They are not all actors

[Suzanne N]

I chatted with a rep to report a job post which had a link with a virus in it. The response I got was flag it and they will review it. The link had an exe file trying to download to the computer, my virus protection went off and said there was a virus and stopped it. My thought was to report it so that no one else got an infection on their computer and that they could remove it right away. I get told though that they will review it. I have flagged posts in the past with issues and 5 days later they are still there. I cannot believe that an Odesk CSR would not want someone to report it so they could pull the job down asap. Unbelievable!

[Tony H]

I was invited for a job somewhat recently, and while checking out the client discovered they own a small chain of fetish websites... fair enough, posting said that and it's not illegal. So I click on one of their links from their company home page (which talks about the site being specifically for those who have a fetish with girls wearing braces), along with other links with very obvious pornography. Here's my issue with that company: They have a website, without nudity, designed to attract people within their porn ring, who have a very particular fetish... there is no debating the desires of those who visit the website. It's clear, and they make the statement themselves. Why would I report them to support? Because the site was loaded with children and underage teens wearing braces. Do these kids know their pictures are being used on a fetish site owned by a pornography ring? Do their parents? I'm guessing probably not. Client is STILL active on oDesk.

[Marcia M]

Are you sure they are underage or actors dressed up to look underage? There's a difference.

[Tony H]

They are not all actors

[Krisztina U]

This is by far the worst CS fail I've read so far, and quite unbelievable that clients like that are allowed on this platform. If there's a trail that it's been reported and oDesk didn't do anything, oDesk could actually be accused of enabling, which they do.

[Ronald T]

I have seen worse on oDesk before they disabled freelancers' ability to view other freelancers' work diaries (graphic, pornographic photos of....). You'd be amazed at the images of what freelancers are actually viewing while supposedly working. The problem with reporting such issues to support is that support replies with a request that the client / freelancer provide more evidence that an issue really exists. That is something that oDesk should be responsible for researching further. After all, it's their site that will get banned by Google or shutdown altogether.

[Dianne M]

In case some may have not noticed, the platform is heavily client centered. Each time I've reported a client who wanted to pay me outside the site, the CSR wants a direct statement from the client that I can show as proof of disintermediation (as if someone will directly say "hey, let's not follow the site TOS"). Comparing that to the time I've reported a freelancer, they said they will suspend her profile asap and didn't even asked me for proof (I have proof though). I've also flagged job posts asking for free work etc or asking freelancers to apply to their company outside oDesk but they remain active even days after. Not sure what other people may think of that but in my perception, there's some clear biased thing going on. I bet no client gets 'reviewed' even if they have been reported or flagged numerous times seeing how those I've reported are still very much active in violating oDesk's TOS. Oh and how many hours I've wasted trying to explain a glitch or complaint and the CSR not getting it at all or keeps copy pasting responses which are not even related to my concern. This is why even if my concern is low level I pick high-level priority for help just to ensure I get trained oDesk chat support agents since those handling low level concerns is a total waste of time. They used to be okay but really been going downhill these past few months. I wish they train their people, especially about the site's TOS. It is utterly disturbing having to explain the site's TOS to a site's chat support agent because its their job to know it.

[Tony H]

I had CS reply to a ticket and then added a 2nd part with instructions on how to issue a refund. Thing is... I never asked about a refund and the conversation wasn't even remotely close to that either. I then wrote back and asked if she had mixed my ticket up with someone else's question because I was not asking about a refund. She sent a reply with further instructions about refunds and completely skipped the fact I was telling her I didn't create a ticket for that reason, nor do I have any questions about it. I gave up and didn't bother finishing up with the ticket. Issues like that force me to use oDesk ONLY for small unimportant jobs. I cannot recommend any client use oDesk for important needs or higher budget HR needs. Love this place... but they impose very serious limits like CS that forces people to find more 'credible' sources for the big stuff. People need more than a paid Craigslist to post jobs with a nice time tracker. We need a stable platform. We need much better CS. 10% is a huge chunk of money to ask for a matching service. If a company has top notch customer service, they can usually get away with murder in other areas. If they fall behind with CS, people start nit-picking at all the other faults and then the complaining basically goes viral, lol.

[Dianne M]

To be fair they do have some great CSRS (very few). I even try to time my complaint when I know I'm most likely to land one of the great ones. They are overseeing high-level priority complaints or issues only, so if you pick 'I cannot work or hire in oDesk' and pick dispute or payment, you will usually get them (even if your issue is nowhere near those LOL). I feel bad doing that just to get a CSR who's trained and knowledgeable but I don't have 2-3 hours to waste talking to numerous low-level CSRs either. I really wonder how some are getting hired. One agent (which I'm always getting the misfortune of getting connected to) takes 5-10 minutes between responses, even for simple yes or no questions and oftentimes would reply out of context. A few times she simply ended the chat without anything, no reply and no ticket at all. I think that particular agent is just logging in hours while doing other stuff on the side. Another strange thing is, no chat archive is generated whenever she simply disappears whereas for disconnection with chat support, a chat archive is often generated and the agent would ask some follow up questions. Do they even get evaluated for performance? totally weird. One time the CSR started talking about getting payment when I reported a client who is offering to work outside of the site Another time the CSR keeps insisting I just made up the bug and keeps saying its not a bug and is there by design (a limit was suddenly placed on a no-limit hourly contract). That made me almost lose the project since its time sensitive and to log-in more time, I had to wait for Monday the following week the cSR says) I can go on and on....and on...and on.... and on...

[Suzanne N]

Twice this one said to me "I am sorry to learn about this bad experience is applying to a job." I stated to her I was not applying was looking at jobs and this one had a virus. She tells me to " I strongly suggest that you click the Flag as Inappropriate link at the top of the job post. " Uhmm where is the option in the flagging for Inappropriate link? There Isn't! I ask her this and she apologized again. I had the last time I tried to report something the rep just close the ticket and tells me if if it happens again please contact support .. Ugh. You know when Odesk has ads for CSR they want someone with 5 on their English test. They really need to be taking a test for Resolving issues. Spelling is the least of their problems.