Buyer requested 3 revisions for free, now he wants the entire work remade

[nika_3dartist]

Hello everyone,

First time posting in the forums, as I’m getting a bit of a headache here and may be in need of a good advice from another seller’s perspective. I found topics similar to this one already, but I thought it would be best to explain my own (ongoing) experience due to some details being slightly different from what I’ve read so far. Be warned, it’s going to be a long one.

To summarize:

I’ve been a Fiverr seller for a year now, providing 3D content like video game assets and rendered concepts. I’m about to reach my Level 2 badge (on the 15th next month) and the received feedbacks so far have always been positive with 5 stars each which also led to returning customers.
However, I recently got a new one who is currently making me pull a bunch of hair off and I want to be sure I’ll handle this the correct way without risking to be negatively affected.

The buyer in question didn’t exactly start in the greatest of ways; didn’t know how things work on the platform and clicked the wrong buttons around (I didn’t even see it like a huge problem in the beginning though), didn’t provide the right feedbacks when they were due, requested constant changes, etc.

The order began with this guy sending me a clear explanation of what he wanted with some references attached to the first post, after discussing the whole ordeal privately to be sure I had a clear grasp of what he was looking for ( although I did say I could do what he wanted more than once and that didn’t seem to go through, because he asked me the same question twice). The only doubts we had were for a couple undefined details that he wanted to clarify along the way upon deciding, so I felt confident about the entire project because everything else was set and fully understandable.

I started to work on his request and provided a few screenshots to show him what I was doing. He pointed some things out that I immediatly edited or changed, but in the end I found myself forced to ask him what he wanted regarding the missing details without getting a real answer to that. He never really told me what to do on that regard and time was running out.
So, I showed the buyer what I was creating based on his references, asking him to let me know if he wanted it differently or not. He didn’t have anything to say and basically allowed me to proceed with the final step of the project.

The moment I delivered the completed work, he started to point out the many wrong things and told me to change a lot of stuff that could be seen in my previous attachments and he never even mentioned before. He also asked me to replace a significant element into the scene after the second delivery, because once again he didn’t properly check what I sent with the needed attention.
He simply justified himself saying that he works all day and thus he was evidently too tired to properly see from his phone, He just relaxes as soon as he gets home. Now, he did say he was sorry for not giving me the correct informations, but still found this sentence quite unprofessional and uncalled for, because I am working as well and he’s been incredibly picky about something he didn’t even care to inspect and that he would use as marketing/mascot for his product. I let him know that being 3D some details just must be clarified ahead of time and this is exactly why I provide drafts to all my clients without sending the files blindly.

I accepted to do the required modifications anyway as my gig has 2 revisions set and he got 3.

Apparently, he was actually finally satisfied with what I sent him yesterday, but today he came back asking for a FOURTH revision (so double compared to what the gig offers) notifying me that he showed the project to his team only now and everyone was unhappy about the colors and pose he picked for the 3D model used. This means that he now wants me to redo the whole thing from the second step onward although his initial request has been technically fullfilled.

I explained to him that at this point I no longer offer revisions for free, since he already consumed all the available ones and I allowed him an additional modification without additional costs. The guy didn’t even consult with his team beforehand and I already had to drastically alter the project a couple times due to his late realizations before and also after delivery. It seems like he didn’t care about what I told him at all.

At this point, I forwarded him an extra payment request for the rework, which would cover the remake of half project I previously delivered. He seemed unsure of what to do and didn’t even notice it, using yet another revision request just to answer my comment.

My gig states that additional revisions generally cost $15, but this would definitely be way more than a simple edit and thus, it’s going to be a lot more expensive. My question is, what am I supposed to do if he refuses to pay what this unplanned amount of work is truly worth? Cancelling the order would affect me greatly, making me lose the money after the hard work I did on his request (giving him the work for free) and potentially ruining my profile upgrade after a year on the platform.

However, should he accept the extra payment I am afraid that he will just continue with the same attitude over and over again, constantly asking for last minute changes or remakes whenever he pleases and keeping the order running without finishing it off properly for much longer. I suppose that the only solution may be to charge additional fees whenever he wants the work to be edited or remade, this will most likely discourage him to continue. Maybe.

I never experienced such a backlash from an accepted order before. As a seller I always do my best to provide quality work and be as respectful and professional as I can be. The Customer Support, as we all know, isn’t exactly quick with their answers and in the past I more often than not had the impression they were just brushing me off without explaining much and didn’t hesitate to close the ticket despite telling me to let them know if I needed further assistance on that specific matter.

Any suggestion?

[marinapomorac]

Hello everyone,

First time posting in the forums, as I’m getting a bit of a headache here and may be in need of a good advice from another seller’s perspective. I found topics similar to this one already, but I thought it would be best to explain my own (ongoing) experience due to some details being slightly different from what I’ve read so far. Be warned, it’s going to be a long one.

To summarize:

I’ve been a Fiverr seller for a year now, providing 3D content like video game assets and rendered concepts. I’m about to reach my Level 2 badge (on the 15th next month) and the received feedbacks so far have always been positive with 5 stars each which also led to returning customers.

However, I recently got a new one who is currently making me pull a bunch of hair off and I want to be sure I’ll handle this the correct way without risking to be negatively affected.

The buyer in question didn’t exactly start in the greatest of ways; didn’t know how things work on the platform and clicked the wrong buttons around (I didn’t even see it like a huge problem in the beginning though), didn’t provide the right feedbacks when they were due, requested constant changes, etc.

The order began with this guy sending me a clear explanation of what he wanted with some references attached to the first post, after discussing the whole ordeal privately to be sure I had a clear grasp of what he was looking for ( although I did say I could do what he wanted more than once and that didn’t seem to go through, because he asked me the same question twice). The only doubts we had were for a couple undefined details that he wanted to clarify along the way upon deciding, so I felt confident about the entire project because everything else was set and fully understandable.

I started to work on his request and provided a few screenshots to show him what I was doing. He pointed some things out that I immediatly edited or changed, but in the end I found myself forced to ask him what he wanted regarding the missing details without getting a real answer to that. He never really told me what to do on that regard and time was running out.

So, I showed the buyer what I was creating based on his references, asking him to let me know if he wanted it differently or not. He didn’t have anything to say and basically allowed me to proceed with the final step of the project.

The moment I delivered the completed work, he started to point out the many wrong things and told me to change a lot of stuff that could be seen in my previous attachments and he never even mentioned before. He also asked me to replace a significant element into the scene after the second delivery, because once again he didn’t properly check what I sent with the needed attention.

He simply justified himself saying that he works all day and thus he was evidently too tired to properly see from his phone, He just relaxes as soon as he gets home. Now, he did say he was sorry for not giving me the correct informations, but still found this sentence quite unprofessional and uncalled for, because I am working as well and he’s been incredibly picky about something he didn’t even care to inspect and that he would use as marketing/mascot for his product. I let him know that being 3D some details just must be clarified ahead of time and this is exactly why I provide drafts to all my clients without sending the files blindly.

I accepted to do the required modifications anyway as my gig has 2 revisions set and he got 3.

Apparently, he was actually finally satisfied with what I sent him yesterday, but today he came back asking for a FOURTH revision (so double compared to what the gig offers) notifying me that he showed the project to his team only now and everyone was unhappy about the colors and pose he picked for the 3D model used. This means that he now wants me to redo the whole thing from the second step onward although his initial request has been technically fullfilled.

I explained to him that at this point I no longer offer revisions for free, since he already consumed all the available ones and I allowed him an additional modification without additional costs. The guy didn’t even consult with his team beforehand and I already had to drastically alter the project a couple times due to his late realizations before and also after delivery. It seems like he didn’t care about what I told him at all.

At this point, I forwarded him an extra payment request for the rework, which would cover the remake of half project I previously delivered. He seemed unsure of what to do and didn’t even notice it, using yet another revision request just to answer my comment.

My gig states that additional revisions generally cost $15, but this would definitely be way more than a simple edit and thus, it’s going to be a lot more expensive. My question is, what am I supposed to do if he refuses to pay what this unplanned amount of work is truly worth? Cancelling the order would affect me greatly, making me lose the money after the hard work I did on his request (giving him the work for free) and potentially ruining my profile upgrade after a year on the platform.

However, should he accept the extra payment I am afraid that he will just continue with the same attitude over and over again, constantly asking for last minute changes or remakes whenever he pleases and keeping the order running without finishing it off properly for much longer. I suppose that the only solution may be to charge additional fees whenever he wants the work to be edited or remade, this will most likely discourage him to continue. Maybe.

I never experienced such a backlash from an accepted order before. As a seller I always do my best to provide quality work and be as respectful and professional as I can be. The Customer Support, as we all know, isn’t exactly quick with their answers and in the past I more often than not had the impression they were just brushing me off without explaining much and didn’t hesitate to close the ticket despite telling me to let them know if I needed further assistance on that specific matter.

Any suggestion?

Cancelling the order would affect me greatly,

Stay calm and respectful towards him, do not put yourself above him claiming you deserve money, you should write in a way he thinks you deserve money.

Explain that modifications are charged extra and send offer for the extra cost.

If he refuses, if he starts causing any issues you can ask customer support to cancel order and that will not impact your statistics. You will lose money and time but your profile will be safe.

The key here is that you must never lose your “cool” in communication. Even a slight mishap is going to be enough for CS to refuse your request.

Don’t downgrade yourself, but also don’t overdo it.

I can’t give you the exact sample of response because I do not know buyers background and style of communication/writing.

[nika_3dartist]

Cancelling the order would affect me greatly,

Stay calm and respectful towards him, do not put yourself above him claiming you deserve money, you should write in a way he thinks you deserve money.

Explain that modifications are charged extra and send offer for the extra cost.

If he refuses, if he starts causing any issues you can ask customer support to cancel order and that will not impact your statistics. You will lose money and time but your profile will be safe.

The key here is that you must never lose your “cool” in communication. Even a slight mishap is going to be enough for CS to refuse your request.

Don’t downgrade yourself, but also don’t overdo it.

I can’t give you the exact sample of response because I do not know buyers background and style of communication/writing.

Thank you for your reply!

Yes, absolutely. Although it can be extremely easy to lose our cool in similar situations, I also know that being snappy with our responses while understandable can only bring bad results. I did specify to him that I can no longer offer free revisions and that once again he was unfortunately asking for drastic modifications for something he was supposed to provide beforehand. I also listed what the additional work would cover, to let him know exactly why this would cost more than a standard revision.

In the end, I also had to tell him that he was requesting revisions just to reply to my messages and that for normal communication it would be best to move it to private messages as revisions are not exactly ideal. In the end I’m not telling him that I won’t do it, only that it isn’t possible to do as revision and it can be really hard for me when he sends me info and changes at the last minute.

However, would the CS really cancel it without affecting the statistics? One thing I forgot to mention is that they already cancelled an order from him because he accidentally placed two orders at once and indeed, that never ended up into my rates. But I remember I asked the CS not long ago if I could cancel an order due to an unresponsive buyer and lack of informations that I neeed to continue, in that case they told me I would be affected no matter what although I didn’t yet deliver the finished work (it turned out fine in the end, the buyer apologized and we made a delivery extension).

Early today he told me: “If the revision is $15 then it’s fine”, which makes me think he may indeed complain about the extra price.

Another thing that bothers me with a possible cancellation is that while I’d lose the money, he still would get away with the finished work for free, even if his team would most likely scrap it. Not much I can do about that though, I suppose.

[marinapomorac]

Thank you for your reply!

Yes, absolutely. Although it can be extremely easy to lose our cool in similar situations, I also know that being snappy with our responses while understandable can only bring bad results. I did specify to him that I can no longer offer free revisions and that once again he was unfortunately asking for drastic modifications for something he was supposed to provide beforehand. I also listed what the additional work would cover, to let him know exactly why this would cost more than a standard revision.

In the end, I also had to tell him that he was requesting revisions just to reply to my messages and that for normal communication it would be best to move it to private messages as revisions are not exactly ideal. In the end I’m not telling him that I won’t do it, only that it isn’t possible to do as revision and it can be really hard for me when he sends me info and changes at the last minute.

However, would the CS really cancel it without affecting the statistics? One thing I forgot to mention is that they already cancelled an order from him because he accidentally placed two orders at once and indeed, that never ended up into my rates. But I remember I asked the CS not long ago if I could cancel an order due to an unresponsive buyer and lack of informations that I neeed to continue, in that case they told me I would be affected no matter what although I didn’t yet deliver the finished work (it turned out fine in the end, the buyer apologized and we made a delivery extension).

Early today he told me: “If the revision is $15 then it’s fine”, which makes me think he may indeed complain about the extra price.

Another thing that bothers me with a possible cancellation is that while I’d lose the money, he still would get away with the finished work for free, even if his team would most likely scrap it. Not much I can do about that though, I suppose.

Something like:

Hello younamebuyer

Regarding your latest information, the modifications to the design can not be made in a way to be considered as mild modification. They are in fact brand new design/drawing/art.

In order for me to deliver this I have to work on the project from scratch which requires additional fee of $$$.

I would kindly appreatiate that before I start working on this new artwork you review the design in detail with you and your team and provide me with all the necessary details, modifications and upgrades you wish to see in new drawing.

I will follow strictly your provided data so it is crucial they are precise and self-sufficient.

But I remember I asked the CS not long ago if I could cancel an order due to an unresponsive buyer and lack of information that I needed to continue

I had that and they canceled my order without affecting my stats. But I have in my mandatory requirements all kinds of clicks and ticks for buyers that protect me in case they do that.

I put in my offers and in my GIG order MR what order includes and what classifies as included revision.

And here you cant be broad.

It has to be something like:

Revisions included in this offer are for:

image988×700 131 KB

[nika_3dartist]

Something like:

Hello younamebuyer

Regarding your latest information, the modifications to the design can not be made in a way to be considered as mild modification. They are in fact brand new design/drawing/art.

In order for me to deliver this I have to work on the project from scratch which requires additional fee of $$$.

I would kindly appreatiate that before I start working on this new artwork you review the design in detail with you and your team and provide me with all the necessary details, modifications and upgrades you wish to see in new drawing.

I will follow strictly your provided data so it is crucial they are precise and self-sufficient.

But I remember I asked the CS not long ago if I could cancel an order due to an unresponsive buyer and lack of information that I needed to continue

I had that and they canceled my order without affecting my stats. But I have in my mandatory requirements all kinds of clicks and ticks for buyers that protect me in case they do that.

I put in my offers and in my GIG order MR what order includes and what classifies as included revision.

And here you cant be broad.

It has to be something like:

Revisions included in this offer are for:

image988×700 131 KB

Thank you, this is actually very useful informations!

[kawala47]

Any revision not falling in the scope of the initial requirements deserves compensation. Also, clients are different. Some will be stubborn while others will be genuine. To avoid negative ratings and order cancellation, kindly offer clients the best irrespective of their personalities. If you are offering unlimited revisions in your packages, the clients can ask for revisions as many times as they want. Please note that satisfaction is subjective. If the client says he/she isn’t satisfied with the delivery, there is no way fiverr support can go against that and solve the issue in your favor. Really sorry friend. I how disturbing this issue can be.

[nika_3dartist]

Any revision not falling in the scope of the initial requirements deserves compensation. Also, clients are different. Some will be stubborn while others will be genuine. To avoid negative ratings and order cancellation, kindly offer clients the best irrespective of their personalities. If you are offering unlimited revisions in your packages, the clients can ask for revisions as many times as they want. Please note that satisfaction is subjective. If the client says he/she isn’t satisfied with the delivery, there is no way fiverr support can go against that and solve the issue in your favor. Really sorry friend. I how disturbing this issue can be.

Yes, that is sadly very true. In this case though he was sorta happy in the end, but didn’t properly revise the project with his team and only showed them the finished work today. As a result, they expressed dissatisfaction to that and for this reason he thought it would be okay to redo it. In his defense I think he is honestly very confused about how Fiverr works, the fact he accidentally placed two orders at once and clicked the wrong buttons more than once is enough proof of that.

My gig has 2 revisions included, but it seems like customers can still request more and more without getting charged. From what I read on the forums it seems like they can do so until the seller themselves expressively tell them it isn’t doable, but there isn’t any option to directly refuse. I already gave him one more as freebie.

[imagination7413]

Sounds like you’re taking the correct steps to me.

The only thing I would do differently, or in addition to, is to remind the Buyer to check with their team before any more revision requests, so make sure everyone is in agreement. Maybe also that they should compile a proper list of the changes they want so that you can list what each change will cost. Like a detailed invoice. (Granted that ‘maybe’ will also be more work on your part, as you’d actually have to estimate the cost of individual changes.)

[nika_3dartist]

Sounds like you’re taking the correct steps to me.

The only thing I would do differently, or in addition to, is to remind the Buyer to check with their team before any more revision requests, so make sure everyone is in agreement. Maybe also that they should compile a proper list of the changes they want so that you can list what each change will cost. Like a detailed invoice. (Granted that ‘maybe’ will also be more work on your part, as you’d actually have to estimate the cost of individual changes.)

Yes! I forwarded him a message with a similar structure to the one suggested by marinapomorac, explaining calmly why the additional work would cost more than a standard revision and respectfully asked him to consult his team and provide all the needed informations, which I am more than willing to follow. I am honestly a bit confused about the fact he didn’t talk about this with his team before even ordering, since the concept I made is exactly what he requested in the first post and clearly they had no idea.

Thank you everyone, I really appreciate your advices!

[marinapomorac]

Yes! I forwarded him a message with a similar structure to the one suggested by marinapomorac, explaining calmly why the additional work would cost more than a standard revision and respectfully asked him to consult his team and provide all the needed informations, which I am more than willing to follow. I am honestly a bit confused about the fact he didn’t talk about this with his team before even ordering, since the concept I made is exactly what he requested in the first post and clearly they had no idea.

Thank you everyone, I really appreciate your advices!

I am honestly a bit confused about the fact he didn’t talk about this with his team

Don’t be.

I had a client who ordered SOMETHING from me last month. He gave me all the details and I executed them perfectly, even provided extra work free when I saw that the something are all messed up. After delivery he was happy but then his CEO wanted a different design. He asked me to modify the something, and I said that will be brand new order because the new design is completely different from the original (so not just colors and BG, everything, animation, and transition). He wanted to cancel and claimed I did not do any work and my work was unprofessional, I just kept sending my SOMETHING and refused to cancel explaining that I delivered as per aggrement, also shared my 14 years of being lead designer certifications and achievements available online.

I was polite but strict.

And my order was autocompleted and I got my money, no review. He was online when the order was autocompleted.

[nika_3dartist]

I am honestly a bit confused about the fact he didn’t talk about this with his team

Don’t be.

I had a client who ordered SOMETHING from me last month. He gave me all the details and I executed them perfectly, even provided extra work free when I saw that the something are all messed up. After delivery he was happy but then his CEO wanted a different design. He asked me to modify the something, and I said that will be brand new order because the new design is completely different from the original (so not just colors and BG, everything, animation, and transition). He wanted to cancel and claimed I did not do any work and my work was unprofessional, I just kept sending my SOMETHING and refused to cancel explaining that I delivered as per aggrement, also shared my 14 years of being lead designer certifications and achievements available online.

I was polite but strict.

And my order was autocompleted and I got my money, no review. He was online when the order was autocompleted.

Gosh, so sorry to hear this.

I can sorta understand that a CEO comes up with modifications at the last minute, but the fact that person refused to make a new order and demanded the new work for free really put that buyer under a bad light. Good thing you managed to reject the cancellation request and see it autocompleted, I heard of a few sellers seeing their order suddenly cancelled by the CS when the buyer approached them directly without a single word.

In my case I think the buyer is actually in charge, or at least one of the guys who lead the whole product marketing. Personally I would definitely consult my team before even requesting anything and pay someone to do the job, but it is pretty clear that everyone is different.

[nika_3dartist]

UPDATE: The buyer didn’t say anything, but accepted the extra request. However, this time Fiverr itself is putting me in a difficult position, because while I set the duration to 5 days the date remained stuck on March 30th, which means the order os now marked as late.

I contacted the CS and they said that while they can’t alter the status of my order, I am free to contact them again should I experience a visible hit in my stats because of this, since it wasn’t my fault but a mistake on the platform’s side. Still, I can’t say this isn’t bothering me.

Did this ever happen to anyone of you?

[dxeralam]

Please try to manage him. And please explain it will be additional costing because you have to start it from the beginning.

[nika_3dartist]

Please try to manage him. And please explain it will be additional costing because you have to start it from the beginning.

Yeah I actually managed to complete the new work today (especially considering Fiverr didn’t update the order date despite the selected delivery time) and I made sure to politely clarify that any other modification, especially if new informations are provided, will have to be compensated.

I don’t really think it would be wise to keep this order running for too long though, especially considering both his requests have already been fullfilled and he is basically keeping a slot in my gig occupied.