Poll: Do you inform potential clients you may not work with them if they have a low Blue Board score?

Erik Hansson wrote:

I fail to understand why I should inform them. If they are well-organised they surely know that they are on Blue Board, and also know about their score.

Julian Holmes wrote:

Because it has very little relevance to translation agencies and LSPs based in Japan.

We do things differently over here. And, most Japanese customers are law-abiding citizens.

Thayenga wrote:



There's no reason why I should have to explain my reasons for not entering into a business relationship with someone.

It's like going to a bakery and telling the people that you don't buy your bread there because...I don't know, the person in the other bakery is your cousin.

Mario Freitas wrote:

That wouldn't be very professional. If a potential client has a score below 4.7 in the BB or no record at all there, you give them a polite excuse and flee. But telling them "Hey, I'm not working for you because you're no good" is not very professional or very smart, is it?

Chris S wrote:

Why not?
Surely telling them why you won't work with them is the decent thing to do?

Mario Chavez wrote:
I agree. Unless that prospect contacts me and asks why I keep declining their job offers, I see no reason to tell them why. Besides, being professional (to me) means using my time efficiently, and using it to tell others why I don't want to work with them is a waste of my time and theirs.

Mario Freitas wrote:

I guess it's all a matter of opinion. Perhaps there is nothing wrong with it. But most of the time I told someone something like "you're no good", the outcome has been pretty negative. The person naturally reacts as if they have been offended, and you don't want that in a professional environment. You can say "no thanks, I have no time for that", and get rid of it without the offense. After all, there is a slight possibility that client becomes a Top 10 in the future, and then you'll be out of their list due to a simple aggressive answer.

Of course you can tell them why, if you wish, but I don't think you should say "because you are not qualified", "bacause you have a poor standing" or things like that. That's what I meant. Not only because of the "offense" thing, but also because they obviously know their position, and you do not have to remind them of it.

Thayenga wrote:
It's like going to a bakery and telling the people that you don't buy your bread there because...I don't know, the person in the other bakery is your cousin.

José Henrique Lamensdorf wrote:

I can tell them "you're no good" only after having worked with them and having myself unquestionable facts to back such assertion.

José Henrique Lamensdorf wrote:

I recently realized that having been a human resources manager led me to have policies covering most everything in business.

Translation requires work before payment, and it's not a commodity. If I do a translation for ABC Corp. and, for any reason, they change their mind while the job is under way, I can't sell it to XYZ Corp. nor anybody else. It will be scrap.

Likewise, while ABC Corp. may have read comments on my translation work for other clients, they can't be 100% sure of the quality and timeliness of my delivery until they see it.

I have a pretty good track record as a translator. If the client has an equally good record as a payer, okay, we'll swap my work for their money when time comes.

If the client has NO record, like many individuals who approach me out of the blue with an occasional translation job, I have my arbitrary unsecured credit limit: BRL 500 (~USD 165 now). If the total amount is below that limit, I'll take the risk. If it's above that, I explain to them that we must share the risk: 50% up-front. Scammers scram; goodwill customers pay immediately.

If the client has a BAD record on the Blue Board, the same rule applies, with a lower threshold: BRL 200 (~USD 65 now). I'll give them ONE chance within that limit. If the total order value is higher, I'll demand 100% up front.


Two cases.

Once I took a chance on a client who had ONE WWA=1 entry. It was not a translation company, they were in the entertainment industry. As I ascertained later, that entry - which they were unaware of - was the result of a new external vendor having re-outsourced the job to someone who delivered completely useless work, and late, therefore not deserving nor receiving any pay. For a couple of years, while a humongous project lasted, it was by far the most profitable client I had.


Now I have a case under way. A translation agency that is sinking in the Blue Board mud. They were a WWA=5 once, now their WWA is going from an overall high 3 to a 12-mos. low 1.

They had tried to hire me several times in the past, but were unlucky. They always did so when I was loaded above the lid. Finally, last month, I did a first $30-ish proofreading job for them. We agreed on COD payment, so they wouldn't waste money on hefty Brazilian interest rates (abt. 17% monthly).

They didn't pay, said they were used to pay in 30 days. Okay, I'll wait till then. However I'm ready to add one more nail to their coffin, I mean, another WWA=1 to their Blue Board record next week.

Quite frankly, $33? In spite of credit cards, think I never left home in the USA (where they are located) carrying less than $50 in cash.

Ever since, I've already turned down two jobs they offered me. No point in growing a delinquent bill. Nevertheless, answering the OP question, if they first settle their pending debt and then pay me 100% in advance, I'll certainly work for them, any time.

Erzsébet Czopyk wrote:

In a polite way send a short notice mentioning I am a member of the community and in order to protect the community values and the efforts of ProZ.com, I offer the option of pre-payment. This way I worked for an outsorcer banned from the ProZ.com and finally left them a positive entry.

Usually I follow te Blue Board of the agencies I work for and maybe the saddest story of them is (name deleted), whom I left a very positive entry after our collaboration. Since them they have a mass of negative entries, finally (just few days ago, so the poll is very actual to me) I sent them an e-mail, asking what happened, why they have so much negative responses.

"I am still following your Blue Board and just would like to ask what happened to your office, being so kind and punctual in the past…

It makes me so sad. In the beginning I though it may happen one or two times but now it seems this is systematically happens…
Greetings from Budapest,"


I received the following kind reply:

"I do not understand what is happening either as I do not know half of the people that are complaining.... We pay everyone who works for us and delivers gooed work within the deadline so nothing is going on. We are still growing.
How are you?

Kind regards"

And the fact is, I sent them in May an e-mail, saying that because of their BB, I would like to receive a pre-payment. So the collaboration is still active and who knows what will happen...

Teresa Borges wrote:

If a potential client has a low Blue Board score, I won't work with them, sometimes I'll tell them why...