Bad Feedback from Terrible Client - Really no protection unless you are Top Rated?

[daniele-carollo]

Hello,

I'm really disappointed from what seems to be Upwork policy in terms of freelancers protection and feedback removals (unless you are Top Rated). I know and I'm sure this topic has been debated many times but I'd like to have other opinions.

I'm working on a profile with, before this situation, about 45 jobs closed with an average of 5/5 rating, 100% score and a lot of amazing reviews. I've been Top Rated for some time and I dropped that just because I wasn't able to work for a couple of months, but still keeping the score at its maximum. I'm also an Upwork plus user and I'm trying my best to always answer as quick as possible to all the requests.

I got this "particular" client with a double personality (acting super nice during the calls and then behaving very bad from a professional point of view). He hired me for a job which had a strict deadline, as wrote in the job description, of 5 days and he ended up going for an entire month as he was always super late in providing content and informations.

During the last couple of weeks he was very unprofessional, setting calls/meetings which he never respected and having me waiting with no information why he was disappearing. Then he was just appearing the following day asking for a new meeting (with total 0 respect of my time and money).

Despite all of that I tried to be super professional, I never really complained (I only mentioned he could at least let me know when not able to be for a set meeting and he apologized), and I kept working for such a long time just hoping to one day close this job and never work with him again.

In the end, after a call where we agreed on final images to add to the website and which he should have sent on the same day, he totally disappears for days. Total 0.

Now, I find myself with a 3.6 review (with 3/5 on deadlines!!) and my score dropped to 95%. I tried to ask the support to remove this feedback just to find out that I can't if I'm not a Top Rated, which means I will have to wait at least another couple of months (if everything goes well) to be able to do it and of course, lose potential money and project with clients who want to work with 100% freelances.

My question is, do you guys find the fact we have no defense against these terrible clients normal? I mean, is it correct to let random people ruin your profile without even offering some investigation to find out the truth?

Hope to get your opinion!

[tlbp]

You get to leave feedback. The client gets to leave feedback. You don't get to control the client's feedback. The client doesn't get to control your feedback. What is the point of reviews if a freelancer can just have any bad review removed if they don't agree with it. If that were the plan, Upwork could just let freelancers review themselves. 

[daniele-carollo]

Tonya,

it really doesn't look like you read my message. Did I ever mention to just let anyone remove whatever they don't like? Did I ask to let freelancers or clients remove any bad review if they don't agree?

I said, if a particular freelance (but that would apply to clients too) has a 100% score with only great reviews over some decent sample of works, and he gets it ruined by a terrible client who acted bad through the entire process and ended up leaving a bad feedback, shouldn't he have, as said in my previous message, at least some protection?

For example, some investigation through chat transcripts to identify where's the truth? Or any other way. Otherwise, let's just people hire you with a dummy account for the sake of ruining your profile.

[petra_r]

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Daniele C wrote:

Now, I find myself with a 3.6 review (with 3/5 on deadlines!!) and my score dropped to 95%.

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That client's feedback did you no harm. Your JSS is still 100%

for what it's worth, I would never have accepted a contract from that client.

[daniele-carollo]

Hey Petra,

my score dropped to 95% just before writing this message, so I assume it eventually will drop also from your browser.

Regarding your last line, I wish I had your view at that time 🙂 But he had only 3 feedbacks at that time, may I ask you a suggestion on how I could have understood he was not going to be a good client?

[petra_r]

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Daniele C wrote:

Hey Petra,

my score dropped to 95% just before writing this message

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Where do you see 95%?

I see 100% JSS when I look at your profile...

[a_lipsey]

My browser also shows you at 100%. 

[browersr]

While I certainly understand why you would be frustrated, these are the risks in offering a service these days whether at Upwork or anywhere else. You can review a local restaurant as you want and frankly there is no one to even find out if you were ever there. At least here it is a verified relationship. People want to legislate all risk out of business activity, but that isn't possible or practical. Do you really think that UW should hire enough resources to investigate every single review perceived as bad? Are they going to call in both parties for a deposition and then make an impartial ruling? I hope you see that isn't even remotely possible or even desirable. When you offer business you accept that the client is going to have an opinion and it may be one you completely disagree with. If a freelancer (or any business owner) cannot accept that possibility then it's best to look elsewhere for a career. 

[daniele-carollo]

Hey Scott,

believe me or not but I totally agree with you! I think that applies to almost any kind of private activity where, even if you are the best in the world, you will find someone complaining about you.

I'm not saying UW should go on every single review perceived as bad of course, as again is obvious that would be impossible. But extending some of the top rated perks to 100% JSS freelancers with proved great reviews and giving them at least the chance, not to remove, but to "doubt" a feedback, well I think wouldn't be a terrible idea.

It could be only after a minimum of works for example and only with some specific conditions: but again, letting an almost newly registered user give you a random score and having to just let it happen...I don't know, just doesn't sound cool to me.

[browersr]

Daniele - That is what getting Top Rated is about. Even then you don't have carte blance to get rid of any review (nor should you). There has to be a bar and Top Rated is it. Until then you have to endure with all others. Even after you have to be able to retain the title. One could get a bunch of friends to create cheap jobs, hire you and then give great reviews. So no one is vetting that situation. In the end keep doing great work and you'll get Top Rated and then you will have more flexibility with the one-off bad client situation. 

[feed_my_eyes]

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Scott B wrote:

One could get a bunch of friends to create cheap jobs, hire you and then give great reviews. So no one is vetting that situation.  

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I hope that you're joking with this advice. Anyway it isn't true that nobody is vetting this situation; there have been people kicked off of the website for this (both the recipient of the fake advice, as well as the "client" who gave it). 

[browersr]

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Christine A wrote:

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Scott B wrote:

One could get a bunch of friends to create cheap jobs, hire you and then give great reviews. So no one is vetting that situation.  

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I hope that you're joking with this advice. Anyway it isn't true that nobody is vetting this situation; there have been people kicked off of the website for this (both the recipient of the fake advice, as well as the "client" who gave it). 

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Advice? I am certainly not giving that as advice. I am pointing out that UW cannot - in the reverse - look at every 100% job to ensure it was legitimate. If one is hired and money exchanges hands as is appropriate, who is to say what the relationship actually was between the freelancer and the client to begin with. If on is going to ask that reviews seen as negative are investigated then why don't we ask that positive ones are as well to ensure they are accurate? Of course neither situation is tenable or desired. That is my point.

[wlyonsatl]

Hi, Daniele C.,

This may be small comfort to you, but I doubt there are many experienced clients who only consider hiring freelancers with JSSs of 100. If you have now ended up with a JSS of 95 due to this particular client's review, that doesn't put you out of the top tier of freelancers. My JSS once sunk as low as 88 and I was no less busy than before, though I think I did get a few fewer invitations from prospective clients and had to submit more proposals to find good projects for a few months.

Also, Upwork has clearly said that feedback from consistently hard-to-work with or negative clients is not included in freelancers' JSS calculations, so running into the occasional client like this one is not necessarily a JSS killer.

I hope you will leave accurate (but professional, of course) feedback, so other freelancers can be warned off working with this person. LIfe is too short...and the JSS is too important (or so Upwork would like everyone to think).

Good luck.