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Poll: My clients care more about cost than quality.
Autor de la hebra: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
PERSONAL DEL SITIO
Jun 17, 2022

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "My clients care more about cost than quality.".

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Oleksandra Ptukha
Rifo Putra
 
neilmac
neilmac
España
Local time: 01:31
español al inglés
+ ...
Disagree Jun 17, 2022

If that were the case, I'd be reluctant to continue working with them.

Liena Vijupe
Becca Resnik
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Rifo Putra
Philip Lees
Christine Andersen
Barbara Carrara
 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 00:31
Miembro 2007
inglés al portugués
+ ...
Disagree Jun 17, 2022

I don’t think so. Some of my international customers have been with me for ages though in Portugal I have a reputation of being expensive. Anyway, this question should be addressed to them not to me…

[Edited at 2022-06-17 13:32 GMT]


Christopher Schröder
Philip Lees
Barbara Carrara
 
Lieven Malaise
Lieven Malaise
Bélgica
Local time: 01:31
Miembro 2020
francés al neerlandés
+ ...
I hope not. Jun 17, 2022

Imagine that your clients think low costs are the most important thing, what does that say about you as a one of their suppliers then?

The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. A company that focuses only on quality without considering costs has no future. Nor has a company that focuses only on cost without considering quality.


Becca Resnik
Christel Zipfel
expressisverbis
Sarah Naden
Mariana Borio
Neus Adrian Pons
Navid Raeesi
 
Alex Lichanow
Alex Lichanow
Alemania
Local time: 01:31
Miembro 2020
inglés al alemán
+ ...
Somewhat agree Jun 17, 2022

My biggest and most important client used to bug me for a rate reduction on an annual basis until 2020. It was always enough to point out the horrendous "quality" of jobs I had the misfortune to review/proofread as well as their TMs.

 
Sadek_A
Sadek_A  Identity Verified
Local time: 03:31
inglés al árabe
+ ...
No Jun 17, 2022

Simply because I always don't give those the chance to even be called "my clients".

Christopher Schröder
Metin Demirel
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
expressisverbis
Philip Lees
Thayenga
Barbara Carrara
 
Kay Denney
Kay Denney  Identity Verified
Francia
Local time: 01:31
francés al inglés
. Jun 17, 2022

Lieven Malaise wrote:

The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. A company that focuses only on quality without considering costs has no future. Nor has a company that focuses only on cost without considering quality.


Yes, exactly.
Only one of my clients has ever haggled over my rate. So they have a cheaper rate, and have tried to haggle me even further down too, which I completely reject.
For my direct clients, I do tell them when I first give them my rate that they can easily find someone much cheaper (not that I'll point them here or anything like that), but I do also point out why I'm not cheap. They are mostly very appreciative of my work.
I'd rather say that I'm worth it than say my clients don't care about cost!


Elena Kharlamova
Becca Resnik
Philip Lees
Barbara Carrara
 
Ventnai
Ventnai  Identity Verified
España
Local time: 01:31
alemán al inglés
+ ...
one or two Jun 17, 2022

I don't agree in general but I'd say one or two have moved in the direction of caring more about cost. One now large I have worked with for over a decade has been going downhill since investment funds have acquired a stake. It's still worh my while working for them but it may come a time when it's not.

 
Barbara Cochran, MFA
Barbara Cochran, MFA  Identity Verified
Estados Unidos
Local time: 19:31
español al inglés
+ ...
A Direct Client Who Ended Up Caring More About Quality Jun 17, 2022

Someone who wanted his grandfather's award-winning book translated initially opted to go with a "translator" who offered a lower per word rate. When the client had the "translator" submit several chapters of what she/he had produced after a certain point, he realized he had made the wrong decision (I could see, after reading them myself, that he had, without any doubt, done just that), and then asked me to undertake the rest of the work, at the same time that he agreed to pay my requested rate. ... See more
Someone who wanted his grandfather's award-winning book translated initially opted to go with a "translator" who offered a lower per word rate. When the client had the "translator" submit several chapters of what she/he had produced after a certain point, he realized he had made the wrong decision (I could see, after reading them myself, that he had, without any doubt, done just that), and then asked me to undertake the rest of the work, at the same time that he agreed to pay my requested rate. Luckily, it was a long book.

[Edited at 2022-06-17 13:06 GMT]
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Metin Demirel
Metin Demirel  Identity Verified
Turquía
Local time: 02:31
italiano al turco
+ ...
chicken or the egg Jun 17, 2022

If our clients care more about cost, then we care more about clients, who care about cost. If that wasn't the case, we would choose clients who cared more about quality.

 
Josephine Cassar
Josephine Cassar  Identity Verified
Malta
Local time: 01:31
Miembro 2012
inglés al maltés
+ ...
Most Jun 17, 2022

Most, if not all, care about both - quality but at the lowest cost possible though there are clients and agencies which care about quality and know and appreciate that quality comes at a cost and are willing to pay it.

Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
 
Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
Estados Unidos
Local time: 16:31
Miembro 2003
español al inglés
+ ...
Other Jun 17, 2022

I voted "Disagree," but in fact I do think some agencies are entirely focused on cost and have no metrics for assessing quality. That's not true of all agencies, and it's certainly not true of international organizations.

Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
 
Philip Lees
Philip Lees  Identity Verified
Grecia
Local time: 02:31
griego al inglés
Agreement Jun 18, 2022

I'm curious about the almost 50% (currently 47.2%) of responders to this poll who voted "Agree" and thus presumably consider their own work to be substandard but cheap.

I certainly don't feel that way, but if I did, I don't think I'd be so ready to admit it.


Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Thayenga
Christopher Schröder
expressisverbis
Barbara Carrara
 
Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Países Bajos
Local time: 01:31
Miembro 2006
inglés al afrikaans
+ ...
They care about both Jun 18, 2022

They care about both. But quality is important for agencies because end-clients are not stupid, and agencies want repeat business from end-clients. Some agencies have unrealistic expectations about price, though.

Serhan Elmacıoğlu
Helena Chavarria
expressisverbis
Aline Brito
 
Tom in London
Tom in London
Reino Unido
Local time: 00:31
Miembro 2008
italiano al inglés
Where? Jun 18, 2022

Muriel Vasconcellos wrote:

I voted "Disagree,"


I didn't know we could do that. How? Where?


 
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Poll: My clients care more about cost than quality.






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