Dearie me... Thread poster: Tina Colquhoun
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I just got a job notification through asking for a range of languages in the field of Advertising/Marketing. The outsourcer has a BlueBoard rating of 3.2 - yet has so far received 125+ replies!!!
| | | | inkweaver 
Germany
Local time: 20:06
French to German
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| Leaves me speechless... | Jan 28, 2011 |
as well.
I wonder why people would want to consider working for an agency with such a rating?
There is one particular agency I worked for about two years ago but stopped after I kept having payment issues with them. Shortly after that they were banned from posting new jobs on ProZ but they still keep getting BB entries, so people must have started working for them afterwards. I honestly don't understand it. What are the chances that they will change all of a sudden? V... See more as well.
I wonder why people would want to consider working for an agency with such a rating?
There is one particular agency I worked for about two years ago but stopped after I kept having payment issues with them. Shortly after that they were banned from posting new jobs on ProZ but they still keep getting BB entries, so people must have started working for them afterwards. I honestly don't understand it. What are the chances that they will change all of a sudden? Very, very slim I think. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | The think they are smarter! | Jan 28, 2011 |
As simple as that: they think they are smarter than all the others who fell in the trap. Well, as long as they are busy working for such agencies, the rest of us can concentrate on the good customers.
| | | | Thomas Pfann
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:06
Member (2006)
English to German
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| Putting it into perspective | Jan 28, 2011 |
Well, what does a Blueboard rating of 3 actually mean? It means that the average is a resounding "MAYBE I would work with this outsourcer again".
Out of the 11 translators who left comments for this outsourcer, six (!) peers said they would "definitely" or even "most definitely" like to work with this outsourcer again. Four translators were "doubtful" and would "probably not work again with this outsourcer", while only one peer said "No way! I would definitely refuse to work again w... See more Well, what does a Blueboard rating of 3 actually mean? It means that the average is a resounding "MAYBE I would work with this outsourcer again".
Out of the 11 translators who left comments for this outsourcer, six (!) peers said they would "definitely" or even "most definitely" like to work with this outsourcer again. Four translators were "doubtful" and would "probably not work again with this outsourcer", while only one peer said "No way! I would definitely refuse to work again with this outsourcer." Doesn't sound quite as bad anymore, does it?
To be honest, this low rating and the mixed bag of comments would put me off just as it did the previous posters. But what I am trying to say is that there is a lot more to the Blueboard than just the overall rating. The individual comments can be a lot more insightful than the number on top of the screen.
[Edited at 2011-01-28 17:52 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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Tina Colquhoun
Local time: 19:06
Danish to English
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TOPIC STARTER | Not quite as bad? | Jan 28, 2011 |
>Doesn't sound quite as bad anymore, does it?<
Erm... I think it does. Four people 'doubtful'? And one definite 'no way'?
I'd still give that company a wide berth...
| | | | Jeff Whittaker
United States
Local time: 14:06
Spanish to English
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| It could mean that... | Jan 28, 2011 |
...the agency in question routinely recruits new vendors for small projects and then actively requests BlueBoard feedback to offset any negative comments. Since small projects are generally done by those without larger projects to do, they are only too happy to oblige (even after only working with the company once) in the hope that this will encourage the company to send them more work. Sometimes those who do make negative comments are asked to remove their comment in exchange for payment, but t... See more ...the agency in question routinely recruits new vendors for small projects and then actively requests BlueBoard feedback to offset any negative comments. Since small projects are generally done by those without larger projects to do, they are only too happy to oblige (even after only working with the company once) in the hope that this will encourage the company to send them more work. Sometimes those who do make negative comments are asked to remove their comment in exchange for payment, but there are always a few holdouts...
[Edited at 2011-01-28 21:05 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 19:06
Member (2007)
English
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| Reason to investigate | Jan 28, 2011 |
Tina Colquhoun wrote:
Four people 'doubtful'? And one definite 'no way'?
I'd still give that company a wide berth...
IMO, it's cause to either press "x" if you weren't that bothered about the job, anyway - there will always be those who are desperate for anything, so just leave them to it!
or to investigate further. I'm not here to defend agencies, but I think sometimes we can be too wary - although I have absolutely no idea if that's the case here.
Frankly, there have been cases where someone has given a "1" because they haven't been paid and I've gone on to look at their profiles, their KudoZ questions etc - only to find that the company probably had every justification for withholding at least part payment (although, of course, they should have discovered this lack of quality before commissioning the translation).
Certainly, 4 doubtfuls would give me cause for concern. But if the job really appealed to me, I'd send a quick note to each, asking for more details of their experience with the company. You know, a lot of people accept a job, do it, get paid, then think that perhaps the rate was a bit low and it wasn't fair. Maybe not, but they did agree to it! Maybe you'll find their rates too low, too, but at least you'll have made an informed decision.
Only after these investigations can you really say there's "something wrong with the agency". On the other hand, of course, some agencies are to be avoided at all costs.
In short, I'd say that you might well be wise to forget them. But I can't say I'm surprised that others who really need the work have taken the risk. It's not as though they've been banned, after all!
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Tomás Cano Binder, CT wrote:
As simple as that: they think they are smarter than all the others who fell in the trap. Well, as long as they are busy working for such agencies, the rest of us can concentrate on the good customers.
Well said, Tomás!
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Robert Forstag
United States
Local time: 14:06
Spanish to English
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| Jeff is absolutely correct | Jan 29, 2011 |
Jeff Whitaker wrote:
...the agency in question routinely recruits new vendors for small projects and then actively requests BlueBoard feedback to offset any negative comments. Since small projects are generally done by those without larger projects to do, they are only too happy to oblige (even after only working with the company once) in the hope that this will encourage the company to send them more work. Sometimes those who do make negative comments are asked to remove their c... See more Jeff Whitaker wrote:
...the agency in question routinely recruits new vendors for small projects and then actively requests BlueBoard feedback to offset any negative comments. Since small projects are generally done by those without larger projects to do, they are only too happy to oblige (even after only working with the company once) in the hope that this will encourage the company to send them more work. Sometimes those who do make negative comments are asked to remove their comment in exchange for payment, but there are always a few holdouts...
*******
I am sure this happens a lot (years ago, I even did this a few times myself) and is a good reason to take high BB ratings with a large grain of salt. Yet this same dynamic also (at least to my mind) increases the weight of any negative ratings and comments that are posted. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Laurent KRAULAND (X)
France
Local time: 20:06
French to German
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| Didn't bother to go further | Jan 29, 2011 |
Tina Colquhoun wrote:
I just got a job notification through asking for a range of languages in the field of Advertising/Marketing. The outsourcer has a BlueBoard rating of 3.2 - yet has so far received 125+ replies!!!
I received that job notification too. Owing to the overall bombastic to arrogant tone of the offer and to the "explanation" given about the penultimate country in the list, I didn't bother to go any further.
And I don't even mention one big basic error. If one doesn't know the plural of foreign words, the best way to go is to avoid using them.
BB ratings certainly have a meaning, but imho the way in which agencies communicate when writing their job offers is even more important.
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