Day 8–Tuesday 31 March 2020

Right then we’ve achieved one week in social distancing in the UK. Well, survived is not really the right term is it, because a load of people in the UK (2,352 as at 5pm 31.3.2020) have crossed over due to this horrible virus.

Wow!

My day was filled with completing a Whiteboard Animation project for Gorilla Spirits, which landed just before it all went crazy and fair enough the client continued with the project, which is really awesome. I have included it below for you to view.

[embed]https://youtu.be/UU1G2cb5wTk[/embed]

I got this project through Fiverr, but I have to say I am hugely disappointed with them for a number of reasons. Would you like to hear, I am sure you do!

Firstly let me share with you how my Gig looks like online, see image below.

As you can probably see the cost for the premium package is £763.28. Why is it such a strange figure? Well, it is because you can only add US$ as the amount, but as I’m in the UK, it is shown in UK£. Okay that’s fine. As it happens I had to quote the client a specific higher amount. But when I then had to quote that to the client, it only gave me the option to enter it as US$ again, but it converted that to UK£, just like the packages. It meant that in order to quote the right amount through Fiverr, I had to keep quoting and experiment with different figures until the correct UK£ showed up.

The experience was just awful and made me look so amateurish to the client.

Then I discover that when the client paid, Fiverr took 20% of that amount.

WHAT?!!!

You’re kidding right? I had no idea they took that much, this is a crazy amount and definitely not what I would have expected or wish to pay. After this experience and complaining to Fiverr, I will definitely put my offer on hold or take it off altogether. There’s no way that this amount is reasonable or achievable for me or any other freelancers.

Anyway, we did manage to deliver a great project to the client and delighted to have received a 5 star review and some great comments too.

Hi Michael, I have completed the order and feedback. Many thanks for getting this done in such a short time. We are delighted. Best Wishes, Andy


After I completed this project with great satisfaction, I must say, we had a nice meal and I went to Lidl supermarket in Stourport on Severn, Worcestershire to do our weekly shop. It was nice and quiet there and managed to get most things on our list, so that was good. As usual not everyone was adhering to the social distancing rules, but hey ho, I am practicing to stop judging them all, which I have to say I had been doing.

Okay that’s about all for this journal entry, managed to write this the day after, so I’m getting better now.

Michael de Groot

Today’s U.K. government data sets:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/877187/Comms_slides_for_No_10_31st_of_March.pdf