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Stupid end client in a panic wants translation FAST without actually finishing the source text
Thread poster: Tom in London
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Nikki Scott-Despaigne  Identity Verified
Local time: 19:43
French to English
Here's what I did Apr 4, 2017

I once had a big job the client was just fininshing. In my quote, I indicated that this was the minimum price and that any text I would be required to translate above and beyond would be invoiced at the same per word rate.

You have to phrase this sort of thing carefully as sometimes, a much amended document can end up with a lower word-count and cheeky clients could ask for a reduction. I even had that once, and was glad to have kept a track of all the text I had actually translate
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I once had a big job the client was just fininshing. In my quote, I indicated that this was the minimum price and that any text I would be required to translate above and beyond would be invoiced at the same per word rate.

You have to phrase this sort of thing carefully as sometimes, a much amended document can end up with a lower word-count and cheeky clients could ask for a reduction. I even had that once, and was glad to have kept a track of all the text I had actually translated.

If you have to work on the text, the client has to pay for it.

[Edited at 2017-04-04 14:02 GMT]
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Kevin Fulton
Kevin Fulton  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 14:43
German to English
A reason to work through a good agency Apr 4, 2017

Although I have a couple of well-organized direct clients, one reason I prefer to work through agencies is that I don't have to renegotiate the terms when the end client changes his/her mind about a project. The agencies I work through tend to have good relations with their clients, so they know in advance whether a job is a work in progress. Since I use CAT tools exclusively, accommodating alterations is generally not an issue, and as far as I know, the end client is aware that all changes will... See more
Although I have a couple of well-organized direct clients, one reason I prefer to work through agencies is that I don't have to renegotiate the terms when the end client changes his/her mind about a project. The agencies I work through tend to have good relations with their clients, so they know in advance whether a job is a work in progress. Since I use CAT tools exclusively, accommodating alterations is generally not an issue, and as far as I know, the end client is aware that all changes will be charged accordingly, and subsequent deletions will not be deducted from the overall cost. The consequence, at least on my end, is that there are fewer "draft" documents, since the end client is aware of the cost of revision.Collapse


 
Agneta Pallinder
Agneta Pallinder  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 18:43
Member (2014)
Swedish to English
+ ...
This made me laugh! Thank you Mervyn. Apr 4, 2017

Mervyn Henderson wrote:

... they say they've finished it, beware of those dead giveaways in the margin, "Better talk to FW on this one", "Are these the 2016 figures? - have to ask TS", "Has this been checked by AN, validated by KT and approved by PQ?".

Means it's kind of finished, apart from a few things here and there. Here, there and everywhere, more like.

[Edited at 2017-04-04 10:14 GMT]


 
Lianne van de Ven
Lianne van de Ven  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 14:43
Member (2008)
English to Dutch
+ ...
Which CAT tool? Apr 4, 2017

Jan Truper wrote:

A decent CAT tool will highlight all text additions and omissions to/from text that you've already translated in the colors of your choice.
It will also calculate the percentage value of such changes so you can assess how much more work it means for you.


Which CAT tool is that? I thought I had a decent one, but I don't think it can do this.


 
Mirko Mainardi
Mirko Mainardi  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 19:43
Member
English to Italian
CAT tools Apr 4, 2017

Lianne van de Ven wrote:

Jan Truper wrote:

A decent CAT tool will highlight all text additions and omissions to/from text that you've already translated in the colors of your choice.
It will also calculate the percentage value of such changes so you can assess how much more work it means for you.


Which CAT tool is that? I thought I had a decent one, but I don't think it can do this.


MemoQ and Studio do that, for instance (never tried to change colors, though).


 
Lianne van de Ven
Lianne van de Ven  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 14:43
Member (2008)
English to Dutch
+ ...
Off-topic Apr 4, 2017

Mirko Mainardi wrote:

Lianne van de Ven wrote:

Jan Truper wrote:

A decent CAT tool will highlight all text additions and omissions to/from text that you've already translated in the colors of your choice.
It will also calculate the percentage value of such changes so you can assess how much more work it means for you.


Which CAT tool is that? I thought I had a decent one, but I don't think it can do this.


MemoQ and Studio do that, for instance (never tried to change colors, though).


Thanks. We're going off-topic but I use Studio 2017 and am not aware of this feature. I will look into it when I have more time [or you are welcome to pm me with a tip on how to do this]


 
Mervyn Henderson (X)
Mervyn Henderson (X)  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 19:43
Spanish to English
+ ...
Also off-topic, but ... Apr 4, 2017

... I think Chris must mean clunky issue-ridden Trados 2007 (but surely not, in this day and age?), which is just a grumpy git with arthritis and a stick that falls apart at every hurdle. You'll never get rid of all the tags, as far as I know, but they can be made much more user-friendly in Studio and others.

 
Angie Garbarino
Angie Garbarino  Identity Verified
Local time: 19:43
Member (2003)
French to Italian
+ ...
Yes Apr 4, 2017

Lingua 5B wrote:

It's happening with clients from any country.

: (





 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 18:43
Member (2008)
Italian to English
TOPIC STARTER
On off-topic Apr 5, 2017

Lianne van de Ven wrote:

..... We're going off-topic


We always do.


 
Ricki Farn
Ricki Farn
Germany
Local time: 19:43
English to German
Pride yourself on being cutting-edge innovative Apr 5, 2017

Just call it "agile development" and you have the most trendy thing there is at the moment.

/sarcasm


 
DZiW (X)
DZiW (X)
Ukraine
English to Russian
+ ...
emotional intelligence awareness Apr 5, 2017

Stupid end client? What nice thing you say!

I see a frustrated translator and his problems... However, how could you cleverly tell that one is really 'stupid', not, say, just inexperienced, pressed on the run, with a specific need or project? And even better--what exactly a smart translator should do to cope with it, mitigate the issue, or just educate such a client?

Perhaps, somewhere they teach labelling people 'stupid' and it's ok, all the rage, and to the highest st
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Stupid end client? What nice thing you say!

I see a frustrated translator and his problems... However, how could you cleverly tell that one is really 'stupid', not, say, just inexperienced, pressed on the run, with a specific need or project? And even better--what exactly a smart translator should do to cope with it, mitigate the issue, or just educate such a client?

Perhaps, somewhere they teach labelling people 'stupid' and it's ok, all the rage, and to the highest standard and style, yet to my dismay I have never heard such statements from professionals. That's why my two questions: (1) How often your local translators call people stupid? and (2) How often you say it face to face?

Just a talk shop regarding the craft, if you please.
Thank you.
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Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Nikki Scott-Despaigne  Identity Verified
Local time: 19:43
French to English
Or with direct clients Apr 5, 2017

Kevin Fulton wrote:

... the end client is aware of the cost of revision.


Same principle working with direct clients. If they are aware from the outset that any text worked upon is chargeable, they know what they are letting themselves in for.

[Edited at 2017-04-05 11:15 GMT]


 
Dan Lucas
Dan Lucas  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 18:43
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
Culture matters Apr 5, 2017

Lingua 5B wrote:
It's happening with clients from any country.

I would agree that every country has its share of feckless clients, but I think a lot depends on the culture. From time to time my Japanese clients also offer me documents that are still in the process of creation, but these clients are very methodical and well-organised, so what could be a trying exercise ends up something that we work around without drama.

But there are no free lunches. The Japanese mania for attention to detail, rules and control mitigates against spontaneity, initiative and flexibility.

Dan


 
Roni_S
Roni_S  Identity Verified
Slovakia
Local time: 19:43
Slovak to English
Clients Apr 5, 2017

My lawyer clients do this fairly frequently. To be fair, I suppose changes are to be expected after what can be rounds and rounds of negotiations. What I dislike most, though, is when they make changes to the original translation, then send me back the marked up source text and the new English version in which to make the changes, which pretty much rules out the use of WFC (as far as I can tell, but I’m not what you’d call a proficient user). Also, I find that unless large, cohesive chunks o... See more
My lawyer clients do this fairly frequently. To be fair, I suppose changes are to be expected after what can be rounds and rounds of negotiations. What I dislike most, though, is when they make changes to the original translation, then send me back the marked up source text and the new English version in which to make the changes, which pretty much rules out the use of WFC (as far as I can tell, but I’m not what you’d call a proficient user). Also, I find that unless large, cohesive chunks of text have been inserted or largely modified, using a CAT is generally more time-consuming than just working with the documents side-by-side and making the edits directly. Clients will tell me “oh, I just inserted a few words here and there, it won’t take you long to do”, but what they usually fail to understand is that in my language pair, as I’m sure is the case in many if not most pairs, this is rarely a matter of finding some insertion point and adding the new text. Eight times out of ten, their addition of 4 or 5 words necessitates the rewording of the entire sentence.

On the other hand, these are all good, steady clients and I don’t see myself telling them to take a hike because of this issue.
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Kevin Fulton
Kevin Fulton  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 14:43
German to English
Good end clients Apr 5, 2017

Nikki Scott-Despaigne wrote:

Kevin Fulton wrote:

... the end client is aware of the cost of revision.


Same principle working with direct clients. If they are aware from the outset that any text worked upon is chargeable, they know what they are letting themselves in for.

[Edited at 2017-04-05 11:15 GMT]


For the most part my direct clients are well-organized. The documents they send are usually the final versions, although sometimes they send addenda/corrections that don't affect the body of the text (tables, figure titles, etc.). Sometimes they will add a file to a multi-document project. They know at the outset what the cost will be, and what any additions will cost.

But judging by what I read here on Proz, I'm in a distinct minority, Over the course of my career, I've developed an instinct for potentially difficult direct clients or agencies. Consequently, I experience very little drama when dealing with my clientele.


 
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Stupid end client in a panic wants translation FAST without actually finishing the source text







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