Poll: Do you request feedback on your services from your clients?
Autor de la hebra: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
PERSONAL DEL SITIO
Jul 7, 2014

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
neilmac
España
Local time: 14:44
español al inglés
+ ...
Other Jul 7, 2014

No. But if I ever do get any feedback, it is always welcome.

 
No Jul 7, 2014

If I got any more praise it might go to my head

 
Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson  Identity Verified
España
Local time: 13:44
Miembro 2007
inglés
+ ...
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.


 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 13:44
Miembro 2007
inglés al portugués
+ ...
Likewise Jul 7, 2014

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…


 
James A. Walsh
James A. Walsh
España
Local time: 14:44
español al inglés
+ ...
Yes Jul 7, 2014

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)
Mario Chavez (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 08:44
inglés al español
+ ...
Other Jul 7, 2014

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
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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 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.
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Giovanna Alessandra Meloni
Giovanna Alessandra Meloni  Identity Verified
Italia
Local time: 14:44
español al italiano
+ ...
LOCALIZADOR DEL SITIO
Other Jul 7, 2014

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.


 
Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson  Identity Verified
España
Local time: 13:44
Miembro 2007
inglés
+ ...
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
Kay Denney  Identity Verified
Francia
Local time: 14:44
francés al inglés
generosity Jul 7, 2014

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
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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!
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Klára Kalamár
Klára Kalamár  Identity Verified
Rumania
Local time: 15:44
inglés al húngaro
+ ...
Yes... Jul 7, 2014

... 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
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brasil
Local time: 10:44
Miembro 2014
inglés al portugués
+ ...
Yes, Jul 8, 2014

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.
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Poll: Do you request feedback on your services from your clients?






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