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designarklab
Community Member

Bad Client history

There is this client on upwork, He sent me offer for job and I accepted , I delivered within the time frame, but after that he said he wants to stop the job and requirement changed. I even said I will do the changes as per his needs. But he insisted in paying me partial amount. Anyhow I contract ended , I gave him good feedback. But he give me poor feedback which affected my JSS and Rising talent badge.

When I I saw client rating his rating is 3.5/5. He has poor rating. , He has bad history. 
my question is client with bad history feedback should not affect jss score right??

14 REPLIES 14
prestonhunter
Community Member

re: "He has bad history. my question is client with bad history feedback should not affect jss score right?"

 

There IS INDEED a publicly announced principle related to the calculation of JSS that states that negative feedback from clients with egregious ratings histories will not be factored into the calculation of a freelancer's JSS.

 

I do not think that the precise details of how this principle is applied have ever been publicized. If you contract Upwork Customer Support and ask them about this, they will provide you with no more information than you can obtain here in the Forum.

 

Does this principle apply to you and your JSS?

I doubt it.

 

Sorry.

Preston,

 

Why do you think Upwork's omission of feedback from "egregious" clients for the JSS calculation does not apply here? 

 

The JSS is run by algorithms that make the 10s of thousands of JSS calculations each month. Why do you believe they would deviate from omitting such feedback without human intervention in this particular case (assuming the client has been flagged as "egregious," which is not public information)?

re: "Why do you think Upwork's omission of feedback from "egregious" clients for the JSS calculation does not apply here? "


Well, for one thing: the original poster said that the client's feedback had negative impact on his freelancer JSS score.

 

So according to what the original poster is telling us, this client's feedback was not omitted.

 

Another thing: The original poster noted that the client has a 3.5/5 average star feedback from freelancers. Okay... that is not great. But is that low enough that Upwork JSS calculations will start to filter out that client's scores from freelancer JSS calculations? Is a client's own average star feedback score even factored into JSS calculations at all? Or does this "bad client exclusion" principle refer to clients who have a history of giving very low scores to freelancers?

Right. We don't know if the freelancer had other feedback during the period of that JSS calculation.

 

Like so much about Upwork's many calculations that is opaque, this element of the JSS calculation is unclear. But we have been told on this board, "We exclude (from a freelancer's JSS calculation) clients whose freelancers report a history of unreasonable feedback so their scores won't count against you, but that may mean it takes longer to receive your initial score.”

 

So, if freelancers don't complain about a particular client's feedback (s)he's home free with continued "egregious" feedback for their future freelancers.

 

I'm not sure how freelancers can make such complaints. Do you know, Preston?

Will:

I regard this "bad client exclusion" principle as a "good idea."

 

But it is not something I am counting on. I have no firsthand experience with it.

 

I have never seen Upwork tell us how to check a client's exclusion status.

 

I have never seen freelancers report that the exclusion is in evidence in their own JSS.

 

I assume it really does exist. But I don't know if it kicks in automatically or requires an Upwork employee to put a client on an exclusion list.

 

I would never think that a middling score of 3.5/5 could get a client excluded.

Well, Preston, if you don't know then I doubt anyone who posts on this board knows. Or will ever know.

 

 


Will L wrote:

Well, Preston, if you don't know then I doubt anyone who posts on this board knows. Or will ever know.

 

 


No, we don't know, and Upwork isn't going to share this information. So it's just giving people false hope for you to post about feedback exclusion as frequently as you do, or to suggest that freelancers should contact customer service to complain. The JSS is automatically determined, and as far as I'm aware, no freelancer has ever managed to have Upwork intervene and raise their score. 

Christine,

 

You are wrong to say I have "suggest(ed) that freelancers should contact customer service to complain" and doing so would help their JSS. 

 

Here's what Upwork's moderator Aleksandr D. had to say on 4/27/19 about excluding feedback from certain clients in a freelancer's JSS score:

 

"We exclude clients whose freelancers report a history of unreasonable feedback so their scores won't count against you, but that may mean it takes longer to receive your initial score.”

 

Upwork's "official version" on this page also says the same:

 

https://support.upwork.com/hc/en-us/articles/211068358-Job-Success-Score

 

How is this "reporting" by freelancers implemented? Beats me. And you don't know either. But that doesn't mean it doesn't happen. But it should serve as encouragement to freelancers to be honest in their feedback for all their clients.

 

In fact, I posted a question to Preston above asking if he knew how a freelancer can "report" a client in this respect . If I knew, I wouldn't have asked him that question.

 

Anyway, 'nuff said or this will be yet another thread on this board that gets beaten to death with opinions and no additional factual information that a regular reader here wouldn't already kmow.

 

See ya.


Will L wrote:

How is this "reporting" by freelancers implemented? Beats me. And you don't know either. But that doesn't mean it doesn't happen. But it should serve as encouragement to freelancers to be honest in their feedback for all their clients.

 


The "reporting" is done by freelancers in their feedback to the client and vice versa - surely? - and not by individual freelancers contacting customer service to complain. But you're correct that I have no proof that Upwork customer service doesn't record individual complaints and keep a dossier about every client so that a human can periodically review this information and make judgements about whether or not to exclude their feedback - I'm okay with calling it an opinion, or even a hunch.

 


Will L wrote:

"We exclude (from a freelancer's JSS calculation) clients whose freelancers report a history of unreasonable feedback so their scores won't count against you, but that may mean it takes longer to receive your initial score.”

 

So, if freelancers don't complain about a particular client's feedback (s)he's home free with continued "egregious" feedback for their future freelancers.

 

I'm not sure how freelancers can make such complaints. D


It may help to use the official version which doesn't include anything to do with "reporting" or "making complaints". The process is automated.

 

The official version is: 

 

  • We understand that some projects have bad outcomes because the client is difficult to work with. So we track freelancer feedback of clients and flag those clients with a history of poor collaboration. If one of your clients has been flagged (or has been suspended for Terms of Service violations), then the client's feedback will not count against your score.

(source)

lysis10
Community Member

This is kinda like in Florida where there are signs "Don't feed the alligators" and people feed the alligators and then they get bit by an alligator and then they are all "wow omg why are people allowed to feed the alligators" and you're like "you're feeding an *alligator*. But in your case the alligator gave you bad feedback and you gave the alligator who just bit you good feedback and everyone in the room just wonders if they lost brain cells listening to your story.

Client with 3.5/5 average rating.

 

Saltwater crocodile with mouth open

petra_r
Community Member


Adil K wrote:

When I I saw client rating his rating is 3.5/5. He has poor rating. , He has bad history. 


The client's history is clearly displayed to freelancers so they can look at it and make an informed decision whether to accept a contract or not. The obvious decision is not to accept the contract from such a client, in much the way as it is the right decision not to jump into the jaws of the crocodile.

I understand that. Now I look everytime client history and past feedbacks with other freelancers. On basis of that I apply proposals and accept offers.

But that time i was pretty new and rising talent. Well I learnt from this mistake

Thanks everyone for good information and advices
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