I absolutely agree that clients need to be more specific, and you think it's unfair bc you didn't know you were going to be put on blast like this. But this can go both ways. I can easily say that next time, as a writer, you need to take the initiative and ask for more specific instructions from your client.
Asking additional questions won't hurt professionals. In fact, they should expect to ask them.
If you go to the doctor and tell him "I can't stop coughing," and he immediately prescribes you cough syrup and sends you on your way, you'd think he was the shittiest doctor on the planet. He has to ask you about additional symptoms and check you out before he can properly diagnose you.
Likewise, you need to ask additional questions of your clients.
Just my two cents.
I agree completely - with a caveat.
We value all orders and put the same amount of care into all of them. But quite honestly (as we say in our thread), we take BHW orders at a big discount from agency rates to ensure our queues are always full - so a one-off 500-word order that seems pretty clear isn't something that's going to spur us to start a long discussion with a client when his order seems clear.
If there are issues that aren't clear on an order, we always ask questions. And if a client wants to discuss his order further, we're always available for that because we want to deliver what the client is expecting.
Clients that spend $1000, $2000 or $3000 on an order (we were working on all of those orders at the same time as OP's order) are more likely to initiate conversations about their needs, and we're more likely to have questions about their order. We have those lengthy discussions often. We're just as happy to speak with someone spending $35 as with someone spending $3000, but we're not going to spend hours seeking out a client to ask questions when their orders seem totally clear. We also send out style samples to all who request them, so if someone needs a different writing style or voice, they usually let us know that they want something different than what's in our samples.
There's nothing unclear about an order for "gaming PC < 500 words on what they are." It's a standard article on a basic topic, and we receive dozens of them. That's what we wrote this time: an article on a basic topic. It would seem pretty obvious that a devoted gamer wouldn't be reading an article defining gaming PCs; it calls for beginner-level information. I can't believe any professional writer would have a followup question about the target audience for a "What is a ---" article.
In fact, OP PM'd me several times asking about TAT and status (and I warned him that because of my surgery and the bulk orders in the queue, I probably wouldn't get it done before today's surgery, a fact that was also specified on the order form - I ended up delivering before my surgery anyway). But he asked several times about progress. After the fact, of course, I see that he wanted it to complete this thread but didn't want to tell me the real purpose, which is completely understandable when he was doing a "blind" test. My point is, though, that if he wanted a specific voice, tone or technical level, all he had to do was include it in his PM. Communication is a two-way street.
That ended up being a lot longer than I expected. My point is, though, that a service that's delivering dozens of orders per week isn't going to initiate long discussions with clients if their order is clear, simple and to the point.
If you walk into a hardware store and ask for a box of 4-inch 20-penny galvanized box nails, the clerk isn't going to ask you a lot of questions about what you're using the nails for, where they're going to be used and whether you've considered alternatives. You obviously know what nails you need and have ordered with the specifics the clerk needs. He'd be happy to discuss various types of nails and fasteners with you if you ask questions about them - but he's not going to interrogate you about them. OP ordered "a box of 4-inch 20-penny galvanized box nails," in a way that showed that he knew exactly what he was asking for: a basic article for people who had no clue what a gaming PC is. That's what was delivered.
I've heard from two other content producers who thanked me for my earlier post, so I don't feel that I'm going out on a limb. It's more a matter of telling content buyers that if you want something different than what's in a writer's samples, just ask. Any reputable content service will be happy to discuss it with you.
Oh, and I'm not at all upset that my article was posted as part of the study. This was just a response to people saying they would have been bored reading the article because they're experienced gamers. The article topic made it pretty clear that the work wasn't to be read by experienced gamers, so I just wanted to point out that's a very unfair way to judge the content.