Am I being rude to ask the buyer if they haven't send the picture?

[ice_tea]

Hi,

I just have this experience.

I got one order at 02.53 GMT+7 and I asked him at 08.17 GMT+7, because he haven’t send the photo yet.

I just want to assure if he doesn’t have any upload problem, because one of my customer has it.

My another previous customer, always sent the picture as soon as possible they made an order.



at 08.20 GMT+7, he replied, that he got busy at work and haven’t been able to get a pic for me and he said he will send it in 1 hour.



there is no communication afterward, but suddenly, at 13:38, he type as I quote the conversation :

buyer : "Order started means you have my image and can complete a gig. I never sent an image so you need to change the status back to incomplete so I can upload an image. If you are a scammer I will submit for a refund. I did not complete my gig, you did not start my gig and so you should not be paid for work not completed."



me : "What option do you give me?

I’m assure you I’m not a scam.

Do you have any upload problems?"



buyer : "I ordered the gig. until you receive what you need in order to COMPLETE AND WORK ON THAT GIG YOU SHOULD LEAVE THE STATUS AS IT IS. You waste my time and effort having to go through all this when I just order the gig several hrs ago. NOT DAYS#!!

I was busy. it’s called work and life. NO WHERE DOES IT SAY GIGS WILL BE CANCELLED IF REQUIREMENTS ARE NOT MET WITHIN A SPECIFIED TIME!!!"



me : "I’m sorry, but I cannot have your image if you never send it to me.

How do I change the satus back to incomplete, if I may ask?"



buyer : "I don’t know. …you shouldn’t have messed with it. it’s a very simple process. you post. I order. pay and get my work. problem is now you’ve wasted time for what $5. if that’s what you do for a living then keep it. I’ll make sure I report this issue and my experience. again. when a member buys a gig and doesn’t submit the requirements within an hr…it DOES NOT GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO DICTATE IF I RECEIVE MY ORDER OR NOT. a few hours does not constitute this type of business."



me : "I just try to give my best effort, Sir.

I try to give good communication for you, if you have any special spesification for it, and to finish my work earlier and faster.

Also just to clarify if my customer doesn’t have any problem with uploading stuff.

Because one of my customer has those upload problem.

But if you think this conversation is such waste of time, I can’t help it.

It depents on you if you want to cancel it or not.

I have another customer to care to.

Thank you."



Thank you for your opinion.

To be honest, I never had any problem with my another customer, and it makes me confuse.

---

[fastcopywriter]

#1. Don’t call people sir. I know it may be common in Indonesia, but Fiverr is international, so there’s no need for that. Fiverr is very informal. It’s also bad to be nice to bullies, you’re only empowering them.



#2. Your buyer is being abusive, unless he sent the picture on the message. When you have an order, at the very bottom you will find this:



View discussion with buyer in your inbox or click here to mutually cancel the order



So you click on “buyer” and see if he has sent you the picture. If he hasn’t, then he has a problem.



#3. Click “resolution center” and write why you want to cancel the order. “Buyer refuses to provide picture.” Then the buyer will either reject the cancellation and provide a picture, or accept it.



I hope my advice helped you.

[ice_tea]

Thank you for your advice.

I just check the inbox and the buyer hasn’t sent anything to me.



Maybe I will do option #3,

[misscrystal]

If they never sent the picture and are talking so bad to you cancel the order immediately.

[sincere18]

I also think you need to wait a little bit. It was only a few hours, and while I understand from a sellers point of view they wish to have the information to start the job right away, some buyers don’t always send it right away. I think for the future you should wait at least 1 full day before contacting the buyer to ask where their photo is.



If a buyer is let’s say at work and on his lunch break goes to look at Fiverr and finds a gig he likes and buys it, maybe he doesn’t have the photo and the photo is at home.



I am not sure why he got the message order has started, however if he ordered the gig and then sent you a message right away, even if the message was just words, the system may think the job has started already.



But I think next time wait a little longer before trying to contact someone. YOu also have to remember that some people are in different time zones then you as well.

[feltonlegal]

I would cancel as this is a bad review waiting to happen. As others have said, you can request it on the grounds that the order was started yet you dont have the picture. Maybe he wrote you as sincere18 stated which made the order start before you had the info you needed, but either way, he is already upset with you so even if you do a great job I wouldnt be surprised if he knocks off a star or two-not worth it.

[Anna]

I agree, I would still cancel since you guys did start off on the right foot! You are just risking a bad review!

[Guest]

I may be missing something, but if it’s in the gig instructions that a photo has to be provided, why did the status change if the buyer did not send a photo?



Regardless, I agree that the order should be cancelled. The buyer is rude and unreasonable; it’s very unlikely he will be happy with anything you provide - if he ever sends the photo at all.



Yes, there can be different time zones and language issues involved, but how soon to remind a buyer about requirements is totally related to the duration of the gig. If it’s a quick deadline, a seller can’t wait around for the buyer to feed the cat, go shopping, have a date with their girlfriend, paint the lounge and then maybe remember to submit the info after they’ve had a good night’s rest.

[ruxandradraws]

Reply to @itsyourthing: That change of status without the gig instructions being provided happened to me too today. Probably because of all these updates FIverr does these days(like that new awesome buyer request section)

[ice_tea]

Reply to @sincere18: Yeah, maybe at this case, I was bit too rush.



And when he said he will send it in 1 hour, I didn’t say anything else. Because I was working too.

I was shocked when I opened my fiverr at my lunch time, I got those message 😦

I think it’s okay know. The order has been cancelled.

[ice_tea]

Reply to @ruxandradraws: wow… I just hear about it.

all I know is fiverr will be down at Sunday for maintenance reason.

[ice_tea]

Reply to @itsyourthing: yeah… I just want to finish the gigs earlier.

because all my order have finished earlier than the time limit. (I’m not that kind of person who like to delaying my work)



maybe he’s in a bad mood.

about time zone differences, I always use world clock app.

so I know exactly, what time at my buyer is.

[Guest coolmit]

Never call anyone “Sir”, royalties and knights are not coming to fiverr anytime soon.

Also if the order clock started ticking without buyer’s posting required material then its Fiverr system bug, its not something you control so don’t be apologetic for that either. Just tell buyer to understand technology or go back to school.



And yes I am a buyer, not a seller so I will condemn a fellow buyer for such stupid behavior.

[thepromogirl]

ice_tea said: problem is now you've wasted time for what $5. if that's what you do for a living then keep it. I'll make sure I report this issue and my experience. again. when a member buys a gig and doesn't submit the requirements within an hr...it DOES NOT GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO DICTATE IF I RECEIVE MY ORDER OR NOT. a few hours does not constitute this type of business."

 

Bullying, threats and harassment are not allowed or tolerated here on Fiverr - I would screenshot the conversations held between you and the Buyers directly to Customer Service and let them know the order number so they can deal directly with the Buyer regarding their behavior so they can be warned and stop. It's not acceptable. You do not sound rude at all, you're just trying to help.

 

With that said, Customer Service will be the best to assist you with handling the order should you wish to complete it. They can get involved with the order directly should you no longer uncomfortable and/or if the Buyers is refusing to communicate with you in a polite and professional manner.

 

ice_tea said: Order started means you have my image and can complete a gig. I never sent an image so you need to change the status back to incomplete so I can upload an image.

 

It doesn't mean you received the image - as you've communicated to the Buyer, there have been upload issues in the past on Fiverr. It's happened with a few of my Buyers as well. This isn't the necessarily Buyers fault or yours, it just happens sometimes. It appears the Buyer is very unaware how the system works, Sellers do not have control over orders when it comes to reversing them (by marking them as incomplete). This is an automated system that opens when the Buyer 'supplies information' according to the order instructions. Simply let the buyer know you didn't receive the image and to please send it again so you can begin working.

 

I wouldn't address the complaints they are having that are out of your control (saying things like "But if you think this conversation is such waste of time, I can't help it.") This doesn't come off as helpful or understanding it only comes off as being defensive. The objective is to gain the information required to complete the order, some things you say come off as if you're trying to defend your previous statements. It's irrelevant to the task at hand.

 

All you can really do is let them know you understand what they're saying and if they are having uploading issues with their own account, they are welcome to contact Customer Service directly regarding the issue so it can be resolved and ensure it won't happen in future orders. Express that, while you'd be happy to do so, you simply do not have that sort of control - you're just a user like them. This usually puts things back into perspective.

 

If you're still wanting to complete the order verses cancelling it, remind them you will still need the required materials from them to complete the order, and to supply what is needed as soon as possible. You can also let them know that you will be unable to begin working on the order till they have done so.

 

Hope this helps and happy gigging! :)

[Guest]

Reply to @ruxandradraws: I’m in the habit of checking my gigs every day to make sure the “instructions” box is still checked. Even though it seems like there may be another glitch with the countdown clock.



I know Fiverr lets bugs stay longer than they should, but if instructions aren’t being required when they should be, this could cause all sorts of big problems.

[Guest]

Reply to @coolmit: I’m going to disagree with “Sir”. Sir is a perfectly acceptable, polite term of address for males in the U.S. and many other countries, even if no royal commendation is involved. My general rule with Fiverr is to address the person either as their username or whatever name they close contact with - if there’s need for direct salutation in the first place.



PLEASE, I ask that you do nothing to discourage the use of “Sir”. Far too many users feel that “dear” is an appropriate substitute.

[sincere18]

Reply to @ice_tea: while that is a good work flow to have to finish things earlier, the whole reason you have more days in your delivery is for the times like this.

[ice_tea]

Reply to @thepromogirl: Thank you very much for your advice… 🙂

I will note this for my future reference. (I hope it wont happen again)

[Guest coolmit]

Reply to @itsyourthing: I agree that Sir is acceptable term but no one get offended if you don’t call them Sir. I have been working online for 10 years, never meet one such guy. As you said yourself, username of first name is the best way to go.

P.S. “Dear” is a good word to use if your client is from Middle East, all of my clients from there use Dear.

[ice_tea]

I think I just understand the real problem was.

My buyer thought that I use “Instruction for Buyer” fiture, where in this case I didn’t.

That’s why he said that the order should to be remain “Incomplete” because he didn’t send the information yet.



I hope I know about this at the first place, maybe I can explain it to him.

I just know it now, when I already use those column today.



BTW, some of my new buyer haven’t provide the information too.

And now, I just explain to them that I didn’t use “Instruction for Buyer” fiture, so even though they didn’t reply to my message, the timer will still keep running.