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The Definition of a Good Client
Thread poster: Wenjer Leuschel (X)
Wenjer Leuschel (X)
Wenjer Leuschel (X)  Identity Verified
Taiwan
Local time: 10:14
English to Chinese
+ ...
Dec 18, 2007

I should have talked about this in the thread of "Looking into the Market," but I decide to start a new thread for discussion.

We all need good clients. However, what are good clients? How good should they be? Paying good and punctually? How about the request for quality? How about the time frame they give us? How about their SOP?

The clients expect us to behave professionally. How about their professionality? What is professionality after all?

The right an
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I should have talked about this in the thread of "Looking into the Market," but I decide to start a new thread for discussion.

We all need good clients. However, what are good clients? How good should they be? Paying good and punctually? How about the request for quality? How about the time frame they give us? How about their SOP?

The clients expect us to behave professionally. How about their professionality? What is professionality after all?

The right answers to all these questions may lead us to a clear definition of a good client as well as to a clear definition of a good translator.

Dear colleauges, would you care to join me in this discussion? Either in English or in Chinese will do. I would be glad to know of your opinions which will lead us to a clear definition of a good client as well as a clear definition of a good translator.
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Wenjer Leuschel (X)
Wenjer Leuschel (X)  Identity Verified
Taiwan
Local time: 10:14
English to Chinese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
It seems to me ... Dec 19, 2007

... that people either have only good clients or have no good clients, so that both the ones who have only good clients and the ones who have no good clients don't have any idea of what a good client could be. Or, is this topic too boring?

Either I have some good clients or I don't. And, if my clients were all good ones, I would be just lucky. What if I've had some good ones and some not so good ones --- or even some really bad ones?

To be frank, I do have had some real
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... that people either have only good clients or have no good clients, so that both the ones who have only good clients and the ones who have no good clients don't have any idea of what a good client could be. Or, is this topic too boring?

Either I have some good clients or I don't. And, if my clients were all good ones, I would be just lucky. What if I've had some good ones and some not so good ones --- or even some really bad ones?

To be frank, I do have had some real good ones, some not so good ones and some really, really bad ones, even though they paid punctually.

Now, what do I expect from a good client? And what a good client would expect from me?

Is it possible to talk about this in respect of business behaviour? Or just in respect of quality assured with a good cooperation/collaboration between the client and the translator (whereas we are not talking about end clients who are usually not likely to be for us freelance translators)?
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Shouguang Cao
Shouguang Cao  Identity Verified
China
Local time: 10:14
English to Chinese
+ ...
What is the professionality of a buyer? Dec 19, 2007

The clients are buyers. A buyer is a good buyer as long as she pays punctually and pays well.

[Edited at 2007-12-19 12:50]


 
lbone
lbone  Identity Verified
China
Local time: 10:14
Member (2006)
English to Chinese
+ ...
my 2 cents Dec 19, 2007

1) best outsourcers should be the partners of the service provider, not only buyers.
2) prompt and easy communications, reasonable, understandable
3) on-time / prompt payment, some times earlier payment.
4) fine jobs - proper and continuous jobs, at comfortable rates as against the contents, comfortable deadline

For an independent freelance translator, one or two good clients are usually enough.

[Edited at 2007-12-19 13:42]


 
chance (X)
chance (X)
French to Chinese
+ ...
Agree with lbone Dec 19, 2007

lbone wrote:
1) best outsourcers should be the partners of the service provider, not only buyers.
2) prompt and easy communications, understandable
3) on-time / prompt payment, some times earlier payment.
4) fine jobs - proper and continuous jobs, at comfortable rates as against the contents, comfortable deadline


[Edited at 2007-12-19 19:11]


 
Wenjer Leuschel (X)
Wenjer Leuschel (X)  Identity Verified
Taiwan
Local time: 10:14
English to Chinese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
2 cents plus 2 cents Dec 19, 2007

Thank you, Dallas and lbone!

Now, 2 cents plus 2 cents - we have 4 cents and I hope there will be more cents coming in to make us rich with this thread.


[Edited at 2007-12-19 14:49]


 
Wenjer Leuschel (X)
Wenjer Leuschel (X)  Identity Verified
Taiwan
Local time: 10:14
English to Chinese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Well, chance, Dec 19, 2007

I know you don't love me, or else you would just use two words for this: Shove it!

chance wrote:

Sorry to say this topic is really boring.

But agree with lbone.


 
Wenjer Leuschel (X)
Wenjer Leuschel (X)  Identity Verified
Taiwan
Local time: 10:14
English to Chinese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
A good client for me Dec 19, 2007

... is a client who either can translate on his own and knows of the right procedure to ensure the correctness of a translation but needs my service for he doesn't have the time to go through the procedure or just trust me without knowing anything about the procedure.

Such a client appreciates my effort to bring over things clearly in another language even when he doesn't understand a word of the target language and pays proper rates for translations in proper modalities after deliv
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... is a client who either can translate on his own and knows of the right procedure to ensure the correctness of a translation but needs my service for he doesn't have the time to go through the procedure or just trust me without knowing anything about the procedure.

Such a client appreciates my effort to bring over things clearly in another language even when he doesn't understand a word of the target language and pays proper rates for translations in proper modalities after delivery.

Sure, there are much more to a good client and that's why I invite you, colleagues, to further contribute your opinions on a good client.
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chance (X)
chance (X)
French to Chinese
+ ...
Sorry! Dec 19, 2007

我已经把那句话删去了,你就别自己再引用了。其实我原来以为你自己已经意识到这点,这个评论是从你自己的帖子里引用来的。让你生气就没必要了,本来下午就想删去,但是有位同事来电话聊了好长时间,错过了在你抗议前删去的机会。现在你感觉好一点了?

Wenjer Leuschel wrote:
I know you don't love me, or else you would just use two words for this: Shove it!


Wenjer Leuschel wrote:
... that people either have only good clients or have no good clients, so that both the ones who have only good clients and the ones who have no good clients don't have any idea of what a good client could be. Or, is this topic too boring?


[Edited at 2007-12-19 19:23]


 
Wenjer Leuschel (X)
Wenjer Leuschel (X)  Identity Verified
Taiwan
Local time: 10:14
English to Chinese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Don't do that Dec 19, 2007

... because I don't want people got the wrong impression that we love each other so much!

chance wrote:

我已经把那句话删去了,你就别自己再引用了。其实我原来以为你自己已经意识到这点,这个评论是从你自己的帖子里引用来的。让你生气就没必要了,本来下午就想删去,但是有位同事来电话聊了好长时间,错过了在你抗议前删去的机会。现在你感觉好一点了?


 
jyuan_us
jyuan_us  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 22:14
Member (2005)
English to Chinese
+ ...
他要愛你就壞菜了﹐成了史上最牛小三兒了。 Dec 19, 2007

Wenjer Leuschel wrote:

I know you don't love me, or else you would just use two words for this: Shove it!

chance wrote:

Sorry to say this topic is really boring.

But agree with lbone.


 
chrisleo
chrisleo
Local time: 10:14
Chinese to English
+ ...
我的建议是 Dec 20, 2007

文哲应该开一个博客。

 
Wenjer Leuschel (X)
Wenjer Leuschel (X)  Identity Verified
Taiwan
Local time: 10:14
English to Chinese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
我对这个题目的希望是 Dec 20, 2007

尽量少跑题,针对要探讨的“好客户是怎样的客户?”来谈事情,也许会很快找到明确的答案。

 
Xiangdong Zhuo
Xiangdong Zhuo
China
Local time: 10:14
English to Chinese
我的好客户 Dec 20, 2007

Wenjer Leuschel wrote:

尽量少跑题,针对要探讨的“好客户是怎样的客户?”来谈事情,也许会很快找到明确的答案。


我的好客户是这样做的:

1. 沟通效率高,当天安排好工作进度。
2. 适当提供参考资料和反馈,及时较正问题,避免中途反复。
3. 考虑物价上涨因素,主动加价。


 
jyuan_us
jyuan_us  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 22:14
Member (2005)
English to Chinese
+ ...
強烈呼籲徐文哲競選不分區 Dec 21, 2007

以第三勢力代表翻譯界發發聲。

如果沒名額了﹐嚴重提名其競選僑選。

你家住城北嗎﹖


 
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The Definition of a Good Client






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