Solved: JSS

lkeene · ‎04-18-2019

I am curious to know whether Upwork ever adjusts ones jss.

Is it worth it to open a dispute?

From what I'm seeing, it seems like Upwork always favors the client. I wanted to ask this forum, before I ask to dispute something...

Please, no sarcastic responses needed, I'm simply looking for respectful honest answers from people who have disputed their JSS.

Thanks

tlsanders · ‎04-18-2019

No one has actually "disputed JSS" because there is no process for that. It's not a thing. People sometimes complain to Upwork about their JSS or demand an explanation for it, but they get no satisfaction. JSS is determined by an algorithm that is the same for millions of freelancers and there is no room in the process for hand-tweaking on a case-by-case basis.

View solution in original post

lysis10 · ‎04-18-2019

You didn't specify if it's hourly or escrow, but with escrow Upwork sides with nobody. They just try to get you to agree to a settlement or you are forced into arbitration.

With hourly (haven't had an hourly dispute yet), the rules for payment protection are the only thing that matters.

lkeene · ‎04-18-2019

A perspective client said my bid was very high and she was going to take some time to shop around.

At that time I had proposed a timeline of when I could start and finish her project...

A week later after no communication,she sends me an offer for my inital proposed amount, the problem is, I now had other clients I was working on, and told her that the timeline had changed since our last conversation. She said she didn't want to wait, and I told her I understood and she closed the contract.

If Im understanding correctly, this affects my JSS negatively.

From the help center..

Contract with no earnings AND no feedback from your client

Contracts with no earnings and no feedback, whether closed or not, can significantly lower your JSS because they indicate client dissatisfaction

My 100% dropped to 97% and while this is not "life threatening", this was completely beyond my ability to control... BTW, I also had another lady send a contract while we were still in discussion, and I closed that one d/t not feeling she was a client I wanted to do work for....

So while I now understand there is no way to dispute your jss being lowered, is there any advice on how to keep this from happening??

petra_r · ‎04-18-2019

Leslie Shawn K wrote:
A perspective client said my bid was very high and she was going to take some time to shop around.
At that time I had proposed a timeline of when I could start and finish her project...
A week later after no communication,she sends me an offer for my inital proposed amount, the problem is, I now had other clients I was working on, and told her that the timeline had changed since our last conversation. She said she didn't want to wait, and I told her I understood and she closed the contract.

Sorry what?

If you never accepted the contract, it has no effect on your JSS.

If you accepted a contract when you had no intention (or time) to do it, why accept the contract?

financemark · ‎04-18-2019

Tiffany - excellent point.

I accepted a low-fee project from a client who was uncertain about his needs -- and who seemed, from the phone discussion, somewhat slimey. I declined it twice,,,which made him more eager to hire me --- so I reluctantly took the project. Well -- after updating the financial model three times to match his firm's ever-changing needs --- without an additional fee, I finally told him "no more". Lesson: look at my profile - note the JSS in the low 80%s, and that this project, which I knew I should have declined, represents the only low client rating. And, b/c I don't do lots of work here, - add that recently clients refuse to provide feedback - it has tanked my JSS so much that I've had to add an explanation to my profile.

ADVICE: never take a project where you aren't certain of the deliverables -- and the client. (and where the client is uncertain about you).

Good luck sir.

Mark

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

0101 · ‎07-12-2019

Petra R wrote:
Leslie Shawn K wrote:
A perspective client said my bid was very high and she was going to take some time to shop around.
At that time I had proposed a timeline of when I could start and finish her project...
A week later after no communication,she sends me an offer for my inital proposed amount, the problem is, I now had other clients I was working on, and told her that the timeline had changed since our last conversation. She said she didn't want to wait, and I told her I understood and she closed the contract.

Sorry what?
If you never accepted the contract, it has no effect on your JSS.
If you accepted a contract when you had no intention (or time) to do it, why accept the contract?

Petra,
Do you even read what the OP is telling?

His JSS lowered from 100% to 97% for declining the offers:
"My 100% dropped to 97% and while this is not "life threatening", this was completely beyond my ability to control... BTW, I also had another lady send a contract while we were still in discussion, and I closed that one d/t not feeling she was a client I wanted to do work for..."
--- Leslie Shawn K
Your response: "If you never accepted the contract, it has no effect on your JSS." is NOT true.
Yes, it seems snide to me:
"If you accepted a contract when you had no intention (or time) to do it, why accept the contract?"

petra_r · ‎07-12-2019

Mizan M wrote:
Petra,
Do you even read what the OP is telling?

Yes, I read it carefully. 3 months ago, when it was posted...

Mizan M wrote:
His JSS lowered from 100% to 97% for declining the offers:

Nonsense, it did no such thing. Declining offers has absolutely no effect on the JSS. Zero. Never has done.

Mizan M wrote:
Your response: "If you never accepted the contract, it has no effect on your JSS." is NOT true."

Of course it is true. No contract = no effect on the JSS.

What are you talking about? Where is this even coming from three months after the event?

0101 · ‎07-13-2019

Petra R wrote:
Mizan M wrote:
Petra,
Do you even read what the OP is telling?
Yes, I read it carefully. 3 months ago, when it was posted...

Mizan M wrote:
His JSS lowered from 100% to 97% for declining the offers:
Nonsense, it did no such thing. Declining offers has absolutely no effect on the JSS. Zero. Never has done.

Mizan M wrote:
Your response: "If you never accepted the contract, it has no effect on your JSS." is NOT true."
Of course it is true. No contract = no effect on the JSS.
What are you talking about? Where is this even coming from three months after the event?

The OP has made clear suggestion of his case about negative impact of declining offer on JSS.
And he clarifies it later:

Leslie Shawn K wrote:
Yes, Thank you. I did not accept either contract, so I guess Im good. Just weird that my JSS dropped for the first time after that happened.

So I think my initial comment is still valid:
"If you never accepted the contract, it has no effect on your JSS." is NOT true.

I see you made your point on a later comment. But the OP did not confirm or deny you.

m_terrazas · ‎07-13-2019

Mizan M wrote:
Petra R wrote:
Mizan M wrote:
Petra,
Do you even read what the OP is telling?
Yes, I read it carefully. 3 months ago, when it was posted...

Mizan M wrote:
His JSS lowered from 100% to 97% for declining the offers:
Nonsense, it did no such thing. Declining offers has absolutely no effect on the JSS. Zero. Never has done.

Mizan M wrote:
Your response: "If you never accepted the contract, it has no effect on your JSS." is NOT true."
Of course it is true. No contract = no effect on the JSS.
What are you talking about? Where is this even coming from three months after the event?
The OP has made clear suggestion of his case about negative impact of declining offer on JSS.
And he clarifies it later:
Leslie Shawn K wrote:
Yes, Thank you. I did not accept either contract, so I guess Im good. Just weird that my JSS dropped for the first time after that happened.
So I think my initial comment is still valid:
"If you never accepted the contract, it has no effect on your JSS." is NOT true.

I see you made your point on a later comment. But the OP did not confirm or deny you.

If there is no contract, there is no feedback, therefore there is no effect on JSS.
What part are you missing?

petra_r · ‎07-13-2019

Maria T wrote:

"If you never accepted the contract, it has no effect on your JSS." is NOT true.

If there is no contract, there is no feedback, therefore there is no effect on JSS.
What part are you missing?

The part that explains that contracts that aren't accepted don't affect the JSS 😉

I have no idea why this person randomly grabs a 3-month-old thread and declares that a 100% correct statement is "NOT true" while throwing insults about. How random is that?

Again, Mizan. I have no idea **Edited for Community Guidelines** you are talking about because when a freelancer has not accepted a contract, that contract can not possibly have any effect on the JSS and why in the world are you digging up a 3-month-old thread to make false statements on?

Mizan M wrote:

So I think my initial comment is still valid:
"If you never accepted the contract, it has no effect on your JSS." is NOT true.

No, it isn't, it is abject nonsense. Abject nonsense, 3 months after the whole thing was settled anyway...

kochubei_valeria · ‎07-15-2019

Hi Mizan,

I'd like to confirm that declining offers has no effect on JSS. JSS is based on your contract history and feedback you receive from clients on your contracts. Invites, proposals or offers that weren't accepted aren't included in the score. Please, check this help article for more information.

~ Valeria

tlsanders · ‎04-18-2019

It sounds like you just messed up the logistics. You shouldn't have accepted the contract until you were agreed on all aspects, including the price and timeline. Declining an offer doesn't hurt your JSS at all. So, it sounds like it was an honest mistake, but it wasn't outside your control. Your mistake was in accepting the contract without having actually agreed on the contract terms.

On a side note, what's up with your profile? The name and photo suggest an individual freelancer with a male photo, but the profile describes you as a woman-owned business and everything is phrased in the plural.

lkeene · ‎04-18-2019

Yes, Thank you. I did not accept either contract, so I guess Im good. Just
weird that my JSS dropped for the first time after that happened.

Yes, my girlfriend owns a business and I work for her and freelance here.
She helps with all.

tlsanders · ‎04-18-2019

Leslie Shawn K wrote:
Yes, Thank you. I did not accept either contract, so I guess Im good. Just
weird that my JSS dropped for the first time after that happened.

Sounds like it was just a coincidence, though. As you've probably read here, the reasons for JSS changes aren't always obvious, and the timing doesn't always match up like you expect it to.

Yes, my girlfriend owns a business and I work for her and freelance here.
She helps with all.

You'd better take a look at the TOS and make sure that you're structuring your projects correctly and making the required disclosures to clients. For instance, no one but you is allowed to work on hourly projects, and if you have someone else assisting with fixed price contracts, you must get the client's consent. Maybe you already know this, in which case...ignore me. But, freelancers sometimes get into trouble because they aren't aware of those restrictions.

lkeene · ‎04-18-2019

This was a question about my jss.. nothing else. I am on the up and up
with the TOS, she is NOT an architectural draftsman, and could not possibly
contribute in that regard.

petra_r · ‎04-18-2019

Leslie Shawn K wrote:
I am on the up and up with the TOS, s

The profile isn't.

tlsanders · ‎04-18-2019

Okay. Sorry I made an effort to ensure that you didn't get suspended because of requirements you might be unaware of (which happens often around here). I promise not to try to help you with anything in the future.

petra_r · ‎04-18-2019

Leslie Shawn K wrote:
Yes, Thank you. I did not accept either contract,

Then it has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the drop, at all.

The reason for the drop is probably private feedback on an ended contract.

Leslie Shawn K wrote:

Yes, my girlfriend owns a business and I work for her and freelance here.
She helps with all.

Serious terms of service violation... You can't have two people sharing one profile.

lkeene · ‎04-18-2019

If she is managing my schedule and looking at possible jobs I would want to
apply to, there is no violation

irieislandgirl · ‎07-12-2019

I have an exemplary record for a JSS because of technicalities. It's rediculous. I feel overlooking a person who is hard working, loyal, with an efficient record because of a percentage number, would have them miss out on someone who cares about delivering great work and doing what it takes to help the business succeed. Your success is not based on a number. It's the experience you can offer. I'm pretty tired of the JSS stuff. I've been with Upwork for four years.

Addressing that clients not answering. That's crappy too. I had one client say that I had the most compelling answers and wanted to inverview with me but she had to go out of town and to message her a few days into the week if she forgets to contact me. I messaed her, no answer. I thought I'd send another message the next week. No answer. Three weeks later she finally gets with me and saids her needs changed for the job. I think it's rude for a client to not at least contact you to let you know anything about the job they are offering.

tlbp · ‎07-12-2019

Melinda M wrote:
I have an exemplary record for a JSS because of technicalities. It's rediculous. I feel overlooking a person who is hard working, loyal, with an efficient record because of a percentage number, would have them miss out on someone who cares about delivering great work and doing what it takes to help the business succeed. Your success is not based on a number. It's the experience you can offer. I'm pretty tired of the JSS stuff. I've been with Upwork for four years.

Addressing that clients not answering. That's crappy too. I had one client say that I had the most compelling answers and wanted to inverview with me but she had to go out of town and to message her a few days into the week if she forgets to contact me. I messaed her, no answer. I thought I'd send another message the next week. No answer. Three weeks later she finally gets with me and saids her needs changed for the job. I think it's rude for a client to not at least contact you to let you know anything about the job they are offering.

You are free to feel whatever you feel about the process of obtaining gigs through an online freelancing platform. But it is unlikely that the way the platform operates will change. Think of freelance platforms as a specific type of digital marketing for your business, with specific standard practices. Social proof in the form of reviews and testimonials are very important. And, very few clients will spend time communicating with anyone they don't intend to hire. So, they aren't likely to meet your expectations in terms of etiquette.

Try not to let it frustrate or disappoint you. Just use the information you gain from each experience to make the best decisions for your business.

irieislandgirl · ‎07-12-2019

I have an exemplary record to have a JSS because of technicalities. I feel overlooking a person who is hard working, loyal, with an efficient record because of a percentage number, would have them miss out on someone who cares about delivering great work and doing what it takes to help their business succeed. I think the JSS is rediculous. We should not be based on a number, but for the experience we can offer.

And the clients not getting back with you. That's rude. I had one do that to me and I didn't hear back for three weeks. It would be nice if they could at least let you know if the position is still open or if they are still interested.

tlsanders · ‎04-18-2019

No one has actually "disputed JSS" because there is no process for that. It's not a thing. People sometimes complain to Upwork about their JSS or demand an explanation for it, but they get no satisfaction. JSS is determined by an algorithm that is the same for millions of freelancers and there is no room in the process for hand-tweaking on a case-by-case basis.

petra_r · ‎04-18-2019

There is no such thing as disputing your JSS. You can't dispute an opinion.

Your JSS is excellent anyway.