| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Poll: Have you ever abandoned a project after you accepted it? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Have you ever abandoned a project after you accepted it?".
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| | | | Mary Worby 
United Kingdom
Local time: 04:49
German to English
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| A couple of times ... | Sep 17, 2013 |
I can think of two occasions where I've had to do this. Once was because I got ill and just wouldn't have been able to complete the job in time. The other time was when, although I had scanned the text prior to accepting it, there turned out to be some hugely technical sections which were way out of my comfort zone.
On both occasions, I've had nothing but respect and gratitude from the client. They would rather find another translator who is up to the job than deal with a job where ... See more I can think of two occasions where I've had to do this. Once was because I got ill and just wouldn't have been able to complete the job in time. The other time was when, although I had scanned the text prior to accepting it, there turned out to be some hugely technical sections which were way out of my comfort zone.
On both occasions, I've had nothing but respect and gratitude from the client. They would rather find another translator who is up to the job than deal with a job where quality has been compromised by illness or lack of expertise. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Julian Holmes
Japan
Local time: 12:49
Member (2011)
Japanese to English
In my 30 years of translating. This was because the customer changed the payment schedule two weeks after issuing a PO. (Remember "translator nightmares" folks?)
In this case, I had no respect and gratitude from the customer. The feeling was mutual. 
Accepting a project is like the "till death us to part" section of the wedding vows. IMHO
| | | | Claire Cox
United Kingdom
Local time: 04:49
French to English
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| Couple of times | Sep 17, 2013 |
Once, when I'd agreed to handle a series of small articles for a colleague, but the promised one or two a day turned into a flood and I quite simply couldn't cope with the volume along with my regular workload so had to turn it down. On the second occasion, what was supposed to be a general business presentation (according to the client), turned into a very technical presentation on publishing/printing - not my field at all. The clients were very understanding both times and in any event I'd rat... See more Once, when I'd agreed to handle a series of small articles for a colleague, but the promised one or two a day turned into a flood and I quite simply couldn't cope with the volume along with my regular workload so had to turn it down. On the second occasion, what was supposed to be a general business presentation (according to the client), turned into a very technical presentation on publishing/printing - not my field at all. The clients were very understanding both times and in any event I'd rather decline at that stage, very early on in the proceedings, than return sub-standard work.
I suppose there was also the time I contracted swine flu and had to send back a job I had in my in-tray - but I don't really regard that as abandoning it. Translating would have been a physical impossibility in the state I was in - and again, the client was extremely understanding.
[Edited at 2013-09-17 08:37 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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Susanna Martoni
Italy
Local time: 05:49
Member (2009)
Spanish to Italian
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| Once or twice | Sep 17, 2013 |
For an old client who fortunately understood the reasons:
- by carefully reading the project, it proved to be really out of my knowledge fields, the first time
- and then, another time, I fell ill (same client)
| | | | | Just once, but I didn't abandon it... | Sep 17, 2013 |
I had accepted a project from a client and was a good way through it when the same client flooded me with extra work with earlier deadlines. In order to accept that work, I had to say that I would not have time to finish the first project. But I did find time to find someone else to finish it for them!
| | | | Tim Drayton
Cyprus
Local time: 06:49
Turkish to English
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My word is my bond. I have only missed a deadline once ... and that was by about half an hour.
| | | | tilak raj
India
Local time: 09:19
Member (2012)
English to Punjabi
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| a couple of times | Sep 17, 2013 |
I have abandoned project after accepting a couple of time. There were various reasons behind them. There was not a single fact behind them. After Accepting if deadline seems very short as per my capacity, I bound to abandon. As in transcription if voice is not audible then I prefer to reject rather than do wrong work etc.
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Elina Sellgren
Finland
Local time: 06:49
Member (2013)
English to Finnish
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| Once or twice | Sep 17, 2013 |
Just recently I accepted a job.. then I found a website with a LOT of complaints about the agency as a scammer who never pays, so I politely abandoned the project and gave some excuse to hide the real reason.
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Though in one case I should have abandoned the project when later on I discovered the "quality" of some parts of the text...
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Once, I had to run to the ER with my mom, so I call the agency and told them to find someone else. I wasn't sure I would be able to finish it on time as I didn't know what was wrong with her or how long we'd be in the hospital!
Fortunately, it turned out okay and we were back home in just a few hours and I would have been able to do the translation after all.
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Twice for health emergencies and once because the client was so difficult I couldn't continue. That's over a career of 40-plus years.
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Helen Hagon
Local time: 04:49
Member (2011)
Russian to English
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I have sometimes regretted accepting a project for various reasons, but if I have said I will do something, then I feel duty bound to make sure I do what I have promised. I am (slowly!) learning to check job offers more carefully before I accept them.
I can see how a medical or family emergency might one day put a spanner in the works. However I do prefer longer-term projects - that way, I can be more flexible and a day here or there isn't too problematic. It would have to be something mor... See more I have sometimes regretted accepting a project for various reasons, but if I have said I will do something, then I feel duty bound to make sure I do what I have promised. I am (slowly!) learning to check job offers more carefully before I accept them.
I can see how a medical or family emergency might one day put a spanner in the works. However I do prefer longer-term projects - that way, I can be more flexible and a day here or there isn't too problematic. It would have to be something more long-term to be an issue. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Just once... though I referred the client to a colleague who did it | Sep 17, 2013 |
This was when I carved in stone that I would never again translate technical material on medicine (and a few other subjects), no matter how insistent they are in telling me that the entire staff in a hospital will be reviewing it later.
I told the story on another thread.
If I notice that job w... See more This was when I carved in stone that I would never again translate technical material on medicine (and a few other subjects), no matter how insistent they are in telling me that the entire staff in a hospital will be reviewing it later.
I told the story on another thread.
If I notice that job won't come out good, I warn the client at the outset. This is common when they want a video subtitled on DVD, and it looks okay on a web page, but will be just a blur on a 40" TV screen. If it it beyond my skill or outside my knowledge, I try my best to refer the client to a reliable specialist in whatever it calls for. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Mario Chavez (X)
Local time: 23:49
English to Spanish
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| Abandon is not the right word | Sep 17, 2013 |
There is a legal term that lends itself in this situation: rescind.
Yes, I have rescinded the agreement to carry out a project due to misrepresentation by the project manager, at least on two occasions.
The first one happened in 1997 and involved translating some Ventura Publisher documents that had been converted to MS Word. I had been told that the Ventura Pub codes would be distinguishable from translatable text. It turned out to be more complex than that. By the way... See more There is a legal term that lends itself in this situation: rescind.
Yes, I have rescinded the agreement to carry out a project due to misrepresentation by the project manager, at least on two occasions.
The first one happened in 1997 and involved translating some Ventura Publisher documents that had been converted to MS Word. I had been told that the Ventura Pub codes would be distinguishable from translatable text. It turned out to be more complex than that. By the way, Ventura Publisher is a now obsolete DTP program. So, upon receiving and examining the file, I contacted my client and declined the project because I couldn't reliably distinguish the VP codes.
The second one occurred in 2010 between some on-site software localization projects. A different project manager (not the one that handled the onsite assignments, and notorious for writing barely intelligible email replies to the consultations from our team of translators) handled this particular PDF translation review.
I was asked because I had done the localization, and I was told that the PDF (the manual) only needed a terminology review (it was Spanish for Spain). What I found was a PDF manual that needed a rewrite overhaul in several spots. Given the short period of time to accomplish the task (I think it was 2-3 days), I notified the project manager and declined the job.
I am sure many of you are familiar with the second situation, where the complexity of the task is misrepresented (essential facts are omitted or hidden from you so as to get you to accept the job). Some would call it dishonest behavior. I call it irresponsible behavior. In the first case, however, it was more of a misunderstanding, since I knew very little of DTP, let alone Ventura Publisher, to understand the full ins and outs of translating coded pages in Word.
That's why I prefer to say I rescinded these jobs because a legal agreement between a client and the translator had to be terminated due to specific (and sometimes unforeseen) circumstances. To abandon a project implies a degree of irresponsibility, which is not the case from what I've read in your own postings. ▲ Collapse
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