Published on 12, July, 2020
I'd like to think I'm a patient person, but probably I'm not. I'm better if I'm given a fixed date or range of dates by which something will be done. What I don't cope well with is a task I've asked to be done with no idea as to the completion date. This is the situation re family history research I've asked to be done on 2 of my ancestral lines. Research was started on one 41 days ago and the other 102 days ago. The situation is made worse by a lack of progress reports, so I have no idea as to when I might receive the completed reports. Maybe it's not a long time to wait??
The extent of my patience can vary depending on the situation, and also on my mood at the time. When I'm tired, or feel stressed and anxious by things that are unrelated, I'm aware that it can affect my patience and cause me to feel less tolerant.
Thinking of the situation you have found yourself in regarding the family research, have you made a point of contacting the person or company involved, and asking if they can provide you with a progress report?
Yes. I have done so several times.He just tells me things like 'work on both is complicated', 'The research for both is very much in hand for you.' He tells me he prefers to give one complete report than any progress reports.He may be a good researcher, but I'm not sure I'll use him again.
I contacted him privately. He works independently, and has people who work under him. As he's probably done some research, just hasn't told me the results, I wouldn't know how much of a refund to ask for. On hindsight I should have chosen to pay by instalments rather than a lump sum upfront.
If it were me, I'd stop paying him or ask for a refund and for him to hand over all work and original documents you've given him. What he's telling you isn't to my mind a good enough answer, it's a how long's a piece of string, sort of answer. Did you contact privately or via a site like ancestry? If it were via a site, then they may have some procedure for settling this sort of thing.