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Poll: Which of the following is your foremost priority?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
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Sep 18, 2015

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Which of the following is your foremost priority?".

This poll was originally submitted by Teddy Okuyama. View the poll results »



 
Marjolein Snippe
Marjolein Snippe  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 19:27
Member (2012)
English to Dutch
+ ...
Quality Sep 18, 2015

All are important of course, but my reference point is the quality of the translation I deliver. Customer satisfaction will come with high quality (at least the customers I care about...); quality dictates the time I need so I will not accept work with a tighter deadline and if we can't agree on a rate I will simply not accept the job to start with.

 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 18:27
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Same here! Sep 18, 2015

Marjolein Snippe wrote:

All are important of course, but my reference point is the quality of the translation I deliver. Customer satisfaction will come with high quality (at least the customers I care about...); quality dictates the time I need so I will not accept work with a tighter deadline and if we can't agree on a rate I will simply not accept the job to start with.


 
Christopher Schröder
Christopher Schröder
United Kingdom
Member (2011)
Swedish to English
+ ...
Rate Sep 18, 2015

The most important thing for me is the lolly.

Obvs I get this by providing the world's best translations with unbelievable turnaround times yada yada.

[Edited because I didn't read the poll properly, duh]

PS Charlie, it doesn't make me feel dirty. Best not get into what does.


[Edited at 2015-09-18 09:02 GMT]


 
Charlie Bavington
Charlie Bavington  Identity Verified
Local time: 18:27
French to English
Earnings. Sep 18, 2015

It's all about the money. All that other stuff is unlikely to satisfy the Bank of Scotland, or Sainsburys, or npower (spit) or 3 Valleys Water, and so on and so forth.

It is a pity this aspect is designated by the term "rate" in the poll. I couldn't give a stuff what the"rate" is. It's how much I can earn in a day, week, month, year that concerns me. But "rate" is nonetheless what I answered. I feel dirty.


Edit to clarify post Chris' comment: the idea was that ta
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It's all about the money. All that other stuff is unlikely to satisfy the Bank of Scotland, or Sainsburys, or npower (spit) or 3 Valleys Water, and so on and so forth.

It is a pity this aspect is designated by the term "rate" in the poll. I couldn't give a stuff what the"rate" is. It's how much I can earn in a day, week, month, year that concerns me. But "rate" is nonetheless what I answered. I feel dirty.


Edit to clarify post Chris' comment: the idea was that talking about "rates" rather than earnings made me feel dirty. Not money in itself or anything frightfully English like that I've relatively recently (last 2-3 years, say) joined the school of thought that holds we should just charge a fee. I no longer mention word counts on quotes. Just an amount for the service I provide. Only one person so far has queried where the figures come from.

[Edited at 2015-09-18 09:57 GMT]
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LilianNekipelov
LilianNekipelov  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 14:27
Russian to English
+ ...
Slightly strange options, from different sets of options Sep 18, 2015

Still, I would say quality definitely at the right rate. The wrong rate, no quality and no translation, at all. Other than working pro bono, of course.
As they say in Russian: "first the money, then the chairs".

[Edited at 2015-09-18 09:24 GMT]


 
Philippe Etienne
Philippe Etienne  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 19:27
Member
English to French
Customer relationship? Sep 18, 2015

I voted that, because it implies proper rates and realistic deadlines, leading to quality, customer satisfaction and other.

Philippe


 
José Henrique Lamensdorf
José Henrique Lamensdorf  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 15:27
English to Portuguese
+ ...
In memoriam
Client satisfaction Sep 18, 2015

My translation rate doesn't change, though the amount the client will disburse may vary, according to their choice of payment terms and methods.

My quality doesn't change either. If it did, this would mean that I was underqualified to do certain jobs, which I decline at the outset to stay clear of this variation altogether.

I schedule my work for 100% of timely deliveries. I prefer
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My translation rate doesn't change, though the amount the client will disburse may vary, according to their choice of payment terms and methods.

My quality doesn't change either. If it did, this would mean that I was underqualified to do certain jobs, which I decline at the outset to stay clear of this variation altogether.

I schedule my work for 100% of timely deliveries. I prefer to deliver two days early than two hours late. So far, I have managed to deliver ALL my translation jobs on time, since 1973.

Hence my major concern is that the client feels satisfied from the bang they got for their buck with me. If instead of the bang they just wanted a click for their peanuts, I wouldn't have been chosen to do it anyway.

Client relationship, aka 'trust', is an outcome of client satisfaction repeated over and over again.
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neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 19:27
Spanish to English
+ ...
Other Sep 18, 2015

I don't understand the question.

 
tilak raj
tilak raj  Identity Verified
India
Local time: 23:57
Member (2012)
English to Punjabi
+ ...
Client's Satisfcation Sep 18, 2015

I think client's satisfaction may lead to everything. Of course, we take job on deciding rate. After it Quality and other things involved in it even long term relationship too.

 
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 15:27
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Maybe not a priority, but it does come first, Sep 18, 2015

The rate may not be the top priority, but I voted for rate because, of course, it is the first thing that determines if you will accept the job or not. So all the others come after that decision.

 
José Henrique Lamensdorf
José Henrique Lamensdorf  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 15:27
English to Portuguese
+ ...
In memoriam
A matter of approach Sep 18, 2015

Mario Freitas wrote:

The rate may not be the top priority, but I voted for rate because, of course, it is the first thing that determines if you will accept the job or not. So all the others come after that decision.


I don't "accept" rates; I state my rates, and then it will be up to the prospect to either accept them or not.

I'll accept/reject the job depending on whether I consider myself capable of doing it properly. This has no effect on my rate.

I don't envision myself in a restaurant selecting a dish from the menu and then telling the waiter how much I'd be willing to pay for it.

Likewise, when I call in a plumber to fix some leakage, I ask them how much the job will cost, instead of offering them an amount I'd be willing to pay to get it done.

IMO this rates-accepting approach is what makes the entire "translation industry" dysfunctional, if compared to any other.


 
Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 11:27
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
Priorty for whom? Sep 18, 2015

The list is a bunch of applies and oranges. Quality is important to the client; the rate is important to me.

What is really most important to me is work that I like. Earlier this year I accepted a low rate because I was helping out a friend and the work was extremely interesting. I enjoyed every minute. Some of the most interesting projects I've had have been be paid at the low end of my range. Of course, it's a perfect world when top-paying clients send me really interesting materi
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The list is a bunch of applies and oranges. Quality is important to the client; the rate is important to me.

What is really most important to me is work that I like. Earlier this year I accepted a low rate because I was helping out a friend and the work was extremely interesting. I enjoyed every minute. Some of the most interesting projects I've had have been be paid at the low end of my range. Of course, it's a perfect world when top-paying clients send me really interesting material, and that happens sometimes, too.
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Rolf Kern
Rolf Kern  Identity Verified
Switzerland
Local time: 19:27
English to German
+ ...
In memoriam
Other Sep 18, 2015

A combination of the options.

Rolf


 
Mario Chavez (X)
Mario Chavez (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 14:27
English to Spanish
+ ...
The chairs??? Sep 18, 2015

LilianNekipelov wrote:

Still, I would say quality definitely at the right rate. The wrong rate, no quality and no translation, at all. Other than working pro bono, of course.
As they say in Russian: "first the money, then the chairs".

[Edited at 2015-09-18 09:24 GMT]


Now you got me curiouser and curiouser. Please share what the Russian saying says


 
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Poll: Which of the following is your foremost priority?






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