tonte

English translation: being milked/fleeced

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
French term or phrase:tonte
English translation:being milked/fleeced

07:26 Jul 5, 2019
    The asker opted for community grading. The question was closed on 2019-07-08 17:54:07 based on peer agreement (or, if there were too few peer comments, asker preference.)


French to English translations [PRO]
Bus/Financial - Marketing / Market Research / customer survey
French term or phrase: tonte
This translation includes responses from hundreds of energy customers to a survey, with the usual complaints about prices, customer service, etc.

One customer complains about the "tonte permanente", within their full response reproduced below:

"Contrat monopolistique sur un lotissement signé avec le lotisseur. Prix défiant tout entendement et hors marche compte tenu du service rendu. Collectif de propriétaire souhaite renégociation prix. Rupture contrat et recherche autres fournisseurs reste la seule solution si pas de discussion possible avec [fournisseur]. J’espère que cette enquête permettra à [fournisseur] de comprendre qu’un client rentable est celui qui reste et que la tonte permanente n’est pas de nature à le fidéliser.

Am I to understand this "tonte" as "cutting back" (as they had already hinted at the service being lacking) or does this mean being "squeezed" (with more of a concern for prices going up).

xxx
Thomas Miles
France
Local time: 10:12
Being milked
Explanation:
Yes, it’s the second of your suggestions. They’re always “grazing” off their existing customers.
Selected response from:

Helene Tammik
Local time: 10:12
Grading comment
You were great, thanks.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5 +5Being milked
Helene Tammik
3 +1continuous fleecing / ongoing rip-off / persistently ripping-off clients
Daryo
4 -1rent gouging
Francois Boye


Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


7 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +5
Being milked


Explanation:
Yes, it’s the second of your suggestions. They’re always “grazing” off their existing customers.

Helene Tammik
Local time: 10:12
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 8
Grading comment
You were great, thanks.
Notes to answerer
Asker: That was exactly the insight I needed.

Asker: I should have seen it myself!


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Tony M: Well, surely the analogy is more about "fleecing sheep"?
7 mins
  -> Yes, that’s the one! Although, on reflection, being fleeced is more dramatic - it’s having everything taken off you in one go. Being milked is more like a constant, ongoing process - so perhaps fits better with the notion of “tonte permanente”?

agree  Nicolas Gambardella
52 mins

agree  Charles Davis: Spot on, I think. "Fleeced" is more literal but less suitable, I think, not only because it's more dramatic and less gradual, but because it tends to imply being ripped off, and I don't think the original quite means that.
4 hrs

agree  Stephanie Benoist: offhand, tonte comes from "tondre", like mowing the lawn or getting a crewcut. so not fleeced but something implying a sharp reduction.
6 hrs

neutral  Francois Boye: look beyond the metaphor and understand that rent gouging is being practiced.
7 hrs

agree  David Hayes: "Fleeced" is fine too. ( https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fleece; https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/fleece)
11 hrs

neutral  Daryo: I find it too mild for "la tonte"
14 hrs
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7 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -1
rent gouging


Explanation:
https://definitions.uslegal.com/r/rent-gouging/

Francois Boye
United States
Local time: 05:12
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 8

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Daryo: maybe better start by being sure what's in the ST? https://www.consortium-immobilier.fr/guide/achat-vente/4/20/... => it is a kind of rip-off but it's not about "rent"!// have you noticed "le lotisseur" in the ST? Context a swear word?
7 hrs
  -> https://www.linternaute.fr/dictionnaire/fr/definition/tondre...
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14 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
la tonte permanente des clients
continuous fleecing / ongoing rip-off / persistently ripping-off clients


Explanation:
la tonte des clients - like fleecing sheep, about as strong as "a rip-off"

la tonte permanente n’est pas de nature à le fidéliser.
=
persistently ripping-off your clients is not going to make them stay with you.

Daryo
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:12
Native speaker of: Native in SerbianSerbian, Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 16

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  SafeTex: Best ideas in my opinion.
1 day 18 hrs
  -> Thanks!
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