| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Would you accept a very urgent job from an outsourcer you don't know using an unfamiliar CAT tool? Thread poster: Tom in London
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I would be worried it was a scam, and no way would I commit to learning a new online CAT tool "urgently." I have enough business as it is, though. If I was hard-pressed to find any work at all I might give a different answer.
If we're talking about unrealistic offers, though, I got an e-mail today from an agency that on the face of it appears to be legitimate and "serious." They said they were going through the ATA directory inviting certified translators to join their fantas... See more I would be worried it was a scam, and no way would I commit to learning a new online CAT tool "urgently." I have enough business as it is, though. If I was hard-pressed to find any work at all I might give a different answer.
If we're talking about unrealistic offers, though, I got an e-mail today from an agency that on the face of it appears to be legitimate and "serious." They said they were going through the ATA directory inviting certified translators to join their fantastic team. I put quotes around serious because they were offering us certified translators $5 / page (page defined as 250 words). Now, I have to give them credit for being up front about their rates, but $5 / 250 words = $0.02 / word. ... ... ...
But who knows, maybe with a 50% rush charge I could get them up to $0.03!
(FTR, I told them my regular rates and politely declined their offer.) ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Post removed: This post was hidden by a moderator or staff member for the following reason: Requested by user. | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:29
Member (2008)
Italian to English
TOPIC STARTER
Samuel Murray wrote: Tom in London wrote:
Would you accept a very urgent job from an outsourcer you don't know using an unfamiliar CAT tool? Yes, because it is a new client. New clients whom you help out in an emergency have a way of becoming repeat clients.
I know, but one needs to be able to tell the difference between a credible new client and a non-credible one. This requires a finely-tuned nose. I have in fact secured quite a few now-frequent clients by doing urgent jobs at first, without knowing them. That was because they had clearly hunted me out via my profile and were looking for a translator with exactly my characteristics, for work in a field that was my specialisation. That was NOT the case yesterday.
| | | | | I did once, no CAT tool involved, and learned a lesson | Jun 17, 2016 |
Once I was contacted, out of the blue, via e-mail by a woman named Claudia Smith, from an agency named "t4u", about an extremely urgent translation job. She gave me two phone numbers in London. I called her via Skype, we had a brief conversation, she explained me the urgency.
As I received the files, her end-client was a very reputable IT hardware company, the modem I'm using now - provided by the cable TV company - was made by them. The urgency was obvious from the content.
<... See more Once I was contacted, out of the blue, via e-mail by a woman named Claudia Smith, from an agency named "t4u", about an extremely urgent translation job. She gave me two phone numbers in London. I called her via Skype, we had a brief conversation, she explained me the urgency.
As I received the files, her end-client was a very reputable IT hardware company, the modem I'm using now - provided by the cable TV company - was made by them. The urgency was obvious from the content.
So I did it quickly, delivered with my invoice, and Claudia immediately vanished, leaving no trace behind. Further investigation revealed that the numbers she gave me were BT "burners", and as this was long before SIM cards, the two phones have probably been floundering in the Thames since that day.
Ever since, I always have had time for due diligence for clients who fall from the sky. Brushed off a number of these, with no regrets. The lesson was worth every cent I lost on that job. Never had a defaulting client again. ▲ Collapse
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John Fossey 
Canada
Local time: 11:29
Member (2008)
French to English
+ ...
I will accept it if:
- I have time
- They have a good (like 5) BB rating
- I can download a XLIFF or similar file from their online CAT tool and do the translation offline on my favourite tool
If any of the above are not met, it's a no-go.
I have got a few new clients that way.
| | | | | Why on earth use a CAT tool for 500 words? | Jun 17, 2016 |
We're getting obsessed with this technology, and in many cases it's reducing our productivity.
Some agencies are using it for everything - someone here recently was talking about the value of CAT for novels.
In my experience, if you offer to do it in Word, nine times out of ten they'll say yes.
| | | | Laura Kingdon
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:29
Member (2015)
French to English
+ ...
| If they paid well for it | Jun 18, 2016 |
I've had cases like this where the agency seemed legitimate and wanted an urgent job done, though an online CAT tool was never involved (and if it were, that would add to my estimate; I've yet to try an online CAT tool that didn't slow me down a whole lot). But in cases like that where I don't really want the job, I ask for a higher fee since it's urgent, and then somehow I never hear from them again.
It doesn't help that "urgent" seems to be one of those terms like "could lead to ... See more I've had cases like this where the agency seemed legitimate and wanted an urgent job done, though an online CAT tool was never involved (and if it were, that would add to my estimate; I've yet to try an online CAT tool that didn't slow me down a whole lot). But in cases like that where I don't really want the job, I ask for a higher fee since it's urgent, and then somehow I never hear from them again.
It doesn't help that "urgent" seems to be one of those terms like "could lead to a high volume of work" that's frequently tossed around by PMs to the point that I pretty much just ignore it at this point. I can look at the volume, subject matter and deadline and figure out for myself how urgent it actually is. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Huw Watkins
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:29
Member (2005)
Italian to English
+ ...
| This actually is a good point | Jun 18, 2016 |
Samuel Murray wrote: Tom in London wrote:
Would you accept a very urgent job from an outsourcer you don't know using an unfamiliar CAT tool? Yes, because it is a new client. New clients whom you help out in an emergency have a way of becoming repeat clients.
Despite all my misgivings about web-based CAT tools, I'm usually willing to give anything a go at least once - just for the experience. It has also been my experience that helping clients out on an emergency job engenders gratitude, trust and sometimes a long-working relationship. It is often the best way to start a relationship.
Also, in my opinion 500 words for the next day is not particularly much of a rush. I would simply wake up an hour and a half earlier and do it in the morning, having experimented with their tool and looked at the file the night before (just to see if it is workable or not and if not reject the job).
Addendum:
I'm not sure where I got the idea of 500 words from, I must be starting to imagine things! I will therefore qualify what I say above by specifying that the job has to be relatively-doable urgent, not crazy work-all-night urgent.
[Edited at 2016-06-18 06:47 GMT]
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Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:29
Member (2008)
Italian to English
TOPIC STARTER | Who would pay? | Jun 18, 2016 |
Huw Watkins wrote:
.... I would simply wake up an hour and a half earlier and do it in the morning, having experimented with their tool and looked at the file the night before (just to see if it is workable or not and if not reject the job).
And how much extra would you charge for that on top of your price for the 500 words? And what about the cost for your time for making up and issuing the invoice, and then chasing it when your new friend turns out to be a late payer/non-payer? Is it all worth your while?
[Edited at 2016-06-18 08:11 GMT]
| | | | | I would offer to do the job without the CAT | Jun 18, 2016 |
Assuming I could handle the subject material, then for 500 words, I would check the client out on the Blue Board and a few other fast websites, tell them my rates for rushed jobs, and offer to do the job with my own CAT. I would also offer to send a .tmx and/or bilingual file which should be compatible with most other CATs.
Serious clients would accept that, and I have captured several good ones by helping them out in an emergency.
There is still the risk of not gettin... See more Assuming I could handle the subject material, then for 500 words, I would check the client out on the Blue Board and a few other fast websites, tell them my rates for rushed jobs, and offer to do the job with my own CAT. I would also offer to send a .tmx and/or bilingual file which should be compatible with most other CATs.
Serious clients would accept that, and I have captured several good ones by helping them out in an emergency.
There is still the risk of not getting paid, but for 500 words I would take it if nothing struck me as fishy and the client came over as reasonable during the negotiations.
If they insisted on their terminology etc. as the justification for the CAT, I would ask for a .tmx or glossary in an Excel file. It might be quite useful.
But I would also make it clear from the start that I work with MY CAT or no CAT. So any future collaboration would depend on whether they accepted that.
I do actually use my CAT for practically everything - and in the case of novels with terminology like the Harry Potter series, I would find it enormously useful to keep track of characters, names, places, spells ... and actually for avoiding unwanted repetition. If you want creative translation, just use the CAT creatively...
But as I say, my CAT or no CAT.
You can't learn to use an unfamiliar CAT in a hurry.
Edited to add that clients in Scandinavia are easily checked in the companies register and easy to trace, and it would depend a bit on where this client came from. UK clients are usually traceable too. Many others would be scared off by my rates anyway!
[Edited at 2016-06-18 12:34 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Huw Watkins
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:29
Member (2005)
Italian to English
+ ...
| I wouldn't charge extra | Jun 18, 2016 |
Tom in London wrote: Huw Watkins wrote:
.... I would simply wake up an hour and a half earlier and do it in the morning, having experimented with their tool and looked at the file the night before (just to see if it is workable or not and if not reject the job). And how much extra would you charge for that on top of your price for the 500 words? And what about the cost for your time for making up and issuing the invoice, and then chasing it when your new friend turns out to be a late payer/non-payer? Is it all worth your while? [Edited at 2016-06-18 08:11 GMT]
Generally I wouldn't charge extra and chalk it up to the hope that this could lead to more work. That said, probably more often than not, I'd turn the job down especially, as you say, the job wasn't interesting to you. It would really come down to my whim.
By the way, I've just spotted your other post further down where it says 500 words, I knew I saw it somewhere!
Sometimes with these small jobs, I wait to see if there any follow-up work before invoicing. That way, if I get a larger job, I can tag the first one on the end when I invoice that. Otherwise I just do the invoice when I have a spare moment at some point. I wouldn't see it as a priority as it is such a small amount of money. Coming back at a later date with an invoice can also sometimes jog the memory of the client that you still exist and sometimes work comes from that too.
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Tom in London wrote:
Your thoughts? Would you accept a very urgent job from an outsourcer you don't know using an online CAT tool you've never used before?
The client was trying to hand you over a katana so you could practice linguistic hara-kiri.
Now seriously, I only once had this sort of request. There was a difference, though. The job was not urgent. Even so, I had to deliver the job in Word format as it was virtually impossible to figure out why the online CAT tool was not letting me insert my translation properly on top of "pre-machine-translated" content. Some lines completely disappeared only to appear later in different places.
I'm still getting stomach ache every time I recall the experience.
Short answer: no.
Alternative answer: you have to ask?
[Edited at 2016-06-19 13:20 GMT]
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Samuel Murray wrote: Tom in London wrote:
Would you accept a very urgent job from an outsourcer you don't know using an unfamiliar CAT tool? Yes, because it is a new client. New clients whom you help out in an emergency have a way of becoming repeat clients.
Happened this week. I suggested a day later (at 9 a.m.) and 30% more and they said yes. They also thanked me upon delivery (urgent but large job). I have also done it in the past and ended up with a very lucrative client with very interesting jobs.
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