Poll: Part of screening my new clients includes geolocating/viewing their office(s).
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
Sep 28, 2020

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Part of screening my new clients includes geolocating/viewing their office(s).".

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Edith van der Have
Edith van der Have
Netherlands
Local time: 23:43
Member (2016)
English to Dutch
+ ...
I do this sometimes ... Sep 28, 2020

... especially with agencies having an address in the UK, as quite often they seem to be non-European agencies with merely a UK postal box.

Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Anastasia Kingsley Kinkusic
Aline Amorim
 
neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 23:43
Spanish to English
+ ...
False Sep 28, 2020

Although not really applicable, as I'm not really looking for new clients, and most of them come by word-of- mouth recommendation from satisfied customers.

Some bloke phoned me the other day, recommended by a translator colleague, to ask about patent translations, and I asked to see a sample of the text, which he agreed to send me the next day. Several days have now passed with no further news from the chap. I might have refused the job anyway if it turned out to be more bother tha
... See more
Although not really applicable, as I'm not really looking for new clients, and most of them come by word-of- mouth recommendation from satisfied customers.

Some bloke phoned me the other day, recommended by a translator colleague, to ask about patent translations, and I asked to see a sample of the text, which he agreed to send me the next day. Several days have now passed with no further news from the chap. I might have refused the job anyway if it turned out to be more bother tha it was worth....
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Mervyn Henderson (X)
Mervyn Henderson (X)  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 23:43
Spanish to English
+ ...
Certainly does Sep 28, 2020

It can be an education sometimes. It's not always conclusive, because you might find yourself viewing a flashy block of steel and glass on a smart street, but then your people might have hired a broom cupboard in there for a month or two. Conversely, a view of a street with cars on bricks, heaps of rubbish piled up against rusty gates falling off their hinges, and fridges, ripped sofas and dirty mattresses lying around doesn't inspire much confidence in Global Translations Unlimited.

[Ed
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It can be an education sometimes. It's not always conclusive, because you might find yourself viewing a flashy block of steel and glass on a smart street, but then your people might have hired a broom cupboard in there for a month or two. Conversely, a view of a street with cars on bricks, heaps of rubbish piled up against rusty gates falling off their hinges, and fridges, ripped sofas and dirty mattresses lying around doesn't inspire much confidence in Global Translations Unlimited.

[Edited at 2020-09-28 08:55 GMT]
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P.L.F. Persio
Mariana Borio
Clement Cheung
Aline Amorim
expressisverbis
 
Christopher Schröder
Christopher Schröder
United Kingdom
Member (2011)
Swedish to English
+ ...
Absolutely Sep 28, 2020

Then I hack into their server and check out the personal photos they send their partners.

Turns out there’s a direct correlation between size and payment practices.


P.L.F. Persio
Mervyn Henderson (X)
Clement Cheung
expressisverbis
Muriel Vasconcellos
 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 22:43
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Sometimes in the past Sep 28, 2020

I haven’t been looking for new clients for a while, but I have done that in the past.

 
Mervyn Henderson (X)
Mervyn Henderson (X)  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 23:43
Spanish to English
+ ...
@Chris Sep 28, 2020

Does size mean there's a greater/lesser chance of either tightfistedness or premature liquidation?

[Edited at 2020-09-28 10:23 GMT]


Christopher Schröder
Clement Cheung
 
Anastasia Kingsley Kinkusic
Anastasia Kingsley Kinkusic  Identity Verified
Member (2011)
Croatian to English
+ ...
Getting a feel Sep 28, 2020

I do like to get a feel of any new or potential client. Better safe than sorry. I always remember the Blues Brothers’ movie. Their address was Wrigley Field (in Chicago), the baseball stadium

Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
 
Mervyn Henderson (X)
Mervyn Henderson (X)  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 23:43
Spanish to English
+ ...
Well ... Sep 28, 2020

... talk about hands-on. Difficult to put into practice, though, I imagine, but I'm flabbergasted at this unconventional innovative approach.

Muriel Vasconcellos
 
Gibril Koroma
Gibril Koroma  Identity Verified
Canada
Local time: 18:43
French to English
+ ...
False Sep 28, 2020

I have never done that and I am surprised people actually do that. Interesting.

Muriel Vasconcellos
 
Nuno Rosalino
Nuno Rosalino
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:43
Member (2012)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
No Sep 28, 2020

I've never gone to the point of actually going to Google Street to check out anyone's office. Between the Blue Board and my own intuition, things have gone pretty well for me in this regard - I've only ever had a couple late payers, never non-payers, fortunately. The late payers were an issue of bad timing more than anything else - companies with shoddy payment practices that hadn't yet been flagged as such in the Blue Board. Someone always has to bite the bullet with those, eh?

[Edited a
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I've never gone to the point of actually going to Google Street to check out anyone's office. Between the Blue Board and my own intuition, things have gone pretty well for me in this regard - I've only ever had a couple late payers, never non-payers, fortunately. The late payers were an issue of bad timing more than anything else - companies with shoddy payment practices that hadn't yet been flagged as such in the Blue Board. Someone always has to bite the bullet with those, eh?

[Edited at 2020-09-28 12:33 GMT]
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Kaisa I
Liena Vijupe
Muriel Vasconcellos
 
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 19:43
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
False Sep 28, 2020

I only do that, very seldom, when I'm a bit resistant to decide wether the client is potentially good or bad, as an additional criterion.

 
expressisverbis
expressisverbis
Portugal
Local time: 22:43
Member (2015)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
False Sep 29, 2020

You can give an address showing an attractive location from anybody else and mislead people to believe it is your real office.
So, geolocating/viewing new client's offices goes down the toilet.


Mervyn Henderson (X)
 


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Poll: Part of screening my new clients includes geolocating/viewing their office(s).






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