Client dilemma
I've been dealing with a really hard client. He says to work on one things one day and on the next day ask me to focus on another thing next day as this is more important and after somedays he asks me what about the 1st task which is genuine question but when I says I was working on 2nd task as discussed as this was imp he escalates it my manager saying 1st task assigned on this day and it hasn't been completed yet. He keeps a tab of every hour what I do. Irony is I sit whole days infront of my system and when I'm not around and if calls me and I do not respond immediately , he escalates.
Sometimes he becomes too loud ,arrogant and dominant. Do not want to listen when I try to explain rather keeps shouting . It has happened multiple times. I tried talking to my manager but he says we need to keep client happy and satisfied that's it.
I'm fed up of giving clarification and trying to explain things or may be I'm not capable of handling things properly/multitasking.
Has anyone faced such situation. How to deal with such scenarios? Kindly help
Make MOM of each meeting with clients.
Try to include each point in MOM as he said alongwith an agreed statement from him over the team group where your manager is available.
In MOM priorities your task as he said. If the task list is huge you can make an excel sheet.
Set clear priorities with the client and document everything. Escalate professionally if needed. Set boundaries for response times. Involve HR if it affects your well-being. Consider upskilling and switching roles if it remains toxic.
I had one similar to what you have described. Sometimes we need to put our feet down. If he becomes loud, tell him let's talk when you are in the mood to talk. Don't be disrespectful but set the boundaries. Speak to your manager and take him in confidence I am sure he must have dealt with situation like this earlier as well.
Additional to above comments ....you can send EOD reports mentioning progress for task 1,2,3,4 and priority and what task you have done that day copied your manager and senior managers as well!
All the above advise is really good! I strongly agree with MoM , Jira ticket for every task, time taken by you on very task, requirement change matrix, which tracks what he asked to do when and and always set a eta if a new task come ask for priority and change the eta for others..
Thankyou guys for suggestions. Means a lot. I'll try implementing your advices. Hope it'll work.
