Responding to a 4 star review

[gajuseidi]

So, yesterday this order was finally marked as complete. I did receive a 4 star review with 3/5 on communication and 4/5 on recommendation to a friend. Now, I do understand that a 4 star review is a positive one, and even the essense of the review is quite positive, but the fact that this review is the first review on one of my gigs and the exhausting communication with the customer made me feel almost obligated to respond to their review.

So, let me give you an image of what it was like. Even before sending the custom offer to the customer, I lowered the price as the customer claimed they are tight on money. Right from the beginning the customer kept constantly questioning my competence and skills required to do the agreed-upon work. for example, when I mentioned that I use lightroom to export RAW files, they replied "But, are you using Lightroom to do this? You will need Photoshop and a denoise program at least" to which, after some confusion, I replied that no, I'm not using lightroom to do this, I'm using both advanced AI and photoshop to do the job. The customer also kept constantly asking for more work than what was initially agreed-upon. For example, the customer gave me instructions for specific corrections in lightroom (the instructions were incorrect and those corrections were not a part of the agreed-upon work), after sending the retouched files (with incorrect instructions given by the customer), the customer quoted their own instructions and wrote "I guess you didn't do this before making the JPG?!", to which, after some counting to ten, I replied, that yes, I did all the specific corrections before making the JPG. The customer later realised they gave wrong instructions and gave me the right ones. These are a few examples, to give you an idea what the whole order was like, but x10.

I am wondering, how would you handle this situation? Maybe you could share some tips or suggestions on how to deal with such customers? Honestly, after a second revision, I did not even care about the earnings of this order, I just wanted it to be over and done.

 

[teachernita]

Hi, My suggestion is don't work for that person again, in fact block him.  I get the impression that buyers use Fiverr for cheap work, they have a little respect for the sellers at all.  What I have been doing, if I get a message from someone, I look at their profile, if they are new I don't give cheap prices!  If they have bad reviews I steer clear of them!

[gajuseidi]

6 minutes ago, teachernita said:

Hi, My suggestion is don't work for that person again, in fact block him.  I get the impression that buyers use Fiverr for cheap work, they have a little respect for the sellers at all.  What I have been doing, if I get a message from someone, I look at their profile, if they are new I don't give cheap prices!  If they have bad reviews I steer clear of them!

Thank you for your suggestion. The thing is, the customer had good reviews and was not a new user. And even though I really wanted to leave a lower rating on their profile, I just gave them a 5 star, thanking for their business.

[teachernita]

I know how you feel!  It happened to me once.  It is best not to respond when upset, because even this one review may not always be a 4 star rating from the client.  Some clients don't realize what an under 4.8 rating does to ones gig.  My one gig was pushed back 5 pages because of a similar rating!  I was very upset. 

[gajuseidi]

6 minutes ago, teachernita said:

I know how you feel!  It happened to me once.  It is best not to respond when upset, because even this one review may not always be a 4 star rating from the client.  Some clients don't realize what an under 4.8 rating does to ones gig.  My one gig was pushed back 5 pages because of a similar rating!  I was very upset. 

I read somewhere that the reviews do not influence gig rankings as much anymore, but it still pains a bit to have a 4 star review as the first one on the gig. Thank you for your kind response.

[zkrana]

Sometimes it gives pain to us.

[teachernita]

1 hour ago, gajuseidi said:

I read somewhere that the reviews do not influence gig rankings as much anymore, but it still pains a bit to have a 4 star review as the first one on the gig. Thank you for your kind response.

Well, I lost my ranking when I got a  4.3 rating.  From the first page to about 5th.  So I have actual witness on that one.  

[redowanaa]

it's hurts when you delivery the order with best quality but clients never understand - Sad for you 😞 

[gajuseidi]

48 minutes ago, teachernita said:

Well, I lost my ranking when I got a  4.3 rating.  From the first page to about 5th.  So I have actual witness on that one.  

Has that happened recently? Doesn't sound good at all 😌

[callyofficial]

Situations like this set off red flags for me. I prefer to stay away from buyers like this if possible, as a buyer shouldn't need to know how you get the results, if you can get the results. If a buyer is asking too many questions and no order is placed, I'll just say if they don't feel confident I can do the work, it's probably best they look for another seller. If an order is placed, I'll ensure I do everything I can for things to go smoothly and if the buyer still isn't happy at the end, I'll leave a truthful review and block them. Some people just like to be difficult, almost like they get a kick from doing it. Spend as little time as you can with them and move on to the buyers that appreciate your time and effort. Definitely don't dwell on these situations. I rarely get them but it's just something you can't avoid.

[gajuseidi]

15 hours ago, callyofficial said:

Situations like this set off red flags for me. I prefer to stay away from buyers like this if possible, as a buyer shouldn't need to know how you get the results, if you can get the results. If a buyer is asking too many questions and no order is placed, I'll just say if they don't feel confident I can do the work, it's probably best they look for another seller. If an order is placed, I'll ensure I do everything I can for things to go smoothly and if the buyer still isn't happy at the end, I'll leave a truthful review and block them. Some people just like to be difficult, almost like they get a kick from doing it. Spend as little time as you can with them and move on to the buyers that appreciate your time and effort. Definitely don't dwell on these situations. I rarely get them but it's just something you can't avoid.

Thank you for your insights. I do agree, that it feels like some people just enjoy being difficult.

15 hours ago, callyofficial said:

Spend as little time as you can with them and move on to the buyers that appreciate your time and effort. Definitely don't dwell on these situations.

This is great advice as I do tend to overthink every now and then 😄

[miiila]

That sounds like a rather trying order indeed. It happens.

As you already replied to that review, this might only be useful for the next time, but since you asked for advice, mine would be that, while your reply seems okay generally, I'd fine-tune it a bit more. Specifically, I'd do my very best to be 100% factual, leave out subjective descriptors as "not professional" or such.

Just state facts that will give a reader of the review and reply an idea of what went wrong, and ideally show them that they might still want to work with you (or not, if they are the kind that expects sellers to do additional work for free, and the like, but that's fine ;)), without sounding accusing, or upset, or blaming the customer.

Not easy, of course, depending on the situation, and in any case, it's best to type up one's reply offline, and after a few hours, or even after sleeping over it, look at it again with more distance. Read it with the eyes of a potential buyer reading it, and if it's not exactly what you'd want them to see, not exactly the impression, the vibes you want to give, adjust until you're happy.

However, don't sweat past things. Everyone gets difficult or unreasonable clients once in a while.

Taking it as an opportunity to learn and have more experience/better strategies in place next time, will help.

A "bad" review, especially if not justified, hurts, of course, but that's life. You got this. Awesome customers and smooth orders will make this unpleasant memory fade soon enough.

[lenasemenkova]

I’d leave 3* or 4* (depending on the amount of talking the client through it’d take) and write something like: “The communication was challenging. It could be because the buyer wasn’t comfortable with my prices or myself in particular. Hopefully, the end result is up to the expectation.”

I left 5* to someone who graced me with 2* once. The communication *was* challenging but the order got accepted quickly so I thought we reached an understanding and didn’t feel like pushing it. I’m never doing that again, that’s for sure. 

Your response is good, I think. 

[qubemotion]

I actually have one or two 4 stars, everyone's not the same.

One of those 4 stars could've give me 5 but for the other one I deserve a 4.

Let's talk about those buyers who are not clear about what they want and they change their minds so often, most of the times these guys give sellers 4 stars. I remember one of these guys, I kindly asked him to provide me more details about work but I got no respond. I delivered his work in promised time but at the end he gave 4 stars. I never tried to answer him but I did one thing for sure and I blocked him.

Frankly I can't work with guys. I suggest you the same. Do not work with these guys.

[genuineguidance]

The HUGE red flag was when they started crying poor mouth. The second was trying to micromanage you.

You have a set fee for a reason. If they cannot afford it, well, then go to someone who fits your budget.

I swear, some of these buyers just look for new sellers to torture.

GG

[gajuseidi]

10 hours ago, miiila said:

That sounds like a rather trying order indeed. It happens.

As you already replied to that review, this might only be useful for the next time, but since you asked for advice, mine would be that, while your reply seems okay generally, I'd fine-tune it a bit more. Specifically, I'd do my very best to be 100% factual, leave out subjective descriptors as "not professional" or such.

Just state facts that will give a reader of the review and reply an idea of what went wrong, and ideally show them that they might still want to work with you (or not, if they are the kind that expects sellers to do additional work for free, and the like, but that's fine ;)), without sounding accusing, or upset, or blaming the customer.

Not easy, of course, depending on the situation, and in any case, it's best to type up one's reply offline, and after a few hours, or even after sleeping over it, look at it again with more distance. Read it with the eyes of a potential buyer reading it, and if it's not exactly what you'd want them to see, not exactly the impression, the vibes you want to give, adjust until you're happy.

However, don't sweat past things. Everyone gets difficult or unreasonable clients once in a while.

Taking it as an opportunity to learn and have more experience/better strategies in place next time, will help.

A "bad" review, especially if not justified, hurts, of course, but that's life. You got this. Awesome customers and smooth orders will make this unpleasant memory fade soon enough.

Thank you for the encouragement, Mila. I do try to look at it from the bright side as well, the sooner I encounter difficult situations such as this, the sooner I learn how to deal with them. I do value this as a learning opportunity. Thank you for your advice and kind words.

[logolightuup]

It's happened to me in my secod order. My profile rank was 3.8 only...still it's effecting me because I can not able send buyer request during a month.  

[visualstudios]

9 hours ago, corsogr said:

is much more brutal since my services are irreplaceable.

😆😆 I still can't know if this guy is a troll or just denser than a neutron star. The amount of ridiculous takes boggles the mind.

[gajuseidi]

13 hours ago, visualstudios said:

😆😆 I still can't know if this guy is a troll or just denser than a neutron star. The amount of ridiculous takes boggles the mind.

We may never know... 😄