Congratulations! You got paid.

firescue17 · ‎05-10-2020

Except. No. You didn't.

We're responding to the needs of the Upwork community during this uncertain time ~~and releasing your earnings early this week~~ by sending you an email with a misleading subject line that claims you got paid but you really didn't and actually need to login and withdraw your funds.

"A" for effort. "F" for execution.

petra_r · ‎05-10-2020

Steven E. L wrote:
that claims you got paid but you really didn't and actually need to login and withdraw your funds.

Oh, the HARDSHIP! You have to WITHDRAW? How shocking is that! Worth an outraged thread on the forum at the very least. You're so hard done by!

"You got paid" as in "The funds are now available!"

Many people don't want every payment to autowithdraw because that costs them fees.

firescue17 · ‎05-10-2020

Petra R wrote:
Oh, the HARDSHIP!

No. Logging in to withdraw the funds is not a hardship. Sitting around waiting for funds "WHICH HAVE BEEN PAID" ... but oh, kinda not cuz Upwork can't draft a proper email subject line ... is.

And for the rest of the Upwork bandwagon. No, I didn't read the body. Specifically, because the subject stated, "YOU HAVE BEEN PAID." except I hadn't.

Petra R wrote:
Many people don't want every payment to autowithdraw because that costs them fees.

Thank you for emphasizing my point; this email should have never passed review. **Edited for Community Guidelines**

wlyonsatl · ‎05-10-2020

I agree, Steven E. L..

If I had previously set up my weekly payments to occur weekly, it isn't apparent why Upwork would assume I had no interest in doing the same under the new release schedule.

I didn't detect any hysteria in your post, but maybe I'm not as sensitive as others here are, who can detect human emotions over great distances.

Happy Mother's Day!

gilbert-phyllis · ‎05-10-2020

Will L wrote:
I agree, Steven E. L..

If I had previously set up my weekly payments to occur weekly, it isn't apparent why Upwork would assume I had no interest in doing the same under the new release schedule.

I didn't detect any hysteria in your post, but maybe I'm not as sensitive as others here are, who can detect human emotions over great distances.

Happy Mother's Day!

The pre-scheduled weekly funds release covers all funds from all types of contracts. The new fast pay schedule affects only hourly contract funds for TR freelancers. (One might wonder -- many have -- why it only pertains to hourly, but that's a different rabbit hole.) Essentially, they made your hourly funds available to withdraw a few days early for your convenience. If you choose not to withdraw, they'll transfer automatically the next week as usual, along with any funds that have become available from fixed-rate contracts. For the many, many FLs who work both types of contracts, this makes perfect sense. And especially for those who incur bank fees for withdrawals, it optimizes their ability to control the timing and frequency of withdrawals.

I understand that somebody who uses the platform in only one of the ways it's designed, tends to see everything from that limited perspective and expect all changes, improvements, adjustments to be oriented to primarily benefit his own use case. And I can see how annoying it might be when that expectation is not met.

gilbert-phyllis · ‎05-10-2020

Interesting. Personally, I gave it B for effort (not the most important improvement to be investing in) and A for execution (implement in a way that is most useful for the most people). As Petra noted, lots of people have transaction costs and prefer to bundle their withdrawals and control specifically when they happen. I'd rather the platform do things in a way that avoids costing those folks unnecessary money even if it means some of the rest of us have to spend an extra fraction of a minute withdrawing our funds.

wendy_writes · ‎05-10-2020

Upwork, you have a plethora of skilled writers on-site - HIRE one to write - or at least edit - your communications before sending them out. In. Any. Form.

As Phyllis noted, good and laudable intentions; less than stellar communication.

firescue17 · ‎05-10-2020

I don't really care what Petra noted. As a translator, she should be the last person defending inaccurate and misleading communication.

"You Got Paid" != "Your funds are available to withdraw."

Ever. In any language.

Come to think of it ... "Your funds are available to withdraw" would have been a perfectly accurate subject for the email. How ever in the world did my rudimentary, illiterate stupidity ever manage to put these words together into a sentence.

petra_r · ‎05-10-2020

Steven E. L wrote:
Come to think of it ... "Your funds are available to withdraw" would have been a perfectly accurate subject for the email.

You are absolutely right, that WOULD have been the correct subject line.

I wasn't arguing with that, I was just amused that it warranted an outraged thread.

Although of course I shouldn't be surprised.

wlyonsatl · ‎05-10-2020

Petra,

The only "outraged" person on this thread was the one who used all CAPS to SHOUT and used multiple exclamation points to show just how seriously we should take her post.

Otherwise, the discussion was about a useful change that would have no effect on freelancers who had no interest in using it.

gilbert-phyllis · ‎05-10-2020

Will L wrote:
Petra,

The only "outraged" person on this thread was the one who used all CAPS to SHOUT and used multiple exclamation points to show just how seriously we should take her post.

Otherwise, the discussion was about a useful change that would have no effect on freelancers who had no interest in using it.

I disagree. I think the discussion is about a tempest in a teapot, yet another instance of someone complaining because some aspect of this global platform with its enormously varied and diverse user population made a change that was not optimally engineered for his particular use case. To some of us, it just seems like such a teeny tiny issue in the grand scheme of things. But I recognize mileage may vary especially among certain segments of the user population. If nothing else, it reminds me to be thankful I'm not so easily discommoded.

wlyonsatl · ‎05-10-2020

I see, Phyllis, but I don't think anyone intended to discommmode you.

gilbert-phyllis · ‎05-10-2020

Will L wrote:
I see, Phyllis, but I don't think anyone intended to discommmode you.

Let me rephrase: Thankful I'm not so easily discommoded as to complain about having to spend a minute (or some fraction thereof) initiating a transaction that is now available to me days earlier than it used to be, when the reason it's not automatic is to avoid trapping other people, whose circumstances are different than my own, into paying unnecessary and avoidable transaction fees.

Now you can have the last word if you need to.

wlyonsatl · ‎05-10-2020

I don't need to, Phyllis, but thank you for being so thoughtful.

richardsmith94 · ‎05-10-2020

Of all the things about Upwork, I'm suprised this is something to complain about.

It's a change which I imagine the vast majority of users are very grateful for. A couple of weeks ago people were asking what Upwork was doing to help...this is what it's done and you moan about semantics? If fees are available to you for work you've completed, then you've been paid. Having to press one button to receive them doesn't change that.

There is nothing wrong with Upworks's wording on this, the client has paid you through the site as per its TOC's. The fees are yours, yippee, go have some fun.