Re: Upwork Feedback - NOT FAIR?

exaltanet · ‎01-05-2018

Is it right for Upwork to punish your metrics for clients who are lazy at leaving a feedback?

gilbert-phyllis · ‎01-05-2018

@Paul Hilary P wrote:
Is it right for Upwork to punish your metrics for clients who are lazy at leaving a feedback?

It only has a negative impact on your metrics if it constitutes a pattern. If it represents that much of your overall track record, then you are either (1) new to the platform and simply have to dig in and overcome it by landing and successfully completing more projects so it becomes eclipsed, or (2) not handling the "client management" aspect of freelancing very well, and therefore should take it as a cautionary tale/learning opportunity, and figure out what adjustments to make to change the pattern. In neither case is it "punishment." As for being "unfair", there is no "fair" when it comes to transacting business with clients. There is "honest", and "consistent with the terms of the contract."

It would be unfair if the policy were applied unevenly to different individual freelancers. But it's not. We're all in the same boat. It's absolutely fair.

Imma wind up and let go here. OP, this is addressed not only to you but to the multitudes who come here complaining about this specific issue. If you're new, then do what everybody else who's succeeding here had to do: dig in and keep working until you have a big enough stack of successful projects to absorb the occasional hiccup without travail. If you're not new and you have a pattern of 'no feedback', then don't come in here whining about the JSS metric being "unfair." Instead, take advantage of this roomful of experienced, smart, generous freelancers and seek advice on how to manage your clients better. This forum is an absolute treasure trove of sound advice, not to mention entertainment and camaraderie--if you ask for and are prepared to accept constructive criticism, instead of just complaining.

The JSS system is what it is. Treat it like the weather. If that doesn't work for you, move to a different climate.

exaltanet · ‎01-05-2018

I get that and even if you've gone above and beyond what is required, I have clients who are just super busy and can't be bothered leaving a feedback.

Fiverr handles feedback way better than Upwork.

gilbert-phyllis · ‎01-05-2018

@Paul Hilary P wrote:
I get that and even if you've gone above and beyond what is required, I have clients who are just super busy and can't be bothered leaving a feedback.

Fiverr handles feedback way better than Upwork.

That could well be. I have no experience with Fiverr. It just seems abundantly clear to me that UW is not going to overhaul their metrics in response to complaints about 'fairness' and I resent the amount of bandwidth consumed every week by this particular complaint--here and (I'm assuming) in CS.

bobafett999 · ‎01-05-2018

@Phyllis G wrote:
I resent the amount of bandwidth consumed every week by this particular complaint--here and (I'm assuming) in CS.

Why? It is not your bandwidth....and that is a legitimate question. Upwork by default assumes that no feedback = bad work.

tlsanders · ‎01-05-2018

Prashant, I don't think that's really accurate.

If it were, wouldn't a single incidence of no feedback count negatively, just as a single negative feedback contract does?

From a big picture perspective, Upwork describes JSS as "the percentage of this freelancer's jobs that resulted in a great client experience." That's obviously oversimplified and perhaps straight up inaccurate, but that's what the score is intended to convey. If the freelancer has feedback on only five out of 25 jobs (just for example), how can Upwork possibly conclude that 80% or 90% (or whatever) of those clients had a great experience?

I think the negative impact of a large number of no feedback contracts isn't that freelancers are penalized for them so much as that the freelancer's record doesn't provide adequate information to assume a high percentage of client satisfaction.

gilbert-phyllis · ‎01-06-2018

@Prashant P wrote:

@Phyllis G wrote:

I resent the amount of bandwidth consumed every week by this particular complaint--here and (I'm assuming) in CS.

Why? It is not your bandwidth....and that is a legitimate question. Upwork by default assumes that no feedback = bad work.

Of course it's my bandwidth, and yours, too. This community forum is one of the more valuable benefits of working on this platform, but it's undermined to some degree by frequent, redundant posts complaining about the JSS system. It clogs up the board and no doubt discourages many FLs from even bothering to look in here. As for CS bandwidth, we all need for the CS team to be available to answer questions and resolve problems, not be occupied fielding complaints about a fundamental part of the platform that works as designed.

bobafett999 · ‎01-06-2018

@Phyllis G wrote:

Prashant P wrote:

@Phyllis G wrote:

I resent the amount of bandwidth consumed every week by this particular complaint--here and (I'm assuming) in CS.

Why? It is not your bandwidth....and that is a legitimate question. Upwork by default assumes that no feedback = bad work.

Of course it's my bandwidth, and yours, too. This community forum is one of the more valuable benefits of working on this platform, but it's undermined to some degree by frequent, redundant posts complaining about the JSS system.

In future, skip those postings and don't answer. The thread will die. Thus preserving the precious bandwidth. Few hundred posts a day does not consume much resources anyway and they are not mine.

tlsanders · ‎01-05-2018

@Paul Hilary P wrote:
I get that and even if you've gone above and beyond what is required, I have clients who are just super busy and can't be bothered leaving a feedback.

Everybody does. That's why just a few no feedback contracts don't hurt you at all.

Fiverr handles feedback way better than Upwork.