How to stop 'how's it going?' messages from clients during a commission

Every maker who works to order knows the message. "Hi, just wondering how it's going?" It arrives on a Tuesday afternoon while you are halfway through a glue-up, a soldering job or a glaze firing, and it is rarely about curiosity. It is about uncertainty.

This guide goes further than our guide to client updates during a build. That one sets out a milestone plan for a furniture build. Here we look at why clients ask in the first place, what the research on waiting says, how to set a cadence for different crafts, what every update should contain and how to word the messages so you write them once and reuse them.

The aim is simple: answer the question before it is asked.

Key takeaways

• Clients chase for news when a wait is uncertain, unexplained or worrying. David Maister described all three in his 1985 essay "The Psychology of Waiting Lines".
• In five experiments, Buell and Norton (2011) found people sometimes preferred a slower online service that showed its work to an instant one with identical results.
• Agree the update rhythm at the start and say when the next update will come in every message.
• Tie updates to stages a client can recognise, and send a short holding update during long quiet stretches such as drying or waiting for materials.
• Every update has the same five parts: what was done, a photo, what comes next, the date status and when they will hear from you again.
• If one client keeps asking, answer the real worry (usually the date or the money) and shorten the rhythm for them.

Why clients ask

From your side, the commission is moving. From the client's side, they paid a deposit, then nothing visible happened. Three things make that wait feel long.

The wait is uncertain. Maister's essay sets out eight propositions about waiting. One is that uncertain waits feel longer than known, finite ones. A client who was told "about ten weeks" has no idea whether week six is on track.

The wait is unexplained. Another proposition: unexplained waits feel longer than explained ones. If the ceramic dinner set is drying slowly before its first firing, the client does not know that. They only know they have not heard.

The client is anxious. Maister also writes that anxiety makes waits seem longer. With commissions the anxiety is often about money ("have I paid a stranger in advance?") or a date ("will the ring be ready for the proposal?").

Maister's essay is a conceptual piece based on observation, not a controlled study. It still describes the "how's it going?" message well. The client is asking three questions at once: is it on track, is there a reason I have not heard, and should I be worried?

What the research says about seeing the work

Several studies point the same way: people value work they can see.

• The labour illusion. Ryan Buell and Michael Norton ran five experiments that simulated online travel search and online dating. When a website showed the work it was doing, people valued the service more, and some preferred a longer wait with visible effort to an instant result. Perceived effort created a feeling of reciprocity.
• Transparency both ways. Buell, Tami Kim and Chia-Jung Tsay ran field and lab experiments in food service. When customers and cooks could see each other, customer-rated quality rose by 22.2% and throughput time fell by 19.2%.
• Photos of the actual job. In work by Buell, Ethan Porter and Norton, users of a City of Boston app for reporting problems who received photos of the city fixing their request went on to submit 60% more requests over the next 13 months than users who did not get photos.
• What to tell people who wait. Hui and Tse (1996) tested two kinds of information for people waiting: how long the wait would be and where they were in the queue. Neither mattered for short waits; for intermediate waits, duration information had more effect than queue position.

None of these studies looked at workshops, so applying them to a commission is our inference. The direction is consistent, though: show the work, say how long, and people wait more patiently.

Set the rhythm at the start

The single most effective step happens before the work begins. When you confirm the commission, tell the client how updates will work. Maister's "first law of service" is that satisfaction is perception minus expectation, so set the expectation yourself.

Kick-off message (template) "Thank you, the deposit has arrived and your [piece] is booked in. Here is how updates will work. You will hear from me at each main stage, with photos, and never more than [two weeks] apart. Each message will say what happens next and when you will hear from me again. If I need a decision from you, I will say so clearly at the top. Delivery is planned for [week or date]. If anything changes that, I will tell you as soon as I know."

That one message removes most of the uncertainty. The client knows the rhythm, the date and that you will raise problems first.

A cadence by stage, for different crafts

Plan updates around moments where something visibly changes, then fill any long gap with a holding update. The table below is illustrative. Adjust the stages to your own process and lead times.

Craft	Good update points
Furniture	Timber selected, joinery, dry fit, glue-up, first coat of finish, finished piece
Jewellery	Design or CAD render, wax model, cast, stone setting, polishing, finished ring with hallmark
Ceramics and glass	Form thrown or blown, trimmed or annealed, bisque fired, glaze applied, final firing, finished set
Leather and textiles	Materials chosen, pattern cut, first assembly or fitting, stitching, edges and finishing
Instruments	Wood set chosen, body and neck shaped, assembled, finish applied, setup and first playing
Metalwork	Drawings agreed, material arrived, fabrication, finish (paint, powder coat or patina), ready to fit

Two rules make the cadence work:

1. No gap longer than you promised. If you said "never more than two weeks apart", send something on day fourteen even if the piece looks the same.
2. Every message names the next one. "Next update: after the bisque firing, around the 20th." That one line answers the question before it forms.

The quiet stretches

Most "any news?" messages arrive during the stages where nothing visible changes. Clay drying before a first firing. A finish curing between coats. Waiting for a stone to arrive from a dealer, or for a powder coater to return a gate. An instrument settling before final setup.

These are the moments to send a holding update. It takes a minute and it explains the wait.

Holding update (template) "Quick note on your [piece]. It is [drying / curing / waiting for X] at the moment, which is why it looks much the same as last time. [One sentence on why this stage matters.] Next visible step is [stage], around [date], and I will send photos then. Still on track for [date]."

What every update contains

Use the same five parts every time, in the same order. Clients learn where to look, and you stop having to think about it.

1. What was done. One sentence, in plain words.
2. A photo. Of their piece, at the bench. One good photo beats five average ones.
3. What comes next. The next stage and roughly how long it takes.
4. Date status. "Still on track for 12 March" or, if something has moved, the new date and the reason. Our guide to handling delays with clients covers that message in detail.
5. When they will hear from you. A date or a stage.

If you need something from the client, put it at the top, not in the middle. Our guide to client approvals and sign-offs covers how to ask for a decision.

Routine update (template) "Your [piece]: [stage] is done today. [Photo.] Next I will [next stage], which takes about [time]. Still on track for [date]. Next update around [date]."

An example in jewellery (illustrative): "Your ring was cast today and has come out clean. Photo attached, before any polishing. Next I clean it up and set the sapphire, which takes about a week. Still on track for 14 March. Next update once the stone is set."

When a client keeps asking anyway

Some clients will still write between updates. That is fine, and it tells you something.

• Answer kindly and briefly. "All good. It is in the [stage] at the moment. Photos coming on [date]."
• Answer the question behind the question. If they are worried about the date, confirm the date. If they seem uneasy about having paid in advance, a photo of their piece at the bench usually settles it.
• Shorten the rhythm for that client. "Would a quick photo every Friday help? Happy to do that." A weekly photo with one line of text costs you very little.
• Offer a short call. Some people are reassured by a voice more than a photo. Ten minutes on the phone can save a dozen messages.

Reply to "how's it going?" (template) "Good to hear from you. Your [piece] is in [stage] and everything is on track for [date]. [Photo if you have one.] The next proper update with photos is due around [date]. If it would help to hear from me more often, just say."

Keep updates cheap for you

Updates only work if you keep sending them. A few habits keep them to a couple of minutes each:

• Photograph as you go. Take the photo when the work is in front of you, even if you send it later.
• Pick an update day. Many makers send all routine updates on one day of the week, so they become a habit.
• One channel per client. Email, a shared album or a private project page. Scattered messages across texts, email and social media are hard for both of you to find later.
• Reuse the templates. Change the details and send. Clients do not mind a familiar structure. They mind silence.

A short checklist

• At kick-off: send the rhythm, the planned date and how you will flag decisions.
• In every update: what, photo, next, date status, next contact.
• In quiet stretches: a holding update on the promised day.
• When the date moves: tell the client before they ask, with the reason and a new date.
• When one client keeps chasing: answer the worry and shorten their rhythm.

Sources

• The Psychology of Waiting Lines, David Maister (1985): propositions on uncertain, unexplained and anxious waits; first law of service
• The Labor Illusion: How Operational Transparency Increases Perceived Value, Management Science 57(9), 2011: five experiments in online travel and dating services; visible effort raised perceived value
• Creating Reciprocal Value Through Operational Transparency, Management Science 63(6), 2017: food service experiments; 22.2% higher rated quality and 19.2% faster throughput with two-way transparency
• Surfacing the Submerged State: Operational Transparency Increases Trust in and Engagement with Government, Manufacturing & Service Operations Management 23(4), 2021: Boston app users who received photos of work on their requests submitted 60% more requests over 13 months
• What to Tell Consumers in Waits of Different Lengths, Journal of Marketing 60(2), 1996: effect of duration and queue information on waits of different lengths