Should you rant in public?

Beverly Level X³

May 31, 2014, 5:50 am

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When things go wrong with a client, it's tempting to jump on Facebook or Twitter and rant about it. And, while it might provide a temporary surge of relief to unburden one's shoulders of the client's mistakes, is this really the right thing to do?

Not just from a moral or ethical but business point of view, could there be consequences for airing out all your dirty laundry about a difficult client in a public place such as Facebook, Twitter or even a forum?

One thing that comes to mind is how a ranting freelancer might establish a bad reputation for themselves as being difficult or hard to work with.

What are your thoughts? Do you vent online when things go wrong with a job? And, how do you deal with the petty stresses of freelancing, especially when you are trying your best to do a job but dealing with a difficult buyer?

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Jolie

Rather than getting emotionally involved and sounding off online, if they were so difficult to work with, I would just politely ask the buyer to mutually cancel the job so they could get a refund. Then I would put all my physical and emotional energy into finding a new and better paying client that was easier to work with.

13 years ago

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Forrest

Maybe you should let others know how bad a buyer was if he is so difficult to deal with as you don't want anyone else suffering the same abuse.

13 years ago

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spotondot

Resolve your issues privately rather than crying about them in public. And, if this means occasionally losing a buyer, then so be it, so long as you don't have to deal with their hassles again. Eventually you will find higher paying customers who are less trouble to deal with and provide a more stable source of income.

13 years ago

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Beverly

Resolve your issues privately rather than crying about them in public. And, if this means occasionally losing a buyer, then so be it, so long as you don't have to deal with their hassles again. Eventually you will find higher paying customers who are less trouble to deal with and provide a more stable source of income.

Very difficult to take back your words once you post them online. And, what's said in the heat of the moment could stay up for years to be read by many others. This is especially true of forum posts.

13 years ago

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NaturalWriter

You have to be careful over this. I absolutely despise it when a Buyer goes off on the forum about a Seller because there's usually two or more sides to every story, and doing this could ruin their reputation as a Seller. I would much rather the two of them duke it out amongst themselves or take it up with support. One persons experience often differs from another, and most times it's due to a breakdown of communication.

13 years ago

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angie828

I do not rant in public like this. I might express my concern to my husband but that would be about it.

13 years ago

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America

Acting in this way would be rude and unprofessional and hopefully not something I would ever do.

I do not rant in public like this. I might express my concern to my husband but that would be about it.

It's good that you have such a trusted confidante.

12 years ago

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elladavidson

Every story has two sides. You should be able to rant but I would do it to a person. Or write how I feel and then never publish it.

12 years ago

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sweetcupcake

I would find someone to rant to but I would never post it online or say what I felt in public!

12 years ago

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Beverly

I would find someone to rant to but I would never post it online or say what I felt in public!

Your potential customers are everywhere when you freelance online. So there's really no safe place online to vent. Finding someone who is not associated with your business such as a real life or Facebook friend doesn't mind listening to your situation is an ideal solution.

12 years ago

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Beverly

I never rant in public to any user buyer or seller..
if any type of dispute happened then try to solve with personal message .
if we rant in publicly what other user fill .. he is so angry how we deal with him.,so be polite do your work .

Keeping it private is the best way as sometimes, the situation is just a misunderstanding and ranting about it in public will only lead to hurt feelings. Work things out with the buyer when you can and see what you can do to salvage the working relationship. Best to stay professional even if the buyer is not acting that way.

12 years ago

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barry

No you should not. Have a person to rant to or write it down but never rant in public. It makes you look like an a$$

12 years ago

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Griffin

Words said in the heat of the moment can rarely be taken back or forgotten by the one they are said against. Just watch what you say when you are online. It's safer to say it offline as those people are not associated with your online job. Just scream into your pillow if needed, but don't document your anger online in a way that your clients might see.

12 years ago

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Corzhens

It's not only about failed transactions but ranting of any kind and about anything is not advisable to do in social media. I have been reading rants in Facebook, usually the rant have no name so you don't know where the bullet is aimed. You can be offended sometimes if the rant is not clear in its aim. Maybe ranting should be confined to your soul mate for he will have the patience to understand you.

9 years ago

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