Aug 22, 2019 08:54:36 AM by Muhammad S
Aug 22, 2019 09:07:26 AM by Preston H
You are mistaken in thinking that 5* public star average ratings are particulary significant in the calculation of JSS.
There are hundreds of threads in the Community Forum that discuss JSS. You should do a search in the "Subject" box and read more about this topic.
Aug 22, 2019 09:18:09 AM Edited Aug 22, 2019 09:18:34 AM by Christine A
You can start here - this thread is 242 pages long, so I hope that you're not in a hurry: https://community.upwork.com/t5/Freelancers/JSS/m-p/432561
Aug 22, 2019 11:46:05 AM by Mary-Helen R
I know of 2 reasons (which happened to me). First, your review can look like 5* but is actually 4.5 (click on the review - you'll see if they rated you lower than 5 on something) and also ... private comments. You know how you can leave a private comment about a client? They can do the same for freelancers. I think Upwork should stop this practice on both sides ... it's wimpy.
Aug 22, 2019 12:18:45 PM by Preston H
re: "I think Upwork should stop this practice on both sides ... it's wimpy."
Mary-Helen:
As evident in the many threads on this topic, there MANY Upwork freelancers who don't like the "private feedback" part of closing contracts.
But Upwork is NOT going to top this practice. Not all of us as boldly honest as you are.
Aug 22, 2019 01:02:05 PM by Mary-Helen R
Preston, I have never seen you shy away from honesty! Besides, I wasn't saying Upwork was wimpy ... I was saying it's wimpy to give a freelancer or client 5 stars publicly and then say something bad about them.
Honestly, to me it shows a lack of clarity and civility.
Aug 22, 2019 01:02:59 PM by Mary-Helen R
So come to think of it, I'm going straight to Upwork! Silly me, but I am. (Both, silly and going straight to Upwork).
Aug 22, 2019 01:11:47 PM by Phyllis G
Mary-Helen R wrote:I know of 2 reasons (which happened to me). First, your review can look like 5* but is actually 4.5 (click on the review - you'll see if they rated you lower than 5 on something) and also ... private comments. You know how you can leave a private comment about a client? They can do the same for freelancers. I think Upwork should stop this practice on both sides ... it's wimpy.
Most people avoid uncomfortable conversations. Fact of life. Clients often say different things to you than they say about you. Fact of life. It happens here and in the B&M world. The JSS is essentially a systematized, visual manifestation of a FL's reputation, which is driven primarily by clients' opinions and experiences.
There has to be some means for a client to sift through the pool of FLs and get a sense of which ones are the most reliable, skilled, professional, timely, etc. Hence, a rating system. And clients have to have some cover to provide candid feedback. In days of yore, I understand, all feedback was public and clients who dared to be honest would get swarmed by FLs begging/demanding their fb be changed. Hence, the private fb system we have today.
Any FL who claims to be utterly blindsided by bad private feedback needs to up their client management game. None of us get 5's every time forever. But when I get dinged, it's never a complete surprise--there are always signals that things aren't quite as rosy as they could be in the client's world. I try to **bleep** probs in the bud, of course, but don't always succeed. In any case, UW is not going to change the system--at least, not in any way that makes FLs like it better.
Aug 22, 2019 01:33:26 PM by Mary-Helen R
Phyllis, I agree that ratings are necessary, and I'm not adverse to getting less than a 5 when the experience hasn't been good (and no, I would not be surprised!). I am against the private feedback, because to give someone 5 stars publicly and then a bad private review is in my opinion funky. Wimpy.
I love the platform, but feel it (like I) can continue to improve!
Hope you're well!