Seller wants to extend deadline last minute - advice needed

[croekk]

Hi everyone,

I bought my first gig on fiverr on 26 Jul and we agreed on a 20-day deadline. That expired last night. Three hours before the deadline I received a message from the seller asking for more time. This was the first time he had contacted me since our initial conversation. So I asked how much more time would be needed and overnight (hours after the deadline) he replied “3 to 4 days”.

Is this normal behaviour? To me this seems highly unprofessional. His message yesterday also started with “Hi I’m currently working on this” which coupled with the complete lack of communication (no big deal but I expected him to have some questions) makes it look as if he only started working on it yesterday. How should I proceed?

Thanks for your help.

[gwyneth_galvin]

Hiya! What type of work is this? Are they a new seller?

Hold tight, it may be that this is the first time they have dealt with an order this size and they are learning how to manage their time. I know when I first started selling, I found the deadlines difficult to judge and I also wasn’t sure how often I should be messaging clients.

I agree that this isn’t super, and they should probably have been in touch with you more, but I would try and give them the benefit of the doubt until the new deadline has elapsed and you’ve (hopefully) seen the work.

In the mean time, I totally understand your concerns and it is kind of you to consider whether or not this is normal and ask the forums instead of just assuming the worst and being angry with your seller 🙂

[lenasemenkova]

I had to extend the deadline 6 hours before the delivery once because my monitor died. I made arrangements immediately to order a new one but it was Sunday. No matter what I did, I was stuck till Monday evening.

Life happens sometimes. If you get a request like this once and you can afford another 3-4 days, there is nothing extremely wrong or overly suspicious about the situation.

[croekk]

Thanks for your answer.

It wasn’t a particular big order, nothing that would take 20 days I don’t think. I assumed he requested the time because he had other gigs to finish first.

The seller has very good reviews so I have no reason to assume there’s anything weird going on.

[gwyneth_galvin]

Thanks for your answer.

It wasn’t a particular big order, nothing that would take 20 days I don’t think. I assumed he requested the time because he had other gigs to finish first.

The seller has very good reviews so I have no reason to assume there’s anything weird going on.

That’s great! I’m sure this was just a one-off with the seller. Try to give them the benefit of the doubt and hold your judgement til you’ve seen the final product. As @lenasemenkova said, sometimes life happens!

[imagination7413]

Let us know how it goes?

[croekk]

Will do. I’ve agreed to the proposed extension but haven’t received a reply.

[croekk]

Update: I agreed to give him four more days and he sent the extension request which I agreed to. For some reason that request was for only three days. So the official deadline expired Aug 18, 9 PM CET. But I didn’t contact him yesterday and gave him the extra day. Needless to say, it’s Aug 20 now and he still hasn’t delievered.

[mariashtelle1]

Update: I agreed to give him four more days and he sent the extension request which I agreed to. For some reason that request was for only three days. So the official deadline expired Aug 18, 9 PM CET. But I didn’t contact him yesterday and gave him the extra day. Needless to say, it’s Aug 20 now and he still hasn’t delievered.

Needless to say, it’s Aug 20 now and he still hasn’t delievered.

😕 it is unprofessional indeed.

Does your order also shows ###LATE### sign?

If so then in 48 hours you’ll get an automatic option to cancel the order and that will leave automatic 1 star review to a seller saying that they failed to deliver on time.

48 hours after missing first deadline and missing the ea too soon deadline is enough time to complete the order if they indeed have something to send you.

[croekk]

Needless to say, it’s Aug 20 now and he still hasn’t delievered.

😕 it is unprofessional indeed.

Does your order also shows ###LATE### sign?

If so then in 48 hours you’ll get an automatic option to cancel the order and that will leave automatic 1 star review to a seller saying that they failed to deliver on time.

48 hours after missing first deadline and missing the ea too soon deadline is enough time to complete the order if they indeed have something to send you.

It says “very late” now.

[mariashtelle1]

It says “very late” now.

then most likely you will get automatic cancellation option in around 24 hours.

it usually appears in 48 hours after missing the deadline.

let us know if your seller wouldn’t appear before that.

But for me it’s already a pretty bad sign that there is no communication from your seller at all and it’s already second missed deadline.

[helenabester]

This is an interesting thread. I totally agree that life happens. My little girl was diagnosed with epilepsy last year, and we are struggling to get the meds right to get her seizure-free. I was just in hospital this week again with her for a 24-hour observation.

Even so - it is NO excuse not to communicate with buyers. I usually find buyers very accommodating and kind - IF I talk often and openly. It also helps to schedule your work in such a way that it leaves room for the unexpected happening. I was able to deliver two projects from the hospital room because of this.

My point? Communicate! In my opinion, what the seller did here was unforgivable. If you had 20 days (that’s almost three weeks!), you absolutely can’t leave the job until the last minute. If a problem popped up, you HAD to tell the buyer as soon as you become aware of it. There is no such thing as ‘too much communication’ (except, of course, if you tell the buyer what you had for breakfast and what your cat is doing).

I am talking about short, to-the-point messages in a polite way that give an update of how the order is going. Everyone appreciates that.

[croekk]

Good post Helen, that’s exactly how I see it. As long as you communicate, most reasonable people will be understanding and accommodating. I certainly am. FWIW the gig is a Java project that I didn’t think was that complex so 20 days should have been enough but I’m not an expert and the seller has very good reviews so I was happy to trust him.

I have just received this reply now from the seller after reminding him the delivery is long overdue: “Hi I’m sorry I was stuck on it”.

Again, this is the exact opposite of good communication. I would have expected at least some sort of estimation on when he is planning to deliver. Really frustrating as I have been waiting for a month now for a software I really need.

[lenasemenkova]

I’d let them know that I’d be comfortable with giving them another 24 hours to get it done (even though I’d probably not be too comfortable at this point) and that after that I’d be cancelling the order. See if it does anything.

[croekk]

He’s now saying there has been an issue with his laptop and he won’t be getting it back until tomorrow. This may very well be true but there had been no mention of technical problems before (the explanation/excuse was he “got stuck”). On top of that some functions still need to be implemented. He avoided my direct question about a delivery date but to me that sounds like more than just a couple of days.

I have really run out of patience now and will cancel the order. Such a shame my first experience with fiverr is such a bad one.

[maanza_55]

He’s now saying there has been an issue with his laptop and he won’t be getting it back until tomorrow. This may very well be true but there had been no mention of technical problems before (the explanation/excuse was he “got stuck”). On top of that some functions still need to be implemented. He avoided my direct question about a delivery date but to me that sounds like more than just a couple of days.

I have really run out of patience now and will cancel the order. Such a shame my first experience with fiverr is such a bad one.

Ah shucks. Sorry to hear that your first experience wasn’t the best one. I really wish your seller had communicated all the difficulties with you from the get go. But on the same hand, don’t lose hope - there are many wonderful/talented sellers on this site who will do justice to your requirements and go beyond; I’m sure your next experience will be a better one!

[croekk]

I have cancelled the order now. Is there a way to still leave him a review? Can’t seem to find it.

[maanza_55]

I have cancelled the order now. Is there a way to still leave him a review? Can’t seem to find it.

I think when a buyer cancels an order, an immediate 1 star rating is issued against the seller with a pre-set reason (Seller failed to deliver on time, etc). Not sure if you can modify that, though.

[catwriter]

I have cancelled the order now. Is there a way to still leave him a review? Can’t seem to find it.

I have cancelled the order now. Is there a way to still leave him a review? Can’t seem to find it.

Normally, after a cancellation, it’s not possible to leave a review. However, if the cancellation occurs because the delivery is ridiculously late, the system leaves an automated 1 star “Order cancelled! Seller failed to deliver on time!” review.

[humanissocial]

I have cancelled the order now. Is there a way to still leave him a review? Can’t seem to find it.

No. Reviews are for completed jobs only, not general customer experience.

[humanissocial]

I have cancelled the order now. Is there a way to still leave him a review? Can’t seem to find it.

Normally, after a cancellation, it’s not possible to leave a review. However, if the cancellation occurs because the delivery is ridiculously late, the system leaves an automated 1 star “Order cancelled! Seller failed to deliver on time!” review.

I saw some reports in the forum that that isn’t happening anymore. Nothing confirmed.