**Premium KB: Customer Retention Process

The goal is to set CLEAR expectations for the client. Plain, simple and honest.

The following are a clear list of options available and should be communicated accordingly.

• We will attempt to reach the Fl several times over 48 hours. 

• • If FL responds, share the client’s wants and intentions. We should encourage communication between both parties. Be clear in asking what the fl is willing to do in order to resolve the issue. 
  • Occasionally they will not be willing to communicate and you will need to be the mediator/messenger by providing the fls response to the client. 
  • If there is no response after 48 hours, we can consider this avenue to be exhausted and we will not continue to contact.

• Give the client his/her available options to consider should the freelancer not respond. 

• • Closing the contract, 
  • leaving feedback and 
  • moving forward. 
  • This could include code review (if applicable) or talent solutions if needed. 

• The client may want to consider these reminders: NOT TO BE USED WITH EVERY CASE, we should reserve these stringent reminders only when necessary 

• • Upwork is an escrow agent
  • Upwork has no legal authority to determine who is right or wrong

**If contact info is requested, please coordinate with Executive Escalations before promising to provide the info.

Gather as much information as possible before reaching out. Key Points of Research would be 

• contract type, 
• obo links (contract IDs and UIDs), 
• contract spend, 
• previous refunds/credits 
• and the messages between the parties. 
• Have a complete understanding of the situation. Understand the nature of the work, what was the CL expecting, what did the FL understand of what they were to provide, was work provided and was anything missing (what did they receive vs what they expected). Was there communication and how did it go? Was there any hostility or were they civil? 

Look for things like an offering of contact info, agreements for refund/payment, relationship tone, etc. At this time, you will also want to start thinking about whether providing platform credit is a viable solution. (see Credit below)

When looking for CL or FL contact info:

The phone number can be elusive. Clients/fls don’t always provide their phone number within their acct so we have to look elsewhere. Check messages with the client/freelancer to see if they ever shared contact info. Also check tickets in ZD to see if the cl/fl provides the info in the email signature, or if it was provided in a reply on a previous ticket.

Trust but verify: Any and all claims should be researched and verified, if possible. 

Examples:

• Fraud
• ID Theft/Acct Sharing
• Extortion
• Work Diary Abuse / Overbilling

Review Freelancerss for NDF

If found, follow NDF escalation process here and find FAQs here

If no phone number is on file, please send the macro:

Hello (insert client name),

Thanks for reaching out about (paraphrase issue). (insert empathy statement). Please allow me to give you a call so that we can help you resolve this issue right away. 

Please take a quick moment to schedule an appointment that best fits your schedule here. Alternatively, if you would like a call immediately, you can reply with your preferred telephone number and I’ll get right back to you.

I look forward to speaking with you.

Best,

When Speaking to the Client, our research continues.

• Present probing questions
• Use critical thinking

• • When was the last communication or payment
  • Why does the client think the FL stopped responding or won’t deliver
  • How would the client like to see this resolved?
  • What are the options available?
  • Which is the best option to resolve that takes into consideration all interests?

• Follow up after 48 hours
• • We will not continue to reach out to an unresponsive fl. Please set this expectation early (see Step 1 drop-down)

• If the fl does respond, continue the momentum of the communication. 

• • Discuss a partial refund
  • Delivery of work completed or
  • Completion of the project

• If we are not able to bring the matter to an amicable resolution 

• • We have no other recourse and the client may want to consider other options. Assurance that should the client pursue the matter by other means, we are happy to cooperate. **If contact info is requested, please coordinate with Executive Escalations before promising to provide the info.

How do I determine a reasonable credit?

• Advise we will review for potential credit and update with an amount, if any, as soon as possible. If code review is being requested, the credit must wait until the review is complete **FYI (do not share with the user) additional credit is based on several factors including: 
• The result of the code review
• whether the Client has received any product
• WorkDiary review
• Client tenure
• contract spend
• 12 month spend
• lifetime spend
• The potential for growth and more
• NDF FL found (OR the number of NDF in the past, if applicable)
• ***Please reach out to your TL, Manager or AM if you need help determining a fair offering.
• If CL is disputing more than $250 and it comes to courtesy credit, please reach out to Your TL, or Charlene to discuss the case and determine the best offer, as each case will be different.
• An example credit would be 5% of the non-refunded payments of the contract being disputed

• Have a Job Success Score of 80% or higher, Rising Talent or are Premium
• Have successfully completed at least one job with the same skills within the last year
• Have experience in the appropriate category and subcategory
• English Proficiency level of Conversational and above. Use your best judgment (i.e. for writing jobs, invite Fluent or Native English Speakers, for data entry or design jobs can be conversational, etc)
• Meet client’s geographical preference (if applicable)
• Have skills relevant to the job
• Have completed at least 4 jobs or have at least 100 hours (unless Rising Talent or Premium)
• Keyword specific to job (if applicable)
• Have not been recently invited within the last 7 days

Agencies:

• Agencies or members of agencies from reputable agencies (review JSS, disputes).
• Prioritize Premium agencies when applicable:
• Work is in the following categories: Design (e.g. video production, graphic design, branding, marketing), Admin, Customer Support, Web / Mobile Dev, Translation, Management Consulting, Market Research

Projects that are larger in budget than the average variety

• Provide a good geographical mix of talent, unless they conflict with client geographical preferences
• Invite a mixture of Top Rated and Rising Talent freelancers

*Listen to what the client needs and do your best to provide eligible FL/Agencies. If you need the help of Talent Services, reach out in Slack and COLLABORATE with the team and share as much insight about the client's needs as possible but maintain ownership wherever/whenever possible.