THIS IS NUTS!!!

 

For 14 years at Upwork (ever since it was Elance back in the day), I have been a Premier Provider or Top-rated Provider. That changed yesterday when my rating fell unexpectedly to 89%. (It needs to be 90% or better to be deemed Top-Rated.)

 

I’m sitting here scratching my head because the lowest rating I have ever received at Upwork was a 4.2, and most of that was because I charge what I do. (I’m not a sweatshop.)  Well over 99.9% of all other ratings I’ve received have been the highest possible rating — 5 stars.

 

So, when I inquired as to how/why my rating had suddenly dropped, they responded cryptically, “Even clients who give a 5-star rating publicly may privately give confidential additional ratings and information to us, which we cannot divulge. We also factor this confidential feedback into your rating status.”

 

So, then I said, “Okay… I understand. But is there a common thread in these confidential ratings? I don’t care if you keep the clients confidential, but if there’s something I’m repeatedly doing that is causing a lower rating, can you tell me what it is?”

 

Their response, in a nutshell: Nope!

 

So, if they can’t divulge what I’ve been doing wrong,

how can I know what to work on it to earn back my Top-Rated status?!!

 

They shouldn’t be using private feedback to dock providers UNLESS they’re willing to tell us what we’ve been doing wrong to earn the lower rating.  That’s like pulling the wings off flies and watching them buzz around, damaged and hurting but unable to help themselves.

 

I need to find another platform that makes more sense.  Upwork is the highest profile online freelance portal, but it isn’t the only one.  And I have zero confidence that they’re on the up and up when they drop my rating and then won’t tell me why so I can endeavor to improve it.  That reeks. Something is rotten at the core.

 

Are they being privately bribed to promote others ahead of me by claiming “confidential” ratings to bump me out of the Top-Rated ranks?  I simply don’t know.

 

When I get 5-star (or any lesser) public reviews from clients, I expect them to be candid with me if I haven’t met or exceeded their expectations. That’s the only way I learn how to adapt.

 

Did some not like it when I said they were asking for scope creep in asking me to do more for the price I quoted?

 

Did they not like that I responded (professionally but candidly) if I felt that something they suggested or changed in my copy would shoot them in the foot?

 

I’m not an indentured servant.  I’m a professional provider. They hire me to know what I’m doing, so if I push back, it’s because I feel they’ll do damage to themselves if they insist on pursuing a change or a course of action that I don’t think will serve them well.

 

So, see?  I’m trying to recall any of the (very few) mishaps or disagreements I’ve had with clients in the past (all of whom gave me good reviews!) to see if I can come up with possible reasons for receiving negative private feedback, because I simply don’t know what caused the drop in private ratings — and Upwork isn’t going to tell me.

 

So, they’re going to lose a valuable provider shortly: I’ve put close to 75K (I estimate) into their pockets in the 14 years I’ve been with them. The least they could do is share what I need to know to boost my rating 1% or more to get back in the cat bird’s seat there. If they can’t do that, I will find another nest to feather.

 

Or I will start promoting myself better so people find this website and come to me direct. That would be the best possible outcome. If I do that, I won’t have to spend hours looking on freelance platforms for work. Potential clients would come to me, saving me scads of time.