Had my first bad experience (beware of this buyer)

[c_lucas]

I suppose I just had my first bad Fiverr experience, although it could have been worse.



I got an order yesterday from a buyer named “Megaan” asking me to edit a short letter. It seemed like a simple gig at first, but upon asking for more details, the buyer became increasingly unclear as to what “she” wanted. I should note that she also contacted me at 7-8pm saying she needed it done by midnight that night. Perhaps this should have been my first red flag…



She waffled back and forth telling me that she wanted the “essay” (it was a letter) edited, or that she needed it re-written. I asked her if she wanted it edited or re-written and she seemed completely incapable of giving me a clear answer. Her actual instructions she submitted with the order were this:



"I need it by Thursday 11:59 pm EST or before that time. The paper is completely written, I just need it to sound professional, no grammar errors, and must be clear, not repetitive. You can completely write the whole essay in your own words, or just take portions I wrote and make it a completely new essay, or even completely fix up the content i wrote. The essay is one page but you can cut it to how many paragraphs or sentences you think will work. Please let me know if you can help me. If you need more hours please let me know. Thank you in advance."



Her inability to be clear about what she wanted should have been my second red flag, but I went ahead with the order as per the instructions above. I proofread, edited, and completely re-formatted the letter, and re-wrote some of it.



Came to my inbox this morning to find this: “I wen over the work you gave me and you did not fix it. It sounds exactly the same and it contained grammar errors. I had to buy a gig from another tutor to help me with this.” Of course, the letter contains no grammar errors, so this was a clear giveaway she was lying. It was a very simple gig and I know what I’m doing.



I looked at her profile again and took a closer look at her picture. Based on the file name, it’s clearly a borrowed photo. “She” has no feedback and was probably looking for free work. Submit an order, get the work done, complain and cancel, not a dime spent! Cool, huh?



Note that while this is my first bad experience (i.e. having someone steal my labor), this is not the first problematic client I have had. Several people have tried to take advantage of me, demanding things way beyond what the standard gig offers, thinking that because they are paying me $5 (of which I will only see $4) I am their slave for 24 hours, etc. Sellers simply do not have enough control over the order process and we are forced to put up with these unruly clients, completely at their mercy. All we can do is hold our tongues and hope they don’t leave negative feedback or take our work and then cancel the order anyway!



I like fiverr for the most part (you can see all my clients are happy, and many of them are return customers), but not enough to put up with these thieving clowns. Be sure to check out your buyer and if you notice any red flags about their request, it may be better to politely turn down the order.