| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3] > | Poll: Do you talk about your personal life with your clients? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
|
|---|
Claire Cox wrote:
I think having a slightly more "personal" relationship can set you apart from the crowd. You have to gauge each client's response and play it by ear, obviously, but it doesn't do any harm to incorporate a little bit of small talk, in my opinion. When I had a new puppy, for instance, I wasn't able to work on Trados jobs as I was puppysitting downstairs and only had Wordfast on the laptop at the time. Some clients were interested and even wanted to see photos; others obviously weren't interested and either is fair enough. However, it might just make someone remember you and encourage a closer working relationship. Similarly, even asking about the weather can oil the wheels of business - much better than a staccato exchange of soulless communication!
This... ^^^ 
| | | |
Giovanni Guarnieri MITI, MIL wrote: Claire Cox wrote:
I think having a slightly more "personal" relationship can set you apart from the crowd. You have to gauge each client's response and play it by ear, obviously, but it doesn't do any harm to incorporate a little bit of small talk, in my opinion. When I had a new puppy, for instance, I wasn't able to work on Trados jobs as I was puppysitting downstairs and only had Wordfast on the laptop at the time. Some clients were interested and even wanted to see photos; others obviously weren't interested and either is fair enough. However, it might just make someone remember you and encourage a closer working relationship. Similarly, even asking about the weather can oil the wheels of business - much better than a staccato exchange of soulless communication! This... ^^^
I'll second that too.
Plus, I often talk about video games with my gaming clients. Games we've played in the past, games we're playing now and so on. I don't think this really fits the 'personal life' as was meant in the poll, though. I'd rathrr classify it as geek-talk
| | | | Thayenga 
Germany
Local time: 08:15
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
| Basically no | May 22, 2014 |
There is a more colloquial tone in our email exchanges with some clients, but both sides still maintain a professional level.
The little not strictly business related conversations are more the "general topic" type. I was taught to separate business and private life issues. Be polite, even friendly, but keep your private life out. Maybe I'm just old-school.
When I was still an in-house translator, there were infrequent session on Customer Service. I still remember one c... See more There is a more colloquial tone in our email exchanges with some clients, but both sides still maintain a professional level.
The little not strictly business related conversations are more the "general topic" type. I was taught to separate business and private life issues. Be polite, even friendly, but keep your private life out. Maybe I'm just old-school.
When I was still an in-house translator, there were infrequent session on Customer Service. I still remember one clip in which an employee told the customer, when being asked how he was doing, all about his health issues, family troubles, his dislike for the current weather, etc. When the customer said that she was a little unhappy about the service, the employee asked: "What do you want me to do? Cry about it?"
Admittedly, that was a little too "private" to show how it's not done, but I still remember it.
So business is business...as friendly/polite as it might be. My headache has no place in this type of conversation... if I had one. ▲ Collapse
| | | |
To some extent.
neilmac wrote:
I don't think professionalism needs to be a straitjacket. Fully agree.
However, I will never do the first step. Just the same as with formal talk, in the languages that have a formal and an informal way of addressing people (vous/tu, Sie/du, etc.) If the client is laid back, I am too, if he is very formal, I am too. But I do very much appreciate the friendly approach - as long as they are still fully doing their job as they should.
| | |
|
|
|
| Also agreeing entirely with Claire Cox | May 22, 2014 |
As I never meet most of my clients, I often add some little personal touch to my mails. 'Hope you had a good weekend' or ANYTHING more original than 'I hope this finds you well.'
Even the weather! But I keep it on a superficial level.
Sometimes it is a comment on the text, not necessarily calling for action, but 'mmm, now I need a sandwich, it's lunchtime!' after a menu, or 'Yes, I can just squeeze it in, my hu... See more As I never meet most of my clients, I often add some little personal touch to my mails. 'Hope you had a good weekend' or ANYTHING more original than 'I hope this finds you well.'
Even the weather! But I keep it on a superficial level.
Sometimes it is a comment on the text, not necessarily calling for action, but 'mmm, now I need a sandwich, it's lunchtime!' after a menu, or 'Yes, I can just squeeze it in, my husband's cooking supper today' about a rushed job.
Or 'no, sorry, I really must get some sleep before I do that one!' when negotiating an extension to the deadline.
Occasionally I attach a picture of where I have been to my mail to say 'now I'm back from my holiday, hope you had a good summer' - the view from Snowdon and the Vänern lake in Sweden were popular.
I sometimes mention that I have family staying, or that I am visiting them, so I can't take on work, but will be practising my English or Swedish...
Otherwise the whole business is very faceless and anonymous over the Internet. I like it when clients and PMs do the same - as far as I am concerned, it is the equivalent of chatting to colleagues over the coffee break.
And the regular evening with the walking club is always a good excuse for not working all night on Wednesdays! ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Yes, to some extent too | May 22, 2014 |
If I feel we are more or less on the same wavelength yes (it mostly depends on age it turns out), but I always keep in mind we all value dearly our scarce free time... and most of the time it happens to be related to translation anyway (as both personal and professional spheres tend to overlap) or countries/languages (or indeed to weather, like some others here)...
[Edited at 2014-05-22 14:36 GMT]
| | | | Erzsébet Czopyk
Hungary
Local time: 08:15
Member (2006)
Russian to Hungarian
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER
Alma de Kok wrote:
Some clients enjoy knowing who they are dealing with.., some don't.
My cancer was diagnosed in 2010. I was unable to work for 7 months then slowly gained my capacity back. Of course, it took time until I had back my former outlook. A lot of my clients and colleagues knew about and (as almost all my family members are died) their love helped me a lot to make my comeback. Some of them if the amount is big, asking me can I really make it. I think my openness about all what happened can help others as well as me. Sadly after therapies I gained weight but yesterday an old client of mine told "it is ok, if we loved you before, we are happy we not lost you at all, so who cares about?" And of course a lot of my clients know my children as they are a constant helpers in the summertime, they help deliver the documents, they run to the notary in the last moment, and sometimes their openness is funny (Please call back 15 minutes later because mum is soaking herself in the bathtube))
| | | | | Not normally | May 22, 2014 |
Only select aspects, but those are still rather more personal aspects of my professional life than I typically let on. Real personal stuff pops up only rarely, generally when I inquire about translation needs in certain fields which are close to me or decline an assignment due to my beliefs.
War stories are an exception. Or comments about the market situation or sometimes even the economic situation and politics, but politics only rarely.
Thayenga wrote:
There is a more colloquial tone in our email exchanges with some clients, but both sides still maintain a professional level.
One thing I dislike is a formal tone from people who address me as Lukasz. Mr Gos and a formal tone are okay. Lukasz and a colloquial tone are okay. Mr Gos and a colloquial tone is okay. To Mr Lukasz I don't bat an eye (in fact, I follow the pattern). But Lukasz and formal language is something I can't stand.
Okay, literary sorta formal is okay, or lighter officialese that's basically a deep-ingrained habit in the writer. But big talk after addressing me by my first name is one of my pet peeves.
[Edited at 2014-05-22 18:07 GMT]
| | |
|
|
|
| I said "No," but . . . | May 22, 2014 |
In fact, I have had a few online exchanges, as when I mention that I'm going on vacation. It's not the norm, however.
| | | | Mario Chavez (X)
Local time: 02:15
English to Spanish
+ ...
| I feel the same way | May 22, 2014 |
Elina Sellgren wrote:
For instance, when one of my good clients was visiting his home country in South America and there was an earth quake, I sent him an email to see if he's alive, you know.. and we have discussed in passing how different our cultures are and how we are going to spend holidays and so on. It just feels natural in this case, I just have a hunch sometimes that it's ok to mention little details from time to time. I think it's a sign of a good business relationship if there's a little bit of small talk involved.
But it depends on what you call 'personal life' - I wouldn't mention deeply personal issues except when it affects my work, e.g. if someone close to me died suddenly, maybe I might miss a deadline or something and I would tell the real reason behind it.
Some long-time clients know a few of what's going on in my personal life, but I have layers of “personal life.” For example, talking with a client about my cat Garabato seems very natural, and it's not work related at all...unless I use my cat to get an extended deadline.
The inner layers of my personal life are, well, too personal to discuss with any client, no matter how long our friendship has been. As a rule, inserting work-unrelated bits in business correspondence —unless there's been a death or a medical emergency affecting a deadline, as Elina said— is very unprofessional.
Then again, different countries and cultures have different ideas about what constitutes an item of personal life.
| | | | Mario Chavez (X)
Local time: 02:15
English to Spanish
+ ...
| Personal life in America | May 22, 2014 |
I thought of mentioning an interesting bit about personal life.
For those who are Americans or live in America, the familiar greeting How are you? is all too common, but it is seldom an opening to talk about one's personal life (i.e., what has been going on since last week or month).
In South America, the opposite is true. When people greet you like that, you are expected to share a bit in way of small talk or maybe as a way to catch up since last time you saw ea... See more I thought of mentioning an interesting bit about personal life.
For those who are Americans or live in America, the familiar greeting How are you? is all too common, but it is seldom an opening to talk about one's personal life (i.e., what has been going on since last week or month).
In South America, the opposite is true. When people greet you like that, you are expected to share a bit in way of small talk or maybe as a way to catch up since last time you saw each other. For example, if your friend or acquaintance (or client) saw you 3 months ago last time and she says How are you, Tom?, you can freely and comfortably answer with I'm doing fine, except for that board exam; I didn't pass it.
It boils down with how relaxed the boundaries of relationships are in different places, I guess. When in New York, I loved surprising the casual American who would greet me in the elevator on our way to church and I would respond with a list of vicissitudes. It's a great way to tell someone to stop asking or just to pull their leg. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Samantha Payn
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:15
Member (2008)
Russian to English
+ ...
I said "no" because I do not talk about my personal life with my clients. I certainly do engage in small talk which might be about the weather, my pets or even holiday plans.
| | |
|
|
|
| Yes, Indeed, I Have | May 22, 2014 |
I was invited twice, in 2008 and 2010, to be the guest in the home of one of my clients who lives in the Sibillini National Forest in Central Italy. I had translated a book she wrote, and she also had me do many more translations, and some proofreading tasks, that were less major in scale, except for one, on a regular basis, over a period of 4 years.
I found that client's family history, which she has been able to trace back to the 10th century, immensely interesting.
... See more I was invited twice, in 2008 and 2010, to be the guest in the home of one of my clients who lives in the Sibillini National Forest in Central Italy. I had translated a book she wrote, and she also had me do many more translations, and some proofreading tasks, that were less major in scale, except for one, on a regular basis, over a period of 4 years.
I found that client's family history, which she has been able to trace back to the 10th century, immensely interesting.
We shared our opinions on just about everything you can imagine when we were together in Italy, and through an almost daily exchange of e-mails, which proved to me that she knew more about the United States and where it was going to end up in later years than I did.
Although we had one fundamental difference of opinion in relation to one of the things that came up for discussion, I found my personal relationship with this client well worth the effort (and expense).
[Edited at 2014-05-22 23:12 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | I'm surprised by some of the comments here. | May 22, 2014 |
To find a little bit of humanity in a PM sometimes that allows for a personal connection is one of the few things to keep us sane IMHO. We work in a very isolated and sterile environment, often under a great deal of pressure with respect to deadlines and so making a connection with a PM from time to time is welcome. Someone here said it was unprofessional. Absolute rubbish, can anyone here who has ever worked for a large company say that they never got to know any colleagues well ? It is what ma... See more To find a little bit of humanity in a PM sometimes that allows for a personal connection is one of the few things to keep us sane IMHO. We work in a very isolated and sterile environment, often under a great deal of pressure with respect to deadlines and so making a connection with a PM from time to time is welcome. Someone here said it was unprofessional. Absolute rubbish, can anyone here who has ever worked for a large company say that they never got to know any colleagues well ? It is what makes having to work for a living tolerable and I have met some of my best friends through work. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Mario Chavez (X)
Local time: 02:15
English to Spanish
+ ...
Alma de Kok wrote:
Talking about personal things 'smooth' the relationship with some of my clients. I tend to adapt to their expectations. Some clients enjoy knowing who they are dealing with.., some don't.
But there are situations in which you simply have to. When 15 months ago my husband suddenly died in a terrible accident, and I had to take over his 750 cows, 11 employees and everything involved with the inheritance (Dutch family in Poland...), I immediately informed my strategic clients, and the clients I worked for at that time, about what happened. I also told them, that I wouldn't be able to work for about 3 months. After that I regained everyone of them.
Sometimes they still ask how I am coping, which makes the cooperation even more agreeable.
[Edited at 2014-05-22 10:46 GMT]
[Edited at 2014-05-22 10:46 GMT]
I'm sorry for your loss, Alma. But I'm curious: what happened to the farm and the cows?
| | | | | Pages in topic: < [1 2 3] > | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Poll: Do you talk about your personal life with your clients? | Trados Studio 2022 Freelance | The leading translation software used by over 270,000 translators.
Designed with your feedback in mind, Trados Studio 2022 delivers an unrivalled, powerful desktop
and cloud solution, empowering you to work in the most efficient and cost-effective way.
More info » |
| | Protemos translation business management system | Create your account in minutes, and start working! 3-month trial for agencies, and free for freelancers!
The system lets you keep client/vendor database, with contacts and rates, manage projects and assign jobs to vendors, issue invoices, track payments, store and manage project files, generate business reports on turnover profit per client/manager etc.
More info » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |
Login to reply/comment 
