🤔 Non-Upwork Client Testimonials

[hidemi-takagi]

This topic is meant to be sent to other freelancers but if anyone from Upwork has an opinion - I would love to hear it.

I received a top-rated freelancer status about 3 years ago and managed to keep it for the past few years since and today I received Upwork "Strengthen your profile with non-Upwork client testimonials" mail which I assume quite a lot of freelancers gets now as the feature rolls out and you can see this option in your profile.

I have mixed feelings about it and wanted to hear what other freelancers think about this feature.

On the good side, I totally agree that it is a cool feature to have on your profile as I work very hard to help my clients get Google feedbacks to their businesses and I know the value of such feedbacks but the difference here is that I have to "ask" one of my clients to create a feedback via email invitation (which of course, I can soften the issue with a chat with the client prior to that mail to let them know about it) but I do feel a bit strange to "ask" clients to do such a thing from one important issue which is my client privacy since I have no ideas what do Upwork will request from my client to "verify" -- since the mail states "The testimonial will display on your profile once it’s verified by Upwork."

Besides the fact that it might be a bit troublesome to a client to write a feedback -- but that might not be too hard to do, I am worried that Upwork process of "verification" of that feedback might invade my client privacy or maybe they will be requested to "prove" something which will also might invade their personal or business privacy.

Does anyone know in detail what kind of information Upwork will require from a non-upwork client for the verification process and what kind of "hoops" the client has to go through in terms of back and forth communication with Upwork verification team?  

I deal with my clients always with care about their feelings and pay a lot of attention to make sure their privacy is well kept, and I never before asked a client for  "assistance" to help me in my career - therefore, before I do any move such as request them to enroll in some verification process, I want to make sure it will not be "painful" or even bothersome in any way and most of all, will not invade their privacy (personal or business).  

Any thoughts about this or did anyone went through the process and know what did their client has to go through to get that testimonial process complete?

lastly - I am wondering if anyone knows if this is now a "mandatory" requirement to keep a top-rated status or it is just an extra feature and a top-rated status is relying solely on Upwork clients feedbacks?

[petra_r]

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Catherine A wrote:

Do you know when Upwork is going to address this limitation?

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No, I don't, I think it's more an "if" rather than a "when" and I personally don't really think they will. There really isn't another quick, cheap and easy way to tell real and not so real former clients apart. We had one girl upset because she couldn't use her fiance....

[thedubemokonkwo]

Hi. I have requested for testimonials from different past clients of mine and they filled it and done the necessary but it is still not showing on my profile. Initially, I got a “your testimonial request is awaiting (client’s name) response” message on my profile which disappeared after a couple of hours with no sign of a testimonial. Please can anyone offer any help?

[JoanneP]

Hi Dubem,

I checked with the team, and they have confirmed that two of the testimonials submitted have already been approved and is already added on your profile. As for the other testimonials submitted, one is currently pending (waiting for the client's reply), the other once was not approved. 

[aakankshasri05]

Hi,

I am Aakanksha**Edited for community guidelines**, I am facing issues on the non-upwork client issue. I have sent her request for the testimonials for the work i have worked for her website. But due to her business email issue. She did'nt receive my request and now I am not able to send her request again. As Upwork doesnt allows to send request multiple times to the same client.

**Edited for community guidelines**

Could you please help me ?

I qill be very greatful if this will resolve soon.

Thanks!!
Aakanksha
My regsitered email-**Edited for community guidelines**

[JoanneP]

Hi Aakanksha,

I apologize for the delay in replying to your post. I would like to confirm that your concern has been escalated to our team, and one of our agents reached out to assist you directly via a support ticket. 

[opondoh]

It's way past five days. Testimonial has not appeared on my timeline. What's up?

[JoanneP]

Hi Hillary,

Thanks for reaching out about your testimonial submission. We are happy to learn that you're finding value in this feature. Unfortunately, due to the high number of testimonials we receive, we cannot expedite your request. While the quoted review time is within 10 days, please know in most cases we complete our review within 5 days. We truly appreciate your patience through this process!

[bethanne-lepine]

Will testimonials from non-upwork users be allowed without LinkedIn profiles??

[BojanS]

Hi Bethanne,

We don't have information on when or whether a LinkedIn profile will be removed as a requirement, but for now, Clients need to have a LinkedIn profile.

Thank you.

[5035aea8]

Good day. I am in the process of setting up my profile on here, and I wanted to add some references from past commissioners and clients. All three previous clients that I approached agreed to submit testimonials. However I don't think they have gone through.

One of them has been showing as "pending" for the last few days, and the other two are still "waiting for a response" even though I know that at least one of them has been sent through by the referee. He has confirmed that he never got a confirmation email to acknowledge that his testimonial went through, but the "pending" client has said that she did receive confirmation.

I don't want to keep chasing my previous clients as I appreciate their taking the time to give testimonials for me, so please can you advise me if I have to do something to get the testimonials processed and showing up on my page?

Thank you so much for your assistance.

[JoanneP]

Hi Daniel,

I checked with the team, and they have confirmed that the testimonial is still in review. It has been submitted last September 15. Due to the high number of testimonials we receive, we cannot expedite the request. While the quoted review time is within 10 days, please know in most cases we complete our review within 5 days. Thank you for your patience through this process.

[5035aea8]

Hello Joanne,

Is it only the one testimonial? In which case, that means that my second confirmed testimonial has not been received despite being sent, and that is very concerning. As I have already sent a request to them I do not know if I can send another.

Please advise.

I also notice that I'm not getting email notifications of replies despite having chosen that option.

[BojanS]

Hi Daniel,

Could you please click on my name and send me a PM with the email of the testimonial you're referring to? I'll check that for you and advise you accordingly.

Are you referring to the email notifications for new messages? If so, then please note that email notification is not sent if a message is registered as "read''. A message would register as "read," when Messages are open in a browser tab or in the desktop app. Did you by chance have Upwork.com open in your browser or had Messages open in the desktop app?

[5035aea8]

Hello Bojan

I'll PM you shortly. Yes, I'm referring to email notifications for when people reply to this thread. It looks like it worked for your reply though, so maybe it was just a glitch.

[dksanto999]

Hello, 

I have a question. I sent two testimonial requests to past employers and received an email back saying that they were not approved. I was really relying on those for credibility as those have been main clients. There is no reason that they should have not been approved. I cant find a support email or phone number. Could you help me out in any way? Why were they not approved?"

[BojanS]

I'm sorry to hear that your testimonial requests were not approved, Danielle.

To ensure the trust and quality of our marketplace, we can only approve testimonials from clients where we have sufficient evidence that the contact information is valid. In this case, we may not have been able to find sufficient information. You can try requesting another from a different client.

[mark_neueoutput]

Hi,

I'm very new to upwork.

A testimonial from one of my best clients was not approved, can I appeal on this decision please? Can we verify my clients contact information via some other means?

Cheers,

Mark

[JoanneP]

Hi Mark,

One of our team members will reach out and assist you directly via a support ticket. Thank you!

[ajeet_singh_c]

I had sent a invitation to one of my clients for writing a testimonial and he submitted it right then but it still shows pending for than 5 days now. What to do?

[BojanS]

Hi Ajeet,

Please allow 10 business days for your request to be reviewed. We apologize for the delay, but please know we are still testing and optimizing this beta feature.

Thank you!

[figuerres-reinan]

Hello! I Would Need To Cancel A Testimonial Request To Ask For A New One From The Same Person Since The Client Is Not Responding. Can You Help Me With This Concern? Thank You!

[JoanneP]

Hi Reinan Christopher,

One of our team members will reach out and assist you directly via a support ticket. Thank you!

[figuerres-reinan]

Hi Ma'am Joanne! Kindly disregard this request since the client already responded. My apologies and Thank you! 

[NikolaS]

Hi Reinan,

Thank you for letting us know, I shared your report with the team handling your case.

[maheshwary-saket]

Hello,

I am new to upwork and currently working on my profile. I have following two questions:

1) Testimonials: I had requested three of my previous cleints to add a testimonial for me. Two of them have confirmed that they have added it, but under my profile it continues to show testimonial request as pending. How much time does it take for testimonial to be live?

2) Certifcation: I have added two AWS certification badges to my profile, but they are showing as Pending Verification for almost a week. How much time does it take to verify certificates?

Do I need to update something on my profile to make Testimonials/Certifications live?

I'll appreciate your help in the matter.

Thanks,

Saket

[JoanneP]

Hi Saket,

Regarding your question, please allow 10 business days for your request to be reviewed. As for the certification you submitted, it looks like one of our agents has updated your ticket and have provided more information. Please check your ticket number: 29987738 and kindly submit a follow-up. 

[maheshwary-saket]

Thanks for the response Joanne, but how do I access ticket 29987738?

[maheshwary-saket]

I was able to find support ticket, but it was in SOLVED status so I was not able to add the requested information.

I deleted the Certifications from my profile and added them again. Now I know how to access tickets and I'll keep an eye on them.

Thanks for your help.

[daniellalee]

Hi there,

My client would like to leave me a testimonial, however they only use Instagram and Facebook for business. They are a yoga business so LinkedIn is not necessary for them. How can they leave a testimonial?

Many thanks in advance.

[petra_r]

---

Daniella L wrote:

 How can they leave a testimonial?

---

They can't

[3acc6d00]

Ok. So I've asked a former client to take some time to write a nice testimonial, I gave you his LinkedIn, I've made 3 websites for him, waited 8 days, and then I'm getting an email that the testimonial is rejected?!

It takes 8 days because every testimonial gets checked by people, not robots. The least I can expect after waiting so long is that you know if a testimonial is real or not, right? I'm very disappointed that this got rejected. You can even call him to verify it's real. Now we both spent time, and you just click a reject button, while this is a real testimonial. I hope you can still get it back, these are worth a lot to me and I haven't even got a chance to see what he wrote about me?!

[AveryO]

Hi Tom, 

I'm sorry if this has caused any inconvenience on your end. We are currently checking this with the team, and we'll come back here once we have more information regarding your concern. 

[3acc6d00]

Thanks Avery. It does cause inconvenience as I really value my client's time and effort. Would love to see what he wrote and thank him accordingly.

[3acc6d00]

Still nothing?

[VladimirG]

Hi Tom,

Apologies for the late response. To ensure trust and quality of our marketplace, we can only approve testimonials from clients where we have sufficient evidence that the contact information is valid. In this case, we may not have been able to find sufficient information. Thank you.

[3acc6d00]

You know this is nonsense, because you have just as much information as with the other clients and he’s legit. Like I said you can even call him. At least inform me on WHY it got rejected and show me the testimonial so I can tell the client I read it and thank him. This is just rude.

[3acc6d00]

I'm sorry for being a bit rude, but I'm really disappointed in Upwork, and unfortunately it's not the first time. I'm already on my fifth client in my first week, and I'm earning a lot of money that Upwork is profiting from. I think I deserve some support and trust in this.

[3acc6d00]

If you tell me WHAT you need, I can provide that information. Now you're giving me nothing, just like when my VAT number got declined. Upwork should really work on informing why things got rejected. Can be as short as one sentence giving a rejection reason, but give your hard working freelancers a chance...

[899987e4]

Hi Vladimir,

   Can you please explain to me what a valid contact information is according to your criteria?

   I did ask for a testimonial from a past client and it got turned down. Currently the client is also on Upwork as well, but I did render my service to him long before he joined this platform. After waiting for some 5 days, I got a message which says there is no sufficient evidence that the contact information is valid.

Does this has to do with his email , mobile number contact or what contact information is actually not valid so that, I can speak to him to correct for my testimonial to be approved.

Thanks.

[JoanneP]

Hi Melchizedek,

I checked with the team and it seems like they are trying to find more information about your client's online presence. As confirmed by our team, if you'd like to appeal the decision, you are welcome to reach out to our team directly and they'd be happy to review it again for you.