Rant about Paki Freelancers
I just want to share my experience as a Pakistani freelancer/professional hiring another Pakistani freelancer.
Whenever I can outsource or refer work, I always try to support fellow Pakistanis first. Unfortunately, a few recent experiences have made me think twice. Here's the worst one.
I hired a Fiverr freelancer to manage my LinkedIn. He was the most proactive person I spoke to, so I gave him a one-month trial. The agreement was simple: 16 posts per month, 15 comments, and around 20 connection requests per day.
The first month seemed fine. Midway through, I asked him to keep a simple record of the comments and connection requests, not because I didn't trust him, but so both of us had proof the work was completed. He happily agreed but never actually shared anything. At the end of the month, he sent an Excel file I couldn't even access despite asking multiple times. Still, I was satisfied overall and renewed him for another month.
The second month was different. Near the end, I asked for two items that were already within the agreed scope, plus one optional task outside the scope. I clearly told him he wasn't obligated to do the extra task if he was busy.
He never delivered the two in-scope items, so I ended up doing them myself. For the out-of-scope task, he claimed he had worked on it, but during our meeting it became obvious he hadn't. I had already done the research myself, and he was making up facts and figures on the spot.
The final straw came when I checked the LinkedIn comments for the last week. We were about 20 comments short of the agreed target. I took screenshots, and when I asked him about it, he insisted he had actually exceeded the target by 10 comments. Once I showed him the screenshots, the excuses started.
On a call, I told him I couldn't leave a good Fiverr review because he had missed the agreed targets and had no proof to support his claims about either the comments or the connection requests.
He later rushed to do some extra comments as if that fixed everything. I left a 2 to 3 star review, after which he repeatedly spammed me on WhatsApp with more excuses instead of simply taking responsibility.
For context, he also took frequent days off throughout the project, and I never complained because the work eventually got done. What bothered me wasn't the mistakes. It was the lack of accountability and the constant excuses.
So, AITA for leaving an average review? I feel like I trusted him far more than I should have.