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liero116
Community Member

I posted a listing and a user replied in a very rude and racist manner

Is this the kind of behavior you are ok with on this site?  I came here looking for help and yes admitedly I didn't know enough about what I was asking to offer the correct amount to him upfront, but this is the small exchange we had attached.  This is the first response I got on the first  post I made.  This is likely my last as well.

 

I hope for the sake of other users that you do something to remedy this sort of unprofessional behavior. 

13 REPLIES 13
jodypm
Community Member

Hi Derek,

 

I just looked at the image and must say that I'm shocked that a freelancer would come at you like that. You certainly don't deserve that type of treatment as a client and simple respectful exchange to garner more information about your needs and what it might cost would have been appropriate.

 

I regret that you've had this experience and hope that you don't hold it against any freelancers in the future. Trust me, this is not the norm. Don't let this one freelancer dissuade you from future posts. The vast majority of us respect clients without fail and would never engage in this type of discourse. If you give it another shot, I'm willing to bet you'll find a plethora of good freelancers that could get the job done for you and manage to act like professional adults in the process.

 

Best regards,

 

Jody PM

liero116
Community Member

Hi Jody,

 

What is most frustrating right now, is this is my first experience with this site.  It is an extremely unpleasant one.  To top it off, I cannot find any way to actually speak to someone about it.  I have no idea how to get in contact with customer support.  I'm sure you can understand that I'm pretty put off by this.  I would like to know what the owners of this site think about this before I proceed.

jodypm
Community Member

Hi Derek,

 

Don't worry about that. A moderator will be on here soon enough. All of these community threads are monitored. This definitely needs attention.

 

Best regards,

 

Jody PM

abinadab-agbo
Community Member

Ouch.

If a freelancer has been abusive to you, feel free to click on the wheel icon beside the violating message and report the freelancer.

I'd hope that his account doesn't get permabanned for that, because you weren't particularly polite too.

That said, the freelancer's nothing can excuse that freelancer's behaviour, and some sort of action (in the very least, an official dressing down from Upwork 😉 ) might be taken against him.

 

It is against the Upwork TOS to use the Upwork platform to abuse, harass, or spam a client.

 

Hopefully, Upwork will review and take appropriate action.

 

That said, I'd like to assure you that that exchange with that freelancer is in no way representative of the vast majority of professional freelancers you'll find on here.

 

You'll find that the vast majority of earning freelancers here are not like that guy.

 

Politeness is one thing.  Racism is another.  I think my response to his initial rudeness is understandable.

jodypm
Community Member


Derek T wrote:

Politeness is one thing.  Racism is another.  I think my response to his initial rudeness is understandable.


Yes, I am Latino myself, but not Mexican -- nevertheless, his vulgar comment about a Mexican p*** was unbelievable.

 

If you look at his profile and read the reviews about him by filtering the worst ones first, you can see that he has a history.

 

What I recommend is just putting in a little more work into screening first. If you don't have much money to spend, that's OK, there's a freelancer out there for you somewhere. But regardless of how that goes, don't stand for that type of behavior at all.

 

I'll see if I can send a quick private message to one of the moderators here since they are probably busy at the moment and haven't got around to seeing this yet.

 

Again, I wish you success in finding a freelancer to make your vision a reality.

 

Best regards,

 

Jody PM

liero116
Community Member



Yes, I am Latino myself, but not Mexican -- nevertheless, his vulgar comment about a Mexican p*** was unbelievable.

 

If you look at his profile and read the reviews about him by filtering the worst ones first, you can see that he has a history.

 

What I recommend is just putting in a little more work into screening first. If you don't have much money to spend, that's OK, there's a freelancer out there for you somewhere. But regardless of how that goes, don't stand for that type of behavior at all.

 

I'll see if I can send a quick private message to one of the moderators here since they are probably busy at the moment and haven't got around to seeing this yet.

 

Again, I wish you success in finding a freelancer to make your vision a reality.

 

Best regards,

 

Jody PM


He clearly has an issue with Mexicans and he decided to make that very clear to me.  Whether I am a member of that heritage or not is largely irrelevant.  You're definitely right though.  I did as you suggested and he does have a history.  My inexperience with this site and my eagerness to get my project moving contributed to me picking someone I probably shouldn't have.  I should have looked more into him, through to my defense, the site recommended him as a best match for my project.


Jody P wrote:

Derek T wrote:

Politeness is one thing.  Racism is another.  I think my response to his initial rudeness is understandable.


If you look at his profile and read the reviews about him by filtering the worst ones first, you can see that he has a history.

 

What I recommend is just putting in a little more work into screening first.


I appreciate that comment.

I also had a look at the profile.

From my quick look, the freelancer didn't appear to have a history of racist behaviour with clients.

He might have had some negative project outcomes like even some successful freelancers do every now and then, granted.

 

What is important is that we don't say; it is the OP's fault that he didn't screen well before CONTACTING the freelancer. Let's keep in mind that he didn't start a contract with him.

It was supposed to be a preliminary discussion, wherein the screening continues to happen even in the course of the interview.

The OP made no mistake by initiating a discussion with the freelancer.

 

The point is, can Upwork create an enforce an environment in which clients can be assured that they won't encounter that kind of behaviour from ANY freelancer at all?

The answer is a BIG and resounding YES.

 

The above said, I'm not recommending a permaban of the freelancer.

Especially if he doesn't have a history of racist behaviour and previous warnings from Upwork on this very same matter; some action other than a permaban would be recommended.

The dude has skillz but needs to get some manners.

 

Hopefully, Upwork can help him and help the OP too.

Cheers 😉


Derek T wrote:

Politeness is one thing.  Racism is another.  I think my response to his initial rudeness is understandable.



Hey.

I get.

As per the Upwork TOS, users may not use the platform to do or say racist things.

So yes, that is clearly a violation.



Hey.

I get.

As per the Upwork TOS, users may not use the platform to do or say racist things.

So yes, that is clearly a violation.


Yeah I would hope so.  Thank you for understanding.

lysis10
Community Member

why are freelancers always so angry? sheeeeesh


Jennifer M wrote:

why are freelancers always so angry? sheeeeesh


I was thinking the same thing until I looked at his "profile" and the rest of his "Agency"; explains a lot. 

AveryO
Community Manager
Community Manager

I"m sorry to learn about your experience with this freelancer, Derek. I went ahead and forwarded this to the team for their review and action. Thank you for flagging it here!


~ Avery
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