
ThomasPaul Premium
lol, that guy needs to write a book on how to make up excuses
kyle Premium
I bet he even knows how to make a two layered excuse, an excuse within an excuse. Some people are good....REAL GOOD.
slayton1s Premium
LOL....
nathaniell Premium
@Kyle. An excuse within an excuse. Sounds like a movie concept to me.
nathaniell Premium
That's a real tough call. Guarantees sound awesome. Once you're in the deal, one or two excuses down the road, you've already invested so much time in talking to the guy you can either wait for him to deliver and suck it up, or quit him on principle and waste more time hiring some else.

I think a lot of these guys apply for tons of jobs at once and sometimes accidentally get too many acceptances at one time.
besswhizz
Hi, I actually cannot be sure exactly how I got here, but it looks interesting
Sielke Premium
hilarious..ive had my share of these experiences..invasion of flying termites? really?
kyle Premium
I like that one too! I will have to tell Carson that one next time I plan on heading out to the golf course instead of working!
kyle Premium
I can feel for you!

This is a people problem, not an outsourcing problem. Most people simply do not have work ethic, if everyone did it would be a lot more competitive for us that do have a good work ethic.

Hard work, dedication and the ability to do what others are not willing to do will lead to success. People tend to think it is more complex than this.

I can tell you that we have had many botched outsourcing jobs and actual "hires" over the years...and this was even after the weeding out process takes place. I respect people in HR because their job is very difficult and they have to deal with a lot of mediocrity in order to find quality.
chamaltatis Premium
Yeah, I hope you guys will open the Projects/Jobs area here at WA ASAP. At least, the outsourcing and helping is done within the community. I personally got a lot of help from there especially when I was starting...
nathaniell Premium
I agree that it's a people problem. I use to wonder why it was that the article writers I hired wouldn't go and do a marketing campaign themselves because one of the most time consuming activities for me is getting good content out there. I've realized now that part of the problem is that people can't commit.

BTW - it's reassuring that even the 'king of the castle' Kyle and Carson have had botched outsourcing jobs because that's my real PITA for me right now.
Top