Feedback

[#1]

What do you do if a client has not left feedback after a contract is done? 

[#2]

Ask the client to end the contract. If he doesn't, end it yourself. 

Never end it yourself hoping the client will leave feedback, that usually doesn't happen. 

[#3]

I did it end it myself, but I asked first if I should end it.  What do you do if you end the contract and they don't leave feedback?  Can you ask for a testimonial?  Should I have told them to end it? 

[#4]

There is a disparity between clients and freelancers when it comes to feedback. Clients don't care much about it. They don't have to, since it's a buyer's market. 

Freelancers who want feedback should never end a contract themselves, since clients have better things to do than diligently following up. 

End a contract yourself only when you expect bad feedback, that way you can hope you never get it. 

[#5]

I didn't know that.  Can I ask for feedback or a testimonial?  So you're saying in order for them to end a contract, they have to give feedback.  This was a good job.  That's why I'm asking. 

[#6]

Both parties can end a contract, the one that ends it has to leave feedback. It's impossible to end it without leaving feedback. The second party doesn't have to. If they don't leave feedback within 14 days, it stays as "no feedback given" which looks bad if there are too many of it, and they don't contribute to the JSS. 

I have no idea about testimonials and how they work. 

[#7]

I wish I had known that.  I don't know if they say that anywhere, but this is the kind of information that would be helpful before the fact.  If I had known this, I would have waited for them to end it.  I don't know what JSS is. 

[#8 · Accepted solution]

Hedy, JSS is Job Satisfaction Score. It is a metric that UW calculates based on feedback from your clients. It starts once you have several closed contracts with at least three different clients. It updates every two weeks and they calculate it for the past 6, 12, and 24 months and use the highest of those three scores. (Using contracts that have closed within each of those three windows.)

As Martina said, whichever party closes a contract is required to leave fb. The other party is notified and invited to do so but clients often don't bother. That is why if you expect good fb, it's best for the client to close. It's bad practice to nag them about it. One message along the lines of If you have everything you need, you can close this contract and in the future re-hire me with one click when you're ready will often do the trick. And of course, if you have any reason to think their fb might not be terrific, then let things be and hope they wander away.

Public feedback is what you can see and it has nothing to do with your JSS calculation which is based on private fb. (That's to keep unruly FLs from hounding clients to change their fb.) The most important metric is how likely the client would be to recommend you, and that updates on a different cycle than your overall JSS -- to keep unruly FLs from figuring out which client dinged them and nagging that person.

In the JSS calculation projects are weighted by dollar value but nobody knjows the precise formula. When you first start out, every project weighs a lot because there are so few. That means one ding can hurt but it also means you can climb out of a hole quickly if you make sure the next few outcomes are really great.

It will make more sense once you get a JSS and can see your own stats. In the meantime, the important things are to pick projects you know you can knock out of the park and avoid any client that seems the slightest bit flaky or potentially unreasonable. Every successful FL on the platform will tell you their regrets have to do with taking projects they should've passed on. 

[#9]

Thank you.  I really wanted feedback from this client, because it was a good job.  It's these minor details that really get you.  I didn't know I should wait for them to end the contract.  They should maybe put that in a pop-up message when you're ending the contract so you know. 

[#10]

No, they shouldn't. Freelancers might have reasons to end a contract, maybe they expect bad feedback and don't want the client to respond. 

But now you know better, so you will not make that mistake again. 

The client still has time to leave feedback, so ask them ONCE for it, and then leave them alone. 

With 1 or 2 more contracts you will get a JSS, now you need to make sure you only get excellent feedback, especially private feedback. 

Now is a good time to read up on how everything works! 

[#11]

I have two other contracts that left feedback, but this job was a good one and I really wanted them to leave feedback.  I might try to ask them once for feedback.  When I said pop-up message, I meant so you could decide whether you wanted to end it or not.  You would at least know the options. 

[#12]

People would start complaining about too many pop-up messages, so no. 

Again, it is still possible for the client to leave feedback.

Keep in mind when you get a JSS (job success score) that the public stars are not important, but private feedback is. This is the rating 1-10 the client leaves for you (and you for him). This is the main factor in the JSS calculation. 

You have one contract with less than 5 stars, which hints that private feedback was not perfect either. You need to make sure that you only get excellent feedback from now on, or your JSS will be disappointing. 

So far, no worries! You will get the hang of it. But remember, you are running a business, and while all the information you need is easily available, you should not expect any hand-holding every step of the way. You need to make your own strategic decisision on how you run your business, and especially in the beginning, any big misstep can be a disaster. With hundreds of contracts later, not so much. 

[#13]

The one I got a little less than 5 stars was for auditions.  It wasn't really a job.  They try you out to see if you will get the hang of it.  It wasn't something I usually do.  Maybe there was not enough interest on my part.  It was just a little bit less than 5, not even half, so I personally don't think it's that bad.  On this platform, it may be considered something, but in the real world, I hardly think it would make a difference.  Nobody needs to hold my hand.  I've been doing this for twenty  years, but this platform is not exactly how the real world works.  It is quite different to me.  There are a lot of little things that you wouldn't even think you would have to think about until they happen, but it isn't something I have had to deal with when I get clients outside of this platform. 

[#14]

Yes, there are definitely many small details to be aware of. The real world is a bit more forgiving, but here you have your whole work history on your profile forever, with every contract counting towards your rating. It's not a place that forgives missteps easily - or at least it takes time, specifically 24 months for a bad feedback to fall out of the calculation.

What really helps is having lots of contracts - I'm sure this is also your goal - because the more you have, the more diluted a single feedback becomes, good or bad.  

[#15]

This is funny, because the person who didn't leave me feedback contacted me again for work and I want to make sure I do this right this time.  So, I don't close the contract.  I wait for them to do it, so they leave feedback and if they don't, I write them what you put in your response.  

[#16]

You can find that information pretty much everywhere, in the forum, from upwork recommendations, it is hard to escape it when you look for it. 

It is always a good idea to read first and act later. It saves you a lot of trouble and you can make better strategic decisions on how to grow your profile. 

[#17]

If I read everything I need to know on this platform, I probably wouldn't remember it.  I think they need introductory videos for the important points on this platform.  I think I would do better with videos than with trying to read everything at once and trying to remember it.  It's important to you when you need to know it as opposed to trying to anticipate what you might need to know.  Different people learn better in different ways.  There is so much to know on this platform. 

[#18]

Hi Hedy,

Thanks for reaching out! I've pulled a few resources that may be helpful to you. Visit our Resource Center and sign up for upcoming events and webinars to learn more about how you can boost your success on Upwork. You may also want to check out these articles to help you create a profile that stands out and improve your profile title and overview. For some great tips on writing proposals that win jobs, check out this article.

Thank you

Pradeep

[#19]

Thank you very much! 

[#20]

Hello!

I have another problem.
After the project ended, the client wrote that it was not available to leave any client feedback.
At first, I thought it was the client's problem.
But after two other projects, more clients reported to me that they had a similar problem.
I'm finishing a project, and I can leave my feedback for a client, but the client can't.
The client says: "It is saying this project does not have feedback. I leave feedback after payment."
What's Wrong? How fix it?

[#21]

Hi Yacob,

Could you please ask your client to reach out to us directly so that we can assist them accordingly?  

Please note that for privacy reasons, we cannot share information about another’s user’s account which we hope you understand. 

[#22]

He said he was having problems like this with more than one client.   Who knows who else is having this problem where people cannot leave feedback for the freelancers?  Other than a client's personal information, maybe we should know about this too. 

[#23]

that's right

[#24]

Could you please provide the link for communication?
How can hirers contact you directly?

[#25]

Delete.  Sorry, I answered that wrong.