Could you please go through a 1 million word 30 000 entry xbench file in 2 hours? Thread poster: Halvor Halvorsen
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Halvor Halvorsen
Norway
Local time: 02:04
Member (2007)
English to Norwegian
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I just got an Asian client who shall remain unnamed. We agreed to do a manual translation with approximately 67K words, 39K of which were context matches. I was told to leave those alone, and accepted no pay for them, because they required no work. I was also told "the client is concerned with consistency issues".
I then get an xbench-file (consistency checking program) back with 30.000 entries and almost 1 million words. I'm asked to complete the xbench entries for the whole manual... See more I just got an Asian client who shall remain unnamed. We agreed to do a manual translation with approximately 67K words, 39K of which were context matches. I was told to leave those alone, and accepted no pay for them, because they required no work. I was also told "the client is concerned with consistency issues".
I then get an xbench-file (consistency checking program) back with 30.000 entries and almost 1 million words. I'm asked to complete the xbench entries for the whole manual, including the unpaid locked context match part of it, for 2 hours pay, because "the client is concerned with consistency issues".
I haven't experienced anything like this before, and I'm a bit baffled at the moment, so I'm hoping for some input from you on the situation. How would you have handled it?
[Edited at 2015-11-13 11:22 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Dan Lucas 
United Kingdom
Local time: 01:04
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
| "I regret that I am unable to do that" | Nov 13, 2015 |
Halvor Halvorsen wrote:
I'm asked to complete the xbench entries for the whole manual, including the unpaid locked context match part of it, for 2 hours pay, because "the client is concerned with consistency issues".
"I would am happy to check the 28K-word portion of the document that I translated. I estimate that it will take me XXX hours, for which I would charge YYY per hour. Unfortunately I do not have the resources to check consistency over the remainder of the document, which contains some 970K words. May I suggest the client engage a proofreader for this task."
The agency just wants to get free work out of you. This goes far beyond any obligation you may have incurred through completing the translation. Don't let them coerce you.
Regards
Dan
| | | | | Unless there is a mistake, | Nov 13, 2015 |
a polite "No, thanks" would do it.
Mistake, here, means a real mistake, such as having sent the wrong file etc.
Plus, I understand the idea of CMs and all this stuff, but I don't understand why a translator should even have a look at them without any payment. In such cases, I ask the client to provide me with locked segments so that I do not have anything to do with them.
| | | | | I would do it, BUT... | Nov 13, 2015 |
...I would ask for payment according for the time spent on it.
Or you can just "apologize" and tell them you are uncapable of doing such a task in that amount of time.
This is not only crazy, but also a way to get work done for free. Don't do it!
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| I also do this | Nov 13, 2015 |
Elif Baykara wrote: a polite "No, thanks" would do it. Mistake, here, means a real mistake, such as having sent the wrong file etc. Plus, I understand the idea of CMs and all this stuff, but I don't understand why a translator should even have a look at them without any payment. In such cases, I ask the client to provide me with locked segments so that I do not have anything to do with them.
I usually got such ridiculous requests and always said "no, thanks."
The client never respects our professional standards.
Soonthon L.
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"I don't even need two hours! I'll have it back to you within twenty minutes. Or do you need it sooner?"
| | | | Robin Joensuu
Sweden
Local time: 02:04
Member
English to Swedish
+ ...
| Charge them for your time | Nov 13, 2015 |
The agency just wants to get free work out of you. This goes far beyond any obligation you may have incurred through completing the translation. Don't let them coerce you.
I have experienced similar XBench requests, if not as large. The best way to both be polite to the project managers (even if I don't think they deserve it at all times), and still say no is simply to say:
"Of course, but as you know I charge XX per hour. Please confirm and I will let you know how long time it took and invoice accordingly."
It works every time.
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Fiona Grace Peterson wrote:
"I don't even need two hours! I'll have it back to you within twenty minutes. Or do you need it sooner?"
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| It is impossible | Nov 14, 2015 |
Halvor Halvorsen wrote:
I just got an Asian client who shall remain unnamed. We agreed to do a manual translation with approximately 67K words, 39K of which were context matches. I was told to leave those alone, and accepted no pay for them, because they required no work. I was also told "the client is concerned with consistency issues".
I then get an xbench-file (consistency checking program) back with 30.000 entries and almost 1 million words. I'm asked to complete the xbench entries for the whole manual, including the unpaid locked context match part of it, for 2 hours pay, because "the client is concerned with consistency issues".
I haven't experienced anything like this before, and I'm a bit baffled at the moment, so I'm hoping for some input from you on the situation. How would you have handled it?
[Edited at 2015-11-13 11:22 GMT]
It is impossible project.
If your client asked me that, I would need 10 seconds to read email and immediately say "No".
[Edited at 2015-11-14 08:39 GMT]
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