| Pages in topic: [1 2 3] > | Agency cheekiness Thread poster: Wendy Cummings
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Wendy Cummings 
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:52
Spanish to English
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I have just received this email from an agency (in fact my oldest client, but who I do very little work for at the moment, and I have never dealt with this particular person before):
Hi,
Would you be able to help me with something please? Can you check the document and let
me know if the handwriting is readable, and also provide me with an approx word count?
Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Kin... See more I have just received this email from an agency (in fact my oldest client, but who I do very little work for at the moment, and I have never dealt with this particular person before):
Hi,
Would you be able to help me with something please? Can you check the document and let
me know if the handwriting is readable, and also provide me with an approx word count?
Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Kind regards,
XY
Project Account Manager
The "document" is a 1 page medical report, Russian, all handwritten and about 75% legible. Should I find this really cheeky of them?
- It is an impersonal email (possibly sent to more than one person), and these are always guaranteed to get my back up
- Regardless of being able to understand the document, they can surely do their own word count (a space is a space)
- They are assuming I can just take time out of whatever i'm doing to help them with this
- I don't see any offer of recompense
- I don't even see a guarantee of them offering me the job, should I help them out.
Am I being too harsh? ▲ Collapse
| | | | Rachel Fell
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:52
French to English
+ ...
Looks impertinent to me, "unprofessional" and I don't see why they can't count the words themselves. Considering the request and the way it's phrased, it's not the sort of thing to send out impersonally, I'd have thought.
| | | | | Take it as an opportunity | Sep 11, 2009 |
Wendy Leech wrote:
Am I being too harsh?
Not really - the person obviously isn't one of the brightest lights in the firmament. However, I would take this as an opportunity to respond in a way that serves your interests. Simply give a quotation for what a translation or evaluation of the document wold cost and perhaps indicate that about a quarter of it is illegible. No word counts. Documents that are hard to read are charged at a significant premium - or should be. The standard rate for such things under the German court guidelines for compensating translators is over three times the usual rate. Personally I think that's too little.
| | | | Jocelyne S
France
Local time: 22:52
French to English
+ ...
I certainly understand your reaction and agree that the PM seems to have stepped over the line of acceptable here.
In order to avoid raising unnecessary waves, you might be able to "clarify" with the PM that they want your quote on how much said translation would cost.
If you don't currently have time to do the translation, you could respond by thanking the PM, but explaining that you are currently too busy to respond with a quote.
I would think that eithe... See more I certainly understand your reaction and agree that the PM seems to have stepped over the line of acceptable here.
In order to avoid raising unnecessary waves, you might be able to "clarify" with the PM that they want your quote on how much said translation would cost.
If you don't currently have time to do the translation, you could respond by thanking the PM, but explaining that you are currently too busy to respond with a quote.
I would think that either of these suggestions would get the message across that you are a busy professional who is not willing to give freebies on command.
Please let us know how you handle the situation and what transpires.
Good luck,
Jocelyne ▲ Collapse
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Mervyn Henderson (X)
Spain
Local time: 22:52
Spanish to English
+ ...
| They are taking you to their territory | Sep 11, 2009 |
Hello Wendy,
I say this because they mention "help" twice in the message. You are "helping" them, not "working". Mayday, SOS, please help, o please help me. Help is not remunerated. Help is free. People help each other out. Help is at hand. They have put their message across very well and have kept the focus on "give us a hand here love will you" instead of "work". I admit it is confusing, especially if they are known to you.
My advice is the same as Kevin's. Tak... See more Hello Wendy,
I say this because they mention "help" twice in the message. You are "helping" them, not "working". Mayday, SOS, please help, o please help me. Help is not remunerated. Help is free. People help each other out. Help is at hand. They have put their message across very well and have kept the focus on "give us a hand here love will you" instead of "work". I admit it is confusing, especially if they are known to you.
My advice is the same as Kevin's. Take them back to your territory, the territory of someone who does these things for a living, and give them a quote. Very politely, with no smart stuff.
Mervyn ▲ Collapse
| | | | Russell Jones
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:52
Italian to English
| Another view | Sep 11, 2009 |
I value the personal relationship I have with my client agencies. They ask me for help and sometimes I ask them, even when it's someone else's job.
They send me work regularly and pay on time - and they have new people from time to time.
My guess is they are preparing a quote for a client, can't read Russian and don't want to risk getting the wordcount wrong. Even if they don't say so, the intention is almost certainly to give you the job if their quote is accepted.
... See more I value the personal relationship I have with my client agencies. They ask me for help and sometimes I ask them, even when it's someone else's job.
They send me work regularly and pay on time - and they have new people from time to time.
My guess is they are preparing a quote for a client, can't read Russian and don't want to risk getting the wordcount wrong. Even if they don't say so, the intention is almost certainly to give you the job if their quote is accepted.
No harm in giving your quote though. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Help isn't always free | Sep 11, 2009 |
I agree with Kevin. Send them an estimate which shows the time you are likely to spend carrying out what they are looking for. Personally, I wouldn't read too much into the word 'help' or 'helping out'. I don't think you can assume that help is always free. I actually pay for most 'help' and it's usually something like 'yes, sure we can help you. It'll just be xx pounds.'
| | | | | do them a favour | Sep 11, 2009 |
I have quite often done small favours for agencies, by translating a few terms free or giving my views on certain questions. It does help create a more personal bond and pays off over the long term. In this case I would have just said yes or no about readability + an overestimated "one glance" word count: time wasted = max 2O seconds
[Edited at 2009-09-11 12:29 GMT]
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Wendy Cummings
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:52
Spanish to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Russell Jones wrote:
I value the personal relationship I have with my client agencies.
So do I, but I feel this particular case was far from personal.
Apart from the fact that I don't know this particular person (unlike others at the agency who i am on very good terms with), he didn't address me by name, didn't make any apologies for having to ask like this... I felt the whole thing was very "impersonal".
Some clients I would not think twice about helping out with small things - they will often call me to ask, or give me a particular reason why they need my help.
| | | | Paul Daubreu (X)
Local time: 22:52
French to German
+ ...
| Same calls for same... | Sep 11, 2009 |
Wendy Leech wrote:
So do I, but I feel this particular case was far from personal.
Apart from the fact that I don't know this particular person (unlike others at the agency who i am on very good terms with), he didn't address me by name, didn't make any apologies for having to ask like this... I felt the whole thing was very "impersonal".
and an impersonal request should be met with an impersonal (and of course professional) answer. The person at the agency may not know you, but the opposite is also true. Maybe this person has inherited bad habits of "going fishing" for advice, help and the like - we can only make assumptions here, including the assumption about a very lost newbie. Most agencies don't care to inform subcontractors about internal changes - sad to say, they remember clients when it comes to information related to personnel...
I would say go with Kevin's advice and wait for their reactions.
| | | | | Responding literally to that request is a waste of time | Sep 11, 2009 |
NR_Stedman wrote:
In this case I would have just said yes or no about readability + an overestimated "one glance" word count: time wasted = max 2O seconds
[Edited at 2009-09-11 12:29 GMT]
Nonsense. The word count is meaningless for a job like that - the effort involved (= total charge) is important. Since that is also HER language pair, she might as well "save" a few steps for a lazy PM and say how much it will cost to do the job. The agency adds its markup, sends the quote to the customer. Done. All very simple and professional.
| | | | | Yes, exactly what I was going to say about "help" | Sep 11, 2009 |
Isabelle Wiehle wrote:
I agree with Kevin. Send them an estimate which shows the time you are likely to spend carrying out what they are looking for. Personally, I wouldn't read too much into the word 'help' or 'helping out'. I don't think you can assume that help is always free. I actually pay for most 'help' and it's usually something like 'yes, sure we can help you. It'll just be xx pounds.'
Asking for "help" can, in certain situations, mean looking for free assistance, however it does not always mean that, particularly when doing business. For as long as I can remember, every time I went into a small shop in the UK the assistant approached me and said, "Can I help you?", and it certainly meant, "What can I sell you today, madam?".
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Russell Jones
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:52
Italian to English
| Of course it depends ... | Sep 11, 2009 |
Wendy Leech wrote:
So do I, but I feel this particular case was far from personal.
No criticism intended Wendy. Every case is different.
| | | | | Ignore or be assertive | Sep 11, 2009 |
Seems kind of lame on a Friday afternoon. It doesn't seem like a real request for an offer. I would either ignore - no answer is also an answer, especially since it looks like they sent it out to a bunch of people - or be short and assertive. Something like "Sorry I can't help you out this time." They'll either get the message or they're a hopeless case.
| | | | Mervyn Henderson (X)
Spain
Local time: 22:52
Spanish to English
+ ...
| Are you free, Mrs Slocombe? | Sep 11, 2009 |
Talking of shops and shop assistants, I remember a certain BBC series coined this catchphrase, along with the reply "Yes, I'm free". But meaning free to deal with a customer, not free, gratis and for nowt.
Never give for free, unless you want your card to be marked as a person who can be taken for granted. Failing that, make sure you call in a favour at the earliest opportunity, before they forget about it.
Mervyn
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