posted 18 April 2001 19:49            

So they have a chance to do something about it

Or just stop working for them? You are free to work for whoever you like after all aren't you?

posted 18 April 2001 23:36            

But some of us translate language combinations not so often needed, AND we try to earn a living, so we can't afford to refuse or lose clients.

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Originally posted by alex:
Well if you don't like the way the customer treats you, why not let them know gently?

So they have a chance to do something about it

Or just stop working for them? You are free to work for whoever you like after all aren't you?

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posted 19 April 2001 08:52            

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Issue 30 contains a great article in, written by Sian Marlow. Some good advice there!

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I agree. I thought it was excellent!

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But I was wondering what to do when [...] he/she contacts you keeping the distance, but continues to send you work

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It's a weird feeling, isn't it? I've never spoken to quite a few of my clients - we "speak" via e-mail and that's it. You know: "here's a job, you want it?" "Yes." "Thanks." And that's it. I suppose they think it's cheaper this way. As long as they're sending you the work, though, I wouldn't worry about it. They'd be the first ones to complain if you did a poor translation.

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when he/she (mostly she) sends no confirmation when receiving the translation via e-mail, no *Thanks, received the translated file!*, so I need to send several e-mails to find out if he/she got it

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Yes, why are so many project managers female?? A topic for another thread, I think...

Anyway, the easiest way to do this is to send them a fax when you e-mail the file, stating that you've sent the file to their e-mail address. Say in the fax that they should contact you if the file doesn't turn up. And then if they don't call you, forget about them! It's their problem, not yours. You've done all you can to ensure they get the work, the ball is quite firmly in their court. Don't worry about ignoring them - they'll be on the phone soon enough if the file doesn't arrive!!

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Would like to ask what to do in these cases: to go with the flow and be distant and a grumpy individual myself, or to continue my way...?

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Having been both a PM and a freelancer, I can say in all honesty that being cheerful and pleasant is the way to go - ideally for both parties for a variety of reasons. But don't make their problems your problems.

And anyway, if a translator is cheery and pleasant, it does usually rub off on the PMs. Eventually!!

All the best

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apollo@translatortips.net

posted 19 April 2001 14:04            

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Originally posted by Claire:
Hi Seadata

As the owner of a translation company myself, I rarelt reply to e-mail sent unles the sender has specifically asked me to. This isn't due to bad manners but rather the fact that the day is just too busy to be answering everyone. I ask our translators to fax through a delivery note as proof that the file has been e-mailed. many PMs do not check their e-mail on a regular basis so at least you know that a fax has physically arrived. many translators also call me and say 'just to let you now I have sen the file'.
Claire

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Dear Claire,

Most of my clients are from USA, Ireland, India, Canada, etc. If I'd call them each time I send them a translation, I'd be working only for my phone bill! (note: I live in Croatia!) A fax from Croatia to, for example, India, costs 3US$. So imagine me sending a fax to notify someone that I have sent the traslation which I am about to receive 10US$ payment for!

Anyway, when I send the translations, I ALWAYS ask the PM to *please confirm the receipt of this email!*. It is that hard just to say *Translations received*?

posted 24 April 2001 18:39            

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Anyway, when I send the translations, I ALWAYS ask the PM to *please confirm the receipt of this email!*. It is that hard just to say *Translations received*?

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Oddly enough, it can be quite hard to do, yes!! Some mornings PMs get into the office to find 50 or 60 messages waiting, some of which are jobs for placing with translators, others are received from translators, others are spams, others are... You get the idea. Apart from setting your software up to ask the recipient for a receipt confirmation, you cannot be guaranteed a "thanks I got it" mail.

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I understand that PMs have a lot on their mind, but to have a smooth business relationship and thus a pleasant job to look forward to, it takes effort and smiling and being nice to people who you rely on and who rely on you, regardless of your boss or a bad day.

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Try telling that to the average PM! I couldn't agree more that being nice and pleasant to all is by far the best way to have a good working relationship with clients and translators, but there's just not enough time to say Thank You for every e-mail you receive. And as Claire says, it's not rudeness that leads to no confirmation being sent, it's a pure lack of time.

I really do think that fax confirmation is the way to go. If it costs you USD 3 to send a fax, why not charge them USD 13 for the job instead of USD 10? Or set up an agreement with them that they pay you for fax confirmations in the case of urgent, sensitive or priority jobs?

The trick is to know all about the task of the agency. It's really not as simple as get job from client - send job to translator - get job back from translator - send job to client. There's a lot more to it than that. And this, I think, is part of the agency-freelancer problem - PMs don't know the problems freelancers have to contend with, while translators don't know about the PMs' problems. In the end, it's in your best interests to make life easier for your agencies - if you do, they'll come back with repeat business. If you make life hard for them, they won't. Simple as that.

At the end of the day, if your clients hadn't received your jobs, they'd tell you!

All the best

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posted 24 April 2001 21:44            

I couldn't agree more. At the end of the day it is the freelancer job to ensure that the file has arrived safely and on time. Surely it is in your interest!! Reliable service equals more business! Additional costs should most definitely be added to your bill/rates.

I must admit if I receive a file with a message asking for confirmation of recipt, I invariably reply but, when the days is so busy that you don't know whether you are coming or going then those things unfortunately (and I am not necessarily saying it is right) do not take priority.

I hope this gives you a little insight into the PMs' job. If the cost is a big thing for you, you should really consider increasing your prices to compensate. Rather than adding an additional cost, just up your rates slightly to cover.

Good luck

posted 28 April 2001 05:10            

I used to worry about that, also, mainly because by the time I finished I was often ready for a nap but didn't want to leave the office area until I was sure the file arrived safely....

But I finally relaxed about it. If I'm finishing the work during the business day for delivery that day, sometimes I send a progress report earlier in the day so the project manager knows that I'm at the proofreading stage and still alive. I don't expect a response.

When I send the file, I just tell them to call, e-mail, or page me if they have any problems with the file or any questions. I also send a fax (usually with the invoice), since that's cheap for me. Since faxes are expensive for you, you might just ask the agency if they want you to fax them when you send the file and bill them for the expense, if it's such a large fraction of the payment. if they don't want you to do that, then it is their responsibility to contact you if they don't receive the file as expected.

Another thing you might do is send the file TWICE, via two different routes (e.g., to or from two different e-mail accounts, or even just at two different times of day). So if the net is slow or clogged or eating e-mail, then one out of the two copies will probably make it through. This might help you worry less about any transmission problems. I used to do that frequently, although I'm lazier now (and also train project managers to page me if they need anything.... I worry much less with the pager available, and also don't have to stay in the office.)

While it would be nice to get an acknowledgement that the file arrived and opened up okay, the reality is the the project manager is very busy and may be dealing with fifteen (or 150....) different emergencies at the time your file arrives.

Also although the PM needs the file to arrive at the expected time, that doesn't mean that it will always be dealt with right away. But the PM needs that flexibility of being able to work with it if he or she gets the chance. So the fact that it might be a few days before "that chance" happens doesn't mean that you are being ignored!

I understand this peculiar dynamic from my teaching days - I really needed my students to hand in their assignments "on time" even though it might be 3 days later that I actually got a chance to plow through the stack of papers because of other things that had to be done first. Any delay on their part meant I needed to spend more time tracking them or couldn't get the job done when a "window of opportunity" suddenly opened up early.

You might think that it doesn't take much time to reply to an e-mail with a single sentence. But multiply that "not much time" by all the people clamoring for the PM's time -- and the whole morning or afternoon can be eaten up with such "little chores". It was the same with my students. The time it would take me to deal with such special cases as individual deadline extensions would multiply very rapidly in a large class, because I had to deal with MANY students, not just one. The project managers are in a similar situation.