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It finally happened... :)


frank_d

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It took 8 years and over 9,400 completed orders to finally get my first negative review.

I am not going to lie, it stings.

My OCD and the level to which I hold myself, were the two major factors why I dreaded this moment.

I remember having recurring nightmares -literally- that I had gotten a negative review, and that it would end my career.

And now that moment came, and it was a rather anti-climactic one.

Feel free to ignore this

I got an order in on one of my legacy gigs (my regular ones, that have a very low entry point) yesterday, that didn’t look right.

The buyer’s username was literally the same letter 15 times, as if a cat sneezed while they were typing it.

Their messages were in ALL CAPS and their demeanor told me that it was a young person, probably even a teenager.

On their profile they claimed to speak 6 languages fluently, but their messages were always short sentences, often lacking in grammar.

I noticed that their last message was something that I should worry about (something about how the video needs to “go to their website and show products”.

The gig in question is a simple logo reveal animation.

I stated that they will be receiving exactly what is shown on the main demo video, with tweaks to match their branding.

About an hour after I delivered, I get the notification that the delivery was accepted, and then another one about their feedback.

They gave me 2.3 star review for no apparent reason. I won’t paste their review here, as it has nothing to do with my product or level of service.

I thought I’d feel angry, or sad. To be honest I am a bit relieved.

I feel like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders and that I can now breathe a little better. I no longer have a perfect score to maintain.

I no longer need to force myself to view my business from a skewed perspective.

I just wanted to share this with my forum peeps, and I didn’t feel like ranting, the fact that I shared how the order went was purely for therapeutic reasons.

I am ready to move forward now, keep doing what I do and accepting that “it is what it is”.

Thank you everyone.

P.S. The buyer messaged me a few hours ago about me making a different version that would “work on snapchat”. 🙂

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A negative review is bound to happen to us all at one point. However, it is incredible that you have gone so long without one and with so many reviews, too! I have always been amazed at how few non-five-star ratings you have. You clearly make your customers very happy!

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A negative review is bound to happen to us all at one point. However, it is incredible that you have gone so long without one and with so many reviews, too! I have always been amazed at how few non-five-star ratings you have. You clearly make your customers very happy!

Thank you @vibronx for your kind words.

I really thought I had perfected my customer journey framework, plus my skills on identifying good project-fit early on.

Seems like this had to happen for me to start seriously considering eliminating all my legacy gigs.

It’s all I think about since the time I woke up. I am already reforming my strategy, and thinking about making the transition.

I think I no longer want to fulfil random $15 orders. They actually drain me more than the $10k orders I am juggling right now via my Pro gigs.

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Hey @frank_d - I feel you, I still hold my breath each time I submit a client review for fear of what might come back, even after 4 years of almost exclusively 5-star reviews. Silly, I know.

For what it’s worth, I looked at the guy’s review on your profile, and it 100% reflects poorly on him, not at all you. Your response was spot-on. This is clearly a buyer who does not understand Fiverr and/or the English language, and most sensible buyers would be able to clearly see that.

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The first negative review and you’ve been here since 2013 - just WOOOW!

What also surprises me is that you had this kind of experience with someone (we presume a teenager) with a very weird username and a weird attitude too, despite your pro services prices not being cheap at all.

I saw the review and I agree with @cubittaudio, it has nothing to do with your services and skills, it only reflects poorly on him.

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Hey @frank_d - I feel you, I still hold my breath each time I submit a client review for fear of what might come back, even after 4 years of almost exclusively 5-star reviews. Silly, I know.

For what it’s worth, I looked at the guy’s review on your profile, and it 100% reflects poorly on him, not at all you. Your response was spot-on. This is clearly a buyer who does not understand Fiverr and/or the English language, and most sensible buyers would be able to clearly see that.

Thank you @cubittaudio for your response.

You definitely know what it feels like, if you haven’t gotten a negative review yet.

Having gone to the other side myself, my advice for you is to try and change your POV.

I know that dread all too well, and it takes a toll.

Try and have some perspective, sometimes there are things beyond our control.

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Every Business has ups and downs. I think it’s normal. Also, I think it doesn’t hurt your rating 1/9400 according to the feedback system Fiverr. You can enjoy completed 9400 with positive feedback. Keep it up your great work. Don’t worry about 0.1% of your completed orders. You completed 99.99% with your great skills.

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The first negative review and you’ve been here since 2013 - just WOOOW!

What also surprises me is that you had this kind of experience with someone (we presume a teenager) with a very weird username and a weird attitude too, despite your pro services prices not being cheap at all.

I saw the review and I agree with @cubittaudio, it has nothing to do with your services and skills, it only reflects poorly on him.

thank you for your reply @mjaninea

It was just a weird little journey. That buyer failed to understand what my gig does, I was probably their first order. (I also see they are selling video-related things themselves)

I don’t blame them. It is what it is.

@rocks_design thank you for your reply as well.

This is not a “down” moment for me or my business. This was a personal thing, an emotional response to an inevitable situation. My profile’s standing is excellent, because ratings -even positive ones- don’t count as much as you think they do.

I will keep moving forward, keep doing what I do that has my Pro clients raving about my services.

Time to move on from the “regular” gigs, no one can hire me for $15 anymore.

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Hey, welcome to the “at least one bad review club” 🙂

I checked it out because I was curious. I assume it’s the I’M SO SAD review? Annoying. That’s no review at all, at least say why you’re sad. It is truly amazing that you made it this far without a buyer like that 🙂

It’s clearly a very insignificant drop in the ocean of amazing reviews you have. It does sting to get them, but not for long.

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Hey, welcome to the “at least one bad review club” 🙂

I checked it out because I was curious. I assume it’s the I’M SO SAD review? Annoying. That’s no review at all, at least say why you’re sad. It is truly amazing that you made it this far without a buyer like that 🙂

It’s clearly a very insignificant drop in the ocean of amazing reviews you have. It does sting to get them, but not for long.

I’m not sure where to begin with…

Have you checked his profile and his gig?

This is neither a kid nor a teen. He knows and understands the platform and review system all too well. The communication was portrayed that way to keep it edgy and confusing.

Check how your review appears on his profile.

It’s now one of those perfect traps to fool the inexperienced buyers. Unfortunately.

P.S. It’s pretty much impossible to find that 2.3 star review unless someone is especially looking for one. And there is nothing to deter a potential buyer. So…

Welcome to the “at least one bad review club” 🙂

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Hey, welcome to the “at least one bad review club” 🙂

I checked it out because I was curious. I assume it’s the I’M SO SAD review? Annoying. That’s no review at all, at least say why you’re sad. It is truly amazing that you made it this far without a buyer like that 🙂

It’s clearly a very insignificant drop in the ocean of amazing reviews you have. It does sting to get them, but not for long.

thank you @leannelrivers

Yes that’s the one.

To be fair, they may have been sad. Not sure about what though.

I think it’s easier for me to accept this kind of negative review, vs one that had actual valid points.

@wordsfire I don’t see it that way. The way the buyer talked, and how they responded in their review (and their message after said review) tells me that they are definitely stuck in an earlier time in their life.

I really don’t think they know what they are doing.

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It took 8 years and over 9,400 completed orders to finally get my first negative review.

I am not going to lie, it stings.

My OCD and the level to which I hold myself, were the two major factors why I dreaded this moment.

I remember having recurring nightmares -literally- that I had gotten a negative review, and that it would end my career.

And now that moment came, and it was a rather anti-climactic one.

Feel free to ignore this

I got an order in on one of my legacy gigs (my regular ones, that have a very low entry point) yesterday, that didn’t look right.

The buyer’s username was literally the same letter 15 times, as if a cat sneezed while they were typing it.

Their messages were in ALL CAPS and their demeanor told me that it was a young person, probably even a teenager.

On their profile they claimed to speak 6 languages fluently, but their messages were always short sentences, often lacking in grammar.

I noticed that their last message was something that I should worry about (something about how the video needs to “go to their website and show products”.

The gig in question is a simple logo reveal animation.

I stated that they will be receiving exactly what is shown on the main demo video, with tweaks to match their branding.

About an hour after I delivered, I get the notification that the delivery was accepted, and then another one about their feedback.

They gave me 2.3 star review for no apparent reason. I won’t paste their review here, as it has nothing to do with my product or level of service.

I thought I’d feel angry, or sad. To be honest I am a bit relieved.

I feel like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders and that I can now breathe a little better. I no longer have a perfect score to maintain.

I no longer need to force myself to view my business from a skewed perspective.

I just wanted to share this with my forum peeps, and I didn’t feel like ranting, the fact that I shared how the order went was purely for therapeutic reasons.

I am ready to move forward now, keep doing what I do and accepting that “it is what it is”.

Thank you everyone.

P.S. The buyer messaged me a few hours ago about me making a different version that would “work on snapchat”. 🙂

I thought I’d feel angry, or sad. To be honest I am a bit relieved.

I feel like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders and that I can now breathe a little better. I no longer have a perfect score to maintain.

Honestly remember feeling the same way with my first one.

The world still turns, we still get orders and you can use this review as proof that some people shouldn’t be allowed near a computer. If anything, when you check for negative reviews and see that is the only one, it would make you more attractive (professionally) as it highlights that the only bad review you have is from someone like that!

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I thought I’d feel angry, or sad. To be honest I am a bit relieved.

I feel like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders and that I can now breathe a little better. I no longer have a perfect score to maintain.

Honestly remember feeling the same way with my first one.

The world still turns, we still get orders and you can use this review as proof that some people shouldn’t be allowed near a computer. If anything, when you check for negative reviews and see that is the only one, it would make you more attractive (professionally) as it highlights that the only bad review you have is from someone like that!

thank you @eoinfinnegan for your support and kind words.

Also thank you for returning to the forum, you were missed.

Hope everything is well.

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thank you @eoinfinnegan for your support and kind words.

Also thank you for returning to the forum, you were missed.

Hope everything is well.

Yeah, all is good thanks.

Have had some clients come back and new ones with decent jobs to do so all in all, it’s like I was never away! I was even somehow promoted to Level 2 two months ago, before I came back to work, despite not having been active for months…

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Yeah, all is good thanks.

Have had some clients come back and new ones with decent jobs to do so all in all, it’s like I was never away! I was even somehow promoted to Level 2 two months ago, before I came back to work, despite not having been active for months…

This confirms my findings that Fiverr has changed how they treat a profile’s standing and “performance”.

Truly excellent sellers, will always find their way back to where they need to be.

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thank you @leannelrivers

Yes that’s the one.

To be fair, they may have been sad. Not sure about what though.

I think it’s easier for me to accept this kind of negative review, vs one that had actual valid points.

@wordsfire I don’t see it that way. The way the buyer talked, and how they responded in their review (and their message after said review) tells me that they are definitely stuck in an earlier time in their life.

I really don’t think they know what they are doing.

The way the buyer talked, and how they responded in their review (and their message after said review) tells me that they are definitely stuck in an earlier time in their life.

I really don’t think they know what they are doing.

//cough// I hope you don’t plan on helping them out //cough//

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This confirms my findings that Fiverr has changed how they treat a profile’s standing and “performance”.

Truly excellent sellers, will always find their way back to where they need to be.

Yeah, I’m quite surprised to be honest. Promoted gigs have given me a couple of orders but revenue-wise, 70% has been from organic orders which means I am ranking quite well. It’s nice to see as while I did disappear, there were no cancelled orders etc.

Anyway, I am digressing from your topic so I’ll save this for a topic at some point.

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Yeah, I’m quite surprised to be honest. Promoted gigs have given me a couple of orders but revenue-wise, 70% has been from organic orders which means I am ranking quite well. It’s nice to see as while I did disappear, there were no cancelled orders etc.

Anyway, I am digressing from your topic so I’ll save this for a topic at some point.

Sounds like a great conversation, and I look forward to comparing notes!

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It is a common failing in human nature to etch into memory the negative and overlook the positive.

If over a day, one is complimented on 99 occasions and insulted once, the insult is the instance that we become transfixed about; and in your particular case, 8 years of thousands upon thousands of happy customers versus one negative clueless customer!

I am personally guilty of this as well, as I can distinctly remember every order that I received less than 5 stars yet the majority of my positive orders are just a muddled blur.

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It is a common failing in human nature to etch into memory the negative and overlook the positive.

If over a day, one is complimented on 99 occasions and insulted once, the insult is the instance that we become transfixed about; and in your particular case, 8 years of thousands upon thousands of happy customers versus one negative clueless customer!

I am personally guilty of this as well, as I can distinctly remember every order that I received less than 5 stars yet the majority of my positive orders are just a muddled blur.

That is true.

Our core memories as children that stick with us till the very end, are mostly negative ones.

It’s an evolutionary thing. We need to constantly remember that which may harm us.

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