Responding to reviews. What's your personal practice?

[enunciator]

I know this topic has been brought up before (the last thread was almost a year ago but didn’t have much engagement) but was still curious as to how often/not often other sellers respond to reviews.

Personally, I respond to each and every review I receive. I see it as just a common courtesy and token of appreciation. Of course, doing so means that many reviews sound quite similar, and interchanging positive adjectives on good experiences gets a bit repetitive! On less-than-perfect experiences, I write a brief synopsis of how the order progressed and if any issues were ever communicated.

From the many other seller gigs I’ve looked at since starting Fiverr, it seems most sellers fall into 3 categories: never responding, only responding to very negative or very positive experiences, or always responding.

I can understand all 3 practices. For a seller who is simply slammed constantly with orders, responding might be a luxury that is unwarranted. For sellers who don’t want to seem robotic or repetitive, they may decide to only respond occasionally. Then there are the rare sellers who seem to ENJOY writing responses and write tiny, yet in-depth stories.

Any thoughts on the practice?

[eliiclaire]

I probably should respond to buyers’ reviews, but because I didn’t realize that feature was there until I was about 7 orders in, I feel kind of bad about leaving my first few buyers out (yes, that is not very logical but…). Maybe I will start responding to clients who I really enjoyed working with.

[imagination7413]

I know this topic has been brought up before (the last thread was almost a year ago but didn’t have much engagement) but was still curious as to how often/not often other sellers respond to reviews.

Personally, I respond to each and every review I receive. I see it as just a common courtesy and token of appreciation. Of course, doing so means that many reviews sound quite similar, and interchanging positive adjectives on good experiences gets a bit repetitive! On less-than-perfect experiences, I write a brief synopsis of how the order progressed and if any issues were ever communicated.

From the many other seller gigs I’ve looked at since starting Fiverr, it seems most sellers fall into 3 categories: never responding, only responding to very negative or very positive experiences, or always responding.

I can understand all 3 practices. For a seller who is simply slammed constantly with orders, responding might be a luxury that is unwarranted. For sellers who don’t want to seem robotic or repetitive, they may decide to only respond occasionally. Then there are the rare sellers who seem to ENJOY writing responses and write tiny, yet in-depth stories.

Any thoughts on the practice?

Then there are the rare sellers who seem to ENJOY writing responses and write tiny, yet in-depth stories.

I don’t know about ‘in-depth’, but I do try to never make zero-context responses. (Or, relevant to the buyer, even if vague to an outsider.)

[enunciator]

I probably should respond to buyers’ reviews, but because I didn’t realize that feature was there until I was about 7 orders in, I feel kind of bad about leaving my first few buyers out (yes, that is not very logical but…). Maybe I will start responding to clients who I really enjoyed working with.

Hmm. Do buyers even receive an automated notice if a seller responds to their review, like sellers do if a buyer has left a review?

[eliiclaire]

Hmm. Do buyers even receive an automated notice if a seller responds to their review, like sellers do if a buyer has left a review?

I’m not really sure to be honest… I think they do.

[enunciator]

I’m not really sure to be honest… I think they do.

I have yet to purchase from another seller on Fiverr, so the buyer’s experience side is still a bit murky for me.

[frank_d]

Hmm. Do buyers even receive an automated notice if a seller responds to their review, like sellers do if a buyer has left a review?

No they don’t receive a notification.

They can only manually check out their review to see if you replied to it.

[enunciator]

No they don’t receive a notification.

They can only manually check out their review to see if you replied to it.

So I guess responding might not really be a “token of appreciation” if the buyer never even knows it was written.

Hmm, but I guess it can show engagement with one’s buyers to people who view the gig, so it might still be a positive.

[vickiespencer]

I have bought gigs from sellers on the platform and as @frank_d said, the buyer is not notified of your review.

I use my reviews more for the prospective buyers to read—kind of like a mini ad. I will say, “Thank you, Tommy for your kind review of my book proofreading services. I look forward to working with you in the near future.”

If it was a blog post I use the words blog post and so on.

[yannisenglish]

To me it’s quite similar to a YouTuber replying to comments on their videos. It shows you’re engaged with your clients and show appreciation. I didn’t know that buyers don’t get notified about the response. Would sending “thank you” messages be appropriate? Wondering if it’s too pushy/tacky.

[nickj2013]

I make it a point to respond to all client reviews. Good or bad.

[genuineguidance]

I do not read reviews, therefore, probably 90% of my reviews do not get a response. I just do not want to read them - good or bad. I would rather focus on working, not being told how great I did or I suppose the rare how awful I am - it would just worm into my psyche too much! 😸

Now, the reviews I HAVE replied to in the past have been when someone goes the extra mile and tips me. I feel they deserve a reply or a thanks.

GG

[looseink]

Good question.

As a Seller, I ALWAYS say something about the ‘job’ and include a thank you to unlock a Buyer review.

I NEVER respond to the actual review.

As a Buyer, I ALWAYS leave a review.

I’m typically very forgiving in my reviews, but have yet to have had an experience that warrants a poor review.

[helenabester]

I have bought gigs from sellers on the platform and as @frank_d said, the buyer is not notified of your review.

I use my reviews more for the prospective buyers to read—kind of like a mini ad. I will say, “Thank you, Tommy for your kind review of my book proofreading services. I look forward to working with you in the near future.”

If it was a blog post I use the words blog post and so on.

I can’t for the life of me remember exactly where(?) - but I’ve read somewhere that using keywords anywhere on your site is always a good thing.

I use my reviews more for the prospective buyers to read—kind of like a mini ad. I will say, “Thank you, Tommy for your kind review of my book proofreading services. I look forward to working with you in the near future.”

If it was a blog post, I use the words blog post and so on.

Perhaps this is what you meant, @vickiespencer?

I also agree with you about the mini-ad.

Often a buyer’s review is vague, although it might be positive. Your reply can highlight what you did and in what way.

It is all about a positive buyer experience, but if it also can help you rank, why not do it?

What do you think, @frank_d? Am I totally wrong? Fiverr 3.0

[lenasemenkova]

I respond to some. Either negative ones that I feel like are undeserved or really glowing ones where I can see that the person is ecstatic and I want to express that it makes me happy to make them happy. Or just let them know that the project was genuinely cool and fun to work on (I don’t get a lot of those).

I don’t have time or energy to respond to every review I get. Not in a “I can’t be bothered” way, it’s just that putting words into sentences is a process in itself for me. Similarly, I don’t see the point to send “thank you for ordering!” messages since 90% of my orders are custom offers and everything has been discussed and agreed upon. I’ll do that only if I sense that the buyer is anxious about the process and needs to be reassured that the money went through, the order is active and in progress.

[leannelrivers]

I only really respond to negative reviews if I feel it’s unfair. Thankfully, I’ve only had one. I don’t bother replying to everyone because it would just be cut and paste responses and it looks cluttered. I use my review for the buyer to comment. When I get tips, I always send them a quick message just to say thank you.

[vickiespencer]

I can’t for the life of me remember exactly where(?) - but I’ve read somewhere that using keywords anywhere on your site is always a good thing.

I use my reviews more for the prospective buyers to read—kind of like a mini ad. I will say, “Thank you, Tommy for your kind review of my book proofreading services. I look forward to working with you in the near future.”

If it was a blog post, I use the words blog post and so on.

Perhaps this is what you meant, @vickiespencer?

I also agree with you about the mini-ad.

Often a buyer’s review is vague, although it might be positive. Your reply can highlight what you did and in what way.

It is all about a positive buyer experience, but if it also can help you rank, why not do it?

What do you think, @frank_d? Am I totally wrong? Fiverr 3.0

Often a buyer’s review is vague, although it might be positive. Your reply can highlight what you did and in what way.

This is what I meant.

[vibronx]

I respond to all reviews now after I saw a buyer here on the forum say that they like it when sellers respond to reviews. After hearing this, I, as a buyer, have noticed that I tend to perceive sellers who respond to reviews as caring more about their customers. That is probably not the case, but that is how it looks from the outside.

Sometimes it can take upward of a month for me to respond to reviews. I haven’t really gotten it to be part of my routine yet as I have only been doing it for a few months, and I often forget about it, but I am working on it!

[enunciator]

I respond to all reviews now after I saw a buyer here on the forum say that they like it when sellers respond to reviews. After hearing this, I, as a buyer, have noticed that I tend to perceive sellers who respond to reviews as caring more about their customers. That is probably not the case, but that is how it looks from the outside.

Sometimes it can take upward of a month for me to respond to reviews. I haven’t really gotten it to be part of my routine yet as I have only been doing it for a few months, and I often forget about it, but I am working on it!

Sometimes it can take upward of a month for me to respond to reviews

Wait, review responses don’t have a time limit like reviews do? That’s news to me since I always type my review response right after my buyer review.

[vibronx]

Sometimes it can take upward of a month for me to respond to reviews

Wait, review responses don’t have a time limit like reviews do? That’s news to me since I always type my review response right after my buyer review.

Wait, review responses don’t have a time limit like reviews do? That’s news to me since I always type my review response right after my buyer review.

Not as far as I know. I tried to go back to an order from 11 months ago, and I am still able to leave a response.

[ronhi85]

I know this topic has been brought up before (the last thread was almost a year ago but didn’t have much engagement) but was still curious as to how often/not often other sellers respond to reviews.

Personally, I respond to each and every review I receive. I see it as just a common courtesy and token of appreciation. Of course, doing so means that many reviews sound quite similar, and interchanging positive adjectives on good experiences gets a bit repetitive! On less-than-perfect experiences, I write a brief synopsis of how the order progressed and if any issues were ever communicated.

From the many other seller gigs I’ve looked at since starting Fiverr, it seems most sellers fall into 3 categories: never responding, only responding to very negative or very positive experiences, or always responding.

I can understand all 3 practices. For a seller who is simply slammed constantly with orders, responding might be a luxury that is unwarranted. For sellers who don’t want to seem robotic or repetitive, they may decide to only respond occasionally. Then there are the rare sellers who seem to ENJOY writing responses and write tiny, yet in-depth stories.

Any thoughts on the practice?

Personally, I respond to each and every review I receive. I see it as just a common courtesy and token of appreciation

Me too! And I always leave a review whenever I buy as well.

[stefanyoshovski]

I never reply to buyer’s feedback and I don’t think I’ll be doing it for the following reasons:

1. When a buyer is looking for seller’s reviews, he might need to scroll more as he’ll see my comment on each review as well.
   Also, would you write a different comment each time? I don’t like copy-pasting the same message. I see many sellers who reply to feedback with the same phrase and I never liked that.

2. I leave them feedback too, which means I am not even conditioned based on the feedback they wrote to me.

3. If I decided to start replying to feedback (I thought about that in the past), I would have old reviews without any comment. Someone might think “Why did he answer to some reviews and others not?”

4. I offer some period of free assistance for my digital services, which is a better “I care for my clients” plan than a simple comment.

5. Pretty often buyers express their satisfaction in private messages even before accepting the order. I always reply to them back in private.

Just because I don’t write any public comments, doesn’t mean I don’t care for my clients. I just have my own way.