Order completion - Unethical?

[ellchris]

Hi, I’m rather new here, however, rather quickly I am coming across some “shady” policies applied here. I am a professional freelancer, and I do enjoy providing my services on a global scale, thank you Fiverr. It is different to be allowed to work at your own pace, and very different to be forced to work at someone else’s pace and also be punished if you don’t. Let me explain.

So far, I’ve had clients, and they were all happy with my services. You see from the reviews, that I deliver on time and quality projects. That is good for my portfolio, but also Fiverr benefits, because we all clients are happy and recurring.

One Sunday, out of nowhere, a lady who just created an account on Fiverr, started an offer process (even though, like many of us write - Please contact before placing an order). She picked a package and because she answered all my perquisites her project automatically was approved by me, without me knowing it! ( again this is on a Sunday). After contacting the F support, I got a generic answer - bouncing back the responsibility to me. " If you don’t want to work on Sunday, you should turn the profile off manually". However, the cancellation still damaged my order completion at no fault of mine. No backsies mister!

At the time, I had completed 3/4 of ongoing projects. This incident decreased my order completion to 75% and even though I delivered two more projects it is now 67%
How can anyone be motivated enough to strive to reach level 1 seller etc? Any advice on this?

[jalaluddin_lead]

You have to follow the Fiverr rules and if you switch on Out of office mode, this can affect your ranked gig.

[ellchris]

You have to follow the Fiverr rules and if you switch on Out of office mode, this can affect your ranked gig.

You are proving my point. Thanks

[mariashtelle1]

Hi, I’m rather new here, however, rather quickly I am coming across some “shady” policies applied here. I am a professional freelancer, and I do enjoy providing my services on a global scale, thank you Fiverr. It is different to be allowed to work at your own pace, and very different to be forced to work at someone else’s pace and also be punished if you don’t. Let me explain.

So far, I’ve had clients, and they were all happy with my services. You see from the reviews, that I deliver on time and quality projects. That is good for my portfolio, but also Fiverr benefits, because we all clients are happy and recurring.

One Sunday, out of nowhere, a lady who just created an account on Fiverr, started an offer process (even though, like many of us write - Please contact before placing an order). She picked a package and because she answered all my perquisites her project automatically was approved by me, without me knowing it! ( again this is on a Sunday). After contacting the F support, I got a generic answer - bouncing back the responsibility to me. " If you don’t want to work on Sunday, you should turn the profile off manually". However, the cancellation still damaged my order completion at no fault of mine. No backsies mister!

At the time, I had completed 3/4 of ongoing projects. This incident decreased my order completion to 75% and even though I delivered two more projects it is now 67%

How can anyone be motivated enough to strive to reach level 1 seller etc? Any advice on this?

However, the cancellation still damaged my order completion at no fault of mine

To be honest in this particular situation this cancellation is on you.

Believe me, we all hate when we have to cancel orders especially the ones that were placed by mistake and that is really no sellers fault.

However in your situation it is your responsibility to know how platform works. It is the main fiverr feature that they are very proud of that clients can place an order anytime without having long chats prior with a seller.

So it is your responsibility to make sure that you can accommodate orders that might be placed anytime and that you either have long enough deadlines or that you put yourself out of the office

[ellchris]

However, the cancellation still damaged my order completion at no fault of mine

To be honest in this particular situation this cancellation is on you.

Believe me, we all hate when we have to cancel orders especially the ones that were placed by mistake and that is really no sellers fault.

However in your situation it is your responsibility to know how platform works. It is the main fiverr feature that they are very proud of that clients can place an order anytime without having long chats prior with a seller.

So it is your responsibility to make sure that you can accommodate orders that might be placed anytime and that you either have long enough deadlines or that you put yourself out of the office

As a new seller here, I can take on that responsibility that I didn’t know all the rules of how the platform works here. However, where is the ethical responsibility of Fiverr, when you are “punished” if you are don’t want to work 7/7 ?

[vibronx]

As a new seller here, I can take on that responsibility that I didn’t know all the rules of how the platform works here. However, where is the ethical responsibility of Fiverr, when you are “punished” if you are don’t want to work 7/7 ?

I agree completely with what @mariashtelle1 said.

You have all the options available to control when and how much you want to work. Fiverr has provided them for you, and it is up to you to use them in a way that is beneficial for you. For example, you can put your delivery time at 3 days or longer. Then you have the option to not work weekends. In your case, I would probably put it at a minimum of 5 days to make sure you can plan around a lot of sudden orders.

[kometbeats]

As a new seller here, I can take on that responsibility that I didn’t know all the rules of how the platform works here. However, where is the ethical responsibility of Fiverr, when you are “punished” if you are don’t want to work 7/7 ?

However, where is the ethical responsibility of Fiverr, when you are “punished” if you are don’t want to work 7/7 ?

They have no responsibility in deciding what days and times you work, if you want to be on every day they allow you to do so. Calling it unethical seems ridiculous.

[ellchris]

I agree completely with what @mariashtelle1 said.

You have all the options available to control when and how much you want to work. Fiverr has provided them for you, and it is up to you to use them in a way that is beneficial for you. For example, you can put your delivery time at 3 days or longer. Then you have the option to not work weekends. In your case, I would probably put it at a minimum of 5 days to make sure you can plan around a lot of sudden orders.

jalaluddin_lead just wrote “You have to follow the Fiverr rules and if you switch on Out of office mode, this can affect your ranked gig.”

How is this not "punishment’, or how is this giving me an option ?

Thank you for your point of view kometbeats - as always not ridiculous

[jalaluddin_lead]

jalaluddin_lead just wrote “You have to follow the Fiverr rules and if you switch on Out of office mode, this can affect your ranked gig.”

How is this not "punishment’, or how is this giving me an option ?

Thank you for your point of view kometbeats - as always not ridiculous

I think you have to go through Fiverr’s terms & conditions first, try to take more days than you can finish. Like if you need 5 days including sunday then go for 5 days. You can always extend time after discussing with client.

[vibronx]

jalaluddin_lead just wrote “You have to follow the Fiverr rules and if you switch on Out of office mode, this can affect your ranked gig.”

How is this not "punishment’, or how is this giving me an option ?

Thank you for your point of view kometbeats - as always not ridiculous

I just told you that you can adjust your delivery time… That has nothing to do with Out of Office mode.

Of course, your rank/visibility will be affected by you going Out of Office as other sellers have been performing better than you during the time where you were not working. However, in my experience, using Out of Office has not affected me much at all. I used it at least a dozen times during my first year on the platform.

Someone else performing better than you and thus getting a better rank or better visibility is not unethical. It is simply competition.

[ellchris]

I just told you that you can adjust your delivery time… That has nothing to do with Out of Office mode.

Of course, your rank/visibility will be affected by you going Out of Office as other sellers have been performing better than you during the time where you were not working. However, in my experience, using Out of Office has not affected me much at all. I used it at least a dozen times during my first year on the platform.

Someone else performing better than you and thus getting a better rank or better visibility is not unethical. It is simply competition.

Of course, your rank/visibility is going to be affected by you going Out of Office as other sellers have been performing better than you during the time where you were not working.

The discussion is focused exactly on this .

I have been steadily taking in clients ( maybe 2 a month) and completing the projects with no issues.

However because other people might be taking 4 or 5 projects a month, my order completion is decreasing ?

So if I work long hours to produce a high end product isn’t important but the quantity is?

Thank you for taking the time to answer. But I am starting to see that the work ethic is not to my standards. And that is fine - I just needed to have this discussion to understand the reasons behind it.

[teramangala]

Yes, in order not to work on weekends, the best solution is to add 2 days to the delivery time in every package in every Gig or even 3 days if you don’t work on Monday either (like me sometimes, on Monday I take a rest from the weekend 😋)

[english_voice]

I don’t understand what the issue is? The shortest delivery time on your gigs is two days, the longest is 14 days (unless you’ve changed the delivery times since yesterday?).

In other words, even if you didn’t work at all on Sunday, you still had all of Monday to complete the order. While it’s always good to acknowledge messages from clients (within reason), your buyer had no right to expect a same day delivery.

Your delivery times look realistic to me. All I would add is that buyers do not have to make contact with sellers before ordering - so it’s not really fair for you to write ‘her project automatically was approved by me, without me knowing it! ( again this is on a Sunday)’. This is how Fiverr works.

You might want to add something in your profile along the lines of “I do not work weekends. While I will do my best to respond to messages, sometimes any response might have to wait until Monday”. To be honest, it’s quite a meaningless phrase - but it might just help manage expectations.

[genuineguidance]

As a new seller here, I can take on that responsibility that I didn’t know all the rules of how the platform works here. However, where is the ethical responsibility of Fiverr, when you are “punished” if you are don’t want to work 7/7 ?

if you are don’t want to work 7/7 ?

If you do not want to work 7 days a week, then you have to put your profile as Out of Office so that you do not get orders on Sundays or that are due on weekends if that is the time you want to take off.

Also, as far as the “Contact Me Before Ordering” blurb - most sellers here know that doesn’t work! And, Fiverr has it set up so that people can order any time with a click of a button - not having to jump through hoops to do so. Yes, it probably is not ideal for certain categories here or sellers who may need to know more information before they feel comfortable with a project, but, do not expect this perk for buyers to go away anytime soon - and, certainly, do not expect buyers to suddenly READ your profile thoroughly and follow your directions to contact you first.

All you can do now is deliver more orders and avoid cancellations to get your analytics up in the Completed Orders page as well as utilize the Out of Office if you want weekends or Sundays (whatever day) off. I have not put my profile on pause or Out of Office since I have been here (2013). But, I also have delivery times that work with my schedule so I can fit all in and not feel stressed out.

That is another idea too - if you do not want orders on your Gigs over the weekend, you can always Pause those Gigs. Not sure if pausing Gigs will hurt your placement though in the listings, although the cancellation you just had will probably affect your profile for a bit.

And this:

However because other people might be taking 4 or 5 projects a month, my order completion is decreasing ?

Your order completion would decrease NOT because others in your category are taking on twice the projects you do - that isn’t how it works. It is decreasing because you had a cancellation, so, the less orders you deliver, the harder a cancellation will affect your Completed Orders analytic.

So if I work long hours to produce a high end product isn’t important but the quantity is?

Unfortunately, yes, if the competitor’s in your category are delivering twice or more orders than you are, it will put you further down in the listings. Whether you like it or not, you are competing against others in your category who offer what you do, to be seen on the pages more or to get orders. I have a feeling quantity tends to weigh more here than quality - I know, makes it sound as though Fiverr is some sort of sweat shop, right? But, the fact is, Fiverr is really competitive, especially certain categories that have literally 1000’s of sellers and new ones signing up daily!

I don’t really think ethics even comes into play here as you are in control of how much you work. You are self-employed here. Fiverr does not owe you a thing - and I am sure you know this - but, all they do is provide the “space” you rent out (by giving them 20% of your sales) to hawk your wares. After that, you are pretty much in charge of how you proceed.

GG

[ellchris]

I don’t understand what the issue is? The shortest delivery time on your gigs is two days, the longest is 14 days (unless you’ve changed the delivery times since yesterday?).

In other words, even if you didn’t work at all on Sunday, you still had all of Monday to complete the order. While it’s always good to acknowledge messages from clients (within reason), your buyer had no right to expect a same day delivery.

Your delivery times look realistic to me. All I would add is that buyers do not have to make contact with sellers before ordering - so it’s not really fair for you to write ‘her project automatically was approved by me, without me knowing it! ( again this is on a Sunday)’. This is how Fiverr works.

You might want to add something in your profile along the lines of “I do not work weekends. While I will do my best to respond to messages, sometimes any response might have to wait until Monday”. To be honest, it’s quite a meaningless phrase - but it might just help manage expectations.

This is totally out of topic. I just said that an order that came in on Sunday, automatically was accepted. There was no way I can finish an order in one day. That’s no how my line of work …works.

I understand how Fiverr works. I just said that from my point of view, it doesn’t match my work ethic.

[ellchris]

if you are don’t want to work 7/7 ?

If you do not want to work 7 days a week, then you have to put your profile as Out of Office so that you do not get orders on Sundays or that are due on weekends if that is the time you want to take off.

Also, as far as the “Contact Me Before Ordering” blurb - most sellers here know that doesn’t work! And, Fiverr has it set up so that people can order any time with a click of a button - not having to jump through hoops to do so. Yes, it probably is not ideal for certain categories here or sellers who may need to know more information before they feel comfortable with a project, but, do not expect this perk for buyers to go away anytime soon - and, certainly, do not expect buyers to suddenly READ your profile thoroughly and follow your directions to contact you first.

All you can do now is deliver more orders and avoid cancellations to get your analytics up in the Completed Orders page as well as utilize the Out of Office if you want weekends or Sundays (whatever day) off. I have not put my profile on pause or Out of Office since I have been here (2013). But, I also have delivery times that work with my schedule so I can fit all in and not feel stressed out.

That is another idea too - if you do not want orders on your Gigs over the weekend, you can always Pause those Gigs. Not sure if pausing Gigs will hurt your placement though in the listings, although the cancellation you just had will probably affect your profile for a bit.

And this:

However because other people might be taking 4 or 5 projects a month, my order completion is decreasing ?

Your order completion would decrease NOT because others in your category are taking on twice the projects you do - that isn’t how it works. It is decreasing because you had a cancellation, so, the less orders you deliver, the harder a cancellation will affect your Completed Orders analytic.

So if I work long hours to produce a high end product isn’t important but the quantity is?

Unfortunately, yes, if the competitor’s in your category are delivering twice or more orders than you are, it will put you further down in the listings. Whether you like it or not, you are competing against others in your category who offer what you do, to be seen on the pages more or to get orders. I have a feeling quantity tends to weigh more here than quality - I know, makes it sound as though Fiverr is some sort of sweat shop, right? But, the fact is, Fiverr is really competitive, especially certain categories that have literally 1000’s of sellers and new ones signing up daily!

I don’t really think ethics even comes into play here as you are in control of how much you work. You are self-employed here. Fiverr does not owe you a thing - and I am sure you know this - but, all they do is provide the “space” you rent out (by giving them 20% of your sales) to hawk your wares. After that, you are pretty much in charge of how you proceed.

GG

My issue is that, Truly, I don’t really have control of how much I work, since this reflects on my competitiveness/ gigs/ visibility etc. And since I favor quality of quantity I find it not alighed with my work ethic. And that is my point of view . Thank you for the very extended answers.

[genuineguidance]

This is totally out of topic. I just said that an order that came in on Sunday, automatically was accepted. There was no way I can finish an order in one day. That’s no how my line of work …works.

I understand how Fiverr works. I just said that from my point of view, it doesn’t match my work ethic.

There was no way I can finish an order in one day.

Then you extend your delivery times to 5/10/14 or whatever days. Seems simple to me.

I just said that from my point of view, it doesn’t match my work ethic.

There are times when we are just not a match with something. We cannot fit with everyone, every situation etc. Perhaps Fiverr is not the best platform for your skill set? Maybe other freelancing platforms would align with your “ethics” more, or better yet, make your own site so you are in complete control over the ethics, delivery times and what you earn!

GG

[ellchris]

There was no way I can finish an order in one day.

Then you extend your delivery times to 5/10/14 or whatever days. Seems simple to me.

I just said that from my point of view, it doesn’t match my work ethic.

There are times when we are just not a match with something. We cannot fit with everyone, every situation etc. Perhaps Fiverr is not the best platform for your skill set? Maybe other freelancing platforms would align with your “ethics” more, or better yet, make your own site so you are in complete control over the ethics, delivery times and what you earn!

GG

Sounds like you work for Fiverr GG

[enunciator]

Sounds like you work for Fiverr GG

The simplest thing to do is extend your gig delivery times. Now, it is suddenly becoming personal for some reason…

[genuineguidance]

Sounds like you work for Fiverr GG

Sounds like you work for Fiverr GG

Heck no, I work with Fiverr by having Gigs here, but, I am not an hourly or salaried employee with benefits. LOL I wouldn’t want to be! I have been self-employed for over 30 years.

I was just saying, if the Fiverr platform leaves a bad taste in your mouth for whatever reason - then, you can change that - by offering your services on a site that you feel more aligned with (your words). Seems you are wanting to fit a square peg in a round hole here and mad that it is not fitting.

Fiverr is designed so that buyers can come here and click to their hearts delight to order a myriad of things - without having to jump through hoops first. That is how it has always been and probably won’t change soon.

GG

[ellchris]

Sounds like you work for Fiverr GG

Heck no, I work with Fiverr by having Gigs here, but, I am not an hourly or salaried employee with benefits. LOL I wouldn’t want to be! I have been self-employed for over 30 years.

I was just saying, if the Fiverr platform leaves a bad taste in your mouth for whatever reason - then, you can change that - by offering your services on a site that you feel more aligned with (your words). Seems you are wanting to fit a square peg in a round hole here and mad that it is not fitting.

Fiverr is designed so that buyers can come here and click to their hearts delight to order a myriad of things - without having to jump through hoops first. That is how it has always been and probably won’t change soon.

GG

This is Forum , if nothing else. I just feeling out the “room”. I like to discuss these issues, even though I am only opposed so far. Of course I know there other options GG

[kometbeats]

My issue is that, Truly, I don’t really have control of how much I work, since this reflects on my competitiveness/ gigs/ visibility etc. And since I favor quality of quantity I find it not alighed with my work ethic. And that is my point of view . Thank you for the very extended answers.

I don’t really have control of how much I work

There are two great functions to limit how much work you have coming in, given your read time of an hour on the forum it doesn’t seem like you’ve done much reading regarding how the platform works or the tools available to sellers.

[ellchris]

I don’t really have control of how much I work

There are two great functions to limit how much work you have coming in, given your read time of an hour on the forum it doesn’t seem like you’ve done much reading regarding how the platform works or the tools available to sellers.

Please read my full sentence

[english_voice]

This is totally out of topic. I just said that an order that came in on Sunday, automatically was accepted. There was no way I can finish an order in one day. That’s no how my line of work …works.

I understand how Fiverr works. I just said that from my point of view, it doesn’t match my work ethic.

I think you’ll find my response is totally on topic. You were clearly unhappy that Fiverr automatically accepted your order. I took the trouble to explain that this is how Fiverr works and that your client did nothing wrong by not messaging you. I repeat, your buyer did nothing wrong by placing an order.

You’ve not made it entirely clear in your original post what your buyer’s issue is. Your very shortest delivery time is 48 hours, although I see some of your gigs are 14 days. Therefore your client had no right to think that an order could be processed on the Sunday - and because of this, the order did not have to be cancelled.

It sounds like your buyer was a bit pushy and not a nice person to deal with, but it also sounds like you don’t fully understand how Fiverr works. This is fine up to a point as we were all new once. However, it’s also clear you don’t like some of the responses you’ve received from experienced Fiverr freelancers - in my case eight years. So from me, over and out.

[ellchris]

I think you’ll find my response is totally on topic. You were clearly unhappy that Fiverr automatically accepted your order. I took the trouble to explain that this is how Fiverr works and that your client did nothing wrong by not messaging you. I repeat, your buyer did nothing wrong by placing an order.

You’ve not made it entirely clear in your original post what your buyer’s issue is. Your very shortest delivery time is 48 hours, although I see some of your gigs are 14 days. Therefore your client had no right to think that an order could be processed on the Sunday - and because of this, the order did not have to be cancelled.

It sounds like your buyer was a bit pushy and not a nice person to deal with, but it also sounds like you don’t fully understand how Fiverr works. This is fine up to a point as we were all new once. However, it’s also clear you don’t like some of the responses you’ve received from experienced Fiverr freelancers - in my case eight years. So from me, over and out.

The client was very friendly. She was also clueless, like me, on some rules that are normal not to be aware when beginning using Fiverr. We mutually accepted to cancel the order. She wanted a very big project to finish with a very short deadline and that wasn’t possible for me. After the cancellation, I didn’t know that I will get a permanent “record”

If you don’t want to discuss further, that’s not on me. Thank you for taking the time anyway.