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glen-s
Community Member

5-star review guaranteed job listings - why are these continually allowed on the site?

There is one buyer who continually labels their job listings with "5-star review guaranteed" - I have continually flagged this but they are still allowed to carry on posting multiple jobs.

 

Can any answer be provided as to why? It's not a job I'd ever dream of applying to but I think it is grossly unfair on newcomers to the site who are looking to build a rep.

 

It is also false advertising as in essence it means the client is willing to provide a 5-star rating no matter what they recieve in return. Of course, the 'private' feedback supplied to Upwork could be completely different, which would make it completely duplicitous.

13 REPLIES 13
prestonhunter
Community Member

Such jobs certainly violate the spirit of Upwork's feedback system.

 

In my opinion any such job should be immediately removed from the platform. But I'm just an Upwork user. I am not one of the people who reviews flagged jobs. I can not tell you what instructions Upwork personnel receive regarding such jobs.

So are people saying that the explicit prohibition of feedback manipulation applies only to freelancers, not to clients?


Douglas Michael M wrote:

So are people saying that the explicit prohibition of feedback manipulation applies only to freelancers, not to clients?


We went round and round with that before on this forum.

If I remeber correctly, the mere promise of 5 star feedback was not deemed to be "feedback manipulation" by itself.

 

I agree such nonsense should not be on the site, but last it was discussed Upwork's stance was that they thought such posts fell short of qualifying as violating terms of service...

 

robin_hyman
Community Member

They are offering 5-star reviews because they are obviously paying little to nothing.  It's a value add to working with them.  Lots of newbies will be drawn to the job post and many will complete and receive the 5-star review.  

 

Don't try to police the system because you're wasting your time.  Feel free to flag but move on.  There are many more crooks out there.  Work smart!

I understand why the buyer offers it - I don’t understand why Upwork allow it to continue.

I flag jobs I believe are unfair when scrolling through listings - if it helps to support the wider community then it is worth doing. Doesn’t interfere with my work or finding new worthwhile opportunities.

re: "I flag jobs I believe are unfair when scrolling through listings"

 

Glen:

Can you explain what you mean by this?

 

It is helpful to flag jobs that violate Upwork ToS.

 

It is not acceptable or helpful to other Upwork users for me to "flag jobs that are unfair" in my opinion.

I think basketball is unfair because I am a short person. But I do not flag jobs involving basketball.

If a job violates any actual, tangible, terms, flag it.

If it does not violate anything, flagging it wastes time and wastes money that we pay for from our fees.

 

Clearly Upwork does not consider this to be a violation of it's terms of service, so let's not flag it again.

glen-s
Community Member

Bojan has asked for more info so it can be escalated. Let’s see if anything changes there. I don’t need to be told what to flag and what not to by anyone else.

You’ve misinterpreted what I said. No need to explain any further as it’s all there in the first post.
tlsanders
Community Member


Glen S. wrote:
You’ve misinterpreted what I said. No need to explain any further as it’s all there in the first post.

 

The upshot is that Upwork doesn't care if it's "unfair," and that shouldn't be your standard for flagging, since it pointlessly gums up the system. 

 

I don't think anyone misunderstood what triggered your flagging in this particular situation. But, you stated directly that you flagged jobs you felt were unfair. Others correctly pointed out that that's the wrong standard. Flag jobs that break a rule.

 

You can declare that you don't need to be told what to flag and what not to flag, but that won't change the fact that frivolous flagging hurts us all, by straining resources here and by making it less likely that jobs that actually do violate TOS will get addressed in a timely manner. And, you really can't prohibit us from objecting to that.


 


Robin H wrote:

They are offering 5-star reviews because they are obviously paying little to nothing.  It's a value add to working with them.  Lots of newbies will be drawn to the job post and many will complete and receive the 5-star review.  


So, it's bad for Upwork in at least three significant ways:

 

- It encourages freelancers to work dirt cheap, meaning Upwork gets very small fees

- It provides bad freelancers with good ratings, misleading clients and potentially prompting them to leave the site

- Prospective clients who take the time to look around the site and see these postings will know that the Upwork rating system can't be trusted

 

It's hard to see any way Upwork benefits from leaving these jobs unchecked.

 

BojanS
Community Manager
Community Manager

Hi Glen,

 

Could you please click on my name and send me a PM with a link to the jobs you're referring to. I'll be sure to escalate those to the correct team for their review. 

 

Thank you.

~ Bojan
Upwork
kochubei_valeria
Community Member

Hi All,

 

A few posts have been removed from this thread. Please, be mindful of the Community Guidelines and avoid making personal attacks when posting on these boards.

 

Thank you.

~ Valeria
Upwork
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