POLL: POLL: POLL - How long may be needed to reply to messages in "Available Now" feature

[broadcaster302]

I agree that this is an issue, I’ve been penalized after not replying to a “good bye” message from the client. I’m considering not to continue using this feature at all since I see no actual difference from the “online now” search filter. Maybe I will use it again when they improve it, maybe they will fix the replying issue and add a timer so we can set how long we want the feature to be active during the day.

[erinsaville]

I agree that this is an issue, I’ve been penalized after not replying to a “good bye” message from the client. I’m considering not to continue using this feature at all since I see no actual difference from the “online now” search filter. Maybe I will use it again when they improve it, maybe they will fix the replying issue and add a timer so we can set how long we want the feature to be active during the day.

Best suggestions I’ve seen for improvement of the feature. I have stopped using it for now as I got penalised for not replying to someone in the timeframe (except I had… so I don’t know, maybe I was a minute or two off, who knows.) A timer would be a great idea.

[rihat76]

@devcode I agree with you too.I also faced the same situation.This should be for new Buyers.

[eclectictllc]

On 9/22/2017 at 2:36 PM, socialhonor said:

It also means that if by chance something unexpected holds you up in the washroom, phone call, or wherever - you get penalized, for lack of a better term. Online is substantially different than a physical local business - and reality is that many reputable businesses and companies put potential buyers on hold. Online work doesn’t = robot.

In my opinion 10 - 15 is reasonable. If the buyer doesn’t have enough patience to wait a few extra minutes, which might be well worth their while, they can direct their inquiries to another seller.

No reason you can’t turn it off if you’re going to the restroom or taking a shower. If you’re on the phone with a customer then you have a local business not just Fiverr.

You get 3 strikes then you lose the privilege for a month. I run a local business. I know that I may end up tied up in a phone call with a customer, etc. – well, a month penalty is what I’ll pay or after 2 strikes I’ll learn to remember to toggle it off. lol

[kdevries]

It’s great to see this poll, much appreciated! I think 10 minutes is more reasonable. Often times when I’m on available now, I’m also editing a project and I find it’s better to check back every 10 minutes to make sure I didn’t miss a question. One thing others may also want to watch out for if you have Fiverr open in 2 tabs and you close one tab out or turn off Available now, and you forget to close the other tab, I believe it keeps you on available now. I discovered this accidentally when I took myself OFF of Available now and still got a message after I had left the computer. I’m guessing it must have been opened in another window. Either that or there was a lag time from the moment I pushed OFF to the moment I got a message.

[Guest uxreview]

On 9/22/2017 at 3:05 PM, eclectictllc said:

I think 5 minutes is very reasonable. The idea of this feature is to cater to instant gratification for the buyers, and also help out newer sellers who don’t have their toe in the water yet. If you have 30 jobs in the queue, you don’t need the extra attention. It’s high customer service not to make people wait to hear back from you.

I run a local business, and I assure you no one wants to wait 10-15 minutes for an answer to their question. This feature will help Fiverr deliver better customer service, helps buyers weed through a sea of gigs, and helps sellers who are between gigs. There are days 5 gigs in my queue are too many, others where I could use more gigs — I have some gigs that take 3 weeks to fulfill, others it takes 5 minutes. I know there are times I’ll need this feature, and right now I’m too busy (with my local business & 3 Fiverr gigs active) to use it. I’m OK with less people beating my door down because I’ve had to turn away some business over the summer.

It depends on service you provide. I offer website creation and most of my clients send me messages like “Here’s my website address, can you tell me what you can do for me?”.

There’s no way I can reply anything meaningful in 5 minutes. It takes me 15-20 minutes to analyze a decent size website and most of my responses are 1500+ characters. I type about 300+ characters per minute and if you take a moment to think what you write then 5 minutes is not enough to even reply 😛

The best I can do is to thank them for reaching out and ask for time to analyze the site. If I had 15 minutes then I could send a fairly decent response already in my first reply.

[ehti95]

I think it is a great feature but they said if you do not reply in 5 minutes 3 times you will be penalized except I only missed once and now can’t use this feature anymore

[torrelles]

So, here’s the deal:

I sit down in my computer, set my status to “AVAILABLE NOW” and start editing the voice overs in my queue. The Fiverr page is right below the DAW, so I’m really one click away from my inbox.

I receive a message, but I don’t notice the sound notification since I’m working on a sound file. Kindly check the time of the message: 14:01 (Actually 13:01)

---

The notification in-Fiverr pops up 3 whole minutes after the message has been received. That’s past half the time I have to reply:

And the e-Mail (the actual notification that made me aware of the incoming message) came in exactly when the deadline was met.

---

Now, some observations:

• When set on “available now” I check from time to time the Fiverr tab.
• I understand we should be able to use the “available now” feature when able to respond within a few clicks. However, if there’s no actual system that notifies us promptly (other than the SFX which I don’t notice when either editing sound or listening to music), we’re screwed.
• If I’m supposed to stay the whole time in the Fiverr page just in case a message pops up… that’s not practical either.

These are my 5 cents. Heck, I might even have received a message while writing this down! 😁

Thanks for the read!

Luis

[misscrystal]

So the only way you know if you have a message is when you get the email? I don’t get them for an hour sometimes. And on my phone it takes at least 15 minutes sometimes.

The only way I know immediately if I get a message is if I’m on fiverr on my laptop and looking at the screen and not using another app.

[Guest vancho2702]

just ask your customer for the right information, I am sure they will get back to you

[deepeshfagna]

I have suggestion is that a Desktop notification should be there for new feature “I am available Now” Because nobody can wait on page till buyer ask for query. And if user go on other site and work still on PC how he can be return on Fiverr page again. It means he will check again and again in every 5 minutes.

So this is just my suggestion.

[Guest excelassist]

So the only way you know if you have a message is when you get the email? I don’t get them for an hour sometimes. And on my phone it takes at least 15 minutes sometimes.

The only way I know immediately if I get a message is if I’m on fiverr on my laptop and looking at the screen and not using another app.

@misscrystal i lost my available now feature for getting notification after 15 minutes, even its quite difficult to brow my pc on every minute. 😑

[balacafa]

What time frame should you have to respond to a message when using “Available Now”?

• Within 5 minutes
• Within 10 minutes
• Within 15 minutes
• Within 30 minutes
• Other

0voters

Show results

I look forward to the results.

[Guest burnbetty]

Within an hour, as you are not expected to be on here 24 hours

[balacafa]

Within an hour, as you are not expected to be on here 24 hours

This is referring to the “Available Now” feature and is not a a general poll.

There is an option on fiverr for sellers to put on “Available Now”, this means that they are on fiverr at this point in time and are ready to accept orders.

[marioland]

I voted 15 minutes because you might be available now but you are in the midsts of another discussion with a different seller while a new enquiry might come through so you need to have a reasonable amount of time to reply. Though, if there would be a quicker way to switch between threads…

[uk1000]

Do you have an email program where you can specify how often to check for messages? eg. in Thunderbird you can set it to “Check for new messages every 1 minute”. Though that won’t help if it takes 5 minutes for the message to actually get sent.

[balacafa]

I voted 15 minutes because you might be available now but you are in the midsts of another discussion with a different seller while a new enquiry might come through so you need to have a reasonable amount of time to reply. Though, if there would be a quicker way to switch between threads…

That’s exactly what I voted, for similar reasons too.

5 minutes is rarely enough time - especially when you’re busy with multiple requests. Since notifications often come a few minutes late you usually end up with 2-3 minutes to respond in the end.

10 or 15 is much more reasonable in my opinion.

[Guest burnbetty]

15minute because it stated clearly that the moment one activate the avaliable now, you should be able to reply within 15min

[zazi_developer]

I am a full-time freelancer and I usually reply in first 3 minutes from the beginning till now.

[Guest burnbetty]

I am a full-time freelancer and I usually reply in first 3 minutes from the beginning till now.

I think that very good

[willstauff]

I think 5 minutes is very reasonable. The idea of this feature is to cater to instant gratification for the buyers, and also help out newer sellers who don’t have their toe in the water yet. If you have 30 jobs in the queue, you don’t need the extra attention. It’s high customer service not to make people wait to hear back from you.

I run a local business, and I assure you no one wants to wait 10-15 minutes for an answer to their question. This feature will help Fiverr deliver better customer service, helps buyers weed through a sea of gigs, and helps sellers who are between gigs. There are days 5 gigs in my queue are too many, others where I could use more gigs — I have some gigs that take 3 weeks to fulfill, others it takes 5 minutes. I know there are times I’ll need this feature, and right now I’m too busy (with my local business & 3 Fiverr gigs active) to use it. I’m OK with less people beating my door down because I’ve had to turn away some business over the summer.

For a Buyer it’s great. For a busy seller with multiple orders it really sucks.

[misscrystal]

I’m awake all night usually answering messages immediately. If I can do it anyone can. Five minutes is reasonable.

[sultanraji]

I’m awake all night usually answering messages immediately. If I can do it anyone can. Five minutes is reasonable.

I am always online. working on PC. But I don’t show myself available now. Fear of being penalized as I am very keen to any job which I do. I don’t move any other page too when I work.

[capri2794]

I once got penalized because a repeat seller thanked me for an order and I thought that it won’t be considered in available now (as the seller did not find me through this feature) and thought to message her later as I was busy. Now I am really careful with it.