I hate it when this happens...

[alexpgp]

After translating a few hundred words of the project due soon after noon today, it became apparent that I had run my eyeballs over identical text, and recently. As it turned out, the end client had submitted a document for translation to my client that I had translated almost three weeks ago for said client.

Now, there are translators of my past acquaintance who would yawn, calmly pour and drink a cup or two of coffee, maybe run their eyeballs over the previously translated text, stretch languorously, and then send off the document and invoice another payday, but the way I see it, taking advantage of an oversight like that—and it's an oversight even if it was made deliberately—is poor business.

I'll leave the preachy reasons for why this is so as an exercise for the reader, except for one that I call "the human element."

The client, you see, is not just some vague corporate entity at the other end of the cloud. In practical terms, there is a human at the other end of the connection who goes by a title such as "Translation Coordinator" or "Project Manager" and who is typically under more pressure to Get Stuff Done™ than a mongoose at a cobra convention.

If it turns out the end client goofed, you've given your client an opportunity to shine. If it turns out that the person who sent you the assignment made a mistake, then you've just saved them from getting chewed out by their boss. In either case, I've found that making the person at the other end of the connection look good translates (pardon the pun) into more assignments, made more frequently.

And what's really mind-blowing is this: In more cases than I care to count, after I've made clients aware of the situation, they've instructed me to continue with the assignment and to invoice it.

So now that half of today's to-do list is punched. I think I'll go for a walk.

Cheers...

Comments

[russia-insider.livejournal.com]

It happened to me too couple of times, but that was at permanent work with fixed salary, so for me it was just a good reason to have some slack time (:
BTW which languages you work with most of the time Russian or French? Is it difficult to find work translating to Russian in US?

[alexpgp.livejournal.com]

Well, if I had to rely on French-to-English for my daily bread, my bleached, dry bones would have long ago adorned the high desert here in Colorado. <grin>

The vast majority of my work is Russian-to-English (my native language is English). I'm not really qualified to comment on the difficulty of getting work in the other direction around these parts, but it exists and I know that people who know their stuff make a good living at it.

Cheers...

[russia-insider.livejournal.com]

It's just that I have a Russian friend in US, actually in Aspen, Colorado, and I just wonder if you can give me some hint for him, maybe web address of some agency or company where it's possible to find some English-to-Russian translation work as he is Russian native speaker with degree in English language. And I apologize if this is some kind of inappropriate question to ask.

[alexpgp.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the contact info. I've screened your reply so as to keep potential spambots from harvesting the address.

Cheers...

[edith-jones.livejournal.com]

The conclusion at the end surprises me. Why people would pay, again, for something they already *should* have is a mystery, but if it keeps you fed, it's a mystery of the best kind.

[alexpgp.livejournal.com]

Well, such circumstances occur once in a blue moon, so it's not as if I'll be retiring on such a revenue stream, but you're right: it's nothing to complain about!

Cheers...