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Poll: Have you received compliments from your clients?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
Feb 12, 2017

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Have you received compliments from your clients?".

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Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 01:15
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
Yes ... Feb 12, 2017

but not "of course." I am always delighted to get compliments, but I don't expect them.

 
Anna Herbst
Anna Herbst  Identity Verified
Australia
Local time: 19:15
English to Swedish
+ ...

MODERATOR
SITE LOCALIZER
Yes, Feb 12, 2017

but as Muriel, without the qualifying 'of course'.
Just as I expect a quality service when going to the doctor or dentist, I assume my clients expect a quality service from me when they pay me for a professional translation. But - and again I will echo Muriel - the occasional compliment is always very welcome.


 
neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 09:15
Spanish to English
+ ...
Yes... Feb 12, 2017

But the "of course" tagged onto it sounds terribly snooty and patronising, and I'd only say something like that amongst friends who know I'm only (half) joking.
But it's always nice to be appreciated. After returning a job quickly, one client dubbed me "el guepardo de las traducciones" (the translation cheetah), which amused me so much I put it on my profile page. And I do like hearing that texts I've translated or revised have been accepted for publication, as the authors are usually very
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But the "of course" tagged onto it sounds terribly snooty and patronising, and I'd only say something like that amongst friends who know I'm only (half) joking.
But it's always nice to be appreciated. After returning a job quickly, one client dubbed me "el guepardo de las traducciones" (the translation cheetah), which amused me so much I put it on my profile page. And I do like hearing that texts I've translated or revised have been accepted for publication, as the authors are usually very grateful, especially if they've previously been rejected.

However, I agree that you mustn't let praise go to your head - remember the emperor's new clothes!
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Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 08:15
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Yes Feb 12, 2017

but as Muriel and Anna without the ‘of course'. Some clients (and proof-readers) are more generous than others. I always try my best but I don’t expect compliments for doing my job. Though compliments are good for the soul, I work on the theory that the best feedback a customer can give you is coming back to you and offering another job. On that basis, and as some of them have been with me for over 20 years, I guess that they are happy with the quality of my work… On the other hand, I must... See more
but as Muriel and Anna without the ‘of course'. Some clients (and proof-readers) are more generous than others. I always try my best but I don’t expect compliments for doing my job. Though compliments are good for the soul, I work on the theory that the best feedback a customer can give you is coming back to you and offering another job. On that basis, and as some of them have been with me for over 20 years, I guess that they are happy with the quality of my work… On the other hand, I must say that I never heard again from the client who in 1992 gave me the best praise ever!Collapse


 
Julian Holmes
Julian Holmes  Identity Verified
Japan
Local time: 17:15
Member (2011)
Japanese to English
Yes Feb 12, 2017

But once in a blue moon!
Like Anna says, clients expect a delivery that is, er, up to their expectations. This way of thinking can be found anywhere. If you go to a Michelin 3-star restaurant, you expect the best of the best. If you order nosh at Fred's Greasy Spoon, you lower your expectations accordingly or abandon them altogether.

A repeat order from the same client is like a 'compliment' in a way. "No news is good news" is the basic tenet in our business.

A
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But once in a blue moon!
Like Anna says, clients expect a delivery that is, er, up to their expectations. This way of thinking can be found anywhere. If you go to a Michelin 3-star restaurant, you expect the best of the best. If you order nosh at Fred's Greasy Spoon, you lower your expectations accordingly or abandon them altogether.

A repeat order from the same client is like a 'compliment' in a way. "No news is good news" is the basic tenet in our business.

Anonymous (a.k.a. Proz staff) is having a record run these days. I have heaps of good ideas for poll questions. But, then, why bother if they are going to be ignored in preference for someone(s) who's not willing to put their name behind their ideas?
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mona elshazly
mona elshazly  Identity Verified
Egypt
Local time: 10:15
Member (2016)
Italian to Arabic
+ ...
Good feedbacks Feb 12, 2017

I received good feedbacks

 
Gianluca Marras
Gianluca Marras  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 09:15
English to Italian
Yes Feb 12, 2017

But, as some colleagues said, no "of course".
I do not expect compliments.

It has happened that some clients told me "this translation was perfect", more than that, I have been said "Thank you for taking this urgent job".

I mean compliments make me happy, obviously, but I do not expect them. What I'd like to receive is a feedback about my work, so I can improve.


 
Nadja Balogh
Nadja Balogh  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 09:15
Member (2007)
Japanese to German
+ ...
Yes, but it makes me wonder Feb 12, 2017

Yes, and often because they want to me how really nice I am... which always makes me wonder about other translators - because I consider myself just as being "average nice" (I mean, I'm always trying to be helpful and polite according to my standards, but nothing more). If this is so much nicer than normal, then some translators must be quite rude?

 
Anton Konashenok
Anton Konashenok  Identity Verified
Czech Republic
Local time: 09:15
French to English
+ ...
Yes and more Feb 12, 2017

I was invited to lunch a few times.

 
Laura Bissio CT
Laura Bissio CT  Identity Verified
Uruguay
Local time: 05:15
English to Spanish
+ ...
Yes Feb 12, 2017

But not "of course", as other colleagues already said.
It's not usual, and I don't expect it, but it happens every now and then.


 
Thayenga
Thayenga  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 09:15
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
Yes (only) Feb 12, 2017

From time to time I've received some very good feedback from my clients.

The greatest compliment, however, is that they keep coming back with more projects.


 
Ricki Farn
Ricki Farn
Germany
Local time: 09:15
English to German
@Nadja Feb 12, 2017

Nadja Balogh wrote:

Yes, and often because they want to me how really nice I am... which always makes me wonder about other translators - because I consider myself just as being "average nice" (I mean, I'm always trying to be helpful and polite according to my standards, but nothing more). If this is so much nicer than normal, then some translators must be quite rude?


Humans. Humans as a species are about as pleasant as a small sharp rock in your sandal. So an "average nice" human is quite an achievement!

And I agree my biggest compliment is return customers, especially the grumpy ones! (If they're grumpy but still around, there must be a reason.)


 
Chié_JP
Chié_JP
Japan
Local time: 17:15
Member (2013)
English to Japanese
+ ...
Yes, a few times Feb 13, 2017

but when the platform is totally automated and everything goes very smoothly I often get no communication at all, which makes me wonder if I like this job sometimes. Do I exist at all?

 
José Henrique Lamensdorf
José Henrique Lamensdorf  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 05:15
English to Portuguese
+ ...
In memoriam
Yes, of course! Feb 13, 2017

Now and then a translation agency relays to me the compliments they received from an end-client on some job I was part of.

No, I'm not saying "for some job I did," because I don't work for what I call "file pushers" - translation outsourcers that merely push files back and forth, adding to cost, but never to value. These consider my rates too high for their intent.

Some fellow translators now and then bite more than they can chew, and count on me to get them out of tha
... See more
Now and then a translation agency relays to me the compliments they received from an end-client on some job I was part of.

No, I'm not saying "for some job I did," because I don't work for what I call "file pushers" - translation outsourcers that merely push files back and forth, adding to cost, but never to value. These consider my rates too high for their intent.

Some fellow translators now and then bite more than they can chew, and count on me to get them out of that trap. These are the ones who praise most emphatically when I fail to add to their predicament, by delivering something they can use immediately, without having to do additional work on.

Some clients come back, if and when they need more translation work done. That's evidence of praiseful thought, albeit not always rendered explicitly.

Yet the best kind of praise I get from clients is the one taking place behind my back. I only get wary when a new client contacts me saying, "Mrs. Shawnessey referred you to me on the excellent translation services you provided her. I need..." Only in a few cases I eventually discover that Mrs. Shawnessey was formerly known as "Maria da Silva" (Brazilian for "Jane Doe"), and I had translated her paperwork to marry Mr. Shawnessey overseas.

This is the "of course" of the praise. If you keep getting new clients through referrals, it means that your past clients are praising your work... to other people, which boosts your ego indirectly, via your bottom line.
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Poll: Have you received compliments from your clients?






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