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To Leave a Bad Review or Not?


cyaxrex

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So, I had a life coach order from me yesterday. It’s becoming like a joke the universe keeps playing on me. However, this time, the life coach in question didn’t actually order anything.

This buyer ordered, sent me a link to their 90s looking website with some platitudes appearing like a badly written haiku, and asked me to advise them how to market their life coaching course.

They have the copy they need, (they said meaning their bad haiku) they just need to know whether to run a FB ad campaign or create a sales funnel to make people buy their course.

Naturally, I checked quickly to make sure that my best selling gig still says "I will write you 500-words of sales copy" and not, "I will be your life coaching business marketing consultant."

Once satisfied that I hadn’t started offering life coaching business advice, I then decided to deliver exactly what this buyer wants.

Having now worked for what feels like hundreds of life coaches but what actually might be just 10, I put my life coaching hat on and gave this buyer the best generic marketing advice that money can buy. Then, I re-wrote their confusing haiku into an actual sales copy.

All in all, this buyer has now taken delivery of the 500-word sales copy I say I deliver in my gig, plus the best answer to their marketing woes that I can give them.

All that said, I have a feeling that they are not going to be happy. It really did sound like they want a definitive answer to their marketing question. However, I don’t care. In fact, I am chomping at the bit to leave this buyer a review calling them out for the sheer rudeness of ordering something I do not provide.

I am raring to go and I’m not the only seller that has left this buyer a bad review. However, I am acutely aware that this buyer might actually leave me a nice review.

In this case should I say what I really feel about this order? Or should I just leave a generic 5-star thank you message and hope for the best so I don’t cause a fight?

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Do what you said in the last sentence.

Do what you said in the last sentence.

Leave a 3 star, neutral review.

What is your reasoning behind this though?

A buyer sees your gig, buys it, agrees that they are providing the right information, but then asks for something completely different to what you offer. Why do they get a free pass to do that?

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Do what you said in the last sentence.

Leave a 3 star, neutral review.

What is your reasoning behind this though?

A buyer sees your gig, buys it, agrees that they are providing the right information, but then asks for something completely different to what you offer. Why do they get a free pass to do that?

I don’t put importance on the buyer reviews and don’t want to put out negative communications on anyone’s profile no matter how badly they behaved. It’s not how I want to conduct business. I don’t want to wallow in the mud so to speak. You shouldn’t either.

There is a bigger principle involved in all of this. Rise above your feelings of anger or whatever is driving this urge to report her bad behavior right on her profile. It’s very important to try to curb these kinds of urges if possible. I’m looking at the big picture here.

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Do what you said in the last sentence.

Leave a 3 star, neutral review.

What is your reasoning behind this though?

A buyer sees your gig, buys it, agrees that they are providing the right information, but then asks for something completely different to what you offer. Why do they get a free pass to do that?

It happened to me recently. Buyer orders something, provides instructions, I do it. Buyer says it needs some further revision work. Then buyer tries to cancel twice. I decline twice. Buyer sends revision instructions. Instructions keep changing - buyer is kind of a middleman. Ended up doing 6 revisions when I only offered 1 for free. Buyer closes the order.

Buyer asks for more work. Wants to pay for it. Sends an offer request. I’m asleep, so I don’t reply. When I get to it, a review had already been left - so I obviously don’t accept the offer for further work until I see the review.

I reasoned it was probably a bad review in revenge for not replying immediately - specially given my refusal to cancel and problems in the beginning. But there was a chance the review was positive and buyer says they want extra work in the future - giving me a good review in hopes of further work. So I reply with a 3 star review saying the work was challenging, and detailing the problems I faced.

Buyer left me a 3.7 star review, and the text was totally positive. I cease contact with the buyer, will no longer work with them.

However, it looks better on my profile to have a 3.7 review (specially since the text review is very positive) with a 3 star reply on my part, than replying with a 1 star review, imo. The second case would look like I am the vengeful one. And it could possibly increase chances of the buyer trying to act up with CS, or something just to screw me over in retaliation.

And if the buyer had left me a 5 star review, I would consider future work with them - in that case if I had left a 1 star review, that wouldn’t happen.

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I don’t put importance on the buyer reviews and don’t want to put out negative communications on anyone’s profile no matter how badly they behaved. It’s not how I want to conduct business. I don’t want to wallow in the mud so to speak. You shouldn’t either.

There is a bigger principle involved in all of this. Rise above your feelings of anger or whatever is driving this urge to report her bad behavior right on her profile. It’s very important to try to curb these kinds of urges if possible. I’m looking at the big picture here.

There is a bigger principle involved in all of this.

There is. My principle is that I understand it is my responsibility to make informed purchasing decisions. This person has ordered something I do not provide. They have also done this before with another seller who states in their (2.7) review, that it was extremely difficult working with this buyer because of this.

This person isn’t just repeating a pattern of behavior, they make sellers spend more time on orders that could be better spent elsewhere. - And it is all pointless because they are pouring money into a black hole of business awfulness.

I’ll be leaving a 1-star review. At least other sellers will then know that this person is a habitually bad buyer.

.

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I honestly think something higher than a 1 if possible. A lot of people browsing low scores tend to ignore the worst-of-the-worst because they tend to be emotional responses. A slightly higher review implies that at least a bit of thought was put into the rating. If you’re still really upset by the time you get to the opportunity to review, maybe aim for something between 1 and 2? (3 is nice and average, but you’ve made it clear that this was a below average transaction.)

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I honestly think something higher than a 1 if possible. A lot of people browsing low scores tend to ignore the worst-of-the-worst because they tend to be emotional responses. A slightly higher review implies that at least a bit of thought was put into the rating. If you’re still really upset by the time you get to the opportunity to review, maybe aim for something between 1 and 2? (3 is nice and average, but you’ve made it clear that this was a below average transaction.)

I honestly think something higher than a 1 if possible.

I really don’t understand the reasoning here.

I thought the point of the blind review system was to be honest.

So far, all the sellers replying are saying that I should give a mid-star rating to a buyer, despite them not ordering a service I provide.

What if this buyer comes to you tomorrow and orders an explainer video, or something you do not provide?

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I know where you coming from but I usually go to support and asking them to cancel this kind of orders without even getting into this stressful situation.

I think I would’ve wait to see how it will progress and if person after delivery will ask for revisions etc etc and depending on their tone I will for sure leave a review for them. and if they are quite rude then I wouldn’t even hesitate leaving 1 star review.

If they just leave a review without even saying anything prior to that, then I would probably just wait 10 days and see what review they left and if I need to reply on it or not to defend myself. that they I’m not gambling of leaving or not bad review. because they didn’t get into argument with me and didn’t do anything bad apart from being stupid on their end.

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She asked for something you don’t offer - bad
She took your advice about that thing you don’t offer - good
She accepted the thing you do offer - good

FWIW - your emotive response is more about all the other life coaches you’ve worked with, rather than just this one.

On the basis of the list above, she probably deserves a 4* review along the lines of “Thank you for your order” …

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It sounds like she just asked for some advice when your gig is not about giving advice. And she did that since it sounds like you would have the right answer, which you did. Coerdelion is right. I don’t see what’s so terrible here now that I re-read that.

As terrible buyers go she doesn’t really sound that bad.

My most recent one put that he would like to lick my feet, he is waiting to get paid hush money, and he is getting my spell for his friend that he wants to help but not really, he really wants it for himself and so here is his real name, and also a few other things I don’t offer were included in the requirements section.

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