Poll: How often have you come to an agreement with a client who then never sent you work? Autor de la hebra: ProZ.com Staff
|
|---|
This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "How often have you come to an agreement with a client who then never sent you work?".
View the poll results »
| | | |
An agreement is entered into after the client accepts, either verbally or in writing, my quote and deadline. Before that all we do is negotiate and over the years I’ve had many occasions where I tried to negotiate a rate or a deadline and it never became an assignment, but never after we have reached an agreement...
| | | | neilmac
España
Local time: 08:56
español al inglés
+ ...
One guy that springs to mind was recommended to me by a long-standing client a few years ago. He was the head of a local university department. He seemed determined to meet me in person and was rather miffed when I explained that I would normally be too busy to make the forty-five minute journey into town to "discuss things over coffee". Although he claimed to have a plentiful budget, he seemed to find my rates, which are actually average to low, rather high. In the end, rather than translations... See more One guy that springs to mind was recommended to me by a long-standing client a few years ago. He was the head of a local university department. He seemed determined to meet me in person and was rather miffed when I explained that I would normally be too busy to make the forty-five minute journey into town to "discuss things over coffee". Although he claimed to have a plentiful budget, he seemed to find my rates, which are actually average to low, rather high. In the end, rather than translations, he sent me an article to revise, which looked like he'd got his students to do it. I got no feedback from him and don't even recall bothering to bill him for it. I never heard any more from this person, and it's absolutely no skin off my nose. In fact, quite the contrary. (= Good [expletive deleted] riddance) ▲ Collapse
| | | |
I think that about 40% of the agreements I have signed have failed to lead to subsequent work. In 95% of those cases, the client agreed to terms they initially didn't want to apply, such as negation of non-compete clauses or higher rates.
| | |
|
|
|
| It happens fairly often | Sep 6, 2017 |
We will negotiate a price and then the client comes back and says the job was canceled. Unless that's a polite way of telling me they found someone who would do it for less money.
| | | | Jed Segovia 
Filipinas
Local time: 15:56
inglés al tagalo
+ ...
| Maybe they are just collecting translator profiles | Sep 6, 2017 |
I many times applied for a freelance translstion job, then the agency/company required me to send my CV and sign an NDA. After I submitted these, I will get no response anymore. Very few will come back later and offer me small projects.
| | | | Ventnai
España
Local time: 08:56
alemán al inglés
+ ...
I think some agencies inquire about your services and still enter you into their database even if they don't like your rates. This normally entails filling out endless Excel data sheets or on-screen masks and then you never hear from them again. Others use you once and then try to change conditions. I had one agency from Gerona province which made me answer questions in a series of emails, fill in forms, sign an NDA and then state what rates that they were prepared to pay after I had indicated w... See more I think some agencies inquire about your services and still enter you into their database even if they don't like your rates. This normally entails filling out endless Excel data sheets or on-screen masks and then you never hear from them again. Others use you once and then try to change conditions. I had one agency from Gerona province which made me answer questions in a series of emails, fill in forms, sign an NDA and then state what rates that they were prepared to pay after I had indicated what my non-negotiable rates were at the outset. I learned my lesson. I now never complete any interminable Excel sheets. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Thayenga
Alemania
Local time: 08:56
inglés al alemán
+ ...
Contact had been made by the client, then silence on the line, or ether. But that's fine with me since they apparently don't want to or can't accept my rates, and especially no agreement had been made. So I take it as an inquiry, then delete all correspondence in my "pending" folder after a while.
Since this works both ways, I have also not accepted any work after the client had agreed on my rate, then turned around and offered half of it. Same procedure as stated above. ... See more Contact had been made by the client, then silence on the line, or ether. But that's fine with me since they apparently don't want to or can't accept my rates, and especially no agreement had been made. So I take it as an inquiry, then delete all correspondence in my "pending" folder after a while.
Since this works both ways, I have also not accepted any work after the client had agreed on my rate, then turned around and offered half of it. Same procedure as stated above. ▲ Collapse
| | |
|
|
|
Erzsébet Czopyk
Hungría
Local time: 08:56
Miembro 2006
ruso al húngaro
+ ...
LOCALIZADOR DEL SITIO
it just happened few weeks ago that a Romanian agency Ka******a promised me work (they contacted me here); I filled the Excels, printed and signed the NDA... and never heard from them again, although I asked them two more times what happened ... I was too naive. I never reneceived a response (of course).
For such clients with such attitude I have a special blacklist + folder. I find Google Desktop extremely useful addtion to my worsening memory.
 ... See more it just happened few weeks ago that a Romanian agency Ka******a promised me work (they contacted me here); I filled the Excels, printed and signed the NDA... and never heard from them again, although I asked them two more times what happened ... I was too naive. I never reneceived a response (of course).
For such clients with such attitude I have a special blacklist + folder. I find Google Desktop extremely useful addtion to my worsening memory.
[Edited at 2017-09-07 07:05 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Jessica Noyes
Estados Unidos
Local time: 02:56
Miembro
español al inglés
+ ...
| "Cancelling" the job | Sep 6, 2017 |
Muriel Vasconcellos wrote:
We will negotiate a price and then the client comes back and says the job was canceled. Unless that's a polite way of telling me they found someone who would do it for less money.
Once, after I asked for an hourly fee for the complicated formatting, on top of the per-word rate, a PM from a large company told me that the job had been "cancelled" by his client. The next day, though, he was back on the phone asking me to review someone else's translation of that same document!!!
[Edited at 2017-09-06 16:39 GMT]
| | | | Richard Jenkins
Brasil
Local time: 04:56
Miembro 2006
portugués al inglés
+ ...
I hoop jump from time-to-time.
My particular specialty is signing NDAs, doing 'short' test translations, and receiving welcome packs/information from marketing managers, which transpire into nothing. Sarcasm intended .
| | | | EvaVer (X)
Local time: 08:56
checo al francés
+ ...
| Yes, they collect profiles, | Sep 7, 2017 |
and that's not so surprising: a client enquires about a job - generally with several agencies. All of them look for somebody to do the job, which may entail registering new translators. Then they don't get the job. In some cases, I get jobs from such agencies years later, when they need one of my "special" pairs again. Unlike colleagues who work in huge markets such as Spanish to English, I sometimes receive enquiries about the same job from several agencies from different countries, so that I c... See more and that's not so surprising: a client enquires about a job - generally with several agencies. All of them look for somebody to do the job, which may entail registering new translators. Then they don't get the job. In some cases, I get jobs from such agencies years later, when they need one of my "special" pairs again. Unlike colleagues who work in huge markets such as Spanish to English, I sometimes receive enquiries about the same job from several agencies from different countries, so that I can see what's going on. The last case to date was yesterday, 3 agencies, thereof one new to me. The record is also recent: 4 agencies asking me to go into the same tender with them, thereof 3 I registered with in the past and have never actually worked for. ▲ Collapse
| | |
|
|
|
Mario Freitas
Brasil
Local time: 04:56
Miembro 2014
inglés al portugués
+ ...
| Quite frequently | Sep 8, 2017 |
It happens a lot. Many people just register translators just in case they ever get a job in that pair. Many do have a job in the relevant pair, register about five translators and choose another one (not you). And many register me, disappear, but then show up a few months later with a job. All these have happened quite a few times.
| | | | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Poll: How often have you come to an agreement with a client who then never sent you work? | CafeTran Espresso | You've never met a CAT tool this clever!
Translate faster & easier, using a sophisticated CAT tool built by a translator / developer.
Accept jobs from clients who use Trados, MemoQ, Wordfast & major CAT tools.
Download and start using CafeTran Espresso -- for free
Buy now! » |
| | TM-Town | Manage your TMs and Terms ... and boost your translation business
Are you ready for something fresh in the industry? TM-Town is a unique new site for you -- the freelance translator -- to store, manage and share translation memories (TMs) and glossaries...and potentially meet new clients on the basis of your prior work.
More info » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |
Login to reply/comment 
