As a buyer, how should I rate my service provider?

Buyers should leave fair and honest feedback based on the quality and professionalism of the service provider for that specific project.  Please keep in mind that feedback cannot be changed once posted.

A guide to service provider feedback criteria ratings is below:

Quality of work

1. Work not functional/did not meet requirements

2. Work has deficiencies
 
3. Quality of work close to specification (average)
 
4. Quality of work as specified
 
5. Quality of work above expectations
 
 
Responsiveness

1. Response times delayed my own schedule
 
2. Response time was slow (greater than 2 days)
 
3. Response time was average (1-2 days)
 
4. Response time was prompt (within 24 hours) and kept me updated with proactive status reports
 
5. Response time was immediate (within 12 hours) and kept me updated with proactive status reports
 

Professionalism

1. Not a professional
 
2. Not very polished in communication or style
 
3. Average skills 
 
4. Professional, good communication and style
 
5. Very professional communication and style. One of the best pros in the field
 
  
Subject matter expertise

1. No expertise based on the work performed
 
2. Limited expertise. More knowledge a must
 
3. Competent, but not a complete expert
 
4. Competent. Knew most answers to my questions
 
5. Very competent.  An expert in the field
 
 
Adherence to cost

1. Exceeded budget by large margin
 
2. Exceeded budget by more than 30%
 
3. Exceeded budget, but by less than 30%

4. Came within 10% of budget
 
5. Hit the budget exactly, or better
 
 
Adherence to schedule

1. Project was delayed beyond reason
 
2. Project was significantly late
 
3. Provider requested schedule revision, then delivered on time
 
4. Project was close to original agreed schedule
 
5. Project exactly on schedule (if not before)
 

In addition to leaving a feedback rating, Elance encourages all users to include specific comments with feedback whenever possible. In some cases, comments provide a more powerful indication of the service provider's performance.

Buyers will also be asked to indicate whether they would work with the service provider again if they had a similar project need. The response is not displayed with the review, but used to calculate an aggregated "Repeat client" statistic.