Buyers get protection from bad reviews... Sellers don't.

[alexiscottray]

Hello Fiverr Community,

I recently encountered a situation on Fiverr that I believe warrants discussion and caution among fellow freelancers. I want to share my experience to raise awareness and potentially prevent others from facing similar challenges.

I recently completed an order for a CRO audit. The client, an agency, did not specify that the order was on behalf of their client. The transaction seemed routine, with the client expressing satisfaction upon delivery. However, to my surprise, I received a disproportionately harsh review from them.

What's concerning is that as a seller, I am unable to modify my review after seeing the client's feedback. Meanwhile, buyers have the freedom to adjust their ratings, creating an imbalance in the review system.

In this specific case, I provided a "good experience" 5-star rating based on the assumption of receiving positive feedback in return. Over 500 reviews on my profile, I only have 3 reviews at 3/5 so it doesn't happen very often. However, the subsequent review was unexpectedly negative, leaving me feeling unfairly rated.

This experience raises important questions about the fairness and transparency of the review process on Fiverr. Shouldn't sellers have the same opportunity as buyers to adjust their ratings, especially in cases of unjust feedback?

I urge fellow freelancers to exercise caution and consider the potential risks when dealing with clients, particularly agencies representing third parties. Communication and clarity upfront are essential to avoid misunderstandings that could lead to unfair ratings.

I wish I could change my review to flag the seller account and avoid to other freelancers a bad experience similar to mine... but it's not possible... 

Additionally, I'm concerned that while buyers can modify their ratings, as a seller, I always fear providing a low rating and consequently upsetting the client, leading them to change the rating to a lower one.

I welcome your thoughts and experiences on this matter. Let's work together to ensure a fair and supportive environment for all members of the Fiverr community.

Best regards,
Alexis

Edited May 6 by alexiscottray
change title

[momaidi]

Hey Alexis, 

I had the same experience with a buyer where everything was good but due to nationality he rated me with 2-star and a very negative feedback on my profile which really affected my account, I wish we had that option but there is possibility and we should just let it be.

There is nothing that we can do and I believe CS team will also not help you in this regard as in very special circumstances they will accept your request for review modification but in this scenario which you have mentioned there is 0% chance of modifying your account unfortunately! 😞

Let's hope if we get this option in future!

[alexiscottray]

I am ok with the rating I received... I know it cannot be changed. My request with CS is to change the rating I gave to the buyer to protect future sellers - but it looks impossible indeed. It's a shame that sellers cannot change the review, when buyers have this possibility. 

[donnovan86]

1 hour ago, alexiscottray said:

My request with CS is to change the rating I gave to the buyer to protect future sellers - but it looks impossible indeed.

The thing here is that Fiverr wants you to blindly rate the buyer and be honest about your experience. Once you see their review, you can't really be honest since you have bias. It would be great if you could modify reviews and years ago it was possible. But obviously, due to people manipulating the system and changing things to curate their reviews, that option is not valid anymore. 

[alexiscottray]

I am always blindly rating my customers with the best possible rating, for this particular client for instance I did not have any reason before the rating and rude review not to provide a traditional 5 rating. 

[alexiscottray]

The client thanked me for the delivery, asked a couple of questions, and one month later rated the order. 

Rating 2/5 
Alex did a CRO audit on one of my clients website, the audit was repeating the same things again and again and did not go into depth on how the website could be actually improved.

This is my reply to this rating : 
Maybe the client did not like the audit for the price that you charged him... This is the reason why I don't like to work for agencies... I prefer to work for the final client. With over 200 audits, you are the first one to be so hard on the rating, leaving such a review after one month without answering my messages after you asked for a couple of questions. Really disappointed experience. 

This unique experience make my service go from 5.0 to 4.9 which is always kinda irritating. 

[aimriser]

4 hours ago, alexiscottray said:

Hello Fiverr Community,

I recently encountered a situation on Fiverr that I believe warrants discussion and caution among fellow freelancers. I want to share my experience to raise awareness and potentially prevent others from facing similar challenges.

I recently completed an order for a CRO audit. The client, an agency, did not specify that the order was on behalf of their client. The transaction seemed routine, with the client expressing satisfaction upon delivery. However, to my surprise, I received a disproportionately harsh review from them.

What's concerning is that as a seller, I am unable to modify my review after seeing the client's feedback. Meanwhile, buyers have the freedom to adjust their ratings, creating an imbalance in the review system.

In this specific case, I provided a "good experience" 5-star rating based on the assumption of receiving positive feedback in return. Over 500 reviews on my profile, I only have 3 reviews at 3/5 so it doesn't happen very often. However, the subsequent review was unexpectedly negative, leaving me feeling unfairly rated.

This experience raises important questions about the fairness and transparency of the review process on Fiverr. Shouldn't sellers have the same opportunity as buyers to adjust their ratings, especially in cases of unjust feedback?

I urge fellow freelancers to exercise caution and consider the potential risks when dealing with clients, particularly agencies representing third parties. Communication and clarity upfront are essential to avoid misunderstandings that could lead to unfair ratings.

I wish I could change my review to flag the seller account and avoid to other freelancers a bad experience similar to mine... but it's not possible... 

Additionally, I'm concerned that while buyers can modify their ratings, as a seller, I always fear providing a low rating and consequently upsetting the client, leading them to change the rating to a lower one.

I welcome your thoughts and experiences on this matter. Let's work together to ensure a fair and supportive environment for all members of the Fiverr community.

Best regards,
Alexis

I don't think this opportunity can benefit seller. It can only be utilized to get temporary satisfaction. Remarks are given to alert other sellers from the client. We all generally know the general behavior of paying end is always critical. So I think it is better to avoid battle and remain concerned to job. 

[alexiscottray]

On 5/1/2024 at 2:44 PM, aimriser said:

I don't think this opportunity can benefit seller. It can only be utilized to get temporary satisfaction. Remarks are given to alert other sellers from the client. We all generally know the general behavior of paying end is always critical. So I think it is better to avoid battle and remain concerned to job. 

Any warning or alert about the client was sent to me BEFORE I saw the bad client review. Now that I see the behavior, I wish I could alert other sellers. 

When I have a new buyer, I generally watch the previous reviews from sellers on his profile. I wish I could alert on this profile but it is not possible. 

[alexiscottray]

Because of this bad experience, I thought today I was going to receive a bad review because the client told me he wanted to redo the whole project (a form project), change all the Q&As and was waiting for the team feedback. 

Still, today the client surprisingly accepted and left a review. 

I then wrongly rated the buyer to alert the miscommunication, two week delay, and no feedback. Turns out I received a 5 star review. 

I have contacted Client Support and in 5 minutes, I was able to change my review to the buyer from 1 to 4 and change the comment review. Amazing, from bad to good, it's super easy to change the review. From good to bad, it's impossible...