Hey Community,
I got myself into a horrible Dispute recently and am worried some things still need sorting out. I'd like to ask your opinion and if you have any suggestions.
Here's some background:
My Client and I had a disagreement and she decided to close the contract and block me on the spot. It happened on the day the work was due, but before I could send the completed work to her (conflict was over something else). I asked Support how I can send her the file and get paid, and was advised to file a Dispute, so I did. Things got really nasty from there, I was accused of missing deadlines, lying, being unprofessional, toxic (??), the Client was working hard to undermine my reputation. I was shocked by her irrational behaviour and didn't want to reply at first, but her comments just kept coming. I decided I'd had enough and went on to refute her claims in a calm but sarcastic manner and offered a solution (unblocking me so I can send her the file, it was too large to be attached to the dispute). We were arguing for days before the Mediator joined our chat.
When I realised the Mediator was not going to fact-check anything and was only concerned with the payment (while I was fighting for my reputation at that point) I decided to both give her a refund and send the file, just to get it over with. To my surprise, the Client's attitude changed completely—she said she was very pleased with the work, apologised, wished me the best, and even offered to pay for the work. I said great.
The Mediator was about to close the Dispute so I brought up my feedback concerns (which was my greatest concern all along). To my understanding, the Client had already had to give feedback when she got upset and ended the contract, so I'm assuming the feedback is terrible. I asked the Client if she could make sure the feedback reflected my work and not our conflict, but she didn't reply. The Dispute has been closed by now, and I can't reach the Client due to her blocking me.
I've yet to give feedback on this contract and I'm not sure what to do. If I give a positive one but the Client has already given me a low rating it's going to look bad, and I'm not sure she will feel inclined to change it.
If I give her one star and make a negative comment (which is really what I should do just to warn other freelancers) after the issue has been resolved, it might just reignite her anger. It doesn't feel completely fair either as she's been trying to correct her mistake.
What do you think is the best way to handle this? I would appreciate any advice.
Andrea
