Experts should be able to appeal poor ratings directly to JA when they have made a resonable effort, but the customer cannot be pleased.
The other night I spent over 3 hours with a customer that had 2 separate issues. I fixed 1, the other he just couldn't find what I was asking him for. So I graciously apologized and said I think we'll have to leave it here, and he still gave me a poor rating. So I left him a screen shot, and offered to keep helping, He closed the question and that was that. All of that for a $12 question out of the kindness of my heart, and no pay. Worse no recourse with JA. I think there should be a policy that after a specified amount of time with a customer, if a poor or no rating is given, then the expert has a right to appeal and JA staff has final say based on effort made. I understand that customers shouldn't pay for poor service, but these situations are just wrong.
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The1visitor commented
Don't for a minute think that being opted out or opting out yourself will protect you from a negative. It doesn't.
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Lorenz “Lori” Vauck commented
The only thing you can really do is to stay away from such questions or opt out once you notice that it will not go in your favor. I agree we cannot spend free time on this - and I don´t do that either. The way JA works right now, exactly this will happen again and again otherwise, if JA does not finally change something about that (like auto-accept after a while if no refund for example). Until this didn´t happen, just adapt to how JA wants you to play this game, which means leaving customers standing in the rain sometimes. As much as it sucks, it´s the only way to battle this frustrating rating system.
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Anonymous commented
I think it's only fair that if the customer engages for more than a set period of time (say 30-60 minutes) and then decides to rate bad/poor and run that they should be accountable for some sort of payment. In the real work a customer does not get the real help of a professional and then simply decide that they don't "Like" the answer and not pay. It's unprofessional.
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LadyEsq commented
I agree and I just posted about it regarding the money back guarantee; similar issue. The money back guarantee is being used to get free legal and other types of advice and it's very disillusioning for the hard workers here. I suggest if they want their money back, let admin look at the answer and if admin agrees it's shoddy, then they can get their money back but if the person did a good, solid job of answering, the money back guarantee should not kick in. The rubric should change asap!
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Susan Latta commented
I agree with all the all the experts below. Some customers, I think, have figured out the game and after giving a long informative answer, we don't hear back from them. Or the people that want you to just fix their microwave virtually , and it's a model that's no longer being sold, AND it had poor customer reviews. But they don't like it when they're told they need a new microwave.
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Steve Grizey commented
The criteria for removing a negative rating is too restrictive. When there has been an honest effort to satisfy the customer (& many of us go way beyond that) there should be a way for us to have a negative rating removed, beyond just a "site problem" (which sometimes isn't even expressed by the customer as the real reason they are unhappy). When there is a good answer, unfavorable to the customer, but the answer is technically correct, we should be able to have a negative rating removed. If JA doesn't have the technical expertise to make that determination, then send it out to the appropriate experts for comment. It's not the money, refund it under the "complete satisfaction" policy, but if warranted, have it removed from our record. We know the customers can't see it & JA evaluates everything when making decisions, but trust me, most of us take pride in out work, in our customer service skills, in our dedication to superior service, and welcome a pat on the back once in awhile. An Unfair Poor or Bad Service rating is taken seriously by most of us & it is frustrating when there's no recourse. It simply isn't fair. So humor us, & give us some kind of "Appeal Process", so that we can feel better about our work & our record here at JustAnswer. We are all professionals & have no problem accepting constructive criticism, but when it is unjustified, it is irritating, particularly when there is no recourse. It would give us a chance to switch a subjective rating to an objective rating, if only to remove it from our record. Steve Grizey (Tax & Financial categories).
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Nathan commented
Again, Agree. Alot of time the customer will rate poorly simply because they did not like the answer as Angela said. For example, I have told customer that they will need to replace part such and such, and I get a poor rating because of that. I am a technician, not a magician :)
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Angela commented
I agree, and so does many others who have commented on this matter in the past. When an expert receives a poor rating...the expert is the one that does not get paid...There are many times when customers want you to tell them what they want to hear and NOT the truth. I am not here to pacify the customer, but to provide them with accurate information. If a poor service is warranted, I accept it gracefully, however, for the poor ratings that are not, something definitely needs to be done about those.
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dermdoc19 commented
Agree 100%. Present system is frustrating besides being ridiculous. Most of my negative ratings occur after I ask for a picture or have been waiting too long for a picture. BEFORE I GIVE AN ANSWER.