Request to cancel an order after it has been delivered

[lophophora]

Hi,

I’m currently facing a challenging situation with a client and would appreciate your thoughts on what you would do in my position.

I’m an audio mastering engineer, and the client approached me to master his album. He requested that I work on one song first, allowing him to decide whether to proceed with the rest of the album based on the result, which I agreed to. I promptly did the work and delivered the file.

My gig includes two rounds of revisions, which I reminded the client about when delivering the work, as it’s common to explore different artistic visions on the initial attempt. However, after I delivered the order, the client immediately requested to cancel, claiming there was no difference in the first part of his song (which is incorrect and easy to demonstrate, but that’s not the main issue here).

Now I have the option to either accept or decline the cancellation request, and I need your guidance. On one hand, I feel it’s unfair that the client is seeking cancellation without requesting at least a revision and engaging into a discussion. On the other hand, he seems like a difficult client who may never be satisfied, and he’s already showing bad faith before we even discuss the matter. I’m concerned that if I decline the cancellation, it could lead to a negative review and wasted time.

What do you think is the best way to handle this? I have less than two days to respond.

If I decline the cancellation and manage to convince him to try a revision, I’m anticipating another cancellation request due to likely unrealistic expectations. Will I have an opportunity to respond to any poor review he might leave?

Thank you for your help!

[priyank_mod]

Most likely this buyer is trying to get away with free work. 

And unfortunately, such situations are like a double-edged sword for us - cancellation or bad public+private review, your gig and success score will get hurt either way. Either you can choose to get paid and risk receiving bad review or allow the cancellation to hurt your gigs silently. 

Also remember that even if you deny cancellation, buyer can still reach out to support and request cancellation for the order and they can even leave a bad public review for the cancelled order. 

[ovi_web313]

Feeling so bad after hearing the full story. I can understand how much effort you give to complete this. but this is also true Sometimes I give unlimited revisions to satisfy the buyer but didn't tell them to check my limit. i know this is not a good thing but I tried to not cancel the project. 

I wish you will get some good orders soon. 

[developerlikhon]

In my opinion, you should attempt to persuade your client to provide additional revisions, as they are not satisfied with the current work. If they refuse to provide revisions, I suggest you consult with the Fiverr support team to see what they recommend.

When I encounter a similar situation, I always try to convince the client if the initial work was not satisfactory. If that fails, I engage with the customer service team for support. As always, I receive the best outcomes from the Fiverr customer service team.

[lophophora]

Thank you all for your input! Right now, I’m leaning towards having a discussion with the client before making any decisions, as it’s quite frustrating that they didn’t give me a chance to provide satisfactory results.

If I accept the order cancellation, will they be allowed to leave a review on my gig? How will this affect my rating? Also, will I have the opportunity to leave a review for them? I believe it’s important for other freelancers to be aware of the type of buyer they’re dealing with.

[mandyzines]

Did you deliver formally via the delivery button, or was it in the order chat?

[lophophora]

I delivered using the dedicated "deliver now" button.

[rawque_gulia]

10 hours ago, lophophora said:

What do you think is the best way to handle this? I have less than two days to respond.

Buyers can still leave a public review after cancellation. Some buyers can't -- like if they're first-time buyers on the platform, but as far as I am aware, they can't leave a "private review" on canceled orders.

Now, it's uncertain whether a canceled order or a bad private review will have a greater impact.

If he is a first-time buyer and the order amount isn’t big (and not really matters to you), I would suggest considering cancellation. It may have some effect for a few weeks (or around three months), but a bad public review will stay on your profile forever -- and a negative private rating may hurt even more.

So, I would suggest letting it go (of course, if the order amount is not big) -- otherwise, the buyer may still get the order canceled through customer support (and that’s going to hurt even more badly).

[lophophora]

Thank you all once again for your input. I made every effort to engage in a professional conversation, fully aware that satisfying this client would likely not be possible. My main goal was to avoid a negative review. After exchanging a few messages, I was able to encourage them to leave a positive review without directly asking for it. While I ended up working on this project for free, I’m okay with it since this is the first time I’ve encountered such a challenging situation. It’s a learning experience, and I appreciate your support!