HELP Please-Only 3 days and already on thin ice!

[ellenwright]

Hi everyone, I certainly would appreciate your help. I have 2 order and I need to know how to proceed. The first purchased a gig with very minimal instructions, I’ve asked twice for clarification and have not gotten a response, it is due in 11 hours. I’ve asked for mutual cancellation but with this being my very first order won’t that make my ratings look horrible?



The second customer asked me for an estimate but before I could answer he came back and placed an order. I did not get an email or any notification letting me know an order was placed. I have completed the order, however, and I’m trying to make contact with the customer to see how he wants to proceed because the estimated cost is more than what he paid but so far he is also unresponsive.



What do I do so as not to get into these kinds of situations?



Thanks,



L.

fiverr.com/ellenwright

[cassysailermoon]

And that, unfortunately, my dear, is Fiverr for you. Most buyers are blind, don’t know how to read, can’t follow instructions, are mentally handicapped, want a miracle for $5, expect you to read their mind, are bossy, and/or are extremely cheap.



It’s just something you’ll have to deal with. You’ll get used to it. It will still p*ss you off, but you’ll get more used to it.



What I would do in this situation:



Problem 1- Wait as long as you can before the gig will be late. Right before it’s marked late (or sooner if you’ll be away from the computer), complete the order, and in the message to the buyer, tell them that you’ll complete the order upon their giving you full instructions. I do this all the time, and I’ve never had a problem with it.



Problem 2- Send him a message thanking him for the order and tell him that he needs to purchase X amount more gigs to cover the costs of your work. If he doesn’t reply and it gets to the point where the gig is about to be late, complete the order and do the same process as I told you above.



If they are hostile or don’t try to work with you, I’d cancel.



If you have any more questions, I’m glad to help 🙂

[ellenwright]

Reply to @cassysailermoon: Thank you so much for the great advice!

[Guest celticmoon]

@cassysailormoon has given you great advice. Here’s a couple ideas, too, which may help for the future. Your gig has multiple facets, so you might separate them into individual gigs, such as one to write copy or ads, one to edit only. Then you can ask the customer more direct questions or give specific instructions, such as "You ordered my edit gig but haven’t submitted the material yet. Please submit up to 100 words of copy which I will clean up, polish and make any needed corrections."



When you create a gig, there is a section with instructions to the buyer. He or she will see this when they’ve placed an order. You can put concise instructions here including a reminder that you will be unable to do the work until the customer does his or her part.



In your gig description, you can state that the customer should consult with you before placing an order if they’re unclear about anything. This way you can get some info before an order is placed, and you can tell the customer that their work will require they should purchase X number gigs.



Despite all these things, a certain number of people will jump in & place an order, like cassysailormoon said, expecting the Magna Carta for 5 bucks~! We do the best we can, and learn as we go along. Try to avoid cancellations as these & negative reviews can impact how you move up the levels and how trustworthy you seem to future customers.

[ellenwright]

Reply to @celticmoon: Thank you so much. I will be splitting my offers up into different gigs. At the time I didn’t know as a new seller I could have more than one. LOL @ Magna Carta and they expect it in 20 minutes or less I am noticing. Thanks for your advice!



L.

fiverr.com/ellenwright

[ellenwright]

Reply to @cassysailermoon: Great advice, buyer 1 responded and we got that situation worked out.



Buyer 2 also responded and waiting for him to decide if he wants to pay for the extra gig.



I am in the process of updating my gigs to hopefully cut down on some of the misunderstandings.



Thanks again to both of you!

[Guest marsch001]

If it comes to it, you could also extend the delivery time, so that you are under less pressure. Splitting the various facets of your gig into separate ones is a great idea though; it will hopefully bring you more orders, because each gig will have its own keywords and searches.



When I work with someone who hasn’t paid enough, I tell them straight away (if possible). My gigs are translation based, so I can easily do only x amount of words and more or less say “please order x amount of gigs to cover the rest” and only send the rest once that is done, but that might not be possible for you.



Edited: That said, I’ve never had a problem with people not paying enough (knock on wood) but that’s partly because my gigs are based on the number of words, so it’s usually quite clear from the start how much a buyer should pay.