Sooner or later, you will
receive a bad feedback. It happens to everyone, because it's
impossible to make every single client happy. Negative feedback will
lower your overall ratings and it might slow down your business on
Fiverr, so feeling frustrated is completely understandable. It's
best not to act out on that frustration, though, or you risk making things
worse.
Here are some things to
avoid when you receive a bad feedback:
1. Answering with a
Vengeful Feedback of Your Own
It's tempting to tell that
buyer exactly what you think of him/her. It's tempting to offend them
and to try to hurt them as much as they've hurt you. Don't. It will
just make you look unprofessional. One negative feedback won't
necessarily make buyers choose someone else – they are aware that
it's impossible to make everyone happy – but acting like a child
having a temper tantrum will. Buyers want to work with a
professional, not with someone who can't control his/her
temper.
2. Spamming the Buyer and
Demanding a Glowing Review
Repeatedly messaging the
buyer and begging them to change the review to 5 stars is considered
harassment, and could get your messaging disabled (or your account
banned, depending on the exact nature of your messages). With the new
Feedback Revision Policy, you're allowed to request feedback
revision through the Resolution Center, but you can't do it repeatedly for the same order.
Furthermore, repeatedly using this option can get you banned from
Fiverr.
3. Spamming Customer
Support and Repeatedly Demanding Feedback Removal
Before the new Feedback
Revision option, if you could prove that you had done exactly what
was requested and that the feedback wasn't justified, it was possible
to contact Customer Support with the proof and ask for their help.
Now, though, sellers can only get the feedback changed if they
contact the buyer through the Resolution Center and request feedback
revision, and if the buyer agrees to do it. The only exception is if the buyer has clearly violated Fiverr's Terms of Service (for example, the buyer was abusive); if that's the case, Customer Support will remove the feedback, but if it isn't, they won't. Keep in mind that spamming
Customer Support, harassing them, being rude to them, or repeatedly
demanding feedback removal even after they told you it wasn't
possible has never been a good idea. Customer Support is there to
help all users; harassing them isn't going to help anyone, and could
get you banned from Fiverr.
4. Naming and Shaming in
the Forum
If you can't get the
feedback removed, it might feel tempting to rant in the forum. It's
perfectly fine to do that, as long as you don't break Forum Rules (in
other words, as long as you don't name the buyer). However, keep in
mind that, depending on the nature of the buyer's feedback, it's
possible for the other users to think that the buyer was right, and to
openly tell you so. If that happens, remember to stay polite to all
forum users, and carefully think about what they told you, and about
the ways to improve your service.
5. Spamming Other Sellers
Messaging other sellers to
beg them to buy from you is considered spamming, and it's forbidden
by Terms of Service. Even if you're afraid that, after the bad
feedback, you won't be able to make more sales, begging other sellers
to buy from you is still spamming, and it's still forbidden. Begging
them to help you remove the negative feedback is also spamming –
and pointless, because there's nothing a seller can do to help you.
Don't panic. Don't get
abusive. Don't spam. Use the tools you have at your disposal, and if
they don't work, move on.
A negative feedback isn't
the end of the world, and it isn't the end of your business on
Fiverr, either.
Keep moving.
