Does Custimer Service Exist Anymore?

[cyaxrex]

Serious question. Does Fiverr CS exist anymore?

I have an order placed by a buyer which I cannot complete unless I use my Google login credentials to sign into their obvious phishing website. I’m not doing that. I have sent a request to cancel, however, the buyer is not responding. This means that in less than 24-hours, I will get with a late delivery penalty AND later a cancellation penalty.

I would like to contact CS now to request immediate cancellation of this order on their side. This way, I can avoid the twofold hit on my ratings. Sadly, contacting Fiverr CS IS IMPOSSIBLE!

Is this a joke? There is not a single link anywhere anymore which takes me to anywhere I can open a ticket.

What is wrong with this unholy website lately? Who thought raising payment fees to cover the cost of better customer service, before removing customer service was a good idea?

This really is absolutely ridiculous.

[markp]

Its here https://www.fiverr.com/support_tickets/new?source=help_center

[misscrystal]

Yes they did remove that handy link to the customer service department along with other changes. They want us to click more, so you can go to your profile, then “help” then scroll down the page and click on “contact us”.

Then you can click on the green X on the bottom right of the page to get rid of that annoying popup that covers up the right half of the customer support page.

They went from one click to four.

[steveeyes]

I remember the day Fiverr bragged about responding to all help messages within 24 hours. AND THEY DID. Now they don’t even live under the same rules they impose on their sellers. Pay more, get less seems to be the motto but believe me with all these fees someone is getting rich.

[misscrystal]

And if you need to put in an order number on the box for that on the customer support page you will get a little pink message saying “invalid order number” so choose an option that does not require an order number, and instead just put your order number in the text.

[cyaxrex]

Update: I have now found how to open a ticket with CS. The experience is akin to wandering round a labyrinth with a Gorgon creeping round after you. I say this as it will likely take 2-days to answer this request, by which time, I will have been hit with a late order and cancellation penalty.

It is clear Fiverr wants to increase clicks. Usually, every website does. This increases the likelihood of customers converting. Here, it seems like Fiverr is trying to artificially increase the number of clicks, possibly to imply that there is more on-site activity happening than there is in reality?

IPO investors watch out. When you get past the canydfloss, there’s just diabetes.

[uxreview]

Update: I have now found how to open a ticket with CS. The experience is akin to wandering round a labyrinth with a Gorgon creeping round after you. I say this as it will likely take 2-days to answer this request, by which time, I will have been hit with a late order and cancellation penalty.

It is clear Fiverr wants to increase clicks. Usually, every website does. This increases the likelihood of customers converting. Here, it seems like Fiverr is trying to artificially increase the number of clicks, possibly to imply that there is more on-site activity happening than there is in reality?

IPO investors watch out. When you get past the canydfloss, there’s just diabetes.

I doubt it’s because of the clicks.

In most cases the purpose is to reduce the incoming volume(cost). This is a common practice for online businesses.

The idea is to send as many users through FAQs as possible.

If you first go to the help page then finding a support is actually quite easy.

[ssj1236]

Update: I have now found how to open a ticket with CS. The experience is akin to wandering round a labyrinth with a Gorgon creeping round after you. I say this as it will likely take 2-days to answer this request, by which time, I will have been hit with a late order and cancellation penalty.

It is clear Fiverr wants to increase clicks. Usually, every website does. This increases the likelihood of customers converting. Here, it seems like Fiverr is trying to artificially increase the number of clicks, possibly to imply that there is more on-site activity happening than there is in reality?

IPO investors watch out. When you get past the canydfloss, there’s just diabetes.

I’m gonna miss ya man. My time on this platform is very limited from what I can tell.

[miiila]

Update: I have now found how to open a ticket with CS. The experience is akin to wandering round a labyrinth with a Gorgon creeping round after you. I say this as it will likely take 2-days to answer this request, by which time, I will have been hit with a late order and cancellation penalty.

It is clear Fiverr wants to increase clicks. Usually, every website does. This increases the likelihood of customers converting. Here, it seems like Fiverr is trying to artificially increase the number of clicks, possibly to imply that there is more on-site activity happening than there is in reality?

IPO investors watch out. When you get past the canydfloss, there’s just diabetes.

Last time I had a similar order and need for cancellation, I wrote in the ticket that it’s urgent because a 1-day order and I at least don’t want both my completion rate and delivered on time rate to suffer, and they canceled it for me before the 24 hours were up (plus none of the rates suffered). Hope it will work out like that for you too.

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It seems to be the trend among big companies to hide their contact info, I’ve had to spend a lot of time to find out how to contact 2 big companies recently, if you don’t have an account with them it’s even harder. They are big enough to be able to afford that. Here, you even need to have contact info well visible on your website if it’s not a commercial website but publicly visible in any way, the only way to get around it is if it’s a website dedicated to show aunt Polly the last vacation pics via password-protected login and even that’s a stretch.

And I agree with uxreview that it’s about saving costs rather than more clicks but more clicks won’t hurt either, I guess.

[uxreview]

Last time I had a similar order and need for cancellation, I wrote in the ticket that it’s urgent because a 1-day order and I at least don’t want both my completion rate and delivered on time rate to suffer, and they canceled it for me before the 24 hours were up (plus none of the rates suffered). Hope it will work out like that for you too.

---

It seems to be the trend among big companies to hide their contact info, I’ve had to spend a lot of time to find out how to contact 2 big companies recently, if you don’t have an account with them it’s even harder. They are big enough to be able to afford that. Here, you even need to have contact info well visible on your website if it’s not a commercial website but publicly visible in any way, the only way to get around it is if it’s a website dedicated to show aunt Polly the last vacation pics via password-protected login and even that’s a stretch.

And I agree with uxreview that it’s about saving costs rather than more clicks but more clicks won’t hurt either, I guess.

Here, you even need to have contact info well visible on your website if it’s not a commercial website but publicly visible in any way

Oh yes. Germany is quite unique in that 🙂

The company I worked for previously serviced 99% of their support through FAQs and Germany was pretty much most of that 1% that went straight to support 😛

[lenasemenkova]

I just write directly to support@fiverr.com now. They didn’t tell me to stop yet. As long as you’re precise with the subject line, they tend to respond pretty quickly.

There was a bug that wouldn’t let me send tickets which I reported with no results for months so for some time it was the only way. Now I do it because it’s the only way to ensure they get the ticket because there is another bug that would tell you the ticket is “sent” when it really isn’t.

[davidsherman]

I just write directly to support@fiverr.com now. They didn’t tell me to stop yet. As long as you’re precise with the subject line, they tend to respond pretty quickly.

There was a bug that wouldn’t let me send tickets which I reported with no results for months so for some time it was the only way. Now I do it because it’s the only way to ensure they get the ticket because there is another bug that would tell you the ticket is “sent” when it really isn’t.

I would recommend using this email address also. Thanks lenasemenkova!

[cyaxrex]

Update:

Well, there you go. CS has requested that I wait for 48-hours for my buyer to respond to my dispute. Also, this customer has now replied and has been nice enough not to accept but also still not provide any of the information I need to complete their order.

So here it is. If you are a scammer or malicious Fiverr user who wants to send password phishing links as order requirements, go right ahead! It’s completely fine! Do it a few times, and you might even get a Top Rated Buyer badge.

Alternatively, if you fancy ordering a gig deliverable in 24-hours just to say “Hi,” do it. Nothing could be more important to Fiverr than for you to feel protected if your buyer doesn’t deliver on time, or can’t psychically interpret your order requirements.

Needless to say, I will not be working with this buyer in any way shape or form. You want red flags? This buyer is made of them. No way in Hell am I risking spending a minute working with this person.

But I still have to give them 48-hours for them to decide they do not want to work with me. Then in the process, get hit with not delivering on time and not completing their order.

FIVERR YOU ARE SOMETHING ELSE.

Tell me, how does treating sellers like me like this, make Fiverr a safer or more valuable resource for actual buyers to consider using?

Hint: It Doesn’t

[psychicbunny]

I remember the day Fiverr bragged about responding to all help messages within 24 hours. AND THEY DID. Now they don’t even live under the same rules they impose on their sellers. Pay more, get less seems to be the motto but believe me with all these fees someone is getting rich.

I remember the day Fiverr bragged about responding to all help messages within 24 hours. AND THEY DID. Now they don’t even live under the same rules they impose on their sellers. Pay more, get less seems to be the motto but believe me with all these fees someone is getting rich.

It’s because there are alot more sellers/buyers now than there used to be. I don’t blame them - I just wish they didn’t send me premade templates when I ask them something.

[cyaxrex]

I remember the day Fiverr bragged about responding to all help messages within 24 hours. AND THEY DID. Now they don’t even live under the same rules they impose on their sellers. Pay more, get less seems to be the motto but believe me with all these fees someone is getting rich.

It’s because there are alot more sellers/buyers now than there used to be. I don’t blame them - I just wish they didn’t send me premade templates when I ask them something.

It’s because there are alot more sellers/buyers now than there used to be. I don’t blame them - I just wish they didn’t send me premade templates when I ask them something.

To be honest, I’ve never received a pre-made template from CS. However, it is clear that CS needs to start looking actively at problems.

Here’s my problem:

• Buyer orders and sends a link to a Google Drive login page which gets flagged by my antivirus as a phishing attempt
• I open a dispute and contact CS to have the order canceled
• CS says no, wait 48-hours. Even though the order is due in 12
• My buyer rejects my dispute and sends a generic PDF wich still doesn’t include any of the order information I need to get started
• Someone using part of the buyers name sends me a message on Linkedin saying: “Hi, its XXX from Fiverr. Our files are too big to send through Fiverr so we need your email address. Please reply here.” (Yeah right)
• I don’t reply, open a new dispute on the order, and contact CS again to have this order canceled

I am fully aware that this cancellation will hurt me. However, I also want to avoid a late delivery penalty.

As I see it, this buyer broke TOS the minute they sent their order requirements in the way they did. This should be a non-issue. However, this buyer (who has joined Fiverr in October 2018) apparently has more say over my metrics and ratings than I as a seller do.

This kind of 💩 should not even be an issue for sellers. I have worked in customer service. Hell, I even have certificates in hospitality across cultures. (And in hospitality you really do have to elevate the customer above all else.) Here, though, it seems that Fiverrs poilicy is one of THE SELLER IS NEVER THE CUSTOMER This needs to change because like it or not, we are customers and we are also the front line when it comes to customer service when it comes to buyers.

This, desperately, needs aknowledging.

[Anna]

It’s because there are alot more sellers/buyers now than there used to be. I don’t blame them - I just wish they didn’t send me premade templates when I ask them something.

To be honest, I’ve never received a pre-made template from CS. However, it is clear that CS needs to start looking actively at problems.

Here’s my problem:

• Buyer orders and sends a link to a Google Drive login page which gets flagged by my antivirus as a phishing attempt
• I open a dispute and contact CS to have the order canceled
• CS says no, wait 48-hours. Even though the order is due in 12
• My buyer rejects my dispute and sends a generic PDF wich still doesn’t include any of the order information I need to get started
• Someone using part of the buyers name sends me a message on Linkedin saying: “Hi, its XXX from Fiverr. Our files are too big to send through Fiverr so we need your email address. Please reply here.” (Yeah right)
• I don’t reply, open a new dispute on the order, and contact CS again to have this order canceled

I am fully aware that this cancellation will hurt me. However, I also want to avoid a late delivery penalty.

As I see it, this buyer broke TOS the minute they sent their order requirements in the way they did. This should be a non-issue. However, this buyer (who has joined Fiverr in October 2018) apparently has more say over my metrics and ratings than I as a seller do.

This kind of 💩 should not even be an issue for sellers. I have worked in customer service. Hell, I even have certificates in hospitality across cultures. (And in hospitality you really do have to elevate the customer above all else.) Here, though, it seems that Fiverrs poilicy is one of THE SELLER IS NEVER THE CUSTOMER This needs to change because like it or not, we are customers and we are also the front line when it comes to customer service when it comes to buyers.

This, desperately, needs aknowledging.

Wow! Did you by any chance update the support ticket to insist on the cancellation?

Your post was linked to a staff channel. Not sure if it will help but good luck.

Noone should be forced to wait. We should have the right to cancel an order immediately if requested.

[cyaxrex]

Wow! Did you by any chance update the support ticket to insist on the cancellation?

Your post was linked to a staff channel. Not sure if it will help but good luck.

Noone should be forced to wait. We should have the right to cancel an order immediately if requested.

I did update my support ticket. However, now I’m worried that even mentioning the Linkedin side will get me warned for breaching TOS.

Needless to say, I never communicate outside of Fiverr with buyers.

I’m really, really starting to get worn down by this now though. Not just this specific issue, but similar issues across the board. This needs addressing, for the sake of all sellers and buyers. I explicitly state in my gigs that my language is English. Nevertheless, I actually go to lengths to appease buyers FOC when they order things like videos in Portuguese. Also, I do that very carefully so that any revisions later are minor.

As far as I am concerned, I go way above and beyond with every legitimate order I receive. I give people the benefit of the doubt (as they might be new to Fiverr). Also, I think my reviews reflect the fact that I over deliver. Then for all of that effort, I get stung by situations like this.

Also, call it paranoid, but the same time this order came in, I received another order on a writing gig which has not started. This seems to be a trend with my gigs. They start selling. Then suddenly I get hit by inescapable cancellations, miss-orders, and orders which never start. I am so sick of it.

It’s not even the reduced sales which inevitably follow, It’s the knowing that I can do my best to deliver work my clients genuinely appreciate,but then have everything sent to the St Levels shredder because of someone who is either a scammer or not somebody who should have even ordered from me in the first place.

[cyaxrex]

I did update my support ticket. However, now I’m worried that even mentioning the Linkedin side will get me warned for breaching TOS.

Needless to say, I never communicate outside of Fiverr with buyers.

I’m really, really starting to get worn down by this now though. Not just this specific issue, but similar issues across the board. This needs addressing, for the sake of all sellers and buyers. I explicitly state in my gigs that my language is English. Nevertheless, I actually go to lengths to appease buyers FOC when they order things like videos in Portuguese. Also, I do that very carefully so that any revisions later are minor.

As far as I am concerned, I go way above and beyond with every legitimate order I receive. I give people the benefit of the doubt (as they might be new to Fiverr). Also, I think my reviews reflect the fact that I over deliver. Then for all of that effort, I get stung by situations like this.

Also, call it paranoid, but the same time this order came in, I received another order on a writing gig which has not started. This seems to be a trend with my gigs. They start selling. Then suddenly I get hit by inescapable cancellations, miss-orders, and orders which never start. I am so sick of it.

It’s not even the reduced sales which inevitably follow, It’s the knowing that I can do my best to deliver work my clients genuinely appreciate,but then have everything sent to the St Levels shredder because of someone who is either a scammer or not somebody who should have even ordered from me in the first place.

Update:

Ok, well in fairness, Fiverr works. - Sort of. The buyer for this order has agreed to cancel and I have immediately blocked them. In this case, I’m going to be hit with just a cancellation penalty rather than a late delivery also.

Of course, this could have worked out very differently with me being hit with a late delivery as well as a cancellation. However, at least I can block this buyer now and hopefully they are on the radar of Fiverr CS…

Please, though, Fiverr, give sellers the tools they need to offset situations like this. As far as my video gigs are concerned, I offer the cheapest, most professional looking video media that can be bought in a click anywhere. This should be a Fiverr USP. It should not be a magnet for scammers. Inevitably it can be. But give me the tools to deal with them!

You punish me with poor ratings, I make you less money.

[cyaxrex]

Last Update:

Okay, my problem is solved now. - Kind of.

To be honest, I’m not happy that i get punished for this whole situation at all. However, we are all people and I if we (as sellers) want to see change around here one day, I think that is important that we try and inspire that change by communicating with CS appropriately.

I’m angry. However, I want to post my response to Fiverr CS here as an example of how we should all respond, even when we don’t like the outcome.

cyaxrex Today at 00:47

Hi XXXX,

Firstly, thank you for being very professional and wording your response to my original request in a way that was fair and balanced to my needs and those of my then buyer. I completely understand that you, as a professional CS agent, have a tough job to undertake on a daily basis.

I can not fault you for your professionalism or personability in this regard. Please though, do (if you ever get chance) talk to your superiors about how sellers like myself need a little more seller protection. I really do value Fiverr, you, and everyone who makes this platform possible.

Sadly, unavoidable cancelations like this really impact negatively on seller motivation. This is a real shame. Of course, I know you can’t help in this regard. However, when sellers like myself are motivated more, we give Fiverr more value.

Pass that message on if you ever get chance.

In the meantime, thank you for your help. People like yourself do help give a human touch to Fiverr and it is appreciated.

Kind Regards,

Andy

I want to add (because its fair to CS) that in my dealings with them, I have so far always received a 24-hour response and personal sounding message. I am not happy with this outcome. However, if we start killing CS with Kindness and appreciating them as one of us… Well… Who knows…

[misscrystal]

It’s because there are alot more sellers/buyers now than there used to be. I don’t blame them - I just wish they didn’t send me premade templates when I ask them something.

To be honest, I’ve never received a pre-made template from CS. However, it is clear that CS needs to start looking actively at problems.

Here’s my problem:

• Buyer orders and sends a link to a Google Drive login page which gets flagged by my antivirus as a phishing attempt
• I open a dispute and contact CS to have the order canceled
• CS says no, wait 48-hours. Even though the order is due in 12
• My buyer rejects my dispute and sends a generic PDF wich still doesn’t include any of the order information I need to get started
• Someone using part of the buyers name sends me a message on Linkedin saying: “Hi, its XXX from Fiverr. Our files are too big to send through Fiverr so we need your email address. Please reply here.” (Yeah right)
• I don’t reply, open a new dispute on the order, and contact CS again to have this order canceled

I am fully aware that this cancellation will hurt me. However, I also want to avoid a late delivery penalty.

As I see it, this buyer broke TOS the minute they sent their order requirements in the way they did. This should be a non-issue. However, this buyer (who has joined Fiverr in October 2018) apparently has more say over my metrics and ratings than I as a seller do.

This kind of 💩 should not even be an issue for sellers. I have worked in customer service. Hell, I even have certificates in hospitality across cultures. (And in hospitality you really do have to elevate the customer above all else.) Here, though, it seems that Fiverrs poilicy is one of THE SELLER IS NEVER THE CUSTOMER This needs to change because like it or not, we are customers and we are also the front line when it comes to customer service when it comes to buyers.

This, desperately, needs aknowledging.

CS says no, wait 48-hours. Even though the order is due in 12

That’s so awful. I’m so sorry this is happening to you Andy. I am very surprised they make you wait longer when there is so little time. Send them another message same ticket saying there is no time to waste.

edit: I just read that they agreed to cancel and I’m so relieved.

[lenasemenkova]

Regarding the “wait for 48 hours” part, I just remembered that for some reason they can’t/won’t do anything with the order when you have an active dispute going on. So you need to close the dispute and then contact them about the cancellation. Then they’ll cancel pretty fast.

[miiila]

Regarding the “wait for 48 hours” part, I just remembered that for some reason they can’t/won’t do anything with the order when you have an active dispute going on. So you need to close the dispute and then contact them about the cancellation. Then they’ll cancel pretty fast.

I just remembered that for some reason they can’t/won’t do anything with the order when you have an active dispute going on.

Unless it’s clearly a ToS-violating order, they can’t well cancel an order if the seller sent a dispute that most probably leads to the buyer receiving a notification/mail that tells them they have 48 hours to react. If I ask CS to cancel an order for me, I don’t send a cancellation request to the buyer too, that would defy the purpose of asking CS for the cancellation anyhow.

[lenasemenkova]

I just remembered that for some reason they can’t/won’t do anything with the order when you have an active dispute going on.

Unless it’s clearly a ToS-violating order, they can’t well cancel an order if the seller sent a dispute that most probably leads to the buyer receiving a notification/mail that tells them they have 48 hours to react. If I ask CS to cancel an order for me, I don’t send a cancellation request to the buyer too, that would defy the purpose of asking CS for the cancellation anyhow.

I do wish it was explicitly stated somewhere. I know this only because the CS agent mentioned it in passing, years ago.

[uk1000]

It’s because there are alot more sellers/buyers now than there used to be. I don’t blame them - I just wish they didn’t send me premade templates when I ask them something.

To be honest, I’ve never received a pre-made template from CS. However, it is clear that CS needs to start looking actively at problems.

Here’s my problem:

• Buyer orders and sends a link to a Google Drive login page which gets flagged by my antivirus as a phishing attempt
• I open a dispute and contact CS to have the order canceled
• CS says no, wait 48-hours. Even though the order is due in 12
• My buyer rejects my dispute and sends a generic PDF wich still doesn’t include any of the order information I need to get started
• Someone using part of the buyers name sends me a message on Linkedin saying: “Hi, its XXX from Fiverr. Our files are too big to send through Fiverr so we need your email address. Please reply here.” (Yeah right)
• I don’t reply, open a new dispute on the order, and contact CS again to have this order canceled

I am fully aware that this cancellation will hurt me. However, I also want to avoid a late delivery penalty.

As I see it, this buyer broke TOS the minute they sent their order requirements in the way they did. This should be a non-issue. However, this buyer (who has joined Fiverr in October 2018) apparently has more say over my metrics and ratings than I as a seller do.

This kind of 💩 should not even be an issue for sellers. I have worked in customer service. Hell, I even have certificates in hospitality across cultures. (And in hospitality you really do have to elevate the customer above all else.) Here, though, it seems that Fiverrs poilicy is one of THE SELLER IS NEVER THE CUSTOMER This needs to change because like it or not, we are customers and we are also the front line when it comes to customer service when it comes to buyers.

This, desperately, needs aknowledging.

You could have asked them how big each file was. Fiverr’s attachment in the inbox says it allows 1 GB. You could also have asked them to send via dropbox instead if they were too big for the Fiverr inbox or in the requirements page/order page. If it had to be by Google Drive isn’t there some option they can use that allows anyone with the link to access the file (without logging in)? If so, they could use that setting I think (I assume that would stop the user knowing the google info, though not sure if it would still log ip address).

[cyaxrex]

You could have asked them how big each file was. Fiverr’s attachment in the inbox says it allows 1 GB. You could also have asked them to send via dropbox instead if they were too big for the Fiverr inbox or in the requirements page/order page. If it had to be by Google Drive isn’t there some option they can use that allows anyone with the link to access the file (without logging in)? If so, they could use that setting I think (I assume that would stop the user knowing the google info, though not sure if it would still log ip address).

You could have asked them how big each file was. Fiverr’s attachment in the inbox says it allows 1 GB. You could also have asked them to send via dropbox i

There was no discussion on the part of the buyer. There was a link and nothing else. No “Hi, we’re looking for,” no “Details in the below link.” This buyer also attempted to contact me off Fiverr to request that I give them my email to receive their project requirements.

Following this, I also had a situation today where someone ordered from me on another platform with the following order instructions:

We can send you direct bank transfer with TransferWise for milestone. Please send your national ID or passport or driver’s license (front and back separately) and utility bill/bank statement/card statement to xxxxxxgmail.com. Please mention the milestone amount. Milestone can include 20 pages of writings (A4 size page) on different topics. Your documents must be high resolution documents and all the 4 edges of the documents must be visible. The utility bill/bank statement/card statement should be a paper copy with official signature/stamp and not an online copy.

Last week I was also banned from Up-work (but have since had my account restored) due to someone reporting me. I have not worked with anyone on that platform for years. I rarely even sign in. In this case, it was easy to prove that I was innocent of any wrong doing.

I was also targeted on Fiverr a short while ago by a very sophisticated phishing attempt which I did fall for, originating from a user of a cryptocurrency freelance platform which I signed up to a while ago. I have a suspicion that freelancers who sign up to this platform are coming on the radar of a well organized group attempting to phish for freelancer contact, IP, identity, and account password details. Possibly out of the belief that freelancers who (apparently) accept cryptocurrency payments are crypto rich and ripe for attempting to hack.

I may be wrong. However, in either case, I make it very clear what I need to start work on an order and there is no reason why any buyer on any of my gigs, would need to send files via any means other than standard attachments. The complete lack of communication and being new to Fiverr is also a warning sign.

In this specific case, I opened a dispute less than 2-hours after the order had been placed, while the buyer was online, reiterating what I needed them to give me to complete their order. I do not jump the gun when buyers seem to get confused. In fact, I should slap myself for how much time I spend trying to cater for confused/borderline unreasonable buyers sometimes. At the same time, though, I always listen to my gut and this order was never going to result in anything but disaster.