As a service provider, it’s important to prioritize a smooth and hassle-free experience for your clients. Your ability to provide pleasant transactions is reflected in the "conflict-free" metric of your success score. This key area looks for any indications that a buyer may have had a negative experience or was dissatisfied with the delivery.
While we understand that not every order will be perfect and minor issues are bound to arise, there are a few things you can do to ensure a positive buyer experience and protect your success score. Here are some key practices to keep in mind:
Mastering the preorder phase
Aligning with your client from the start is essential to help avoid issues down the road. For starters, ensure your gig page is clear on deliverables and expectations, leaving no room for misunderstandings or confusion.
Further, when communicating with potential clients, make sure you’re aligned on what your buyer needs. Clarify with the user any questions you have, or any additional resources you may need, and if for any reason, you don’t believe the two of you are a good fit for another, decline the order early on. This can save both you and the buyer from potential headaches in the future.
Lastly, a major part of excelling in conflict-free orders is making sure you honor the agreed-upon scope, including deliverables, deadlines, and revisions. So, use this preorder stage to set reasonable expectations.
Acing the final delivery
A successful final delivery starts long before you complete the project. We encourage you to periodically check in with your client to provide progress updates and rough drafts. This ensures you're in tune with their vision and gives you ample time to make any necessary adjustments before the final delivery.
When making the final delivery, ensure it is on time and includes everything the client paid for. It’s a good practice to reach out to the buyer within 24 hours if you notice they have not responded to the final delivery. Encourage them to be proactive by either accepting it, requesting edits, or extending the review period before the order goes into auto-complete after three days.
Another thing to note is that buyers can leave private feedback up to 60 days after the order. With this in mind, we recommend always trying your best to make sure your client is happy with the end results even if the order is automatically completed. Though the private rating will not show on your profile, it does impact your success score.
Handling revisions well
Revisions are a normal part of the ordering process, and it's important to handle them professionally and efficiently.
Start by kindly acknowledging the buyer’s feedback and expressing a genuine desire to make the necessary changes. To avoid excessive revision requests, take the time to fully understand their requested edits before you make any changes. If needed, ask clarifying questions and repeat your understanding of their requests back to them to have them confirm. By taking these steps, it will reduce the back-and-forth revisions and can help prevent buyer frustration.
Handling conflicts
Despite all your efforts to make sure the order runs smoothly, disagreements may still arise. In such cases, we recommend first trying to resolve the issue between the two of you. Sometimes, a reasonable, professional conversation is enough to resolve the matter. If this doesn’t work, you can use resources like the Resolution Center to offer a partial refund or mutual cancellation. Customer Support is also always available to help mediate things as a last resort.
In summary, it's essential to consistently meet your client's expectations while providing clear communication and professional customer service. By mastering these key elements, you can create a satisfying experience for your buyers and protect your success score.
For templates and best practices to help you excel in your success score, check out the Seller’s communication hub, here. 
