| Stron w wątku: < [1 2] | Off topic: The rudest thing I have ever heard (or read) from a client Autor wątku: Leena vom Hofe
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lingoexperts (X)
Local time: 15:42
angielski > francuski
+ ...
| Would you call it Rude? | Jun 13, 2007 |
Hey Folks
First of all i would like to make it clear that Ms. Ritu was contacted among various other translators through proz. She was not individually chosen.
I have had a very bad experience with Indian Translators translating from French to English. I assigned three parts of a project to different French to English linguists of Indian Origin and all of them gave me a machine translation. But anyways I won't like to dig the graves here.
Ms Ritu wanted to know my iden... See more Hey Folks
First of all i would like to make it clear that Ms. Ritu was contacted among various other translators through proz. She was not individually chosen.
I have had a very bad experience with Indian Translators translating from French to English. I assigned three parts of a project to different French to English linguists of Indian Origin and all of them gave me a machine translation. But anyways I won't like to dig the graves here.
Ms Ritu wanted to know my identity. I think everyone of us knows that proz sends complete information of the member with all email messages. Including IP address. I don't know why she wanted me to reveal my identity personally and not check it on my Proz profile.
I guess Ms. Ritu should also check what she wrote to me in return and judge if that wasn't rude.
And also to spice up things she has deleted some text from my email like the salutation.
I strongly feel that if she held a master's degree in French she should have told me that. And i would have been more than happy to work with her. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | I received this offer too | Jun 13, 2007 |
Ritu Bhanot wrote: Here's an e-mail exchange, and it is quite recent. E-mail 1 (from a prospective client through my proz profile): Dear Linguist
We have an URGENT French to English job due as soon as possible.
If you work in a group you shall be able to do it easily else we
are willing to split the file within various translators. We can
offer XX EUR per word for this job. Let us know if you can
help.
Regards
xxx
Hullo Ritu, I received this offer this morning too. I replied (politely!!) that as they were offering half my normal rate I was obliged to decline their offer. I think this is what we should all do with these derisory offers - nothing rude, just pointing out that we don't work for peanuts (in the nicest possible way!) Best of luck, Jenny. P.S. I visited India for the first time this year and loved it. My reply: Dear XXX,
Could you please give more information about your agency and the project.
thanks and regards,
Ritu And His reply: Could you give me your phone number in India.
I have a few file which need to be translated by end of the day at any
cost.
I won't be trusting any Indian French to English linguists because most of
them use Machine Translations, unless they prove their credentials in
French
language.
Therefore to talk in details I would need a telephonic conversation
Regards
XXX At this point I was quite upset. First, I had not contacted him. He had sent the e-mail. Secondly, my profile gives my name (and he is of Indian Origin so could figure out that I was Indian) as well as the fact that I was based in India. So, if he didn't want me to work on the project, why did he send the e-mail? And lastly, my profile has my phone number, so it was strange that this person starts asking for my phone number in spite of the fact that he'd sent that e-mail from my profile. Anyways, I told him as much. To his credit, he apologized. But he never wanted to reveal his identity. And this was so strange... AND HE POSTED THE JOB ON PROZ.COM  At last I knew the identity and address of the person (earlier I just had his name and his company's probable name)  [Edited at 2007-06-13 17:03]
| | | | Bruce Popp 
USA
Local time: 11:42
francuski > angielski
| an example of what this thread is about | Jun 13, 2007 |
lingoexperts wrote:
I don't know why she wanted me to reveal my identity personally and not check it on my Proz profile.
Because that would be professional and polite... quite the opposite of rude.
Further the contact information in your ProZ profile is almost completely blank!
Bruce
PS I got your mail too and thought that you're sending it to me wasted your time and mine.
| | | | | I got the same e-mail | Jun 13, 2007 |
...but I quickly deleted it when they were only offering .04 euros/word. What does he think he will get for that price?
[quote]Ritu Bhanot wrote:
Could you give me your phone number in India.
I have a few file which need to be translated by end of the day at any
cost.
I won't be trusting any Indian French to English linguists because most of
them use Machine Translations, unless they prove their credentials in
French
language.
Therefore to talk in details I would need a telephonic conversation
Regards
XXX
[Edited at 2007-06-13 21:15]
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tazdog (X)
Hiszpania
Local time: 20:42
hiszpański > angielski
+ ...
| Spanish agency | Jun 13, 2007 |
About seven years ago, when I was still relatively new to freelancing, I responded to a post for a technical translation offered on Proz by a Spanish agency. The rate offered was a bit higher than the low rate I was usually getting paid at that time, so I was happy to accept the job when it was offered to me.
After working with this agency for two+ years, I was getting quite fed up with them. The slightly higher rate I had started out with vanished after that first job, and subseque... See more About seven years ago, when I was still relatively new to freelancing, I responded to a post for a technical translation offered on Proz by a Spanish agency. The rate offered was a bit higher than the low rate I was usually getting paid at that time, so I was happy to accept the job when it was offered to me.
After working with this agency for two+ years, I was getting quite fed up with them. The slightly higher rate I had started out with vanished after that first job, and subsequent jobs were always at a rate lower than my usual one, especially as I kept raising mine and theirs stayed the same. The jobs were always highly technical, often in unfriendly formats like PDF, and to add insult to injury, payment (which they sanctimoniously claim is "60 days", really 60 days end of month) kept getting later and later, to the point where I had to contact their accounts payable department several times about late invoices--the last one hit 93 days before it was finally paid. That was the straw that broke the camel's back. The next time their (very nice) project manager e-mailed me about a new project, I wrote back that I could no longer work with them at the same abysmal rate because their very technical texts and long payment terms simply did not make it worth my while (this was a bold step for me back then), and I informed her of my new rate (an increase of less than one eurocent per word).
Well, much to my surprise, about 10 minutes later the owner of the agency phoned me and began telling me off in no uncertain terms: how DARE I raise my rate so much and on such short notice, who did I think I was, it was totally untrue that their payments were late (yeah, right), and if they were, why hadn't I said anything (glossing right over my phone calls and e-mails to the accounts payable dept.), etc. I was floored. The discussion got quite heated, but I stood my ground, and have never worked for this agency again.
Since then, I have responded to several different enquiries about this agency’s payment practices. Every time I reported that their actual payments were from 75-90 days (needless to say, I have proof of this), I got a phone call from the owner, threatening me. (The last time she put her "lawyer" on the phone to warn me to be "prudent" in the future with my statements.)
I have never regretted getting rid of this client. Good riddance to bad rubbish, I say. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Philippe Etienne
Hiszpania
Local time: 20:42
Członek ProZ.com
angielski > francuski
| Trying to persuade an bankrupt agency ex-owner to get my money back is somewhat mean | Jun 13, 2007 |
That was about the end to a lengthy phone call (1+hour) I made to the ex-owner of a French translation agency (who opened a new one in France) that owes me 3700€ (bankrupt 12/2001).
The purpose of the phone call was to try and persuade him to pay me by whatever means the due invoices from the former company he used to run. I went on from threatening him to spread the word amongst translators, to work for his agency at double my rate for a while to compensate the 3700€.
O... See more That was about the end to a lengthy phone call (1+hour) I made to the ex-owner of a French translation agency (who opened a new one in France) that owes me 3700€ (bankrupt 12/2001).
The purpose of the phone call was to try and persuade him to pay me by whatever means the due invoices from the former company he used to run. I went on from threatening him to spread the word amongst translators, to work for his agency at double my rate for a while to compensate the 3700€.
Of course I am aware that the action was doomed from the onset, but having taking it gives me a warm feeling of completion. And I sure pi**ed him off.
The thing is I am a unskilled speaker.
His argument was that not being paid is part of the risk of freelancing, that this loss accounted for only 15% of all the business I made with that former agency, that there was nothing that proved that he was a bad guy and so on. To my relief, I learned I wasn't the one most hit in this story (he lost everything).
In the end, I understood he would have expected me to do my homework with the bankruptcy proceedings, their findings and the other spoiled translators.
To his credit, he didn't hang up on me. That was quite courteous of him.
He then draw the conclusion that my course of action was a bit mean ("un peu minable"). From what I understood, it is because he had nothing to be blamed for, and I should know it if I did some research about the whole story, and not my only selfish concern of trying to get my 3700€ back.
He sounded a bit stunned when I told him that his former company is the only non-payer I have EVER had in 8 years of practice, whatever amount.
Voilà the rudest thing I heard from a (former) customer.
It reminds me that I need to target interested parties when I have a minute. But he warned me to be careful to stick to facts, he will not hesitate to sue me for defamation!
Philippe ▲ Collapse
| | | | Juliana Brown
Izrael
Local time: 14:42
Członek ProZ.com
od 2007
hiszpański > angielski
+ ...
| I may not be a "writer" | Jun 13, 2007 |
Marie-Hélène Hayles wrote: Juliana Starkman wrote:
I can easily say that my slightly mad author non-client (see other thread...) was the rudest. After asking me why I thought I was qualified to do the job, I explained that I had lectured for several years at universities, published a couple of articles, written and defended a Ph.D thesis, and written and presented papers all over the world, on top of the usual translation-linked proofreading we all do every day. Her response was "What? How can you have done all those things? You must be lying. I'm older than you, and I haven't done that many things." Lovely, no?
unlike my erstwhile non-client, but I hope I would have come up with a more exciting lie than my real life to try and sell myself, if I were that desperate! Next time I will add in something about being the former UN coordinator for language invention or something snappy like that...
| | | | Henry Hinds
USA
Local time: 12:42
angielski > hiszpański
+ ...
In Memoriam | Deadbeat Law Firm | Jun 13, 2007 |
One of the biggest law firms my town owed me a good sum of money in the thousands of $$$. Now mind you, I had a good relationship with this firm for years, a fairly steady stream of work and always prompt payment. One might say this was a good direct client, money in the bank.
But they started stalling me on this payment until finally I became fed up. After many attempts I finally got through; their explanation was one of the oldest in the book:
"We can´t pay you yet b... See more One of the biggest law firms my town owed me a good sum of money in the thousands of $$$. Now mind you, I had a good relationship with this firm for years, a fairly steady stream of work and always prompt payment. One might say this was a good direct client, money in the bank.
But they started stalling me on this payment until finally I became fed up. After many attempts I finally got through; their explanation was one of the oldest in the book:
"We can´t pay you yet because our client hasn´t paid us, but we´re trying to collect it for you." Client is apparently in Mexico.
"Sorry folks, but YOU were the ones who ordered the work, I don´t even know who your client is."
They pressured me to take half; I flatly refused.
I finally threatened to sue them in small claims and served them with notice...
"OK, we´ll pay you but we won´t give you any work any more."
Good riddance.
Not only that, but I made many of my colleagues in town aware of that situation, so they will soon find out what they are missing.
I would qualify their whole attitude as rude and unprofessional, and a total surprise considering the relationship we had and the fact that even while they were refusing to pay me, they also were nice enough to acknowledge that the service they had been receiving from me was excellent.
They just didn´t want to pay. ▲ Collapse
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Steven Capsuto
USA
Local time: 14:42
Członek ProZ.com
od 2004
hiszpański > angielski
+ ...
| Thanks for the clarification, Tony! | Jun 14, 2007 |
Tony M wrote:
That's not quite the whole story, Steve — even over here in GB, 'rude' still basically means 'impolite' — but it also has a secondary meaning, as appearing in certain phrases like a 'rude joke' or 'rude words', which tends twoards your second meaning of 'cheeky, crude or (slightly) obscene' — but when used in this way, it acts to slightly 'play down' the seriousness of the situation (unlike 'obscene', for example) — it is the sort of word one might use to children "Mummy always says I mustn't use rude words"
But in most ordinary situations (apart from set expressions), the first meaning that springs to mind would still be 'impolite'.
Much appreciated! Ever since a friend in London got miffed when I described his home as "quite nice," I've been fascinated by the subtle differences between American and Commonwealth English.
| | | | Andrea Riffo
Chile
Local time: 14:42
angielski > hiszpański
+ ...
| The same explanation sprang to mind | Jun 14, 2007 |
Sarah Brenchley wrote:
Depending on your client's native language this might possibly be due more to native language interference.
For example, the translation of the Spanish "servirse" (literally "Serve oneself") is "Help yourself" so perhaps he was/she was just trying to be kind.
All the best,
Sarah.
I immediately thought that the "offender" might have been a native speaker of Spanish and simply tried to say "sírvanse" ("serve yourselves" would be the literal -though wrong- translation) which is the standard -very polite- invitation you make to guests to help themselves to whatever's on the table.
| | | | PB Trans
Local time: 19:42
francuski > angielski
+ ...
| The rudest thing... what my name means in Hungarian | Jun 16, 2007 |
Several years ago, I did a few small jobs for a translation company in Hungary. Then for some unknown reason, the manager (male) felt compelled to email me and tell me what my name meant in Hungarian (and he used the "c" word!!), followed by a laugh and "too bad, girl!". Needless to say, I never replied to any of his emails after that!
Remind me to change my name if I go to Hungary!!
And if you're still u... See more Several years ago, I did a few small jobs for a translation company in Hungary. Then for some unknown reason, the manager (male) felt compelled to email me and tell me what my name meant in Hungarian (and he used the "c" word!!), followed by a laugh and "too bad, girl!". Needless to say, I never replied to any of his emails after that!
Remind me to change my name if I go to Hungary!!
And if you're still unsure what "pina" means in Hungarian, google "pina" and "Hungarian".
[Edited at 2007-06-16 02:49] ▲ Collapse
| | | | NancyLynn
Kanada
Local time: 14:42
Członek ProZ.com
od 2002
francuski > angielski
+ ...
Moderator tego forum | OT: Hungarian names | Jun 16, 2007 |
LOL Pina, poor you!
My husband's family is Hungarian (well, second-generation Canadian), but Bogar apparently means bug in English
So I call my kids "snug-bug".
Nancy
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| not much rudeness, fortunately | Jun 16, 2007 |
I have been a proz member for a little over a month, and so far all the agencies and people I have worked with have been both nice and polite, put up with my shortcomings in the nicest way and some of them have even paid me already.
But recently I received a message through the message system, asking me to submit my CV, picture (!) and best rate for a big project. I answered by quoting my rates and pointing out that my picture and CV were both to be found in my proz profile. (and not on th... See more I have been a proz member for a little over a month, and so far all the agencies and people I have worked with have been both nice and polite, put up with my shortcomings in the nicest way and some of them have even paid me already.
But recently I received a message through the message system, asking me to submit my CV, picture (!) and best rate for a big project. I answered by quoting my rates and pointing out that my picture and CV were both to be found in my proz profile. (and not on the computer I was using at the moment)
Now, I have received another message, asking me again for my rates and saying:
You are a professional translator and yet do not understand a simple sentence. How can you translate many words? Please send etc....
I guess there are all kinds of people in all countries and businesses, and I don't think I shall reply to that message. ▲ Collapse
| | | | PB Trans
Local time: 19:42
francuski > angielski
+ ...
NancyLynn wrote:
LOL Pina, poor you!
Nancy
I know! And all my life I only had to worry about being a "Broccoli"... now this!
[Edited at 2007-06-16 14:37]
| | | | Gina Ferlisi
Local time: 20:42
Członek ProZ.com
od 2008
włoski > angielski
| problems with canadian ( india) agency | Sep 15, 2007 |
Hello,
after a few months five of us have big problems with the canadian agency, for some reason this agency has svanished and has decide to find exscuses in the payment of big sums of money for 4 proz members, ..its crazy that these type of agencies are still on the market..
bye gina
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