UW - Get out of my client messages

[browersr]

I have a message thread going on with a client interested in my Project Catalog item. We are looking to turn this into something larger than the project catalog and discussions are on-going. However, all of a sudden UW interjects itself into our messaging with a "Ready to get started?" message. Are you kidding me here? I am sure UW thinks it's trying to help by prodding the client along, but this is very misguided. My rule is that UW should provide the initial handshake and then get the heck out of the way. There is no time that I want UW sending canned messages inside the conversations I am having with the client. Extremely unprofessional. This "feature" needs to be removed immediately or if you must, make it an option. Terrible.

[gilbert-phyllis]

Oh, for crying out loud! I used to describe their "helpful improvements" as the output of a team who never worked as freelancers or in any kind of consulting environment. At this point, it seems more likely they put some people in a room who do know how consulting works and told them to come up with as many ways as possible to torpedo an engagement.

[researchediting]

Concidentally, news of this trashy automated intrusion comes on the same day a client informs me she never got an email announcement of my message to her last week. Agreed, Phyllis, I'm hard pressed to explain any of this: when systemic incompetence reaches absurdist proportions, one is tempted back toward self-destructive malice as the explanation.

[kinector]

Oh dear, Scott!!

Just asking, is this feature part of the Project Catalog party only and not anything that interferes with the standard projects?

When I first learned about the Project Catalog, I had a feeling that this could go horribly wrong for Upwork. It's not enough to turn into to Fiverr model, even the core features are messed up by design. So, I guess, the only thing missing is a big bunch of technical bugs followed by complaints of people losing projects because of them. That would do it. 😕

I really hope I'm wrong.

I did list some catalog projects just to test it out. It might have been a mistake.

[browersr]

Mikko -

In my experience this is just with Project Catalogs. I have never seen this with clients on "normal" projects.

I would not use this as a reason for rejecting Project Catalogs. I actually believe it has its place. My general service doesn't apply but there is a related offshoot that does around pure consulting and the Project Catalog fits the bill nicely. So let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater. They simply need to take the action of removing these canned reminders/communications from being generated. Everything else is fine.

[petra_r]

---

Scott B wrote:

. Everything else is fine.

---

Not in my category it's not.

Remember that Upwork decides the placing of the project in the catalogue partly on how cheap it is (Upwork's cute euphemism for that is "competitiveness") - I took a look and the first page of the search I ran was flooded with dirt cheap freelancers and "farmers" (people in far away countries who claim to speak 16 languages at native level and offer translations into all those languages for next to nothing)

[moonraker]

Wow.

Not only has somebody, somewhere, thought this was a good idea - but it's probably also the case that a whole bunch of people agreed with them!

[mwiggenhorn]

I really have to wonder about who vets this stuff, besides the ones who dream it up.  I swear, there is a group at Upwork that gets paid for every unworkable idea they think up and implement.  If anybody ever intervened in a conversation with a potential client, I can assure you that I would cause fire to rain down on their heads...

Bless their hearts.

[browersr]

---

Petra R wrote:

---

Scott B wrote:

. Everything else is fine.

---

Not in my category it's not.

Remember that Upwork decides the placing of the project in the catalogue partly on how cheap it is (Upwork's cute euphemism for that is "competitiveness") - I took a look and the first page of the search I ran was flooded with dirt cheap freelancers and "farmers" (people in far away countries who claim to speak 16 languages at native level and offer translations into all those languages for next to nothing)

---

Fair enough. I can only speak for my experience within my own line of business. They have work to do but I think my point to Mikko is still valid. The issues can be fixed without canning the initiative. 

[kochubei_valeria]

Petra,

Ranking of the projects in the Catalog is not based on their price. Please, check my replies about it here as well.

[kochubei_valeria]

Hi Scott,

Thanks for sharing your feedback about the notifications in Messages and your experience with Project Catalog overall so far. It has already been shared with the team.

[browersr]

---

Valeria K wrote:

Hi Scott,

Thanks for sharing your feedback about the notifications in Messages and your experience with Project Catalog overall so far. It has already been shared with the team.

---

Thanks. Good to see that you are still around, Valeria. It's been a very long time since I was in this forum. 

[kochubei_valeria · Accepted solution]

Hi Scott and others,

Based on the feedback you shared here, these automatic messages have been disabled. We appreciate your feedback as we continue working on improving and clarifying the feature.

[browersr]

---

Valeria K wrote:

Hi Scott and others,

Based on the feedback you shared here, these automatic messages have been disabled. We appreciate your feedback as we continue working on improving and clarifying the feature.

---

Thanks very much for taking this action and listening to the community. Not sure I have ever seen positive action taken so quickly before on UW! 

[ericaandrews]

Wow!  I didn't know Upwork did all of this.  I tried the set up stuff on the project catalog, but got frustrated and gave up after my projects kept getting rejected for the most bogus reasons.   It is completely INAPPROPRIATE for Upwork to be sending ANY "automated" messages in the middle of a BUSINESS negotiation:  A client could be contacting you initially about doing a single one-time "project" and the conversation might evolve to the client considering giving you a higher fixed-priced contract or a long-term hourly contract - which means more MONEY for Upwork.  Why would Upwork want to "intrude" on the negotiation and mess up a good opportunity?    That's ridiculous.  I won't be trying the "project catalog" again if Upwork isn't going to let me handle my own negotiations. I think it's bad enough they force peopel to use only their messenger and their voice/video for interviews (which is terribly BUGGY), but they should not be "spying" on the conversations and injecting "one liner" comments into the middle of the chat.  Too over-bearing.

[resultsassoc]

This is not a new issue. There is no idea so bad that UW won't recycle it. When I was with eLance, the same thing was done, and there was no project catalog. Random signals from galaxies far, far away would land in the workroom goading clients and freelancers to get on with it and offering to help make things happen. Clients got confused and freelancers got irate.

That UW could do this after so many years of claiming to be experts at freelancing tells me everything I need to know.