How a buyer ruined my Fiverr Career and the customer support did nothing to protect me.

[boyy1993x]

Hello everyone,

I am telling my story about a buyer who ruined my Fiverr Career with a 1-star review even though I did all the work he requested multiple times and the Fiverr customer support who did nothing to protect me from this manipulative buyer.

I received an order from a buyer to edit a video the specifications were unclear so I asked the buyer for clarification. I start with the order and delivered the edited video. The buyer did a revision and wanted to add something extra to the video, also he wanted multiple changes in the different elements that had been discussed beforehand. I agreed and again delivered the final product. This went on 4 more times. Each time the buyer wanted to add changes. Until I stated my limit, I would charge extra for the revision because it took me much time and I felt the buyer should pay for it.

The buyer was angry and wanted to cancel the order because I didn't want to work for free again. I also got a notification on my phone that the buyer had left a review. However I disagreed I had done all the work multiple times that the buyer had requested, and I cancelled the request and redelivered the last edited video. Meanwhile, I stayed nice to the buyer to resolve it but he stopped responding to my messages and ignored me.

After 3 days the order was automatically completed the buyer is still offline for 3 days even there was a review posted right away because I could also give a review to the buyer, I did and the incorrect and manipulative reason the buyer gave for wanting to cancel the order was added to my profile as a 1 star review. Remarkable if you ask me.

I went to customer support to help me and I explained the whole situation. I feel cheated and not protected as an experienced seller on Fiverr. They told me that the buyer's behavior was ''unintended behavior'' and that they were going to find out but according to privacy they were not allowed to tell anything else about it. The unjustified and manipulative 1 star from the buyer remains because it was given once even though it was 3 days before the order was automatically completed and that even it was a request to cancel the order to manipulate me doesn't matter to them. They describe it as a bug... and confirm that the review is given immediately after the automatically accepted order, Yeah right.. that isn't the case and I have proof that the buyer isn't online for 3 days at that moment.

If the customer support had followed the situation in the chats and in the order page which I pointed out several times then it was easy to resolve the situation. But they did nothing to protect me as an experienced seller on Fiverr from a manipulative buyer who ruined my Fiverr career with a 1 star review while profiting from my delivered end products.

Remember that in these situations as an experienced seller on Fiverr you will not be helped by customer support.

Because of this I really don't know if I want to continue as a seller on Fiverr. I have finished already over 150 orders.

 

[doylerwmt]

Yeah, I’ve just wrapped up what I think will be my final order as a seller on Fiverr. I’m sick of the terrible customer support. I’m tired of getting screwed over by clients as customer support sit and watch and do nothing. And I’m tired of seeing sellers on here not wanting to further their career based on the terrible experience they’ve had here. Fiverr for me has been a ‘side project/hobby’ to allow me to work on other projects outside of my day job as an art director. But the stress and disrespect we get here due to bad management and support, is far worse than anything in my regular career.

I genuinely hope that those who stay can make it work, but I refuse to be here and treated like I’m nothing by Fiverr (while bringing in money for them). I’ve had enough terrible jobs and employers in my 25 year career, that I don’t need that stress again through a hobby site. 

[milos_siena]

I am sorry to hear this. You did your best to explain the situation. I wouldn't give up on Fiverr, as you have multiple gigs with success scores higher than 4 and generally great stats. I don't think that your impressions/clicks/orders will decrease.

[rawque_gulia]

The thing is that a review will only be removed if there's a violation, such as vulgar or abusive language. Buyers are free to leave their honest (or even dishonest) thoughts in the review section -- and I doubt customer support will ever remove a review, as everyone has the right to leave a review based on their experience.

I also have a 1-star review full of lies, but it did not affect my freelancing career -- neither sales nor impressions. As @milos_siena mentioned it will hardly impact your metrics (at least it didn't affect mine in my case). I was literally in a state of sadness for a few days, but everything became normal once I started engaging with new orders.

Simply leave a response to that review explaining your side of the story, and I am sure buyers with a brain will be able to make the right decision (by hearing both side of the story).

[milos_siena]

10 minutes ago, rawque_gulia said:

The thing is that a review will only be removed if there's a violation, such as vulgar or abusive language. Buyers are free to leave their honest (or even dishonest) thoughts in the review section -- and I doubt customer support will ever remove a review, as everyone has the right to leave a review based on their experience.

I also have a 1-star review full of lies, but it did not affect my freelancing career -- neither sales nor impressions. As @milos_siena mentioned it will hardly impact your metrics (at least it didn't affect mine in my case). I was literally in a state of sadness for a few days, but everything became normal once I started engaging with new orders.

Simply leave a response to that review explaining your side of the story, and I am sure buyers with a brain will be able to make the right decision (by hearing both side of the story).

Excellent observation. Anyway I checked, he won't be "invisible" in search results, that's the most important thing. Every once in a while, a seller bumps on a buyer like that. The key is to cancel the order ASAP.

[catwriter]

On 8/20/2024 at 4:54 PM, rawque_gulia said:

Simply leave a response to that review explaining your side of the story, and I am sure buyers with a brain will be able to make the right decision (by hearing both side of the story).

This. Plus, if you explain the situation well in your response, buyers who are looking for sellers they can manipulate into working for free will see that you're not one of them, and will pick someone else.

[vickiespencer]

On 8/20/2024 at 9:05 AM, milos_siena said:

Every once in a while, a seller bumps on a buyer like that. The key is to cancel the order ASAP.

This, If I smell trouble, I always cancel before investing more of my time. That way, the buyer may leave a public review, which you can write an excellent rebuttal to, but they can not leave a private review. 

Sometimes, you do your best and still get a less-than-stellar review. I had one recently that upset me for a day. But then I realized the buyer's ill-written review, appearing before my professionally written rebuttal, spoke for the buyer's character. Besides, the next day, I continued to get inquiries and orders on that gig.