Okay SELLERS, let's talk about private reviews

[mjaninea]

I didn’t know anything about private reviews until a month ago.
I’ve learned that they are anonymous and have a bigger impact than the public ones.

I honestly don’t know what to think about it, I just don’t understand their purpose. What’s the need to ask for a private, anonymous review when there’s a public one? What if a buyer just wants to randomly leave a negative private review, after all, it’s anonymous! Why make them sooo private even to the sellers? What’s the use, if we cannot read what buyers really think about our services (if that’s their real and honest opinion).

What about you, what do you think about private reviews? If you see a positive side of it or its purpose, please share it with me because I really can’t find it.

[vickiespencer]

I didn’t know anything about private reviews until a month ago.

I’ve learned that they are anonymous and have a bigger impact than the public ones.

I honestly don’t know what to think about it, I just don’t understand their purpose. What’s the need to ask for a private, anonymous review when there’s a public one? What if a buyer just wants to randomly leave a negative private review, after all, it’s anonymous! Why make them sooo private even to the sellers? What’s the use, if we cannot read what buyers really think about our services (if that’s their real and honest opinion).

What about you, what do you think about private reviews? If you see a positive side of it or its purpose, please share it with me because I really can’t find it.

What’s the need to ask for a private, anonymous review when there’s a public one?

Because a buyer can be more honest in a private review, some buyers are too polite to leave a review that is less than 5 ⭐s.

Also, despite it being against TOS, some sellers ask for reviews or complain to buyers about a less than 5 stars review, which makes buyers unhappy and uncomfortable.

What about you, what do you think about private reviews?

I am a buyer and a seller on Fiverr, and I think private reviews are okay.

If you see a positive side of it or its purpose, please share it with me because I really can’t find it.

Maybe the positive side is more for the buyer’s benefit than the seller’s.

[vibronx]

As @vickiespencer said - some buyers feel more comfortable leaving their true opinion in a private review.

Though, as a buyer who always leaves reviews and often buys a lot at a time, I find it a bit annoying to get notifications about leaving private feedback. I still do it anyway as I know it helps sellers, but I don’t like being asked to give feedback twice.

[mjaninea]

What’s the need to ask for a private, anonymous review when there’s a public one?

Because a buyer can be more honest in a private review, some buyers are too polite to leave a review that is less than 5 ⭐s.

Also, despite it being against TOS, some sellers ask for reviews or complain to buyers about a less than 5 stars review, which makes buyers unhappy and uncomfortable.

What about you, what do you think about private reviews?

I am a buyer and a seller on Fiverr, and I think private reviews are okay.

If you see a positive side of it or its purpose, please share it with me because I really can’t find it.

Maybe the positive side is more for the buyer’s benefit than the seller’s.

Thanks @vickiespencer and @vibronx !

Yes, I totally understand that… But a buyer could also not care about being honest and just leave a bad review without us knowing. And in that case, if with the public ones we can contact CS and let them know what happened, with the private reviews it’s impossible to do that.

I’m saying this because I’ve encountered a couple of toxic buyers who publicly left a negative review, even though they were 100% happy with the work (one of them even wanted to order again but I blocked him right away) so I was wondering, how much more with the private ones! And we all know there are a looot of difficult buyers.

I don’t know. I just think it would be a bit helpful for us to get even just a glimpse of those private reviews so that we could understand what we really have to improve about our services…

And yes, the positive side could be more for the buyer’s benefit… but if I as a buyer find a seller, I will see all the positive reviews that will convince me to place an order, without having a clue of the “true and honest” private reviews. I mean, I just don’t get it…

[vickiespencer]

As @vickiespencer said - some buyers feel more comfortable leaving their true opinion in a private review.

Though, as a buyer who always leaves reviews and often buys a lot at a time, I find it a bit annoying to get notifications about leaving private feedback. I still do it anyway as I know it helps sellers, but I don’t like being asked to give feedback twice.

I recently placed an order and only filled out the first screen secret review. I did not click on the continue button because I did not want to be told to write a review or leave a tip. The seller was one I buy from quite often. I told before hand I would not be leaving feedback because I wanted to see if Fiverr would still send the annoying reminders to tip the seller.

You know what, I did not get any reminders! No wonder more of my buyers are letting orders either auto complete or accepting the orders by filling out the first screen and then clicking out of the order. It is much simpler to complete an order.

[mateusbl]

Thanks @vickiespencer and @vibronx !

Yes, I totally understand that… But a buyer could also not care about being honest and just leave a bad review without us knowing. And in that case, if with the public ones we can contact CS and let them know what happened, with the private reviews it’s impossible to do that.

I’m saying this because I’ve encountered a couple of toxic buyers who publicly left a negative review, even though they were 100% happy with the work (one of them even wanted to order again but I blocked him right away) so I was wondering, how much more with the private ones! And we all know there are a looot of difficult buyers.

I don’t know. I just think it would be a bit helpful for us to get even just a glimpse of those private reviews so that we could understand what we really have to improve about our services…

And yes, the positive side could be more for the buyer’s benefit… but if I as a buyer find a seller, I will see all the positive reviews that will convince me to place an order, without having a clue of the “true and honest” private reviews. I mean, I just don’t get it…

In some points i agree with you in having access to this comments, if we don’t know what the clients thinking about us we never will be able to improve ourselves. One thing that we have sure is that the Fiverr get this comments for some purpose.

At least the Fiverr could analyse the most commons problems of the clients, and provide an article or PDF with everything that the sellers should pay atention, for the sellers see if they are making some of this mistakes.

We can see that Fiverr is trying to improve the experience of buyers, the quality and most important attendance. So they should create a “Education Center” for the Sellers learn what Fiverr expect from the sellers, from the Gigs, etc…

We have now this initiative of Seller Plus where the Fiverr give us advices about our gigs, and in fact this is something that new users come and don’t know how to configure the gigs to reach the expected quality of Fiverr… but for this beginning the access is not for everyone.

[vickiespencer]

As @vickiespencer said - some buyers feel more comfortable leaving their true opinion in a private review.

Though, as a buyer who always leaves reviews and often buys a lot at a time, I find it a bit annoying to get notifications about leaving private feedback. I still do it anyway as I know it helps sellers, but I don’t like being asked to give feedback twice.

My phone posted the same thing twice. Sorry.

[barrisam]

Personally, i don’t see the use of private reviews, especially when they can be used against us and we don’t even know where our problems are coming from (I heard private reviews also affect gig rankings). I don’t see the need for reviews i cannot defend or learn from.

Reviews are reviews. Buyers should be encouraged to leave honest reviews. If not, then sellers should have private reviews too, because i have a lot to say about some buyers which i politely cannot say in the public review box.

[mjaninea]

Personally, i don’t see the use of private reviews, especially when they can be used against us and we don’t even know where our problems are coming from (I heard private reviews also affect gig rankings). I don’t see the need for reviews i cannot defend or learn from.

Reviews are reviews. Buyers should be encouraged to leave honest reviews. If not, then sellers should have private reviews too, because i have a lot to say about some buyers which i politely cannot say in the public review box.

Exactly my point. By asking buyers to leave “private reviews”, they are making them think they can leave a 5star review and then be honest later anonymously. So what’s the value of the public ones? Both for the seller and for the buyer… Plus, sellers have NO IDEA of what the buyers complained about, and who did, so

1. How can we, as sellers, provide the service and work that buyers are looking for if their complaints and honest reviews are hidden from us?
2. What if a buyer used this against a seller, leaving a very bad private review? How can the seller explain his/her side to CS?

(I heard private reviews also affect gig rankings).

They do affect gig rankings. Even more than the public reviews.

[english_voice]

Although I understand the valid points made by @vickiespencer and @vibronx (two forum users I respect the views of), I don’t like the concept of private reviews. It allows for the possibility of double-standards - either maliciously or through individuals not having the guts to publicly say what they are thinking. Either way, it’s not good.

I’ll openly declare that some of my favourite forum threads are from sellers who are moaning about receiving a 4.7 star review from a buyer. Usually the accompanying review is something like “The buyer did an okay job but their communication was poor and I had to explain myself several times to be understood. I won’t use them again because of this.”

What a lovely honest review! The buyer did an okay job but their communication was poor. That’s all Fiverr, the seller and future buyers need to know. Why the need for secrecy and private reviews? If people don’t have the balls to say what they think (so long as it is an honestly held view) then they shouldn’t leave a review at all.

[shubashis_pal32]

On my thought it’s the seller’s killer step for fiverr. cause on my case My last 2 buyer want extra work which are not include on our contact. i give some of this. after that i have told i cant do this without extra pay. then they give an average review for public review but i don’t know what they done on privet review. after that my gigs are down. and there have no knocks.

[mariashtelle1]

As @vickiespencer said - some buyers feel more comfortable leaving their true opinion in a private review.

Though, as a buyer who always leaves reviews and often buys a lot at a time, I find it a bit annoying to get notifications about leaving private feedback. I still do it anyway as I know it helps sellers, but I don’t like being asked to give feedback twice.

some buyers feel more comfortable leaving their true opinion in a private review.

I want to sneak peak on those reviews sooo bad! Even if they are shown to us anonymously 🙈

[mjaninea]

Although I understand the valid points made by @vickiespencer and @vibronx (two forum users I respect the views of), I don’t like the concept of private reviews. It allows for the possibility of double-standards - either maliciously or through individuals not having the guts to publicly say what they are thinking. Either way, it’s not good.

I’ll openly declare that some of my favourite forum threads are from sellers who are moaning about receiving a 4.7 star review from a buyer. Usually the accompanying review is something like “The buyer did an okay job but their communication was poor and I had to explain myself several times to be understood. I won’t use them again because of this.”

What a lovely honest review! The buyer did an okay job but their communication was poor. That’s all Fiverr, the seller and future buyers need to know. Why the need for secrecy and private reviews? If people don’t have the balls to say what they think (so long as it is an honestly held view) then they shouldn’t leave a review at all.

Couldn’t have said it any better. Thank you, @english_voice!

[tanjeebkhan]

Not sure if it has many positive sites. But overall it’s good.

[leannelrivers]

Maybe it’s for the British among us. We really don’t like hurting people’s feelings 🙂

Joking aside, it’s one of those things on Fiverr that is probably not worth worrying about because we don’t get to pull the strings on the platform or have much say in its features. I also know for sure that many buyers don’t want to be seen operating on Fiverr. “Can you send me your voice demo without the Fiverr reference?” Perhaps it has a reputation for being too cheap to be any good, perhaps they’ve been allocated a bigger budget and want to spend a little less of it.

Who knows.

[vickiespencer]

Here is the private feedback that a buyer is asked. It is not a written review, it is a merely check the box review.

Screen Shot 2021-03-09 at 6.58.59 AM1358×1122 67.2 KB

[mjaninea]

Here is the private feedback that a buyer is asked. It is not a written review, it is a merely check the box review.

😊

At least I have an idea. Thanks again!

[vickiespencer]

It really is not as extensive as I think many sellers were worried about.

[gina_riley2]

I like to think most buyers leave a very positive private review.

Why do some folks automatically think negative. I’m sure occasionally but in general, I buy from tried and true sellers; therefore, I know beforehand that I’m getting top notch work.

[enunciator]

Hmm. The wording of two of the private feedback questions heavily lean towards certain responses and retracts from others.

The “How would you rate the overall quality” question really shouldn’t have “Perfect” as the top rating, as perfection is virtually impossible to achieve, and should have something more realistic like “Very Good,” “Wonderful,” “Excellent,” etc.

And the “How closely did this delivery meet your expectations” question should have a “Nearly As Expected” as option 4, “As Expected” as the top normal option, and "Exceeded Expectations as a bonus sort of 6 out of 5.

With the current wording, if a seller completes an order as expected and does a very good (but not “perfect”) job, they would receive a 4/5 and another 4/5. And we all know that, unfortunately, anything under 5 stars has some sort of detrimental impact tied along with it.

[mjaninea]

Hmm. The wording of two of the private feedback questions heavily lean towards certain responses and retracts from others.

The “How would you rate the overall quality” question really shouldn’t have “Perfect” as the top rating, as perfection is virtually impossible to achieve, and should have something more realistic like “Very Good,” “Wonderful,” “Excellent,” etc.

And the “How closely did this delivery meet your expectations” question should have a “Nearly As Expected” as option 4, “As Expected” as the top normal option, and "Exceeded Expectations as a bonus sort of 6 out of 5.

With the current wording, if a seller completes an order as expected and does a very good (but not “perfect”) job, they would receive a 4/5 and another 4/5. And we all know that, unfortunately, anything under 5 stars has some sort of detrimental impact tied along with it.

Yes, I also thought about that. Maybe they could have just simplified it by putting 3 options? Like REALLY BAD, OKAY, VERY GOOD. Since it’s 5 options, I think they consider it like the 5 stars and as you said, if you don’t get 5 stars, it’s no good here on Fiverr…

[vickiespencer]

I like to think most buyers leave a very positive private review.

Why do some folks automatically think negative. I’m sure occasionally but in general, I buy from tried and true sellers; therefore, I know beforehand that I’m getting top notch work.

Lol, I am always in a hurry, and like @gina_riley2 said

I buy from tried and true sellers; therefore, I know beforehand that I’m getting top notch work.

So, I mark all of the best answers.

[eliiclaire]

Hmm. The wording of two of the private feedback questions heavily lean towards certain responses and retracts from others.

The “How would you rate the overall quality” question really shouldn’t have “Perfect” as the top rating, as perfection is virtually impossible to achieve, and should have something more realistic like “Very Good,” “Wonderful,” “Excellent,” etc.

And the “How closely did this delivery meet your expectations” question should have a “Nearly As Expected” as option 4, “As Expected” as the top normal option, and "Exceeded Expectations as a bonus sort of 6 out of 5.

With the current wording, if a seller completes an order as expected and does a very good (but not “perfect”) job, they would receive a 4/5 and another 4/5. And we all know that, unfortunately, anything under 5 stars has some sort of detrimental impact tied along with it.

Also, I don’t like how generic the private reviews are… the buyer isn’t able to provide a reason why they rated the way they did.

[mattboa]

Here is the private feedback that a buyer is asked. It is not a written review, it is a merely check the box review.

😬

[huda115]

Thanks a lot for sharing 😍