The ever faster pace at which the world evolves seems to have its influence on every aspect of the translation business. Nowadays, clients seem to have translations within a shorter deadline everytime. But by calling each and every job ‘urgent’ they are undermining the real meaning of an urgent job. The aspects that make an job urgent are changing – and so is the workflow of translators.
The smart phone, the electric car and the digital camera differ widely at first glance, but they still have something in common. The introduction of these products led to an increase in similar products and sparked a great discussion about their right to exist and the future of their respective industries and competitor products. They were, in one word, disruptive. Disruption seems to be everywhere nowadays and is sometimes explained as the only way to survive. That raises the question of whether translators should be disruptive as well.
Starting and growing a company can be a long and cumbersome process. Not only do you need to find and attract clients, but once that important and complex step is taken you need to maintain the relationship with them. While having won clients does not necessarily mean that you have enough work to keep you busy for a whole week, sometimes losing a client is worth more than winning one. When is ending a customer relationship the best option? And how can you end a relationship politely?
Free test translations are a topic of hot debate nowadays. While it seems that more and more translators stand up against them, translation agencies sometimes defend them as their ultimate means of securing quality translators at the gate. There is a great chance that the topic of test translations will return in one form or another in any future period. Are translation tests reasonable requirements or are they don’t lead to anywhere?
A couple of weeks ago a colleague proudly mentioned on Twitter that she was working on an exciting project. Right after breakfast she would start working on the translation of something to do with adult toys. I was a bit surprised. Apart from the fact that I won’t take on such projects I would also be ashamed if it were publicly known that I had. I bet that for proper use, even the manual of such a ‘‘toy’’ should be translated by professionals who would not want to risk something with inverse polarity resulting from improper translations), but then I would prefer the discretion that surrounds much of anything to do with it.
The tweet of that honoured colleague taught me that conscience and scruples are personal matters. In the same week, however, I learned that not everything can be anticipated.
We all have those moments that clients make a comment and we think “What?!” Last year I had a discussion with a client from South Korea who checked my translation in Google Translate and rejected it because it was different from what Google Translate proposed. That’s quite frustrating. Do you have a similar experience? I hope these “carefully hand-crafted” posters from the Netherlands make you smile.
As the Bible states the workman is worthy of his meat (Matthew 10:10). How should a translator define the prices for his (her) services?
Recently I heard about someone who was considering to start as a translator. The native Dutch teacher was very convinced about his linguistic qualities in German and believed he could offer his service to Dutch companies. And hey, why not? He was not entirely sure about the right price to ask but considered to charge € 0,35 per source word.
That his proposed word rate was about four times the word rate of native German professional translators was justified. He as a native Dutch had a PhD in some subject and I – stupid – did not have it.
I’ve been working for a client in the tourism industry for a few years now. Steady amount of work, only customer-facing and always under high pressure. Nothing special.
However, recently my client told she had received a severe complaint about the quality of the translations. Complaints should be solved so I asked for detailed information. That request was fulfilled and the results are…astonishing.