Buyers asking for revisions weeks later

[print_it]

Hi!



An order is marked as complete after 3 days. But what do you guys do when people don’t use the modification button but instead come back 1-6 weeks after the completion and ask for major revisions?



This is kind of getting to me. I’ve had it happening a few times; buyers coming back 1-6 weeks later demanding revisions and in worst case scenario; threaten with a refund request unless you provide them with the revisions immediately? This totally messes up my planning.



Question; is the buyer entitled a refund even though the order has been completed within the given timeframe and in accordance with the gig descr and the original instructions, but for the sole reason that you didn’t revise their order when they asked for it 2 weeks AFTER completion of the project? The buyer feels like the product is not completed because they want modifications. I told them I would be more than happy to revise their order if they had just used the “request modifcation” button and not come back 2 weeks later, but that I will revise their order, just not now since i have current orders to take care of (this made the buyer ask for a refund, they said they couldn’t wait, even though they waited 2 weeks to ask for the modifications).



I mean just as the seller has a deadline he/she absolutely MUST abide by or else we get an order cancellation and negative feedback, there has to be some kind of rules that the buyers have to respect, no?



Please, tips, recommendations and tricks?

[laughingcrow]

Order is complete, and if he wants to have major work done after that, he’ll need to buy a new Gig. It in essence becomes a new pile of work. Once you let people do this, they will make you do a lot of work for free, so don’t be blackmailed with feedback. If he does do or threaten with that, report it to Customer Support.

[print_it]

Revisions were included in the gig, but thing is, he didn’t use the modification button, instead there was radio silece and he got back to me 2 weeks AFTER the order was marked as complete.



The guy says that he will request a full refund from CS unless I revise his order. I don’t know what to do.



I know from previous experience CS has given refund to customers even though the gig was delivered and even revisions were made …



So I’m asking any experienced seller out there, has the buyer a right to be given a refund even though the order has been completed within the given timeframe and in accordance with the gig descr and the original instructions, but for the sole reason that seller didn’t revise their order when they asked for it 2 weeks after completion of the project?

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[goodgift]

Oh man. People used to do this ALL THE TIME with my book trailer gig. Drove me NUTS. Weeks would go by, and they’d be like, “Hey, sorry to bother you, but here’s a big list of things I need changed.” ERGH!



Every time this happened, I would let the buyer know what’s going on. A typical message would go something like this:



********



Hello,



Thank you for getting in touch with me. At this time, your order has been completed for [X amount of time]. Since the system recognizes the order as complete, and I have not heard anything from you until now, any other requests must be done in the form of a second gig order.



I am happy to work with you on your revisions once a new order has been placed. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this, please let know, or feel free to contact Fiverr Customer Support.



Thank you.



********



Sometimes they’d apologize and go ahead and order. Most of the time, though, they’d get all upset and tell me it’s part of the order, that they’ll leave negative feedback, etc. My response would be, “I understand you have revisions, but as I said previously, the order has been delivered and completed, so any extra work must now be done under a new gig order.” If they continued to argue, I would let them know (politely) that I have already explained the appropriate procedure, and if they wanted to continue, they would need to follow it. And I would end that with something like, “Thank you for your time. This is my last word on the matter. If you decide to open a new order, I will be more than happy to work with you.”



Three messages. End of it. If they ordered a new gig, great. If not, and they left negative feedback, I’d contact Customer Support and let them read the conversation. They removed every single piece of negative feedback that I received in those instances, and I was able to maintain 100% positive feedback over the course of 2 years (and lots of orders).



So there you go. Be polite in your responses, and let them know when you’re done discussing it. If they retaliate, contact Customer Support.



Good luck!

[designal]

Reply to @goodgift:

Thank you so much for this! 🙂 I have done over 12+ hours of graphics design work for one of my clients, for a measly $20. I just didn`t want to get negative feedback, and most of the time customer support says that they need the buyers consent to remove feedback.

[print_it]

Reply to @designal: Same thing happens to me. I’ve received unjust negative feedback (buyers leaving negative feedback because they didn’t want to purchase gig extras but required me to give the gig extras for free, and when I didn’t, they left negative feedback) but CS never removed the feedback, instead I was left with an automated response, saying I need the buyer’s consent.



I too have spent hours and hours working for peanuts just because you don’t want that negative feedback. Then people started to abusing the system and I stopped and stood my ground. This reflects in my ratings, just take a look 😦 Well at least I didn’t let people stomp all over me.

[print_it]

Reply to @goodgift: That’s great you managed to get CS on your side and get those nasty reviews removed. How did you ask them? Every time I’ve tried, they wouldn’t remove the feedback, since "the feedback is an essential part of the Fiverr rating system. Leaving a buyer’s feedback is a basic prerogative of a buyer, and except for justified and exceptional circumstances which include direct violations of our terms of service, will be removed only with buyer’s consent."



Just like you said, I usually leave the buyer a polite message explaining why they need to get in touch within a reasonable amount of time if they need revisions. In many cases, I delete a file when 1 month has passed and I’ve heard nothing from the buyer. I consider the work completed and there is no reason to save their files.



In most cases I’ve agreed to do their revisions free of charge, even though a long period of time has passed, because I know that if I don’t, I will be left with some nasty feedback.



On occassions, when a considerable amount of time has passed and the buyers DEMANDED the revisions (as in, bad attitude, threats etc) I politely asked them to order a $5 gig for the revisions. In 90% these cases result in negative feedback. And in 99% CS will not remove the negative feedback. So if you want to maintain a good rating, you are a slave to your buyers.

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[goodgift]

Reply to @print_it: Well, this was all before the stupid five-star system they now have in place. I keep reading story after story of how CS doesn’t work with sellers on negative feedback anymore. I was a seller for 2 years and had the thumbs system the whole time. (The only exception is ONE recent star rating that was left 8 MONTHS after the gig was delivered – and thumbs were still in place when it was delivered.)



So at this point, it seems kind of touch-and-go. Usually if you stay strictly professional and polite, the buyer will sink themselves. I would just let them talk away – talk trash, try to manipulate the system, etc. Then all CS would have to do is look at the conversation, and it would be obvious that the buyer was doing these things.



But like I said, I don’t know what the deal is now. From what people are saying, CS has flipped the coin, and feedback is now the weapon of choice for buyers. Still another reason the star system needs to go away and stay away.



EDIT: I guess to answer the “how did you ask them” question, I just pointed out the obvious. I’d let them know that the buyer was trying to manipulate the system, and that I delivered the gig as described. If it got the point of harassment, I’d point that one. Like one buyer that insisted that I could do a certain thing to his video, but I physically could NOT do it because my program didn’t have the option for it. He refused mutual cancellation three times and made sure to tell me that he “knew how feedback works” (or something to that effect) – basically saying I’d get negative feedback if I didn’t do what he said, even though I told him several times that I couldn’t do it.



So I contacted CS and just got straight to the point – let them know that I was being threatened and harassed, and that I did my part by letting the buyer know I couldn’t do the work and by trying to start a mutual cancellation. They looked at the conversation, and since it was obvious what the buyer was doing (he sunk himself with his own words), the entire transaction was removed.



I mean, like I said, it sounds like the subjectivity of the star system has made good help really hard to find. All you can do is try.