IMPORTANT: Be sure to add to this form whenever you send courtesy connects.
Agents have the ability to add free Connects to a freelancer’s account and/or give a membership promo code to freelancers to access a free membership. This allows teams to be empowered to identify quick and easy fixes for dissatisfied customers.
Teams should always ensure the root customer issue is being addressed and, if needed, following the processes below if they wish to add Connects or give a promo code for membership. These can be used as a courtesy to help provide an exceptional experience!
Providing Connects is a great way to help satisfy a customer and show them we care when they’ve had a bad experience. When providing Connects, please couple it with appropriate Customer Education and note that it is a one-time courtesy. For instance, if a freelancer is upset because they thought they would get Connects because of Interview Won, you could say something like:
I’m sorry there was confusion about when you receive Connects back. As a one-time courtesy, I’ve issued you XX## Connects to your account. Please note that not all interviews will provide a Connects reward. You can learn more about earning Connects here.
Please follow these guidelines when issuing Connects.
Sort the “Important Notes” in OBO to see if free Connects have been provided previously. It’s up to you to determine what best fits the situation for your customer based on the breakdown below.
If the customer does not clear the “Courtesy Connects Eligibility Chart”, reach out to a Team Lead for approval prior to issuing Connects
If the customer does clear the “Courtesy Connects Eligibility Chart”, you may issue anything up to 60 Connects for that time period e.g. if they received 30 courtesy Connects within the last 3 months, you may issue up to 30 whereas if they received none, you may issue up to 60.
If a FL is reaching out due to a false positive suspension OR the freelancer hasn’t violated TOS yet has lost Connects because of an Upwork action e.g. CC fraud suspension on CL side: In these cases, regardless of whether or not they’ve received courtesy Connects previously, please do the following:
- Issue 60 Connects
- Check if they submitted proposals that were withdrawn due to the false positive suspension. If so, we’ll include a Connects reimbursement with their 60 courtesy Connects. To determine the reimbursement, take the total number of proposals withdrawn and multiply by 3. e.g. if a FL submitted 15 proposals that were withdrawn, they would receive 105 Connects (15 proposals x 3 = 45 for a reimbursement + 60 courtesy = 105 Connects).
Important Note:
If a freelancer reports that they are unable to purchase Connects due to a declined payment error, follow the steps to troubleshoot using the Declined Credit Cards KB. Provide error details to FL and instruct them to add an alternate payment source. If the FL has an immediate need to submit a proposal, but unable to add an alternate payment source, it’s ok to apply courtesy Connects up to 15.
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Courtesy Connects Eligibility Chart |
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Courtesy Connects History |
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Escalate to Lead, Leaders, see cs-leadership-team Slack channel for management review |
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Account Status |
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Membership |
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Process Map
- If a freelancer or agency is on a Basic plan but upgrades using a promo code, explain if they no longer want the membership after their free time, they will need to downgrade before their free membership has ended.
- If on Basic, the code will go into effect immediately where is on Plus, the code will go into effect on the next billing cycle
Process Map
- Pull up the user's account in OBO and go to the identity section.
- Choose Wrench and the Other option from the drop down
- Locate and click on Memberships tab
- Choose from the drop-down list -- Basic, Plus, or Plus Free
- Enter detailed CSS note needs with expectations and reasoning
- If upgrading, keep the “Reward connects during membership update” checkbox checked and then click on Update current plan. If downgrading, uncheck it.
- Pull up the agency owner’s account in OBO and go to the Own Company section.
- Click the agency company’s ID number.
- Locate and click on Memberships tab.
- Choose from the drop-down list -- Basic or Plus
- Enter detailed CSS note needs with expectations and reasoning
- Click on Update current plan
- If upgrading agency, keep the “Reward connects during membership update” checkbox checked and then click on Update current plan. If downgrading, uncheck it.