Public rating of clients - % Client Success

[debi-f]

Hello,

We talked a lot about scammers, nothing changed. So, I'd like to suggest rating the clients and showing its rate in their Profile.

Right now, I found a job posted from a client member since Jan 7, 2014, Payment method not verified and never hired anyone, and is not written where is he from. 

Maybe Upwork should rate the clients according to its history, as the freelancers are rated in its Profile. 

Rating publicly the clients should be fair (for other clients) and helpful for the freelancers.

I check each client's Profile before posting a job, and I give Feedback after completing a job.

But I think that rating the clients according to different items (% success that Upwork can easily calculate) and making this rate public in its Profile will encourage them to do things better and will help freelancer's decision before applying. 

[arsalan-m]

This is why Upwork includes the "Hire Rate %" and the number of open jobs on clients' profiles, and they are also rated by each freelancer they work with.

In the end, no matter what you or I think should be done, Upwork easily allows anyone interested to post a job, regardless of their history, and there's nothing we can do about it.

All you need to do is be mindful before applying to any job. That's what they want from you & me do to. That's it.

[debi-f]

I'm mindful before applying (13 years working here), but some Clients are not mindful before posting (specially in the last 1-2 years that we are full of scammers). 

As they check our Public Rate before hiring/inviting, we should know their Public rate before applying. The rate that we give about clients “in secret” should be taken to rate them and be public. 

Why not rating them as we are rated publicly? 

[arsalan-m]

We, as freelancers, understand everything you say, but they, as a platform...don't.

[debi-f]

I think that Upwork understands well, but they do what is convenient for them and not for us (even when they receive money from our work). 

They prefer to show a lot of clients, many of them scammers, and do their business selling connects.  That's why I suggest not buying connects, not boosting bids and even not paying a membership. Just receiving 10 free connects and buying only 10 connects ($1.5) when you find a real job that fit your skills. 

[wlyonsatl]

More information about clients' history of working on Upwork would be very helpful for freelancers to run their businesses (and avoid working with difficult or fraudulent clients), but Upwork apparently sees no reason to provide that. Many/most clients already get plenty of freelancer proposals on their new job posts now and (apparently) often too many, which is why the Job Success Score exists (providing clients a way to narrow their focus on what clients can believe are "the best" freelancers). The Job Success Score is a marketing tool for Upwork rather an attempt at a valid and accurate "rating" of all freelancers across the board.

While there is likely a difference in freelancer quality between freelancers with a JSS of 65 and freelancers with a JSS of 95, considering the weaknesses of the JSS calculation Upwork has never provided any proof there is a meaningful difference between freelancers rated 88 and freelancers rated 91. Yet many clients apparently are encouraged to focus on freelancers with a JSS above 90.

So, Upwork leaves it up to freelancers to almost blindly decide on which clients to work with. At the very least, every freelancer should have a Zoom call with every client before deciding whether to work with them. And not be afraid to close a contract with a dishonest/unreasonable/never satisfied client.

Ironically, many freelancers trying to manage their business on Upwork rightly feel they have virtually no such control once a contract is in place due to the vagaries and randomness of the Job Success Score's calculation.

[debi-f]

Activity on this job

• Proposals: 50+
• Last viewed by client:  25 days ago
• Interviewing: 0
• Invites sent: 0
• Unanswered invites: 0

Does Upwork consider this situation to rate the client? So, next time we will not waste our connects / money posting our proposals! 

[wlyonsatl]

I don't even bother submitting proposals on jobs posted more than three days ago. Or on projects that already have more than 20 proposals. 

I suspect freelancers waste a lot of money on connects on potential "jobs" like that one.

[debi-f]

I submitted my proposal the same day it was posted... but after 25 days, he even didn't see the proposal. 

I'd like to see the client's rate as they see our rate!! I check the profile and history, but in the last time we can't trust... 

[wlyonsatl]

Too many clients are a pig in a poke. Or maybe we should say they're "like a box of chocolates...."?