Poll: Do you find it difficult to keep up with the speed at which most clients require work completed?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
Jul 11, 2020

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Do you find it difficult to keep up with the speed at which most clients require work completed?".

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Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 11:52
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Not at all Jul 11, 2020

Most of my clients don’t require speed (I’m not fond of rush jobs and my long-standing customers know that. Even so I can’t say no to some of them, but it’s an occasional favor). I’ve been working with the same client base for some years and what they require is quality and I do all I can to maintain it. My translation speed depends a good deal on my mood, the source language (it is speedier to translate from French, Spanish or Italian into Portuguese than from English), the subject ma... See more
Most of my clients don’t require speed (I’m not fond of rush jobs and my long-standing customers know that. Even so I can’t say no to some of them, but it’s an occasional favor). I’ve been working with the same client base for some years and what they require is quality and I do all I can to maintain it. My translation speed depends a good deal on my mood, the source language (it is speedier to translate from French, Spanish or Italian into Portuguese than from English), the subject matter and primarily the quality of the source text.Collapse


Muriel Vasconcellos
Beatriz Ramírez de Haro
 
Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 04:52
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
Other Jul 11, 2020

I don't accept the work if the deadline is too tight for me.

Liena Vijupe
Yetta Jensen Bogarde
Christine Andersen
Alix Paupy
Giuliana Maltempo
Francesca Grandinetti
Gibril Koroma
 
Christine Andersen
Christine Andersen  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 12:52
Member (2003)
Danish to English
+ ...
If you want it fast, you can't have it cheap, and I can do it better if you give me time Jul 11, 2020

That is one of my mottos.

I take on rushed jobs now and then, when I can fit them in, because there are jobs that cannot wait. I have found good clients that way, who only sent rushed jobs when absolutely necessary, perhaps paid extra if I had to sit up all night, and who appreciated a favour.

However, I turn down rushed jobs if they are poorly paid or the rush is due to bad planning. I try to deliver the best professional quality, and that takes time. These days, if 'f
... See more
That is one of my mottos.

I take on rushed jobs now and then, when I can fit them in, because there are jobs that cannot wait. I have found good clients that way, who only sent rushed jobs when absolutely necessary, perhaps paid extra if I had to sit up all night, and who appreciated a favour.

However, I turn down rushed jobs if they are poorly paid or the rush is due to bad planning. I try to deliver the best professional quality, and that takes time. These days, if 'fast and dirty' is good enough, there is always machine translation!
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Josephine Cassar
Alix Paupy
Michele Fauble
Katya Kesten
Beatriz Ramírez de Haro
Muriel Vasconcellos
 
Sundar Gopalakrishnan
Sundar Gopalakrishnan
India
Local time: 17:22
English to Tamil
+ ...
Yes Jul 11, 2020

I hate rush jobs. So I refuse them. Translation is not a mechanical job. It involves a lot of thinking. So you can't do translation in a hurry. It needs enough time. Then only the finished translation will be perfect. Otherwise the quality suffers.

Philip Lees
Muriel Vasconcellos
Ben Gaia
 
Angelo Otieno
Angelo Otieno
Kenya
Local time: 14:52
English to Swahili
+ ...
Other Jul 11, 2020

I am a new member, just joined some time back and I have not worked on any project so far. Looking forward to meeting and working with new clients and colleagues
😊


ALEX KITONDO
 
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 08:52
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Not at all Jul 11, 2020

For every job, I agree with the client on the deadline, considering the workload I already have. Most of the time, we come to a decent agreement in that sense. If the client does not agree with a small extension, when necessary, I have Saturday and Sunday to be able to meet the demands of two or three clients.
However, if I don't think I can do it on time, I won't take it. And if I take it, the job will be delivered on time or a bit earlier. No exceptions here.


Miguel Francisco
Beatriz Ramírez de Haro
Philip Lees
Muriel Vasconcellos
 
Liena Vijupe
Liena Vijupe  Identity Verified
Latvia
Local time: 13:52
Member (2014)
French to Latvian
+ ...
Other Jul 11, 2020

I don't take work if I can't fit it around my plans and work at my own pace (or at least without too much frustration).

The last time I did a rush job (something small and definitely not really urgent) I ended up with a broken leg because I was running late for a scheduled commitment and slipped on the stairs. Never again!


Beatriz Ramírez de Haro
Aline Amorim
Philip Lees
Muriel Vasconcellos
Ben Gaia
 
Maxi Schwarz
Maxi Schwarz  Identity Verified
Local time: 06:52
German to English
+ ...
It's the professional who determines by when a project can be done Jul 11, 2020

This also ensures quality and reliability. Expanding: If a client has an actual emergency, then that must be dealt with, and/or they must be told it's not feasible so that they can find someone else who can meet that kind of deadline. In the case of agencies beating out other agencies by promising unrealistic deadlines, there is no reason to help them harm our better (agency) clients. I think for this reason it doesn't come up.

Philip Lees
 


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Poll: Do you find it difficult to keep up with the speed at which most clients require work completed?






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