| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Poll: Have you ever missed a deadline? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Have you ever missed a deadline?".
View the poll results »
| | | | | No - but ... | Aug 18, 2015 |
... sometimes I have had to renegotiate. Bottom line: I have never failed to deliver my work later than the client was expecting it in 40-plus years.
That said, I recently had a misunderstanding. The client was expecting it on Wednesday, but my records showed it was promised for Thursday. I couldn't give it to them when they wanted it, but it was waiting for this first thing the next morning.
Didn't we have this question quite recently?
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A lesson that I have never forgotten! I'm known to deliver ahead of time, but very occasionally I have had to negotiate/renegotiate a new deadline.
@Muriel
Had the same impression, but couldn't find it: apparently the last one dates from 2011!
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 21:54
Spanish to English
+ ...
Not that I recall. I suppose I might have delivered something late at some point, but if so, I'm sure it would have been due to circumstances beyond my control, or the laxity of others.
But I never miss a deadline if I can help it.
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Helen Hagon 
Local time: 20:54
Member (2011)
Russian to English
+ ...
| Once, kind of... | Aug 18, 2015 |
When I was just starting out, a customer asked me (casually, or so I thought) how long the translation might take. I told him 'about a couple of weeks'. When two weeks and one hour had passed, he sent me a very angry email demanding the translation, and refused to pay. Needless to say, I learned my lesson quickly. Now I have two deadlines - the one I tell the customer, and the one in my head, which is slightly earlier in order to avoid disaster. So far, fingers crossed, the system has worked.
| | | | Kitty Brussaard
Netherlands
Local time: 21:54
Member (2009)
English to Dutch
+ ...
never without notifying the client well in advance (and always for good reasons).
| | | | | Communication is key | Aug 18, 2015 |
Muriel Vasconcellos wrote:
sometimes I have had to renegotiate. Bottom line: I have never failed to deliver my work later than the client was expecting it in 40-plus years.
Same here. To me communication with customers is possibly THE most important thing when doing business, and I'm surprised how many freelancers are lax when it comes to this aspect
I was at a conference recently; we were doing a task in pairs, and my partner quite calmly admitted that she often misses deadlines, by two or three days. I couldn't believe my ears.
| | | | Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 20:54
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
| I have a new answer :( | Aug 18, 2015 |
Muriel Vasconcellos wrote:
Didn't we have this question quite recently?
I've always been able to answer "no" quite truthfully. But just a while back my best client sent an email asking if a job would be delivered soon. I was horrified to find that it was due the day before. The job request was marked as important in my email box; my notebook had a handwritten entry; my excel sheet had all the details - so why did I miss the deadline? Search me!
In this case I suppose the problem was that I had a big job on; one that I knew was in hand so I didn't have to check anything. This little one was supposed to be slotted in but... It was a hard day but the experience taught me that no amount of records/reminders will work if you don't actually look at them.
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| I answered NO, but | Aug 18, 2015 |
recently my email with the translated file ended up in the client's Spam box! Fortunately they found it there (after calling me to ask why I hadn't sent the file) and they realized it wasn't my fault.
I did have to renegotiate the deadline a couple of times.
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This question in my opinion is similar to: have you ever committed any traffic violations?
The answer depends on your understanding of the question.
If you mean accidents with deaths, serious damage, traffic disruptions, the answer is "no"
If you mean exeeding speed limit, the answer is obviously "yes"
Same here. If you mean missing deadline which caused serious issues, it will be "no" or "one or two"
If you mean missing a deadline by a few minutes (ho... See more This question in my opinion is similar to: have you ever committed any traffic violations?
The answer depends on your understanding of the question.
If you mean accidents with deaths, serious damage, traffic disruptions, the answer is "no"
If you mean exeeding speed limit, the answer is obviously "yes"
Same here. If you mean missing deadline which caused serious issues, it will be "no" or "one or two"
If you mean missing a deadline by a few minutes (hours) calling the client with apology (or having to call back a job due to being unable to make it on time) - it will definitely be "yes". How can a translator work (I mean many years) without having a single one occassion of that kind? ▲ Collapse
| | | | Anthony Baldwin
United States
Local time: 15:54
Portuguese to English
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I was working for any agency with offices in London and in California.
A California PM had initially contacted me about a project, so I thought I was working with a PST deadline time, but the PM had handed off to someone in London without telling me that the deadline was for London time, so ultimately, not even my fault, and even in this case, it was only past the deadline by 40 minutes (I thought I was delivering early, as is my habit).
[Edited at 2015-08-18 14:57 GMT]
| | | | Thayenga
Germany
Local time: 21:54
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
But it was with the client's consent... and only a little over 1 hour. This was mainly due to the different time zones my client and I are libving in. The 70 minutes were granted, so I basically delivered on (the new) time.
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| When my father was in the ER | Aug 18, 2015 |
I called to ask the translation be reassigned as it was impossible for me to meet the deadline and the client was rude. She said many things, but I remember one thing that has stuck through the years: "Well, I've had a bad day, too, but I'm doing my job!"
I very politely repeted my request, made it very clear I could not deliver on time and hung up. Then I took a plane to sleep on a waiting room chair for days while my father's heart tried to make it.
It did! My father... See more I called to ask the translation be reassigned as it was impossible for me to meet the deadline and the client was rude. She said many things, but I remember one thing that has stuck through the years: "Well, I've had a bad day, too, but I'm doing my job!"
I very politely repeted my request, made it very clear I could not deliver on time and hung up. Then I took a plane to sleep on a waiting room chair for days while my father's heart tried to make it.
It did! My father's still with us and the client eventually apolagized. I'm still working for her from time to time.
Otherwise, no, I've never missed a deadline. I reject jobs if I the deadline is too tight.
Cheers,
Lucía ▲ Collapse
| | | | Yaotl Altan
Mexico
Local time: 13:54
Member (2006)
English to Spanish
+ ...
Lucia Moreno Velo wrote:
I called to ask the translation be reassigned as it was impossible for me to meet the deadline and the client was rude. She said many things, but I remember one thing that has stuck through the years: "Well, I've had a bad day, too, but I'm doing my job!"
I very politely repeted my request, made it very clear I could not deliver on time and hung up. Then I took a plane to sleep on a waiting room chair for days while my father's heart tried to make it.
It did! My father's still with us and the client eventually apolagized. I'm still working for her from time to time.
Otherwise, no, I've never missed a deadline. I reject jobs if I the deadline is too tight.
Cheers,
Lucía
This is the kind of writings where I would gladly leave a "Like" if we had a button like that of Facebook.
I was touched by your words, Lucía. Have a nice day.
| | | | Mario Freitas
Brazil
Local time: 16:54
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
If so, I'm sorry, but I won't believe anyone who answered no. It's not possible unless you started last year in the profession.
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