Sellers Render Rating System Unreliable? (and chasing buyers away)

[einatcooper]

I have made several orders now on Fiverr but I find it harder and harder to use Fiverr anymore.

When an order is completed and I submit my rating, it’s becomes the trend for sellers to harass me to give them a 5 Star rating even if the experience was far from 5 stars.

The first thing they do is - “I’ll give you your money back” - it’s just $5 so they’d rather lose it than be given anything less than 5 stars, but to be honest - not all are 5-star professionals.

I’m a freelancer myself and I know the kind of client that is never happy and asks for countless revisions. So I respect people’s time. When I see that after one revision it’s not what I was looking for, I accept the job, say “thank you very much” and rate the seller.
The rating is not based on the output alone, but also on communication and service. A seller can provide a good product but poor service and no communication.

That is what the rating system is for - so clients have something to base their decision on. It’s not just stars - clients can write a text review to explain their rating or give their impression of the seller.
I gave a seller a 4-star rating (which isn’t bad!) and wrote that it wasn’t the design I was looking for, but that the seller was very communicative and prompt to answer, and I appreciated his effort and would recommend working with him.
I am now being harassed by this person into changing my rating to 5 stars. The amount of emails I get is borderline bullying. And not for the first time.

I had a seller harass me into writing customer service because I couldn’t change my review from the 4.5 stars I gave him, to 5 stars. I am not kidding, I spent hours on that correspondence before I realised what was being done to me.

It’s become a trend, I expect it now. Anything less than 5 stars, and the emails start hitting my inbox - “Her’s your money back, change the rating, change the rating, change the rating, change the rating”. I could provide you with evidence, it’s rather shocking.
I hope someone from Fiverr is reading this. If Fiverr doesn’t find some way to reign it in, I’ll just use another service; it’s not worth the aggravation.

[writer99025]

Well, I’ve quit worrying about ratings…I just do my work, deliver and forget all about it.

[justmarketing00]

That’s because you have more than 2000 Reviews but for a new seller with 5 or 10 Reviews matters a lot. You cannot send buyer requests if your rating is 90% or 4.5. So 5 Stars are must for some one on fiverr to grow their business.
I worried too about the ratings in my first month but its not a big deal for me if a buyer leave a 4 or 4.5 Stars because i have my ratings Established in 4 months.

[misscrystal]

I have gotten things I was unhappy with and simply left no rating. I feel for the sellers here. As long as a seller will give back your money that should be enough.

Sellers message you about a less than 5 star rating because it affects them so greatly, as you know. Where else can only $5 buy so much misery and harm to another? But also you are angry that you must suffer the annoyance and outrage of being offered a refund?
How absolutely dreadful for you.

[eoinfinnegan]

I understand that sellers are desperate to get 5 star ratings.
What I do not understand is why buyers feel pressured to oblige them when it is not deserved. If someone were to ask me to change their rating (lie) for them I would most likely change my rating to something like original rating I left “and when I did not leave 5 stars the seller harassed me to give him five stars to the point of bullying so I am not going to use them again”.
Or you could just take the refund but I hate this as it means you cannot trust someone with 100% positive reviews as they may have just refunded all the unhappy customers.

Either way, it’s pretty simple really.

[writer99025]

Yeah, I reply with “Thanks!” to those who give me 5 stars and “Thanks!” to those who give me 3, 3.5, 4, 4.5. It’s only when someone gives me lower than that that I get upset…has happened only 2 times in 2 years (plus one late delivery).