🐈
» Forums » Clients » Re: Freelancer went awol on me and I wish I c...
Page options
139d1b5d
Community Member

Freelancer went awol on me and I wish I could change my good feedback

Hi, I hired a freelancer illustrator for a sample illustration before hiring her for the book. She did a wonderful sample illustration in the style I requested so I paid her, left good feedback, and hired her for the book. She did another illustration that was great and suddenly then she went nuts. She decided, she claims, that she lost her muse and though she has had international clients for eight years on Upwork, she can't do the requested style any longer. She said she would have to cancel the project. I talked her out of that and so she did another illustration in the exact style I didn't want (more cartoon like and flat) and then said she saw the whole book that way. This is even though my original ad said I did not want cartoon like. She said she would have to repaint the two she had done in this new flat style and there was nothing she could do about it, she had simply lost the ability to do the other style (even though she'd done two of them the week before?). She suggested i let her repaint those two in the new style, or say I wasn't interested so I said I wasn't interested and I'd need to cancel the contract. She canceled the contract before I could, so I couldn't leave any negative feedback which she totally deserves, as this was horrible. She also blocked me from sending any messages to her after that even though I had been polite. I've now requested a refund for the sample illustration since it was not done in good faith, and I can't use it. I would like to change my good feedback to her as she shouldn't do this to anybody else, but I don't see how that's possible--am I stuck with feedback from the illustration she did on May 24? And how do I let Upwork know about this craziness? She's literally a top rated freelancer.

17 REPLIES 17
g_vasilevski
Retired Team Member
Retired Team Member

Hi Jen,

 

I'm sorry to hear about the bad experience you've had with your freelancer. Our team will reach out to you via ticket and email as soon as possible and will assist you further. Thank you.

~ Goran
Upwork

Thank you Goran. I look forward to getting the ticket.

prestonhunter
Community Member

Jen:

Not all client/freelancer collaborations work out.

That is part of hiring.


If I hire an artist and it doesn't work out, then I hire someone else.

Or even better: hire multiple artists from the beginning. And use the work that you like the best.

 

The feedback you left was appropriate at the time. You do not need to change it.

 

If someone liked the original Star Wars but was later disappointed by Phantom Menace, they should not feel obligated to change their review of Star Wars.

 

Put YOURSELF and your project first. Don't elevate the importance of one individual freelancer. You don't owe her any more of your time and attention, no matter how much you admire the original work she did for you.

Disagree. This person sent me artwork that was exactly the dreamy evocative style I wanted and did the sample illustration in that style. As well as a second one. Then suddenly she says her muse has abandoned her and she can only do a flat pastel more geometric style and that’s how she sees my book now and must redo the other two in that style.

That’s perverse. That’s not a failure to meet expectations or just not working out.

I am glad you have the $$ and time to hire several illustrators and decide what you want but that certainly seems both impractical and profligate.

I understand why you are frustrated by this situation.

 

But the priority here needs to be YOUR project.

 

This freelancer is offering to provide you with a flat pastel/more geometric style.

 

I don't think she is going to budge from that position. So you will need to make a choice.

 

You COULD accept this artist's decision and roll with it.

 

But if that is not the right way to go for your project, then you should NOT pay this artist to proceed and create new artwork for your project. She has already told you what style she will use going forward.

 

I have hired over 120 freelancers on Upwork. The majority of those are artists. I put MYSELF first. I don't care if an artist gets married or loses her muse or wins the lottery or adopts puppies or whatever else might be going on in their life. I don't care about an artists's karma or ratings. I focus on MY OWN OBJECTIVES.

 

At this point in time, I do not see a way that you can make this freelancer continue to create artwork in the style that you want. But based on my experience with Upwork, I am confident that you COULD post the artwork you have received so far as an attachment or link in a NEW job posting, and find artists who can emulate that style.

I don't think you understand. I do not want the flat, geometric style (and its somewhat cartoony as she herself admitted and I specifically said in my ad I do NOT want a cartoon style). The point is that she should not be top rated on Upwork because she has psychological problems that make her behave erratically and irresponsibly. She pulled the rug out from under my feet after showing me work that was in the style I wanted and doing two illustrations in that style that I was quite happy with. Suddenly she decided her muse had abandoned her (which means nothing, really). Suddenly she gave me the exact opposite of what I wanted and insisted on redoing the two she had given me or just end the contract if I was not interested. I was not interested, but she herself ended the contract to avoid me giving her negative feedback, which i certainly would have. She also blocked messaging though I doubt I had anything more to say to her. 

I'm not naive, I am a traditionally published author and have worked within publishing and understand illustrators. This one I am doing on my own and I think there must be some way to indicate to Upwork that this person is mercurial, and even though she is perfectly capable of doing the work I hired her for, suddenly decided she wouldn't and couldn't. And it had nothing to do with money btw as I offered originally to double her fee and she refused. She's just not the kind of person you want top rated on Upwork so that others have to go through this and surely there is a way for me to get this across to Upwork. If she does this to others, leaving them high and dry because of mysterious mood changes, and then cancels contracts to avoid negative feedback, well, Houston, we have a problem.

 

I'm perfectly capable of finding another illustrator, it's just an annoying time sink that is not based on talent or lack thereof, but on irresponsibility.

Re: posting her artwork I don't need to do that as I referenced several children's books with the type of artwork that is ideal, in my posting (not that I expect Upwork talent to emulate the level I linked to, but it gives an idea). Thanks.

In fact, I told her I would end the contract and was in the process of doing so when she beat me to it, also blocking messaging, which effectively STOPPED me from giving her the very negative feedback she totally deserves so that others don't have to go through this. I feel she knows exactly what she's doing here and has done this before.

If a freelancer closes a contract, it does not prevent a client from leaving feedback.

When a freelancer closes a contract, a client has a 2-week period during which they can leave feedback.

 

If there is no pay at all associated with the contract, then a client may not be able to leave public feedback that appears on the freelancer's profile page, but a client can still leave private feedback - which can indeed affect a freelancer's JSS.

 

I don't think that a freelancer blocking messaging prevents a client from leaving feedback. That is certainly not Upwork's intention. If this is what you experiencd, then this is a bug.

 

If you have not yet left feedback, but you want to, then you should still be able to navigate to the contract listing and click on the contract and then click on the Feedback panel and leave feedback.

Thanks. I hadn’t paid the first milestone left as she hadn’t finished it.
I can’t seem to change the great feedback she asked for on the sample I did pay for which was completed may 24. Can you help?

The first sample she worked on is associated with a contract that has now been CLOSED.

 

You do not have direct access to change that feedback.


BUT: There is a way you can change it:

 

https://support.upwork.com/hc/en-us/articles/211068458-Enable-Clients-to-Change-Feedback

 

Screen Shot 2021-06-01 at 8.22.53 AM.png

 

The freelancer can click a button that will enable you to change feedback.

You can ask her to click that button, and if she does, you can change feedback.

 

Is she likely to click the button if you ask her to?

Maybe not.

 

But that is your one option, unless you involve Upwork Customer Support.

 

In the Forum, we HAVE seen examples in which an Upwork user is able to contact Upwork Customer Support and get them to REMOVE feedback that they left or a freelancer. I have never heard of a client being given the opportunity to EDIT their feedback. Upwork just tells them now if they ask to do so. But I HAVE SEEN instances in which the client was able to get her feedback REMOVED.

Thanks!!

Preston, I don't see where to contact support, can you guide me?

Also, this is the kind of thing the freelancer wrote me after successfully completing two illustrations in the style I wanted, with high compliments from me:

 

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

Then she tried again, giving me the exact opposite of what she had done before--instead a "pastel" "geometric" as she described it, more flat, and somewhat cartooney--as she admitted. " I can force myself to do the original test image type, of course, too. I am sorry for being so difficult to work with, as I said art is a curse and I'd rather cancel the work than create something ugly and by ugly I mean something I absolutely don't like and that I force myself to create. I did such thing twice and never again, in the end I asked the author not to credit me in the book as those images were forced and not what I felt was close to me. I understand I am only doing what I'm told, still it is creative process that is painful and difficult way too often. Or I think about it too much but I very well know how long it takes to create something I don't "feel" when I simply order myself to draw every line."

Honestly, should a person this erratic, who one week does exactly what you want and the next week says her muse has abandoned her, she can't paint like that anymore, and now she has to do a geometric flat pastel more cartooney style and that's all she can do--should that person be rated top on Upwork? **Edited for Community Guidelines** . Her muse didn't abandon her. She didn't become incapable this week of what she did last week.

To contact Upwork Customer Support:

 

Click on the chat bot. Type in a question. When given an opportunity to identify if you are freelancer or client, click on Client button.

 

Type in "contact support".

 

If that does not work, type in a question, then after you see automated response, click on thumbs down icon, and that should being up live support.

Hi, I don't see a chat bot anywhere. Where would it be?

The second method didn't work at all they just thanked me for my "feedback" (automated)

To activate chatbot, click on green circle question mark icon in bottom right corner of Community Forum pages.

BojanS
Community Manager
Community Manager

Hi Jen,

 

A member of the team has reached out to you already regarding this concern. You should also be able to access the ticket directly here.

 

Thank you! 

~ Bojan
Upwork
petra_r
Community Member


jen b wrote:
Thanks. I hadn’t paid the first milestone left as she hadn’t finished it.
I can’t seem to change the great feedback she asked for on the sample I did pay for which was completed may 24. Can you help?

You LOVED that sample. That is why you left great feedback for it. 

You can't change that feedback and shouldn't, even if you could (because you genuinely did like the work). Obviously you could change your feedback if the freelancer enabled you to, but they wouldn't be that stupid.

 

You got what you paid for. A sample. It's not as if the freelancer ran away with the payment for the illustration of the whole book.


This is the time to take a deep breath and move on. You can't force a freelancer to work on your project.

Latest Articles
Learning Paths