Poll: How many clients have you had to "fire"?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
Oct 28, 2017

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "How many clients have you had to "fire"?".

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Thayenga
Thayenga  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 00:43
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
1 - 5 Oct 28, 2017



 
Yetta Jensen Bogarde
Yetta Jensen Bogarde  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 00:43
Member (2012)
English to Danish
+ ...
I am not sure Oct 28, 2017

between 3 and 8

 
EvaVer (X)
EvaVer (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 00:43
Czech to French
+ ...
Had to? 1-5 as far as I remember Oct 28, 2017

But did more than that. Now I weeded out the worst bozos and more are earmarked for getting the push - not only for financial reasons, but also for technical and administrative hassle.

 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 23:43
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
1-5 Oct 28, 2017

Happy

P.S. All for the same reason: bad or (very) slow payers, one still pending...

[Edited at 2017-10-28 10:51 GMT]


 
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Nikki Scott-Despaigne  Identity Verified
Local time: 00:43
French to English
1-5 too Oct 28, 2017

A few clients I never want to see again, ever. Reasons? Either bad payers or lousy communication/ administration, sometimes both. All the bad payers have lousy comm/admin, although there are a few lousy comm/admin companies who are not bad payers.
(For me, a "bad payer" is someone who cannot pay, who will not pay, or is just so badly organised they take way too long to pay. The last one is probably linked to one of the first two.)

[Edited at 2017-10-28 18:11 GMT]


 
Philippe Etienne
Philippe Etienne  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 00:43
Member
English to French
likely 6-10 Oct 28, 2017

Only business reasons, nothing personal!

- Quite a few semi-long-standing agencies who said enough with my rate increases over the years or who wouldn't withdraw their changes (payment terms, discount grids, CAT tools, workflows, etc.)
- One where my 3 first invoices were paid late (they were warned)
- One where I wouldn't sign paperwork, wouldn't accept their discount grid, wouldn't accept their CAT tool and wouldn't accept their payment terms after passing a paid test
... See more
Only business reasons, nothing personal!

- Quite a few semi-long-standing agencies who said enough with my rate increases over the years or who wouldn't withdraw their changes (payment terms, discount grids, CAT tools, workflows, etc.)
- One where my 3 first invoices were paid late (they were warned)
- One where I wouldn't sign paperwork, wouldn't accept their discount grid, wouldn't accept their CAT tool and wouldn't accept their payment terms after passing a paid test - All of which was never mentioned before the test, of course
- One where I realised after (paid) "sample work" that my productivity was too poor for my own good

Since a provider/customer relationship must be mutually beneficial, I am sure agencies have also "fired" me from their books for various reasons.

Philippe
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neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 00:43
Spanish to English
+ ...
1-5 Oct 28, 2017

I can recall one or two. And one of them came back to me after a couple years. I upped my rate 25% for them.

 
Gianluca Marras
Gianluca Marras  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 00:43
English to Italian
1-5 Oct 28, 2017

I just remember 2...
1) payer after a huge number of remainders
2) rates were too low


 
Ventnai
Ventnai  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 00:43
German to English
+ ...
Quite a few Oct 28, 2017

I really don't remember how many over the years, but it also depends what you mean by firing. I stopped working for many Spanish and a few German agencies due to their rates over the years, usually by simply rejecting projects. I remember firing one Catalan agency some years ago as they refused to pay me for a job that I had already more than half-completed as the client had cancelled the original order and had re-written the whole text. Even though I told the PM I wouldn't work with them anymor... See more
I really don't remember how many over the years, but it also depends what you mean by firing. I stopped working for many Spanish and a few German agencies due to their rates over the years, usually by simply rejecting projects. I remember firing one Catalan agency some years ago as they refused to pay me for a job that I had already more than half-completed as the client had cancelled the original order and had re-written the whole text. Even though I told the PM I wouldn't work with them anymore, she still wrote to me with the next assignment.Collapse


 
Nina Khmielnitzky
Nina Khmielnitzky  Identity Verified
Canada
Local time: 19:43
Member (2004)
English to French
Two for sure Oct 28, 2017

Because they threatened to withold my payments unless I gave them a 5 in the Blueboard. I reported them, got my payments and never spoke to them again. They were banned from proz.com. I have a file in my email for "No no" clients. So if I get a request from a name or an email that rings a bell, I say no or ignore their emails.

I want to get rid of 2 other clients, because it's always a hassle to get paid on time. Since they are my 2 major clients, I have to find others to replace th
... See more
Because they threatened to withold my payments unless I gave them a 5 in the Blueboard. I reported them, got my payments and never spoke to them again. They were banned from proz.com. I have a file in my email for "No no" clients. So if I get a request from a name or an email that rings a bell, I say no or ignore their emails.

I want to get rid of 2 other clients, because it's always a hassle to get paid on time. Since they are my 2 major clients, I have to find others to replace them before I can ditch them and give them a bad grade in the Blue Board. Message me in private for their names
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Marlene Blanshay
Marlene Blanshay  Identity Verified
Canada
Local time: 19:43
Member (2009)
French to English
+ ...
1-5 Oct 28, 2017

Over the years there have been about a handful, and I "fired" them for some of the same reasons as everyone else. Usually it's being disorganized and unprofessional.


One was a client I worked with only occasionally....bad payer and disorganized. One thing that drives me nuts is bad, unclear instructions and inability to answer questions. I had a decent client who gave me good projects but they had just hired a project manager who was really not up to the job, and I had to sen
... See more
Over the years there have been about a handful, and I "fired" them for some of the same reasons as everyone else. Usually it's being disorganized and unprofessional.


One was a client I worked with only occasionally....bad payer and disorganized. One thing that drives me nuts is bad, unclear instructions and inability to answer questions. I had a decent client who gave me good projects but they had just hired a project manager who was really not up to the job, and I had to send numerous reminders to get paid.
I can put up with a bit slow, but six months is ridiculous. And if you're working with people remotely, in different time zones, you have to be organized. You get one shot to provide all the instructions and if you don't, it screws everything up!
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Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 20:43
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
1 -5 but countless potential clients Oct 29, 2017

I only consider them "clients" once I have actually done at least one job for them. In that case, 1-5 is reasonable, as it's pretty uncommon.
Considering potential clients, however, that would be countless, as it happens practically every day in the peanunts market.


 


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Poll: How many clients have you had to "fire"?






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