Comments on: Caution is good, but trust is better

By: patenttranslator

patenttranslator — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:57:29 +0000

Not all translators are without social interaction smarts. You, for instance, have some, right? And you are a translator too.

Although it is true that some attrition of normal human interaction skills is probably unavoidable if you have to sit on your behind staring at the computer screen for decades without being able to meet anyone in person (the story of my life in the last 23 years, pretty much). But I was able to work as a member of a team for a number of years, in different cultures and on three different continents. I only became a self-employed translator because I can make more money that way, not because I can’t work with other people (mesh well in a team.

However, my main point is that the translator mentioned in the post was not only rude, which is not such a big deal as far as I am concerned, but dumb as well.

He should have a PayPal button or something like that on his website and ask for upfront payment, for the first job only, until a certain measure of trust is established between the two parties. That’s what I would have done.

Best regards,

Steve Vitek, with fond memories of Compuserve

By: Kevin Lossner

Kevin Lossner — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 23:03:54 +0000

You’re quite right on this one, Jill. Life’s too short to let paranoia gnaw at you all the time. I believe in due diligence, and I’ve learned some interesting and useful lessons (for risk management) in that regard recently from an attorney who works with an agency partner of mine, but if someone intends to scam you, I don’t think a few pieces of paper will stand in their way.

Said attorney is slightly appalled by my relaxed approach to contracts (he insists on signed, faxed letters of agreement for everything I think), but in ten years I’ve only lost twice: once to a rip-off artist with a phony name when I was a naive beginner and once to an art gallery’s unexpected insolvency filing. Both losses added up to about two days work total. No need to pump up my blood pressure over two days out of more than 3000. With a little applied common sense, you really can trust most people, so relax dear troglodytes….

By: Beatriz Bonnet

Beatriz Bonnet — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 20:43:31 +0000

Good post, Jill, and thanks for the shout out. And Chris, I couldn’t agree more….

By: Lucinda Brooks

Lucinda Brooks — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 20:01:42 +0000

Agree with Philippa. I started work with a new agency today. Checked Blueboard – great feedback. Since it was the first time I was working with them, I assked for a job number, and a PO was sent by return, together with an agreement to MY terms and conditions, rather than an imposition of theirs.
And in future, an email go-ahead will be quite enough to form the contract between them and me.
In my view the translator in your story was rude, unprofessional and stupid.

By: Tess Whitty

Tess Whitty — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 18:18:07 +0000

So true! You can usually tell by the first email if it is a good agency or not and if in doubt you can research the company online. This takes only a few minutes and then you can reply and get started with the job. No need to be unprofessional or rude to a client, even a “doubtful” one. Just do your homework. Have a great weekend!

By: Philippa Hammond

Philippa Hammond — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 16:59:07 +0000

Thanks for reminding us of this fact, Jill.

There are so many ways of checking out an agency’s credentials if their name is unknown, so there really is no need to resort to being unhelpful, unprofessional or downright rude (seems like this particular translator was guilty of all three).

Have a great weekend!

By: Mandlanne

Mandlanne — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 16:54:13 +0000

Thank you for a positive view on agencies. When reading a lot of translators’ blog agencies seem to be the devil to avoid at all cost and which ultimate goal is to pay you peanuts.

I am translator and I recently crossed the dreadful line of working as a consultant (not a translator) for an agency. Not an easy choice but it is interesting to see what happens on the other side.

I agree that all agencies are not good (I have given up on being paid for a job I did in January for one of these) but not all agencies will try to get translators to lower down their prices to a minimum.

The agency that I work for pays what should be paid and tries to make an income from a profit at clients’ cost not at translators’ cost.

By: Jill (@bonnjill)

Jill (@bonnjill) — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 16:43:03 +0000

I honestly don’t think there will be a next time. At least I most certainly hope there won’t be! I think she was just being overly polite. Thanks for the comment, Chris. It’s an honor.

By: Chris Durban

Chris Durban — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 16:41:16 +0000

“”Next time, please let us know sooner.” Gulp.
Am I the only one surprised to hear that a client treated this shabbily would even *consider* a “next time”?
Your post reminds me that a big factor working against some translators is their lack of social interaction smarts. Maybe it’s a chicken & egg thing: people who don’t mesh well in a team/staff environment can be tempted by a profession that allows them to work in the comfort of their home/cave, on their own, where their people/social/business skills get even rustier as they labor away in isolation. Thanks for the post, Jill!