Clients, please close inactive contracts with feedback!

[shummas]

Just a quick rant.

Why do some clients start ghosting you indefinitely once the work is done? They'll ignore all requests and reminders to close the contract and provide feedback, even though they're online and regularly active. I mean, it does not take much effort on the client's part to close a contract and provide feedback. What's the deal with such laziness?

Sometimes, we freelancers are desperately trying to raise our success score lol, especially when we know we've delivered well on a job and some feedback would do wonders, but sigh, I guess I'll stop ranting and move on 😪 

If you're a client, PLEASE DON'T LET INACTIVE CONTRACTS LINGER ON and close them with feedback.

[7ba56d1a]

Sometimes they just get really busy.

[spectralua]

Many lazy clients here. You can do nothing with it, accept it as-is and move forward.

Im forcing clients to leave feedbacks but as result have 1\5 jobs without feedback. Not a big problem at all.

[paywell]

Apart from all that has been already said by the others:

I would recommend posting anything you have to say to the client on the Clients forum (which can be found in the Discussions tab, on top of this page).

And here are my 50-cents (In Da Club) which should enable more clients to leave their feedback:

• Put a request for feedback in your message, while submitting the work.
• Ask them beforehand, if they will be able to submit their feedback, if they are satisfied.
• Another "great" idea for clients who are already ghosting you (but still frequent the platform) would be leaving a 2 star feedback with "Great cooperation, 5 stars!", or any other positive  comment, mentioning "5 stars". 
  This may raise the client's attention, and, if and when he will contact you, you'll answer something like "oopsie, must have misclicked! Please allow a feedback change and I will too, so that you can leave your feedback to me as well"

Disclaimer: I would consult with people, who know more about changes in rating, before moving forward with this "great" idea of mine.

Disclaimer2: In case this goes against any TOS - you didn't hear this from me. 

[shummas]

I don't think I'll risk trying that anyway 😂 

[martina_plaschka]

Pavlo, it's not a good idea to try to rustle a client awake with a bad feedback. First, it can backfire immensely and you lost a client that was just going to contact you for further work. Why should the client assume that it was a mistake? There is no reason to. He will just think that this is a person he will not work with again. And even if he believes it was a mistake, why would that make him contact you? Again, no reason why that should ever happen. 

Finally, feedback should be honest and not be used for playing games. You can damage the client's business with an dishonest feedback. 

Lastly, you NEVER ask for feedback, you ask the client to end the contract. Easy, elegant, and nobody can ever accuse you of feedback manipulation! Win-win!

[paywell]

The man was desperate, I had to give him hope, I had to!

But you are right, of course. You shouldn't toy with feedback. If you're here for the long run - it's your bread and butter that's at stake.

Nevertheless, communicating on the willingness or possibility to leave feedback while / before finishing the job (without asking for it to be positive) seems like a good idea.

The client is most probably ghosting, because he/she thinks the Freelancer is asking for more work.

Some clients are frustrated by Upwork's interface or do not know where to leave feedback, and the client may be too shy to ask, so another tip would be giving him a step-by-step on how to do this, with pictures and/or a video tutorial. 

[martina_plaschka]

Any client with at least one contract knows how to do it. You ask the client to end the contract, so he HAS to leave feedback, that's it. You also should not ask if he is happy or whatever - that is something you should be aware of already. Asking gives the impression as if you haven't been part of the project. 

I doubt that clients are too shy to ask how to do it. It's literally one click, and then it's pretty evident what has to be filled out. 

[shummas]

Yes, I agree with everything you've said. I've always asked clients to close the contract because it automatically prompts them to give feedback. 

[shummas]

I agree with most of this. But I don't think merely asking a client for feedback can be considered "feedback manipulation" as long as you choose your words carefully and don't beg for a positive review. Correct me if I'm wrong, though. 

[spectralua]

It is true. You can ask client to leave feedback but can not ask\manipulate about five stars.

[lysis10]

Another noob mistake. Ghosting is a sign that they aren't happy. Don't push these people to close the contract. Close it yourself.

[shummas]

Yes, that's a possibility and I totally get it. I would not deliberately ask for feedback on a job that hasn't gone well. I'm concerned with the clients that are clearly happy with the work, but once it's done, they refuse to look back at any open contracts (these are usually one-time jobs).

[lysis10]

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Shummas H wrote:

Yes, that's a possibility and I totally get it. I would not deliberately ask for feedback on a job that hasn't gone well. I'm concerned with the clients that are clearly happy with the work, but once it's done, they refuse to look back at any open contracts (these are usually one-time jobs).

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Famous last words we see non-stop where the freelancers is boohooing cuz the client blew them off and said it was great but they weren't really happy. Just let them ghost and close it yourself. Even better, use it to push down bad feedback so keep it in your back pocket as an advantage.