| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3] | Bad behaviour or not Thread poster: Mahmoud Rayyan
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| You never know... | Dec 28, 2008 |
Nicole Schnell wrote:
...and show serious cleavage in their profile pics.
...
ESPECIALLY when you start conversing you should opt for the polite version. Not the other way around. You never get a second chance to make a first impression.
Generally (and particularly from a German point of view) I agree, because you can always turn from a polite version to a familiar version, while the other direction would be very problematic.
This being said, I witnessed one case in which an experienced female U.S. translator (kicked from ProZ for her crabbiness, although otherwise being ok and competent) suspected a young U.S. student of being a non-English fraudster because he addressed her the first time by "Dear Ms. Lastname" instead of "Hi Firstname" - this was the only case I know where she *really* got egg on her face after we found out that the guy was indeed a timid U.S. student.
About the new dresscode for female profile pics: You have my vote!
| | | | Aniello Scognamiglio (X) 
Germany
Local time: 20:58
English to German
+ ...
| Chapeau, Nicole! | Dec 29, 2008 |
Nicole Schnell wrote:
- My name is not "Hi!"
- My name is not "translator"
- My name, to complete strangers, is not "Nicole" but Ms. or Mrs. Schnell. I might be twice your age. Who are you anyway?
- The fact that I am living in the US does not entitle you as a foreigner / a foreign company to be on a first-name basis, even if this is quite common among business associates. Which is a different story. How about becoming an associate first?
If I feel like it, and if the message proved not to be spam, I send "appropriate" replies.
This has nothing to do with being arrogant, this is about business English 101. And courtesy. And respect.
He, he: Try to set up an appointment with a new dentist, say, the dental office of Dr. Michael Smith.
You, on the phone (without greeting, this saves time and because you have seen this in movies): "Is Mike there?"
Receptionist: "Who is speaking, please?"
You: "Tell him to fill out the form about his rates that I just emailed and to send three references and his resume ASAP."
Receptionist: Click.
Great! Thanks a lot for this, Nicole! I fully agree with your way of thinking and feeling. Sadly, many people do not even know how to spell "respect". They are not even taught so at school. 20 or 30 years later they attend etiquette-training courses and spend a lot o money
Have a good week, everybody!
Aniello
PS: In Italian the male first name is "Nicol*a*", not Nicole:
http://italian.about.com/library/name/blname_nicola.htm
| | | | Zoe Green
Italy
Local time: 20:58
Spanish to English
+ ...
I would most certainly not work with a person who informed me that he or she was my "superior", and had I received an e-mail such as this I think I would most probably have laughed and got my secretary to write a suitably sharp e-mail in response.
With regard to forms of address, I can't say that it bothers me to receive an e-mail addressed to my first name as long as it is polite in tone; however, I am pleasantly surprised when I receive an e-mail addressed to Ms. or Frau Green - i... See more I would most certainly not work with a person who informed me that he or she was my "superior", and had I received an e-mail such as this I think I would most probably have laughed and got my secretary to write a suitably sharp e-mail in response.
With regard to forms of address, I can't say that it bothers me to receive an e-mail addressed to my first name as long as it is polite in tone; however, I am pleasantly surprised when I receive an e-mail addressed to Ms. or Frau Green - it does come across as more professional, IMO. For my own part, I address people by their title when known, although I am on a first name/informal basis with long-term business partners.
Furthermore, even in cases where someone clearly *is* your superior, say if you happen to be working in-house rather than as a freelancer and the other person is your boss, that does not mean that you are not entitled to a little respect in your capacity as a fellow human being. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Andrea Riffo
Chile
Local time: 16:58
English to Spanish
+ ...
Zoe Green wrote:
With regard to forms of address, I can't say that it bothers me to receive an e-mail addressed to my first name as long as it is polite in tone; however, I am pleasantly surprised when I receive an e-mail addressed to Ms. or Frau Green - it does come across as more professional, IMO. For my own part, I address people by their title when known, although I am on a first name/informal basis with long-term business partners.
Though there's a middle ground in Spanish that I tend to favour: I use the first name, but with the formal "usted" (as opposed to the "tuteo").
Greetings
Andrea
==Edited to add the following==
To Mahmoud: don't sweat it, the guy is an a**. There's no middle ground regarding that.
[Edited at 2008-12-29 18:54 GMT]
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