Bad Clients - Please advice!

[4144d0b3]

Long story short. Client hired me, I've put a lot of effort and delivered in time! 

The client said he likes it a lot and will come back soon for more work. He did and asked for a really low rate and I refused. He closed the contract and left me 2.8 stars. 

This is SO unfair. I've earned more than 3x five-star in the last month, trying to improve my JSS. Now it's all ruined because clients have the freedom of ruining profiles for NOTHING!

I am so infuriated, all this makes me reconsider, working here on UpWork. This is what I do for a living now, YOU CAN'T GIVE CLIENTS THE POWER TO DESTROY YOUR PROFILE JUST LIKE THAT UPWORK!!!!

[a_lipsey]

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Nikolay P wrote:

Long story short. Client hired me, I've put a lot of effort and delivered in time! 

The client said he likes it a lot and will come back soon for more work. He did and asked for a really low rate and I refused. He closed the contract and left me 2.8 stars. 

This is SO unfair. I've earned more than 3x five-star in the last month, trying to improve my JSS. Now it's all ruined because clients have the freedom of ruining profiles for NOTHING!

I am so infuriated, all this makes me reconsider, working here on UpWork. This is what I do for a living now, YOU CAN'T GIVE CLIENTS THE POWER TO DESTROY YOUR PROFILE JUST LIKE THAT UPWORK!!!!

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I can understand your frustration when a client suggests they are satisfied then leaves a poor review. However, your JSS is not ruined because of one client. You have a history of clients being unsatisifed due to poor grammar and use of English language. And your response to this latest poor feedback has multiple spelling errors, which doesn't really support your argument that the clients are unreasonable - instead it proves their point that your writing skills are not up to par. The best thing I can suggest you do (because Upwork can't do anything, the system is what the system is, so you have to look at where you can make adjustments to make the system work for you) is to be pickier about your clients and also be up front about what level of grammar for them to expect. Maybe you need to hire a proofreader to work with you for a bit or perhaps take some professional development (there are free courses) to resolve these issues. 

Freelancers have come back from worse, and you can too, you just have to realize it's on you to come back, not on Upwork to make it a cakewalk for you. So you need to strategize what you can do, what's within your power to do, and also just realize that Upwork is what it is.

[4144d0b3]

Don't get me wrong. I don't need a proofreader. In fact, the quality of the content was not the issue here. The client liked the article and came back with an offer for a lower rate, which I refused. Then he left me a 2.8 star among all other fives. This is due to the moment of frustration, instead of mirroring my skills as it should be.

The real problem here is that one bad review weighs as much as 5 or 6 good ones. He rated my availability 4/5 when I always replied within 1 minute. (I checked). Also my communication skills 2/5.. . what??? I am technical support, engineer communication with clients all day every day...

The deadline is also 3/5, even though I delivered a day before it.

[petra_r]

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Nikolay P wrote:

Don't get me wrong. I don't need a proofreader.

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Oh, you do... 

[a_lipsey]

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Nikolay P wrote:

Don't get me wrong. I don't need a proofreader. In fact, the quality of the content was not the issue here. The client liked the article and came back with an offer for a lower rate, which I refused. Then he left me a 2.8 star among all other fives. This is due to the moment of frustration, instead of mirroring my skills as it should be.

The real problem here is that one bad review weighs as much as 5 or 6 good ones. He rated my availability 4/5 when I always replied within 1 minute. (I checked). Also my communication skills 2/5.. . what??? I am technical support, engineer communication with clients all day every day...

The deadline is also 3/5, even though I delivered a day before it.

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Nikolay, with all due respect, reconsider whether or not you need a proofreader. Your profile is full of grammatical errors, and your response to the client has more that one spelling error. That looks bad on you professionally. And considering he left you 2.6 stars not 2.8 and he gave you 4/5 on deadlines, I'm concerned you don't pay attention to detail, but you think you do. Relax the ego for a bit and listen to what professionals are telling you. 

[4144d0b3]

I understand that my expression is not as fluent as a native speaker, but this is considered in my rate. Also, do not judge my comment's grammar as this is not what I deliver. I spend additional time proofreading each piece of content.

Yes, maybe this client had higher requirements but hiring a writer for $15 per 1000 words, he should have the right expectations. I see profiles on Upwork, writers charging 100+ dollars per hour, where the content is expected to be top-notch. 

Please, take a look at what I delivered for $15. Is it really that bad? 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-7eU9sTd2m7rJAqyevxMogYZ4u_Zgzve-iflH-3Ai0s/edit?usp=sharing

There are several SEO bonuses I provided so I can make a good impression with the first delivery. (Something I do for all my clients.) Every writing rule is met also.

[a_lipsey]

If you aren't a native speaker then you are misrepresenting yourself on your profile as such.

I'm not going to comment on the quality of the assigned task.

But it's not the first time a client has had issues with the quality of your work so maybe it's to your benefit to explore this further. We can all improve our skills. Take this as an opportunity to figure out where you're lacking and address it.

[tlbp]

"...all other fives"?

You know we can see your profile, right?

A single client review is not responsible for the situation you find yourself in and it is misleading to imply otherwise. 

[annemirrop]

Getting and keeping good scores can be a juggling game. 

So, the client gave you a 2.8 review. Now what?

You could leave the platform, sure. 

If you decide to stay, here's what you do: 

- Write a response to your client's review, politely discussing what happened. New clients who read the reviews will take your response into consideration. 

- Vet your clients THOUROUGHLY. If you get any hint of a red flag, don't take the job. 

- Discuss the project scope at length. Make sure they agree to everything. (Date of the finished project, what needs to be done) 
- Read previous client reviews. Read how they review other freelancers. (This reveals a lot about their personality.)

From here, give your best work. Always communicate with your clients. Give it your all. Deliver early. And watch those five star reviews pile in. 

We all get bad eggs. All we can control is our reaction. 

[petra_r]

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Anne M wrote:

If you decide to stay, here's what you do: 

- Write a response to your client's review, politely discussing what happened. New clients who read the reviews will take your response into consideration.  

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Too late. He already left a response which ultimately proves the client's point.... And yes, new clients will see the response, which, as usual, does more harm than good...

The OP has a history of unhappy clients, hence the low JSS.

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Anne M wrote:

We all get bad eggs. All we can control is our reaction. 

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I don't think the clients are the issue here.

[carloslobo28]

Nikolay, regarding the original subject about unfair feedback, I had a similar case with client that was happy and ended up giving me a 3 feedback, till today I can't make out what the reason, maybe it's me that sometimes criticize clients directly or his business or how to improve it, with time I realized no all clients would appreciate it. Anyway clients are people, people are emotional, emotions are not logical. If you make client feel bad in anyway that will be reflected on your feedback. Maybe Upwork with time can take some measures but not much as long as people are still emotional, a issue machines don't have.

[moonraker]

Nikolay.

I mean this with the best of intentions but the sample in your profile does not reflect what you are charging. The diction and prose is clearly not that of a native speaker; you're going to struggle as a writer if that's the general standard of your work. I sometimes work with writers lower down the scale and they deliver to a higher standard. 

That doesn't necessarily mean you can't make it on Upwork; we all have different strengths and weaknesses. I can't help but wonder why you are working as a writer if you have a degree in computer science... 

[ddbae4ec]

Hi Nikolay, 

It just happen to me today, a Bad Client Experience. his name is **Edited for Community Guidelines**, he set me only 1 out of 3 milestone, after i finish the work, he left me unresponse for 1 month and end the contract. 

He still out there, so be carefull....

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

[martina_plaschka · Accepted solution]

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Nikolay P wrote:

Long story short. Client hired me, I've put a lot of effort and delivered in time! 

The client said he likes it a lot and will come back soon for more work. He did and asked for a really low rate and I refused. He closed the contract and left me 2.8 stars. 

This is SO unfair. I've earned more than 3x five-star in the last month, trying to improve my JSS. Now it's all ruined because clients have the freedom of ruining profiles for NOTHING!

I am so infuriated, all this makes me reconsider, working here on UpWork. This is what I do for a living now, YOU CAN'T GIVE CLIENTS THE POWER TO DESTROY YOUR PROFILE JUST LIKE THAT UPWORK!!!!

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You have a large number of jobs, so one bad feedback will not decrease your JSS by much. Aside from all the other things that have been pointed out to you, you made a critical mistake in discussing a new project with a sketchy client before the old project was ended. You could have handled it much better if you told him: I'm happy to discuss the next project with you, could we just end this one first? instead of (likely, considering your communication style) going all-out postal on him, leaving you with an angry client. 

Yes, the feedback was bad, and made worse by your response. 

Get your ego in check and act strategically. You are, after all, running a business, right?

[mccormick-troy]

A client I fired has left me bad feedback, which is untrue. This poor feedback is causing me future clients. How can I get Upwork to get rid of the comment so I can obtain future clients? 

[a_lipsey]

Troy, refunding the entire job removes the public feedback from your profile, but does not remove the private feedback that impacts your JSS. 

If you are top rated you can request both the public and private feedback be removed without giving a refund. You can do this once per every 3 months and 10 contracts (if I recall correctly). But you must be top-rated to use this perk. 

[mccormick-troy]

Thanks! Who do I contact to make that happen?