Three of my four retainer clients are now getting work that isn't in the agreement. Not dramatically — an extra Slack channel here, a Sunday night 'quick favour' there. I set the scope myself, so I can't even blame them for asking.
I tried adding a line about additional work being billed separately. I tried a weekly check-in so things wouldn't pile up between calls. Both slipped within a month because saying no in the moment feels like I'm being difficult.
I've got a contractor starting next week and I'm worried I'll hand her the same mess. What actually stops this — the contract, the call rhythm, or something else I'm not seeing?
CONTEXT AT PUBLICATION
What a useful answer should help achieve
A concrete mechanism for holding scope that doesn't depend on me being the bad guy in the moment
Already tried
Added a separate-billing clause to the agreement and introduced a weekly check-in call; both eroded within a month
Constraints and unknowns
One contractor starting next week and no capacity to police every client request myself
Operations Consultant · retainer consulting · Growing Team · This snapshot stays with the question when the author updates their profile.
