🤔 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?

[JoanneP]

Hi Amir,

Please allow 10 business days for your request to be reviewed by our team.

[amin_raiyani]

I got it. Thanks

[onecreater]

Don't worry it will take 15-20 days

[davejay123]

Hi, its been 10 days and only one of my testimonials have been approved while the rest are still "pending". Why is this?

[AveryO]

Hi David, 

I'm sorry for the delay as we had to get more information on another team. It looks like your pending testimonials are already approved and displayed on your profile. 

Let us know if we can further assist you with anything. 

[profitpros]

My non-Upwork clients have submitted testimonials, but they are not in my profile yet.

How long does it take before they are uploaded?

It's been about a week...

Thank you!

Lisa W.

[JoanneP]

Hi Lisa,

Please allow up to 10 days for our team to review the testimonial submitted. 

[profitpros]

Thank you!

[be75260f]

I had requested a testimonial from a client outside of Upwork on Feb. 19, 2021. She wrote it and submitted it to Upwork the next day, Feb. 20. It is now March 13, and the "Testimonials" section on my profile says Upwork is still waiting for her to submit it. She has already done so, but it may have gotten lost or?...

Could someone please look into this? Let me know what information you might need from me, if anything.

Thank you!

[AveryO]

Hi Angelina, 

I apologize for the delay as we had to check this with another team. The team informed us that this is still pending on the client's end. We have sent the client another notification, and I would also suggest sending a gentle reminder to the client regarding the notification the team sent them. 

Let us know if we can further assist you with anything. 

[be75260f]

Thank you so much, Avery! I gave the client a nudge and suggested she look in her spam folder for your follow-up.

I appreciate your attention to this, thank you!

Angie

[mhdarifiqbal]

Hi UpWork. I recently started my job journey on UpWork and submit my Non-UpWork client testimonial. I filled all the form including business email and also LinkedIn profile. I don't understand why it said "we can only approve testimonials from clients where we have sufficient evidence that the contact information is valid." I have given the valid contact information. Why it was still rejected? Can i get help?

[PradeepH]

Hello Muhammad,

Thanks for your question. 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.

Thank you

Pradeep H.

[kcpajimna]

My client gave me a testimonial. I provided all necessary details for it to be approved but Upwork did not approve it. Please help me solve this.

[JoanneP]

Hi Katherine,

I'm sorry to hear that the submitted testimonial wasn't accepted. You can try requesting another from a different client as mentioned in the notification sent by our team. They would be happy to review it and update you directly with the status. 

[byanele]

Hello,

A testimonial of my previous client was rejected without any specific reason.

I would like to know why, but I've read this thread and you don't share this information. I find it very disconcerning.

I find it extremely embarassing towards this client. Now I would need to go and ask them to re-write the testimonial, however, I am not able to send it again? This is quite ridiculous. This is an important client, I have my project I did for them in my portfolio.

Please advise, I would really appreciate a solution, instead of going to another client. I'm young and don't have that many clients at hand to just choose from ..

[AveryO]

Hi Anele, 

Thanks for your question. 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. I'm sorry we can't share more information about our processes. You can try requesting another from a different client.

[nwzkhd]

One of my Non-Upwork Client is willing to give me a testimonial but he doesn't have a Linkedin account. Is there any way he can write a testimonial without having a Linkedin Account?

[petra_r]

---

Nawaz K wrote:

 Is there any way he can write a testimonial without having a Linkedin Account?

---

No, there isn't.

[robinbd4u]

I'm trying to create a new support ticket but did not find that option to create a ticket. Please help me. My issue is : I requested non upwork testimonial from one of my client. Several times I asked him about the status he told me that he actually did not understand what to do with that email which he got from upwork. Last time he told me that he replied directly that email with feedback about me. But I'm seeing his testimonial status showing "Your testimonial request is awaiting ****** response" .  So again I ask several times to him that he did response that email or not. Now he is not responding.

I think he might did not understand the process. So I want please remove that awaiting response from my profile.

[JoanneP]

Hi Mohammad Deluar,

To request help, you can click the question mark icon (see screenshot) located at the bottom right corner of this page and provide information about your account type as well as the issue you need help with. *Note: you must be logged in to see this option. If you don't receive the information you're looking for, you can click the "thumbs down" button and you'll see more support options.

I'd also like to let you know that I've shared your concern with the team. 

[robinbd4u]

Hello Joanne Marie P

I have tried your given solution. But after clicking contact support submitting ticket option did not came yet. Instead of it an option showing to community help page. Please see the screenshot. If possible then please open a support ticket for me. Please let me know.

[petra_r]

---

Mohammad Deluar H wrote:

 So again I ask several times to him that he did response that email or not. Now he is not responding.

---

You absolutely must leave that poor client alone and stop harassing him. 

---

Mohammad Deluar H wrote:

So I want please remove that awaiting response from my profile.

---

It doesn't show on your profile. Nobody other than you can see it.

[robinbd4u]

Thank you Petra R.

You understand my situation. Actually I want to remove that pending notification from my profile. Whenever I see that pending notification I feel disgusting.

[263c5655]

Upwork just sent me an email informing me that a testimonial from one of my clients was not approved. This makes no sense. This client is a university professor with a university email address. Upwork stated that they need "sufficient evidence that the contact information is valid." What evidence do they need?

The form asked for a LinkedIn profile, but my client doesn't have a Linkin profile. So I put my profile link there not know what else to do. So only clients with LinkedIn profiles can give testimonies? My client has a profile on her University website, but I didn't have any other option other than entering a LinkedIn URL. I understand the need to weed out fake testimonies, but don't you think this is a little too far? Not everyone in the world has a LinkedIn account!

[BojanS]

Hi David,

Could you please click on my name and send me a PM with the email addresses you have sent these requests to? I’ll check that for you and assist you accordingly.

Thank you.

[jlabranche]

Hey Upwork,

I need to resend a request for a testimonial. Help please.

Thank you,

Joel

[JoanneP]

Hi Joel,

I apologize for the delay in getting back to your request here in the community. I'd like to confirm that our team has already resent the request for a testimonial to your client. 

[erininsydney]

I've already sent her the link and she can't find the email so I tried to resend but when I complete the form, the message prompt says I've already sent this request. But my client cannot find the email so what now? 

[JoanneP]

Hi Erin,

Could you please have your client check their spam/junk folder? If they are still unable to locate it from there, please let us know and I'll go ahead and check with our team. Thank you!

[erininsydney]

Hi there,
My client does not see it still. Can we resend to her? Can we resend to
both?

[AndreaG]

Hi Erin,

Thanks for checking! Our team has recent the emails as per your request.

[li_shi_yun]

I have sent a request to my client with whom I  worked together outside upwork. But, my client not receive it. I cannot resend not I can delete previous request and re-send again. I am stuck. Please help me out.

[JoanneP]

Hi Shi Yun,

I checked this with the team and they have confirmed that they are seeing two requests on your account. They would be happy to assist with your request, but they asked that you kindly confirm which client you're referring to so they can check. Please send me a PM confirming the client you are referring to. Thank you. 

[dennischic]

Hi,

I requested a testimonial from a past client and she said that she completed the form but when I look into my account it still shows that it's pending -- is it possible to resend the testimonial to her?

Can someone help me with this?

Thanks,

Dennis

[JoanneP]

Hi Dennis,

Thanks for letting us know that your client has completed the form. Please allow time for our team to review the submitted testimonial. While the quoted review time is within 10 days, please know that in most cases, we complete our review within 5 days. We truly appreciate your patience through this process!

[807d7f4b]

I sent a testimonial request to my Client but she didn't receive any email. What might be the problem and what should I do?

[JoanneP]

Hi Klareen,

Could you please ask your client to check their spam/junk folder? 

[807d7f4b]

There is no request testimonial in spam folder also

[AleksandarD]

Hi Klareen,

I will look into this further and will get back to you once I have more information.

Thank you.