Poll: Have you ever sent a personal document to a client by mistake?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
Dec 21, 2019

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Have you ever sent a personal document to a client by mistake?".

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Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 15:40
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
No, never Dec 21, 2019

All my personal documents are stored in a special folder on my desktop. I’m always very careful with all my correspondence and I check everything before hitting ‘send’. Even so, I did once address a long-standing customer by the wrong name, which was embarrassing and was followed by an immediate apology. I’m also guilty of sending an email before it was finished by accidentally clicking the wrong button.

 
Kay Denney
Kay Denney  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 16:40
French to English
. Dec 21, 2019

I've forgotten to attach documents (Gmail now asks if I'm sure, since I put "please find attached" in the email), sent the source instead of target (now I always sort by date, so the file is always right at the top of the list), or forgotten to save the very last changes before sending (now I glance at the time it was last saved as I select it), but I've never confused personal and professional files. They're in completely different folders and have completely different names so there's practica... See more
I've forgotten to attach documents (Gmail now asks if I'm sure, since I put "please find attached" in the email), sent the source instead of target (now I always sort by date, so the file is always right at the top of the list), or forgotten to save the very last changes before sending (now I glance at the time it was last saved as I select it), but I've never confused personal and professional files. They're in completely different folders and have completely different names so there's practically no chance of that ever happening. Never say never and all that, but I'm not sure I need to work something out to avoid it.Collapse


Rachel Shaw
 
Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 16:40
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
No, not "personal" Dec 21, 2019

ProZ.com Staff wrote:
Have you ever sent a personal document to a client by mistake?


No, not "personal" because I keep my documents in job folders with subfolders. I have on occasion sent the wrong file to a client (e.g. one that wasn't finished yet or an old version etc.). I have also once sent the translation of one client to another client -- the clients had very similar names and I had a job for both, but I discovered this mistake within seconds, and so I asked the PM (with whom I had a good relationship) to just delete the file. I've also had the opposite happen: PMs sending me the wrong file, or sending a message to me that was intended for the other translator, or accidentally CCing or BCCing me on a mail to a client, or including the client's responses as quoted text in their mail to me.

Whenever I download content that is "play" (e.g. a funny picture or a nice desktop background), I immediately put that file into a folder from which I never send files to clients, so I can't accidentally send something to a client for whom it would be culturally inappropriate content, for example. I also never attach files directly from the Desktop or directly from my Downloads folder. If a file is job related and it finds its way to either the Desktop or the Downloads folder somehow, I first move it to the correct job folder, and *then* attach it from there.


[Edited at 2019-12-21 12:43 GMT]


 
Zibow Retailleau
Zibow Retailleau  Identity Verified
Mauritius
Local time: 19:40
English to Chinese
+ ...
No Dec 21, 2019

but emails disgracefully containing typos, yes ...

[Edited at 2019-12-21 14:24 GMT]


 
Thayenga
Thayenga  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 16:40
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
No Dec 21, 2019

All my correspondence is via email, so no personal documents here.

 
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 12:40
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
No! Dec 21, 2019

The least you expect from someone who works in a computer all day is to have well-organized folders, with all documents separated by client, type, etc. There is no excuse for attaching a personal document or even a document from another client to your client. If that happens, you have a serious misorganization problem.

Muriel Vasconcellos
 
Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 08:40
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
No Dec 22, 2019

I understand this to mean electronic versions of personal documents.

I always open and look at my attachments before hitting Send to make sure I"m transmitting the latest and final version.

Also, I am obsessive about filing. I have a kajillion folders in Outlook and MS Word and everything is where it belongs.

[Edited at 2019-12-22 07:52 GMT]


 


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Poll: Have you ever sent a personal document to a client by mistake?






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