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Could the Blue Board facility be improved?
Thread poster: R. Alex Jenkins
Laurent KRAULAND (X)
Laurent KRAULAND (X)  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 03:30
French to German
+ ...
200 characters to explain Mar 20, 2010

Andrei Yefimov wrote:

I see what you mean and I agree, but how about the type of comments I have described? I still think it is unfair, and there is nothing beyond it other than what was initially posted, or else it would have been clearly stated.



When one only has 200 characters to explain something, such details cannot be stated. I agree however that the best way to explain a given situation is to write something like "Colleagues may contact me in private for details", which IMHO says enough.


 
Giovanni Guarnieri MITI, MIL
Giovanni Guarnieri MITI, MIL  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 02:30
Member (2004)
English to Italian
BeginnerZ Mar 20, 2010

there are many beginners on this site who are very keen to give a good mark to an agency the first time they work for them in order to secure more jobs from them, even if the rates are low or they paid late... you will be surprised...

Also, as far as the low rates are concerned... I don't quite understand why some people find it necessary to comment on the low rate rates after they perform the job. Why did they accept the job in the first place? And why have your rate dictate
... See more
there are many beginners on this site who are very keen to give a good mark to an agency the first time they work for them in order to secure more jobs from them, even if the rates are low or they paid late... you will be surprised...

Also, as far as the low rates are concerned... I don't quite understand why some people find it necessary to comment on the low rate rates after they perform the job. Why did they accept the job in the first place? And why have your rate dictated by the agency? These are the behaviours which degrade our profession, not low rate paying agencies...
Collapse


 
patyjs
patyjs  Identity Verified
Mexico
Local time: 20:30
Spanish to English
+ ...
I am debating... Mar 20, 2010

right now whether to post a Blue Board entry for a company I did several jobs for over a few months last year. The project manager is great: helpful, understanding, etc. and the work really interesting. The payment department is quite different. Questions answered kurtly, if at all, and payment methods totally inflexible with never an explanation offered. They are not prepared to incur one cent when making payment so it's either a cheque or agree to pay all the transfer fees, which is a phenomen... See more
right now whether to post a Blue Board entry for a company I did several jobs for over a few months last year. The project manager is great: helpful, understanding, etc. and the work really interesting. The payment department is quite different. Questions answered kurtly, if at all, and payment methods totally inflexible with never an explanation offered. They are not prepared to incur one cent when making payment so it's either a cheque or agree to pay all the transfer fees, which is a phenomenal amount. I could go on, but that's another thread.Collapse


 
Hildegard Klein-Bodenheimer (X)
Hildegard Klein-Bodenheimer (X)  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 03:30
English to German
+ ...
Don't just look at the numbers. Mar 20, 2010

Heinrich Pesch wrote:

But is has nothing to do with rates. Slave rates for us may make a good income for someone else.


I never check the Blue Board just for the numbers. You can read much more out of it.
1. The numbers are the first step. I decided for myself on a certain overall number that I would be willing to accept. I don't go below that number.

2. Are there changes in the overall number and the number for the last year? If companies suddenly get lower numbers for the more recent jobs I stay away.

3. Read the actual remarks. Even the 5s often state that the rates are low/a bit low/could be higher etc. Or they state it is a great company to work for but payment is a bit slow. Are you willing to accept that or not?

4. Look who wrote the comments. I look for people who work in my language pair or who work in countries that have a comparable standard of living. If people who have approximately the same costs of living that I have are happy with the company the likelihood is higher that they pay a rate that I can live with.

5. Lastly, read why people give low rates. Sometimes you can see that there was a disagreement on quality etc. Also read the responses that some companies write, they can tell you something too.

It might sound like a long process. It is not more than five minutes that might decide if you get paid for a job or not. To me those are 5 valuable minutes.


 
Tomás Cano Binder, BA, CT
Tomás Cano Binder, BA, CT  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 03:30
Member (2005)
English to Spanish
+ ...
Only if you accept them... Mar 20, 2010

Lingua 5B wrote:
We pay your slave rates on time = we are a good agency

They only pay you slave rates if you accept them. That is always part of the negotiation. What we want to know is whether the agency sticks to the agreement and is helpful while we do our work.


 
Jared Tabor
Jared Tabor
Local time: 23:30
SITE STAFF
Would clearer information on how to use and read the Blue Board help? Mar 20, 2010

Hello all,

Reading through some of the posts here, especially Hildegard's post outlining how she uses the Blue Board to check an outsourcer, I wonder if making available clearer guidelines on how to read the Blue Board and considerations to keep in mind when making an LWA entry, from experienced translators, might not help. What do you think?

Jared


 
Lesley Clarke
Lesley Clarke  Identity Verified
Mexico
Local time: 20:30
Spanish to English
Another suspicious detail to look out for Mar 21, 2010

I am suspicious of companies that have loads of translators giving them 5s. I have myself been asked to give a company I worked for a good Blue Board rating and if I had wanted to work for it again, I would have had no choice. The very next day there were thirty new 5s for the company that did not deserve this at all.

 
José Henrique Lamensdorf
José Henrique Lamensdorf  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 23:30
English to Portuguese
+ ...
In memoriam
Warped standards Mar 21, 2010

Taking the LWA definitions:
5) Most definitely (I would be delighted to work again with this outsourcer)
4) Definitely (I would work again with this outsourcer)
3) Maybe (I might work again with this outsourcer)
2) Doubtfully (I would probably not work again with this outsourcer)
1) No way (I would definitely refuse to work again with this outsourcer)


... the "normal" rating would be 3. It will depend on the job itself, rates offered, deadline, current workload, etc. A 4 would mean that translator definitely giving them priority over any other outsourcer. A 5 would mean the translator would drop anything - even personal affairs - to work for them again.

Meanwhile in practice I guess nobody would bother writing a quote to an all-3 LWA outsourcer. Conversely, any outsourcer would feel insulted getting a 3 - or even a 4 - from a translator they treated fairly.

Like I heard an international compensation management specialist say in a lecture: After having been 20 years in this trade, I've never seen a company whose salary policy was to pay below average. So how come there is such an "average"?


 
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Could the Blue Board facility be improved?






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