Should sellers add their work hours?

[maegan_bertrand]

Hi, guys! So, I’m curious if some of you post set hours of business to your profiles/gigs? For example “I accept orders Monday-Friday, 7-3, etc.”, and then when you’re off Saturday-Sunday, you turn on the “out of the office” feature. Thoughts, opinions on posting set hours?

Taking into account that Fiverr’s potential buyer pool is spread out in different countries, I’ve considered posting work hours to my profile so that there’s a more streamlined system to help me stay organized and on top of messages and orders both. TIA!

[benedictrm]

Personally I think it is good. Any “normal” business posts when they are there to give you lollipops and when they are not.

The argument against is that some people will take that info as you saying that you are not 110% available for them and are imposing “rules”.

I think that argument against is very weak and seems to pander more than value who we are as crafts-people.

🙂

[graphtersawyer]

I think it’s cool for you to have work hours. Sellers should add their work hours if they have them and would find them useful in managing buyers and workflow. It adds another layer of professionalism to your work and sets a buyer’s expectations as to when they may hear back from you. Personally, I don’t have any on my gigs since when I work depends on the week.

Some say that it hurts your gigs to turn Out of Office on often, but I think the evidence is more empirical than anything and varied from person to person. For example, I don’t see a change in order volume after coming from a break (after all, I just did for over a week because of Thanksgiving and things are back to the way they were).

I agree with benedictrm in that some people take the info as your imposing rules on them that Fiverr doesn’t technically support, but, like him, I agree the Out of Office feature is there for a reason and think it’s smart to use it more liberally. I’ve only seen one seller post working hours, but maybe more people should do it. If we normalize such a thing, that could be good (nice topic btw).

[imagination7413]

Just an FYI, at this time OOO doesn’t actually prevent orders from being placed if someone has your gig link. It’s a visual deterrent only. Limiting queue is the same.(Pausing each gig works, though.)

I’ve set my minimum delivery time to three days, so that if I’ve already made plans for a day, I won’t have to worry about an order coming in at a bad time.

[maegan_bertrand]

Just an FYI, at this time OOO doesn’t actually prevent orders from being placed if someone has your gig link. It’s a visual deterrent only. Limiting queue is the same.(Pausing each gig works, though.)

I’ve set my minimum delivery time to three days, so that if I’ve already made plans for a day, I won’t have to worry about an order coming in at a bad time.

Thank you for that information 😮! I did not know that limiting queue allowed orders to be placed past the seller’s set threshold.

I did add on to the delivery times for my more complex readings earlier this year in case an order for one comes in late at night when I’m not active, or in case something comes up, like my internet going down, something that would prevent me from seeing if I have new orders.

[benedictrm]

Aah a reader of the cards, a divinatory of destinies…

In that situation if people are expecting fairly quick answers when you are available is pretty relevant stuff.
🙂

OT

I got declined by a large online readings place for being too too honest & direct. Matter of fact, I think I saw/said something to one of the interviewers that they didn’t want said. It is hard when you don’t meant to be truthful about things but they come out anyway. I have had a few moments of wondering about offering readings here but I worry most people will want “happy lies”.
This is my deck

[graphtersawyer]

Just an FYI, at this time OOO doesn’t actually prevent orders from being placed if someone has your gig link. It’s a visual deterrent only. Limiting queue is the same.(Pausing each gig works, though.)

I’ve set my minimum delivery time to three days, so that if I’ve already made plans for a day, I won’t have to worry about an order coming in at a bad time.

doesn’t actually prevent orders from being placed if someone has your gig link

Not so sure about this one. I know people can accept offers, but from what I’ve seen, people can’t order from your gig page (both my own experience and sellers I buy from who go OOO).

I love the idea of setting a longer minimum delivery time, though. This way I never feel the pressure to change my plans!

[maegan_bertrand]

Aah a reader of the cards, a divinatory of destinies…

In that situation if people are expecting fairly quick answers when you are available is pretty relevant stuff.

🙂

OT

I got declined by a large online readings place for being too too honest & direct. Matter of fact, I think I saw/said something to one of the interviewers that they didn’t want said. It is hard when you don’t meant to be truthful about things but they come out anyway. I have had a few moments of wondering about offering readings here but I worry most people will want “happy lies”.

This is my deck

 

In that situation if people are expecting fairly quick answers when you are available is pretty relevant stuff.

That’s one of my main concerns when posting business hours, making sure clients with time-sensitive questions or situations know when I’m available 🙂.

[yarasin]

Hi, guys! So, I’m curious if some of you post set hours of business to your profiles/gigs? For example “I accept orders Monday-Friday, 7-3, etc.”, and then when you’re off Saturday-Sunday, you turn on the “out of the office” feature. Thoughts, opinions on posting set hours?

Taking into account that Fiverr’s potential buyer pool is spread out in different countries, I’ve considered posting work hours to my profile so that there’s a more streamlined system to help me stay organized and on top of messages and orders both. TIA!

you turn on the “out of the office” featu

It’s never been a good idea to b out of office on a regular scheduled. As it’s a global market, you never know when you are going to have an order .

[maegan_bertrand]

you turn on the “out of the office” featu

It’s never been a good idea to b out of office on a regular scheduled. As it’s a global market, you never know when you are going to have an order .

Because I have a full time business that is separate from the services that I offer on Fiverr, I do have to be aware of constraints on my time, energy and focus. I’m also a full time caregiver for an elderly family member, so there are times when I have to take time off from all business activities, regardless, so that I don’t spread myself too thin. The out of office feature then is necessary, at least for someone in my situation.

[yarasin]

Because I have a full time business that is separate from the services that I offer on Fiverr, I do have to be aware of constraints on my time, energy and focus. I’m also a full time caregiver for an elderly family member, so there are times when I have to take time off from all business activities, regardless, so that I don’t spread myself too thin. The out of office feature then is necessary, at least for someone in my situation.

If it is for few times, then you can. 🙂

[maegan_bertrand]

Thank you for your input, guys 🌻!

I started thinking about it last night :thinking:: because buyers can place orders in different time zones, I could state that I typically answer messages during specific times, and that way, they still feel that they can place their order and have it queue, but they are also aware that they may not hear back from me until the appointed hours I’ve set.

This could also make it easier for a potential client to decide on whether to make a purchase if they have a time sensitive question.