Update: Addressing new level system questions and feedback

[lenasemenkova]

Also, speaking of Value for Money. Someone just declined my $130 offer after seeing all the Fiverr fees added on top. My offer was perfectly within the budget and they were happy with the price.

[duashahid345]

2 hours ago, donnovan86 said:

Extensions were confirmed to affect your score, so I assume revisions will affect your score as well.

Our community manager denied both of these. Attached are the replies we got.

 

[emmaki]

1 hour ago, leannelrivers said:

The Trial (German: Der Process) is a novel written by Franz Kafka. One of his best-known works, it tells the story of Josef K., a man arrested and prosecuted by a remote, inaccessible authority, with the nature of his crime revealed neither to him nor to the reader.

Doesn't he turn into a cockroach? Oh no, wait, that was Metamorphosis. 

Perhaps Fiverr should consider rebranding to Kaftkrr? I think it's quite a snappy name. And the domain seems to be free, domain squatters! 

26 minutes ago, lenasemenkova said:

My offer was perfectly within the budget and they were happy with the price.

You could swallow the fees in your offer, but I seem to remember reading a long time ago that pricing is taken into account by the algo (as in: your gig price is $x, but you usually charge $y) and acts correspondingly. 

That probably hasn't changed much. So you know, you can either get dinged by the old metric or dinged by the value for money metric. But don't worry if you somehow manage to avoid those dings. There are so many other wonderful metrics waiting to ambush you from the shadows! 

[emmaki]

2 minutes ago, duashahid345 said:

Our community manager denied both of these. Attached are the replies we got.

 

All this post does is confirm that Fiverr has serious internal communication issues, since half the time, what one success manager says appears to contradict what another says. 

What hope is there for sellers in getting a clear and transparent answer when Fiverr's own staff don't know what's going on? Again, the problem starts at management. 

[leannelrivers]

1 minute ago, emmaki said:

Perhaps Fiverr should consider rebranding to Kaftkrr?

It would certainly be on-brand. Although the name Fiverr might soon be relevant again when everyone dumps their prices in order to achieve that exceptional value for money, stars-in-yer-eyes emoji, or jumps ship like Levi. 

[duashahid345]

2 minutes ago, emmaki said:

All this post does is confirm that Fiverr has serious internal communication issues, since half the time, what one success manager says appears to contradict what another says. 

What hope is there for sellers in getting a clear and transparent answer when Fiverr's own staff don't know what's going on? Again, the problem starts at management. 

EXACTLY! Saw a post few pages ago where apparently a person from CS confirmed that both, revisions and extensions DO affect the scores. But now they are denying it. Don't know what to believe anymore xD

[emmaki]

My success manager has been rather quiet. 

Mind you, there's not a whole lot she can say in response to everything I tossed her way, which included loads of opinions taken from this thread and the last (official) thread. Which I sent in response to her email asking if I needed anything "clarified" (on Thurs/Fri). It is Sunday, yes, but she's in TLV, so I know she's working today. 

Mind you, I do know that staff scatter like surprised birds as soon as legal difficulties are mentioned (c/f the potential IRL illegality of Not Offering Zoom Consults Affecting Your Success Score discriminating against deaf people and others with significant disabilities that might prevent Zooming). 

As it is, I think we shall never be clarified on that point and that if true, the metric will magically zoom away and it will simply be said that it never existed. Radio silence is so useful for these transparent corporations - much more so than confused attempts at transparency where there appears to have been zero attempt at a staff briefing before launch. Or an incredibly poor attempt.

Since it's Sunday and a working day in Israel and the general staff silence continues on these forums, I'm going to say that the company has gone into crisis mode. 

It is worth noting that this is exactly the kind of thing that the EU's AI act will levy serious GDPR-style enormo-fines upon when it passes into law. I could have told them that for free. Oh wait, I kind of did with my whole post about the EU AI act.

As to who to believe, I wouldn't trust Fiverr further than I could throw it at this point - especially after all the doggerel written about transparency when the launch has been anything but. 

Edited February 18 by emmaki

[webdevelopers90]

I am part of this community but did not understand the new level system, but I am still learning each post what is happening in the new system..

[bethanyvo]

@Kesha

Can you please clarify if the score system itself deducts points for revisions and time extensions- or if it is a buyer that could possibly rate poorly due to revisions and extensions?

If the buyer doesn’t like the fact that there were revisions and or extensions- and rate us lower because of that- then ok fine. That’s their perception of their satisfaction.

HOWEVER- if the score system is automatically dinging us for each revision or extension- then that is completely different. That is literally like putting a thumb on the scale of the satisfaction rating and a completely inaccurate way of determining buyer satisfaction!

Please trust buyers actual satisfaction responses and let buyers and sellers do business freely with revisions and extensions as a normal/necessary part of any business transaction. (Because it is)

As has been said multiple times- many buyers need revisions or extensions due to their side of the transaction. It is completely wrong to AUTOMATICALLY score a seller lower due to revisions and extensions.
 

So could you please clarify that it is ONLY an actual buyer score that could be effected and NOT an automatic ding?

AND IF IT IS AN AUTOMATIC DING- please consider changing that aspect of the scoring policy.

Thanks for trying to build a better platform- and thanks for attempting to listen to freelancers with boots on the ground 😊

[donnovan86]

28 minutes ago, duashahid345 said:

Our community manager denied both of these. Attached are the replies we got.

 

Kesha said the exact opposite. So yeah, I will take that IT AFFECTS our gigs. No extensions for me, not that I use them anyway.

[zeecreations]

These people work in the same company?

[donnovan86]

1 minute ago, bethanyvo said:

Can you please clarify if the score system itself deducts points for revisions and time extensions- or if it is a buyer that could possibly rate poorly due to revisions and extensions?

 

Not to mention people can buy up to 20x your gig package. But you get only 1x the deadline. This is an issue that has been present on Fiverr for years and years, I've always talked about it, but it was never solved. Why not have a way to lock gig packages, or allow only a specific amount of multiples to be purchased... 

[jakiyakhatun006]

On 2/15/2024 at 6:33 PM, Kesha said:

We're closely reviewing the questions and concerns you’ve raised and wanted to address them directly. We value your feedback tremendously and are grateful for your engagement, as your insights play a crucial role in shaping the platform for the better. So, we’re providing another update to keep you informed about what we're currently working on and what to expect.

The one-month buffer period serves two purposes: allowing you to adjust to the new system and providing us with time to consider your comments and take action. We recognize the significant impact of this change and aim to collaborate as a community on the best paths forward. Your contributions have been invaluable in maximizing this time for us to make fixes before changes are implemented in the marketplace.

One key point raised is cancellations rectified by Customer Support affecting success scores. We recognize this oversight and are actively working to resolve it before the transition period concludes. We will keep you informed of any updates.

Regarding the Order Cancellations key area that may be displayed under your Gig success score, it's important to clarify that this is different from OCR (Order Completion Rate %). The Order Cancellation key area considers various metrics around order cancellations, including factors related to the order process before determining bad cancellations. It's a smarter, more complex indicator and not a simple percentage like OCR. 

Additionally, we understand the need for clarity regarding the overall success score and the Gig success scores. The overall success score takes into account your Gig scores. Gigs with higher order volumes have a greater impact on your score, while those with fewer orders contribute less. This ensures that your success score accurately reflects each Gig's performance relative to its order activity.

Each Gig is unique, and its score reflects various factors specific to that Gig. It's not a one-size-fits-all formula; rather, it considers multiple variables for each Gig, freelancer and the marketplace as a whole. For example, this means it is possible to have 2 Gigs with the same score, but with different key areas highlighted, each with different weights. The key areas highlighted provide insight into factors affecting each Gig's evaluation. You can learn more about these key areas and tips for improvement here.

It’s important to emphasize that the displaying of these scores and metrics does not signify a sudden change in how your marketplace performance is evaluated. Instead, it represents a move towards enhanced transparency, providing you with deeper insights into the underlying evaluation processes. Your visibility into these scores is intended to empower you with knowledge on how to improve.

We are committed to fostering an environment of open communication and collaboration, and your feedback remains instrumental in driving our continuous improvement efforts. We will continue listening here in the forum. If you have concerns or questions about your individual metrics, please reach out to our Customer Support team. They will prioritize assisting you as quickly as possible, ensuring that all crucial requests are addressed before the buffer period concludes. 

thanks

[duashahid345]

1 minute ago, donnovan86 said:

Kesha said the exact opposite. So yeah, I will take that IT AFFECTS our gigs. No extensions for me, not that I use them anyway.

They themselves are not sure. One my friends mailed CS about the "order cancellations" parameter, citing the ticket and order number, and they replied "Order cancellations dont necessarily mean order cancellations" xD Like wtf.

[emmaki]

 

9 minutes ago, donnovan86 said:

Not to mention people can buy up to 20x your gig package. But you get only 1x the deadline. This is an issue that has been present on Fiverr for years and years, I've always talked about it, but it was never solved. Why not have a way to lock gig packages, or allow only a specific amount of multiples to be purchased... 

Fiverr:

 

 

[leannelrivers]

7 minutes ago, emmaki said:

Fiverr:

NEO:

 

 

Edited February 18 by leannelrivers

[emmaki]

BTW, I'm doing some research at the moment for an article about online reputation management. There's some good stats in here that Fiverr might like to look at. What's brilliant about this blog post is that it's full of sources and citations. 

https://www.minclaw.com/online-reputation-management-statistics/ 

If you remember, Fiverr said "research shows" that people find 4.0 - 4.9 star reviews more trustworthy than 5 star reviews. The 54% stat is more focused on local biz than online platforms, but the link to the source has some further interesting stats. Anyway, the second one - the profiteers r bad one - is based on the "Edelman Trust Barometer". https://www.edelman.com/trust/trust-barometer

They have what looks like an interesting article: "The 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer reveals a new paradox at the heart of society. Rapid innovation offers the promise of a new era of prosperity, but instead risks exacerbating trust issues, leading to further societal instability and political polarization."

Anyway Fiverr, still waiting on those sources. You're trying to be transparent, remember? Cite your sources! I do it. I think I kind of have to because it's now an unskippable check on the gig making pages? I can't remember, but I'm going to say it is because I'm complaining and nobody's listening anyway. 

Edited February 18 by emmaki
TBH Fiverr is "conveying" but it completely lacks teh substance for it to appear "authentic" and "genuine" so it all falls flat.

[emmaki]

(I'm sorry for being boring) 

[catwriter]

2 minutes ago, emmaki said:

(I'm sorry for being boring) 

You're never boring. 🙂

Just in case: no, this isn't a challenge. 😸

[emmaki]

It is Sunday though. That's the classic day for boring things. 

The Edelman article about INNOVATION IN PERIL (link) is actually quite a good read. It's basically saying "the establishment has completely screwed the pooch on everything since 2019 and continues to do so and now the little people don't trust us. Like, at all. What to do before we're all tossed on the bonfire of revolution?"

[emmaki]

Memo to Fiverr from Edelman: 

Edited February 18 by emmaki
Yes, Fiverr doesn't have "jobs" since we are not employees. But Fiverr is treating freelancer close enough to employees that it is simply taking advantage of current regulations. So w/e. CLARIFY THAT, FIVERR!

[visualstudios]

2 hours ago, leannelrivers said:

The Trial (German: Der Process) is a novel written by Franz Kafka. One of his best-known works, it tells the story of Josef K., a man arrested and prosecuted by a remote, inaccessible authority, with the nature of his crime revealed neither to him nor to the reader.

I feel more like I keep waking up a bug.

[leannelrivers]

"The future of freelancing isn't better platforms - it's no platforms." 

[donnovan86]

5 minutes ago, leannelrivers said:

"The future of freelancing isn't better platforms - it's no platforms." 

Generally you get the best profit and results by having your own website. And clearly since there's no control over how these platform evolves, that's the best thing to do anyway. I am sure after these changes, a lot of people will/should consider creating their own website to sell their services.

[emmaki]

It is a very parasitic relationship with an incredibly uneven balance of power. It's remarkable how this launch has amplified the worst traits of Fiverr all in one effortlessly breathless marketing campaign.

And, ooh, just 4 days before their next big breathless PR blitz for the investors' stuff. I'd be rather worried about my investment if I peeped into the forum and saw 

a) multiple and extended complaints about the new system and Fiverr's woeful implementation/complete lack of communication/confused explanations

b) Barely-there efforts to address most complaints and outright avoidance of Difficult Questions asked by the platform's top sellers.

c) Sellers who make millions of dollars leaving due to Fiverr's mismanagement who are threatening to take stuff to the media and industry leaders

d) an inability to implement a basic, fair, and transparent review system that all users can understand and use without getting confused

e) whatever the current levels system actually is or how it works

It would concern me slightly, and I'd wonder how transparent their shareholder letters and investor reports were being, considering the gargantuan fail on the seller front.