| Pages in topic: [1 2 3] > | Common courtesy: Translation agencies, wake up! Thread poster: Catherine Bolton
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Hello all,
I tried to post this under the "translation agencies" forum, but no go ... must be for them only.
I work mainly for direct customers, thank goodness, but the few times I have worked for agencies I have found most to be downright rude.
If you, agency, write to me for a quotation and I, translator, take the time to look at your file, calculate the length and figure out a deliver date, why do you think a "read message" is sufficient? How about "thank you" (two wo... See more Hello all,
I tried to post this under the "translation agencies" forum, but no go ... must be for them only.
I work mainly for direct customers, thank goodness, but the few times I have worked for agencies I have found most to be downright rude.
If you, agency, write to me for a quotation and I, translator, take the time to look at your file, calculate the length and figure out a deliver date, why do you think a "read message" is sufficient? How about "thank you" (two words)?
I've found that if I say, "Sure, I can do that," I get gushing messages of thanks, but if I say, " I can't" or "I can't by that date, but I could by 00/00/20xx," then I get no response at all. Not even "thank you for taking the time to look at that."
Then there are the jobs that get approved. I'm not sure why I should spend the time sending a message explaining choices and so on, and then get a simple read message in return and sometimes not even that, so I take time to forward the job from another account, just in case. Responding personally is called common courtesy. It's called saying "thank you, I got that."
This only happens with agencies and never with customers and publishers (at least in my case).
Agencies, wake up. Without us, you're screwed. We simply want to be treated like human beings.
Thank you, everyone, for reading my rant.
Catherine
[Edited at 2012-10-29 13:50 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Start your blacklist! | Oct 29, 2012 |
Catherine Bolton wrote:
Hello all,
I tried to post this under the "translation agencies" forum, but no go ... must be for them only.
I work mainly for direct customers, thank goodness, but the few times I have worked for agencies I have found most to be downright rude.
If you, agency, write to me for a quotation and I, translator, take the time to look at your file, calculate the length and figure out a deliver date, why do you think a "read message" is sufficient? How about "thank you" (two words)?
I've found that if I say, "Sure, I can do that," I get gushing messages of thanks, but if I say, " I can't" or "I can't by that date, but I could by 00/00/20xx," then I get no response at all. Not even "thank you for taking the time to look at that."
Then there are the jobs that get approved. I'm not sure why I should spend the time sending a message explaining choices and so on, and then get a simple read message in return and sometimes not even that, so I take time to forward the job from another account, just in case. Responding personally is called common courtesy. It's called saying "thank you, I got that."
This only happens with agencies and never with customers and publishers (at least in my case).
Agencies, wake up. Without us, you're screwed. We simply want to be treated like human beings.
Thank you, everyone, for reading my rant.
Catherine
[Edited at 2012-10-29 13:50 GMT]
When I encounter such a client I write their name and information in my "DO NOT DEAL WITH AGAIN LIST!"
[Edited at 2012-10-29 14:04 GMT]
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This happens to me even with agencies I have really good relationships with. And then they get annoyed when I don't answer their requests for quotes within 10 seconds of receiving emails...
| | | | Jean Lachaud 
United States
Local time: 12:20
English to French
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| Join the club! | Oct 29, 2012 |
All agencies do that. It is not worth creating a thread about it. Neither are discussions about how project managers (hah!) are really poor overworked nice creatures. When all is said and done, they are the ones who do the no answering, and they do get their monthly paycheck, don't they?
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Robert Forstag
United States
Local time: 12:20
Spanish to English
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| Freelancers need to impose their own limits and rules | Oct 29, 2012 |
The behavior Catherine describes is rude, but I also think that, in deciding how much time to dedicate to reviewing proposed work, any translator should take into account the possibility of not being contracted. I typically don't spend more than ten minutes looking over a project in order to determine if I can handle it and, if so, the rate I will quote.
A related agency behavior is frantically contacting a translator re availability for a potential job, receiving ass... See more The behavior Catherine describes is rude, but I also think that, in deciding how much time to dedicate to reviewing proposed work, any translator should take into account the possibility of not being contracted. I typically don't spend more than ten minutes looking over a project in order to determine if I can handle it and, if so, the rate I will quote.
A related agency behavior is frantically contacting a translator re availability for a potential job, receiving assurance of availability, and then never following up to indicate that the job didn't come through. [This is why it is always a good idea for a translator to indicate that he or she is available "as of the moment," to not guarantee availability until acceptance of work is confirmed, and to never feel obliged to commit to any work that is merely potential.]
Worse still: being contacted regarding a possible rush job and, when you tell the agency you are available, being left hanging for a couple of hours before you are told (or not) that the job didn't come through.
In the end, all this reminds us that we freelancers need to set our own limits and rules to assure that we don't end up feeling ill-used in our interactions with agencies. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Catherine Bolton
Local time: 18:20
Italian to English
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TOPIC STARTER In memoriam | The point of the post ... | Oct 29, 2012 |
JL01 wrote:
All agencies do that. It is not worth creating a thread about it. Neither are discussions about how project managers (hah!) are really poor overworked nice creatures. When all is said and done, they are the ones who do the no answering, and they do get their monthly paycheck, don't they?
I won't work for rude agencies. I'd rather work for the ones that respond regardless. That's the point of the title of the thread.
Catherine
| | | | Shai Navé
Israel
Local time: 19:20
English to Hebrew
+ ...
| Symptoms of bad agencies | Oct 29, 2012 |
Not all agencies are like that; sadly, many are.
This is just one symptom (there are worse ones) of a (probably) bad agency. Except for the localized and immediate effect of many of these symptoms (e.g. feeling as being treated with disrespect and rudeness), they are even more indicative to the agency's attitude, approach, procedures and the way that they do business, and the affect of those could be far more significant. Ultimately, such agencies are not very lucrative business par... See more Not all agencies are like that; sadly, many are.
This is just one symptom (there are worse ones) of a (probably) bad agency. Except for the localized and immediate effect of many of these symptoms (e.g. feeling as being treated with disrespect and rudeness), they are even more indicative to the agency's attitude, approach, procedures and the way that they do business, and the affect of those could be far more significant. Ultimately, such agencies are not very lucrative business partners to work with.
Generally speaking, when a relationship with a client becomes, or already is, a one way street, it is an indication that one is doing something wrong and that the situation must be re-evaluated.
Many agencies and many translators confuse their business relationships with the more common employer-employee model, and some behaviors would not have been considered acceptable even in that employment model; others consider translators (actually freelancers in general if to be exact) to be "modern slaves" and treat them as such.
Translators should understand that they are business owners, not temporary workforce for hire, and start thinking and operating as such.
Not all the business opportunists out there are equal, some are not even an opportunity at all, and one should dismiss those who don't share their professional and business values.
[Edited at 2012-10-29 15:48 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Jean Lachaud
United States
Local time: 12:20
English to French
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| Good for you | Oct 29, 2012 |
Catherine Bolton wrote:
I won't work for rude agencies. I'd rather work for the ones that respond regardless. That's the point of the title of the thread.
Catherine
Good for you. I wish I could afford to add ALL of those to my E-mail blacklist.
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Tatty
Local time: 18:20
Spanish to English
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| Too high a quote for them | Oct 29, 2012 |
I reckon they may not have responded because the quote was simply to high for them.
Just as I sometimes ignore agencies that ask for silly rates, you might have been contacted by a bottom-feeder that reacted in a similar way!
| | | | 564354352 (X)
Denmark
Local time: 18:20
Danish to English
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| No point in being offended | Oct 29, 2012 |
Recently, I received an email from an agency I didn't know at about 8 pm (in Denmark), the entire extent of which was:
"Please let me know whether you are available for a proofreading job of 1400 words to be delivered by 8 am American Eastern Standard time."
I responded equally briefly:
"Please let me know what kind of text we are talking about and whether you are prepared to pay my rate of xxx per hour."
I never heard back from them.
... See more Recently, I received an email from an agency I didn't know at about 8 pm (in Denmark), the entire extent of which was:
"Please let me know whether you are available for a proofreading job of 1400 words to be delivered by 8 am American Eastern Standard time."
I responded equally briefly:
"Please let me know what kind of text we are talking about and whether you are prepared to pay my rate of xxx per hour."
I never heard back from them.
My point is that the old saying of 'treat people as you would like to be treated' could be used in the reverse, i.e. 'treat people as they treat you', and maybe they will get the point eventually.
I don't actually like responding like that, but I DO respond to emails that are addressed to me, and at times, I just get fed up with the rude tone (intended or not) from people I have not had any contact with before.
Maybe a rephrase of the following Gandhi quote would be useful:
Journalist: "Mr Gandhi: What do you think of western civilization?"
Mr Gandhi: "I think that would be a very good idea."
Into: "What do you think of courteous contact emails from agencies?"
"I would like that very much." ▲ Collapse
| | | | Phil Hand
China
Local time: 01:20
Chinese to English
| I actually prefer the reduced email clutter... | Oct 29, 2012 |
I have to disagree with this one. I understand that some quotes will be successful and some quotes will not. If my quote is not successful, I'd rather not have a reply cluttering up my inbox.
| | | | | How much do the words 'please' and 'thank you' clutter your mail? | Oct 30, 2012 |
There is an art to writing mails that are short AND polite.
I have a colleague who sends me jobs now and then. He writes in Danish, but this is the gist:
Hi Christine
Could you please translate the attached by Xxxday?
xxx words, usual rate?
Thanks
Greetings
H
____________________
I take on the job, and he answers with one word: Super! or Perfect!
____________________
Files received
T... See more There is an art to writing mails that are short AND polite.
I have a colleague who sends me jobs now and then. He writes in Danish, but this is the gist:
Hi Christine
Could you please translate the attached by Xxxday?
xxx words, usual rate?
Thanks
Greetings
H
____________________
I take on the job, and he answers with one word: Super! or Perfect!
____________________
Files received
Thousand thanks
H
____________________
is typical!
There may be a little more detail when he sends the job.
He sometimes wishes me a nice evening/weekend when appropriate.
It is quite enough to make me feel appreciated. Admittedly I know him well and he can hold a very friendly conversation on the phone...
But manners make an enormous difference.
[Edited at 2012-10-30 19:08 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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Catherine Bolton
Local time: 18:20
Italian to English
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TOPIC STARTER In memoriam | Thanks, Christine | Oct 30, 2012 |
Christine Andersen wrote:
But manners make an enormous difference.
[Edited at 2012-10-30 19:08 GMT]
That is exactly my point. In my case, I had to chase these people down to find out if they had even RECEIVED the file (it was already a job). Then I discover that, yeah, they'd gotten it, but hadn't bothered to reply.
Yes, manners make a huge difference and I'd rather work with polite people.
Catherine
| | | | | Maybe they are super busy? | Nov 8, 2012 |
I work quite regularly with some PMs so get to know what they are like. Some have off-days where they forget to confirm they received a file etc.
We are all human, after all.
What really annoys me is the lazy PMs who write to 10 translators at once: "Hi, Would you be able to translate this file by tomorrow 3 pm. Do not start until you receive confirmation. Thanks".
If you do respond to this impersonal and rude request, in all likelihood one of the other 1... See more I work quite regularly with some PMs so get to know what they are like. Some have off-days where they forget to confirm they received a file etc.
We are all human, after all.
What really annoys me is the lazy PMs who write to 10 translators at once: "Hi, Would you be able to translate this file by tomorrow 3 pm. Do not start until you receive confirmation. Thanks".
If you do respond to this impersonal and rude request, in all likelihood one of the other 10 translators already said they were free and it was a complete waste of your time. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Quiddity
Local time: 18:20
English to Spanish
| Luckily there are some exceptions | Nov 15, 2012 |
This is propably quite an extended problem in the business world, isn't it? If you treat your employees as a number or just as a money machine and forget they are human beings as well and need to be treated, at least, with respect, you should quit your job or just do theirs for a while and see how it feels.
But even if there are a lot of **** out there please try not to generalize. I'm a project manager and those who try to do our job the best we can don't like being in the same l... See more This is propably quite an extended problem in the business world, isn't it? If you treat your employees as a number or just as a money machine and forget they are human beings as well and need to be treated, at least, with respect, you should quit your job or just do theirs for a while and see how it feels.
But even if there are a lot of **** out there please try not to generalize. I'm a project manager and those who try to do our job the best we can don't like being in the same lot as them.
I’ve been working as project manager for quite a long time now and I try to treat all the translators in the same way I would like to be treated. Every mail deserves an answer and any handed project at least a “Received, Thank you!” message.
For all those who don't even think about it, please, remember that "at the other side" there is always someone like you who likes to be treated like a person, not like a machine. ▲ Collapse
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