| 话题中的页数: < [1 2] | Poll: Think of your favourite client. What makes him/her your favourite? 论题张贴者: ProZ.com Staff
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| Good point. I do think, it is. | Jun 8, 2012 |
Ty Kendall wrote:
Is favouritism professional?
Just wondering.
Because loyalty and trust must be earned, and it takes time.
| | | | Thayenga 
德国
Local time: 16:21
正式会员 (自2009)
English英语译成German德语
+ ...
First of all, I appreciate all of my clients.
However, there is one client (the PM of a company, not an agency) I have been working with for quite some time who is outstanding. Not only are the rates good, the projects very interesting - also in regard to creativity - , the payment is "prompter" than prompt, but she has earned my trust from the very first moment when she actually doubled my normal rate! ... See more
| | | | neilmac
西班牙
Local time: 16:21
Spanish西班牙语译成English英语
+ ...
| Most of the above | Jun 8, 2012 |
Rates are not my most important concern. Being appreciated, acknowledged and respected is probably what I value most. I like my clients to keep me in the loop.
Flexibility (including being prepared to bend the rules when necessary) is also very important to me.
[Edited at 2012-06-08 12:01 GMT]
| | | | Julian Holmes
日本
Local time: 23:21
正式会员 (自2011)
Japanese日语译成English英语
| Definitely strikes a chord with me | Jun 8, 2012 |
neilmac wrote:
Being appreciated, acknowledged and respected is probably what I value most.
@neilmac
Nice comment. Made me feel nice 'n warm 'n fuzzy inside 
However, one client did try to ask for a discount after buttering me up as being their best translator ever. Sorry. Wrong approach to the wrong person. A quick flip-flip will destroy everying and turn me into eight miles of bad road. Grrr. 
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| Timely payment, higher rates, and repeat work | Jun 8, 2012 |
"Interesting" projects are great, but the reality is also that there is often a direct relationship between time spent on a translation and its inherent interest level. (In other words, a great deal of the boring stuff is often easy to whip through quickly.)
I don't find much variability in terms of "pleasantness" in terms of the agencies I work with. In general, they are all cordial and correct in their correspondence, so there is not much re this dimension that differentiates one ... See more "Interesting" projects are great, but the reality is also that there is often a direct relationship between time spent on a translation and its inherent interest level. (In other words, a great deal of the boring stuff is often easy to whip through quickly.)
I don't find much variability in terms of "pleasantness" in terms of the agencies I work with. In general, they are all cordial and correct in their correspondence, so there is not much re this dimension that differentiates one from the other.
"Good communication" to my mind boils down to the agency responding quickly to some problem that arises that impedes me doing my job (e.g., unable to open files; illegible text). I've not often found this a problem. (All other relevant communication issues are in fact payment related.)
I don't worry much about "quality standards" either. I mainly focus on the quality of the work I produce and take as a measure of client satisfaction my being asked to work for him or her again.
(As a side note, I agree with Nicole's comment that the QA process gets perverted by reviewers who are non-native or otherwise show they don't know what the hell they are doing. A reviewer of a short sample translation I delivered recently made a number of changes that were clearly wrong, including two instances of producing incoherent English and one very obvious misinterpretation of the original text.)
I of course prefer to work for higher rates, and for clients who frequently come back to me.
But the one most important factor that determines my opinion of any client is timely payment.
Jose Enrique Lamensdorf nicely summed up my own view in a recent post:
A translator can do a lot for an agency in terms of quality, speed, timeliness, availability, flexibility, technical guidance ...referrals, etc. A translation agency can only do one thing for the translator: pay as agreed, when agreed, without any hassle.
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| | | | | A combination | Jun 8, 2012 |
The ones who I prize most highly are ones who provide regular work, but professionalism, pleasant to work with, good rates, helpful....all those make up the best clients. Being a fast payer is a bonus!
| | | | | good communication! | Jun 8, 2012 |
Nothing is as stressful as not knowing how to proceed when the files are locked, don't work on your CAT tool, words are missing from the original, etc etc the endless list goes on, and the agency doesn't reply to emails!! That's my 'problem area' - so good communication is essential. I also don't appreciate being 'spoken to' (ok- emailed) sarcastically by a PM who doesn't understand either my CAT tool (because it's more modern than theirs) or a question that I have (because they don't understand... See more Nothing is as stressful as not knowing how to proceed when the files are locked, don't work on your CAT tool, words are missing from the original, etc etc the endless list goes on, and the agency doesn't reply to emails!! That's my 'problem area' - so good communication is essential. I also don't appreciate being 'spoken to' (ok- emailed) sarcastically by a PM who doesn't understand either my CAT tool (because it's more modern than theirs) or a question that I have (because they don't understand the question) - nobody's perfect - just ask guys - it won't kill you! rant over. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Long standing relationship | Jun 8, 2012 |
My favourite client has been sending me work for more than fifteen years. The work is varied and interesting projects, and they even pay in advance!
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Mario Chavez (X)
Local time: 10:21
English英语译成Spanish西班牙语
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| Other: she's attractive | Jun 8, 2012 |
Ha! Made you read.
Actually, I had a best customer in 2007 who was a very attractive woman. She still is, but she's doing something else instead of managing translation projects these days.
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I voted for a combination of some of the above, but when clients pay high rates, it means that they respect your work, so a lot of the other stuff falls in line naturally. My favorite client is the highest-paying one (by a mile), has the clearest and most respectful communication, and pays the fastest. I also find the work very interesting.
| | | | | My favorite clients pay me what I charge, and pay on time! | Jun 9, 2012 |
No other reasons in the world would make them "my favorites"
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I suppose in professional terms my favourite client should be the one who pays best, sends most interesting project etc. But on a personal basis, I most enjoy working with those two or three clients who are fun to work with - it's all in the e-mails, which are so entertaining to receive. The chuckles they give me are worth a huge amount.
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| Schedules work and gives feedback | Jun 12, 2012 |
My favourite client does all of the above, but there are three additional things that I really appreciate.
The agency schedules large projects in advance, giving me a couple of weeks notice when the files will be coming and a reasonable time to complete the translations.
Then I receive feedback from the reviewer and can comment on this and accept or reject it.
They also provide training on the end customer's requirements as most issues relate to its in-hous... See more My favourite client does all of the above, but there are three additional things that I really appreciate.
The agency schedules large projects in advance, giving me a couple of weeks notice when the files will be coming and a reasonable time to complete the translations.
Then I receive feedback from the reviewer and can comment on this and accept or reject it.
They also provide training on the end customer's requirements as most issues relate to its in-house style.
Taken together, this means I really feel part of a team sharing the objective of providing the customer with the best-possible translations for its needs. ▲ Collapse
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She has the same quality standards that I have. And the two times when a "problem" arose we always found a quick and satisfying solution for both parties.
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