Poll: Do you request feedback on your services from your clients? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Do you request feedback on your services from your clients?".
This poll was originally submitted by Melissa McMahon. View the poll results »
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 11:45
Spanish to English
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No. But if I ever do get any feedback, it is always welcome.
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If I got any more praise it might go to my head
| | | | Sheila Wilson 
Spain
Local time: 10:45
Member (2007)
English
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| Private or public? | Jul 7, 2014 |
As usual with these polls, I'm left wondering how othets are interpreting the question.
Do I ask for public feedback: no.
Do I ask for private feedback (i.e. What did I do well? Where could I improve?): yes, often; whenever appropriate. But I don't insist on it. In the end, the best feedback is a referral or a repeat order, even if you have to wait a year. And if they don't come back yet don't complain, well, that's life.
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neilmac wrote:
No. But if I ever do get any feedback, it is always welcome.
Paraphrasing Thomson and Thompson, known in French as Dupond and Dupont, I would even say: it is always more than welcome…
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I use the Willingness to Work Again (WWA) feature on this site, and so far 28 customers have given me positive feedback, which is a win-win for me as it attracts more customers my way. I also use the translator's Likelihood of Working Again (LWA) feature to rate my experiences with customers, which gets logged in their Blue Board record. Life's a two-way street and all that...
| | | | Mario Chavez (X)
Local time: 05:45
English to Spanish
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Not particularly and not as standard practice.
Fellow translators living in Europe and elsewhere may be aware (or not) of a certain practice among American companies regarding feedback.
The following experience will illustrate it. In December 2010, I went to a Honda dealership in Tampa (Florida) to lease a new car, a Honda Fit, for 36 months. The conditions were favorable as well as the APR. After negotiations and completing the paperwork, the salesman informed me that ... See more Not particularly and not as standard practice.
Fellow translators living in Europe and elsewhere may be aware (or not) of a certain practice among American companies regarding feedback.
The following experience will illustrate it. In December 2010, I went to a Honda dealership in Tampa (Florida) to lease a new car, a Honda Fit, for 36 months. The conditions were favorable as well as the APR. After negotiations and completing the paperwork, the salesman informed me that I would receive a phone call in the next couple of days to rate my purchase experience, and asked me (almost with a begging tone) to give him the top rating, 5 stars. I felt mortified.
When I did get that call, I rated the whole thing four stars, just out of spite. ▲ Collapse
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I agree with neilmac
neilmac wrote:
No. But if I ever do get any feedback, it is always welcome.
And I think if a client continue contacting me for my services, it means the feedback is positive.
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Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 10:45
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
| Major difference between WWA and LWA | Jul 7, 2014 |
James A. Walsh wrote:
I use the Willingness to Work Again (WWA) feature on this site, and so far 28 customers have given me positive feedback, which is a win-win for me as it attracts more customers my way. I also use the translator's Likelihood of Working Again (LWA) feature to rate my experiences with customers, which gets logged in their Blue Board record. Life's a two-way street and all that...
To my mind that sort of tit-for-tat feedback makes the whole thing pretty useless and I discount those entries - I don't know how clients see it, though.
But there's a fundamental difference between the two features. A translator can leave whatever feedback they consider appropriate about an outsourcer; but the outsourcer can only leave feedback for you if it's good - they have to say "yes" when asked if they'd be willing to work with you again. For that reason, if no other, I don't consider it appropriate to ask clients for feedback. I wish ProZ.com would change the system to level things out - we're all adults here, running businesses, not kids in the playground. As long as we're protected from personal insults and lies (which should apply here as the rules on that are very strict) then we should be able to deal with the truth.
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 11:45
French to English
I love and thrive on feedback but would never beg for it.
I welcome criticism as a way to improve my work and just revel in getting compliments which boost my self-confidence no end.
Apart from the most mundane of jobs, I usually deliver with a reminder that feedback is welcome (along with the latest date for negative feedback), especially for new clients.
As for giving feedback, I recently had to deal with the after-sales service of a well-known website... See more I love and thrive on feedback but would never beg for it.
I welcome criticism as a way to improve my work and just revel in getting compliments which boost my self-confidence no end.
Apart from the most mundane of jobs, I usually deliver with a reminder that feedback is welcome (along with the latest date for negative feedback), especially for new clients.
As for giving feedback, I recently had to deal with the after-sales service of a well-known website selling books and stuff. One delivery went through twice, with my account being deducted twice as well, and one item stopped working after only three months. Each time I had a job finding how to get in contact with somebody to put things right, but once I did they helped me out quickly and satisfactorily. I immediately got an e-mail to rate their service and gave them the maximum number of stars, because I know these people must be dealing with all sorts of idiots and scammers and downright rude people. For the double delivery, I waited until I actually got the money back before rating the service, and by then in fact it was too late to rate the service via the e-mail, so I sent a mail through the customer service, as if I were complaining again, and the person who replied said it made their day. As I see it, it doesn't hurt to be generous with compliments! ▲ Collapse
| | | | Klára Kalamár
Romania
Local time: 12:45
English to Hungarian
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... if one can call this a feedback request:
when I send in my translation, I say "Please let me know if you have any questions or comments".
| | | | Mario Freitas
Brazil
Local time: 06:45
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
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In my initial e-mail, I usually tell the client to feel free to make any comments, suggest corrections, etc.
When I send the translated file, I again make that observation.
And if there are any complaints, I request a feedback file with the correction markings and comments (which I always reply, contesting and explaining my point of view).
It is very common to receive documents from people who "think" they speak the target language, and make undue correctio... See more In my initial e-mail, I usually tell the client to feel free to make any comments, suggest corrections, etc.
When I send the translated file, I again make that observation.
And if there are any complaints, I request a feedback file with the correction markings and comments (which I always reply, contesting and explaining my point of view).
It is very common to receive documents from people who "think" they speak the target language, and make undue corrections in my translation. Also very common is for a proofreader to make changes like "12 for a dozen". In these cases, I also provide a free lesson on the target language. ▲ Collapse
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