Poll: What would be a reason for you to end your cooperation with an outsourcer? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "What would be a reason for you to end your cooperation with an outsourcer?".
This poll was originally submitted by Milena Taylor. View the poll results »
| | | | Mario Freitas 
Brazil
Local time: 14:08
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
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| In addition to late payments... | Oct 2, 2021 |
Late payments, of course, but I have recently ended a relationship because the client required the translations to be done in a platform they use, which is terrible, and does not allow importing and exporting the documents. I do work with several terrible platforms (most of them are), but they allow me to export, use my CAT, then import. And some allow me to save the site pages in HTML format, then I can use my CAT too and later copy and paste the segments to their terrible platform. But if the... See more Late payments, of course, but I have recently ended a relationship because the client required the translations to be done in a platform they use, which is terrible, and does not allow importing and exporting the documents. I do work with several terrible platforms (most of them are), but they allow me to export, use my CAT, then import. And some allow me to save the site pages in HTML format, then I can use my CAT too and later copy and paste the segments to their terrible platform. But if the client's platform does not allow either solution, it's goodbye to that client, no doubt. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Late payments or other payment problems | Oct 2, 2021 |
Any client who misses a payment more than once gets dropped, and I tell them why. Likewise if there are other problems with payment. One late payer paid up after a reminder, but then made the payment twice! (Incompetence appears to be a common feature of translation agencies' accountancy departments.) I had to arrange to return half the total amount they'd sent me, minus my bank charges, which included a change of currency (this was in the era before Wise).
By the time I was finishe... See more Any client who misses a payment more than once gets dropped, and I tell them why. Likewise if there are other problems with payment. One late payer paid up after a reminder, but then made the payment twice! (Incompetence appears to be a common feature of translation agencies' accountancy departments.) I had to arrange to return half the total amount they'd sent me, minus my bank charges, which included a change of currency (this was in the era before Wise).
By the time I was finished, I'd spent far more time on the whole business than the fee deserved. So, bye bye client. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 19:08
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
| Several issues. | Oct 2, 2021 |
Payment issues or obvious budget struggling, disorganization, poor management and communication, mass emails and automated systems.
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Agneta Pallinder
United Kingdom
Local time: 18:08
Member (2014)
Swedish to English
+ ...
| Other - CATs and payments | Oct 2, 2021 |
Late payments I can cope with if they don't become a habit or if there is a good reason. One agency waited a year to pay me, but I accepted this because the invoice was small and their transfer costs would have been high. I also knew that sooner or later they would have another much bigger project for me and then they would pay both invoices. Which all happened. And we are still friends.
What is an absolute no-no is if the agency insists on CAT tools, or worse - their own clumsy pla... See more Late payments I can cope with if they don't become a habit or if there is a good reason. One agency waited a year to pay me, but I accepted this because the invoice was small and their transfer costs would have been high. I also knew that sooner or later they would have another much bigger project for me and then they would pay both invoices. Which all happened. And we are still friends.
What is an absolute no-no is if the agency insists on CAT tools, or worse - their own clumsy platform. That kind of working is just not for me. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Late payments + other issues | Oct 2, 2021 |
I started translating full-time in 1985 and obviously in over 30 years I have had to face a lot of different issues. My main reason to stop working (I become “suddenly unavailable”) with a specific outsourcer has been non payments (solved with my lawyers’ intervention) or late payments (all solved but one with Proz.com intervention). Two clients stopped working with me some years ago when I raised my fees. One long-standing customer filed for bankruptcy. Some clients who once were very reg... See more I started translating full-time in 1985 and obviously in over 30 years I have had to face a lot of different issues. My main reason to stop working (I become “suddenly unavailable”) with a specific outsourcer has been non payments (solved with my lawyers’ intervention) or late payments (all solved but one with Proz.com intervention). Two clients stopped working with me some years ago when I raised my fees. One long-standing customer filed for bankruptcy. Some clients who once were very regular became irregular. I’m too old to waste my time with first-time clients who don't offer fair payment terms (30 days max.), or have too complicated procedures (no platforms for me, thank you!) and insist on CAT tools. I’m still working with two of my first clients: a Belgian translation agency (almost every month) and a French regional organization (annual assembly and other relevant meetings). That's a translator's life, isn't it? ▲ Collapse
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 19:08
Spanish to English
+ ...
| Apart from late payments, etc... | Oct 2, 2021 |
Being too demanding, having too much complicated bumf to fill in, overly complex billing systems, unseemly haste in terms of deadlines, formats that are difficult to work with...
| | | | | Overall headaches | Oct 2, 2021 |
Late payments, poor communication and other.
No time to waste on time wasters. My tolerance threshold has shrinked dramatically over the years and I'd rather sell my time to people who value our cooperation.
Philippe
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| I never would ... | Oct 2, 2021 |
... actively end the collaboration with an outsourcer, who annoys or starts to annoy me with the above presuppositions for a collaboration. I would wait, until they deem it as necessary, to resign on my services or not, when I don't accept lower prices, volume discount, online CATs and post-editing. This always happens in every silence and therefore without any chance to prevent them from doing so (unless they would ask me how to resume a collaboration, but that never happened to me. They... See more ... actively end the collaboration with an outsourcer, who annoys or starts to annoy me with the above presuppositions for a collaboration. I would wait, until they deem it as necessary, to resign on my services or not, when I don't accept lower prices, volume discount, online CATs and post-editing. This always happens in every silence and therefore without any chance to prevent them from doing so (unless they would ask me how to resume a collaboration, but that never happened to me. They just go then). ▲ Collapse
| | | | Kevin Fulton
United States
Local time: 13:08
German to English
| Rates, other issues | Oct 2, 2021 |
Generally I've stopped accepting jobs from agencies because of rates, especially if the agency can't provide editable electronic documents. Having to convert pdf files, copies of faxes, etc. so I can use them with a CAT tool effectively reduces my productivity.
I've actively ceased working with only two agencies. In one case, the agency forwarded a client complaint that I hadn't used company-internal terminology which had not been provided. The agency owner made the preposterous cl... See more Generally I've stopped accepting jobs from agencies because of rates, especially if the agency can't provide editable electronic documents. Having to convert pdf files, copies of faxes, etc. so I can use them with a CAT tool effectively reduces my productivity.
I've actively ceased working with only two agencies. In one case, the agency forwarded a client complaint that I hadn't used company-internal terminology which had not been provided. The agency owner made the preposterous claim that I was obviously not a native speaker of English and could be held liable for aircraft accidents, which was ridiculous, since the translation in question related to document management among various administrative offices. It was the only time I've been rude to a client.
In the second case, I was hired to edit documents translated by native speakers of English located in various low-cost Eastern European countries (i.e., they were paying low rates). The translations for the most part were of excellent quality, but various PMs would contact me regularly for progress reports. I had to submit my finished work and invoice through the Plunet portal, as well as send documents to the relevant project manager along with a quality report. Basically I was spending more time reporting the work than actually doing the work. On top of that, the agency's 60-day payment terms usually extended into 90 to 120 days, so I had to spend more time chasing my payment. I told them that this was unacceptable and politely asked to be removed from their list of active suppliers. Of course this resulted in a half dozen emails from various people at the agency, which I did not answer, as I had already wasted enough time dealing with them. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Robin Dufaye
France
Local time: 19:08
Spanish to French
+ ...
I think most of us don't like working on agency platforms. I noticed it's the new trend for agencies. What's their point exactly? Saving Trados licence fee?
| | | | | Disagreements with revisers/editors | Oct 2, 2021 |
Most of the above would be my answer. I have dropped numerous clients because of hopeless CATs, time-wasting platforms and administration, impossible deadlines, or low rates. Serious delay with payments has rarely been a problem, but I would not accept that either. Several really good clients have occasionally forgotten to pay on time, but when I sent a gentle reminder, an apology came at once and the money was in the bank next day!
I prefer to support clients who are good to their ... See more Most of the above would be my answer. I have dropped numerous clients because of hopeless CATs, time-wasting platforms and administration, impossible deadlines, or low rates. Serious delay with payments has rarely been a problem, but I would not accept that either. Several really good clients have occasionally forgotten to pay on time, but when I sent a gentle reminder, an apology came at once and the money was in the bank next day!
I prefer to support clients who are good to their translators and appreciate the way I work. I happily go the extra mile for them, and it pays off. I am still offered more jobs than I have time to take on.
I voted disagreements with reviewers. It has happened to me this last week, and if the client is not happy with my work, then it may be time to part. The client and I go back a long way and relations have usually been excellent, not to mention the rates. However, this reviewer does everything by the book. So do I, but not the same book!  I still hope the client will find another reviewer next time! ▲ Collapse
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