Checking returned work once again after QA Thread poster: Leah Morano
|
|---|
Leah Morano 
Germany
Local time: 10:41
German to English
+ ...
I have been doing editing work for a client for the past few months. I edit in Trados, double check against the original, and then return. Everyone has been happy.
The client is now proposing a new workflow in which they return my work back to me after they have QAed it. They would like to review the document and approve or reject any changes they might have made. To note: this is a new general request from the final client, not a response to my work in anyway.
They are... See more I have been doing editing work for a client for the past few months. I edit in Trados, double check against the original, and then return. Everyone has been happy.
The client is now proposing a new workflow in which they return my work back to me after they have QAed it. They would like to review the document and approve or reject any changes they might have made. To note: this is a new general request from the final client, not a response to my work in anyway.
They are not offering compensation for this additional step.
To me, going through every document once again is additional time required and should be compensated.
Or is this standard practice that I have not yet encountered? ▲ Collapse
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 10:41
French to English
If they're adding another couple of hours (time spent checking the changes plus time spent explaining to them why you won't accept certain changes) you need to charge for that time.
Personally, with direct clients I have already accounted for the fact that the client will come back and ask about this or that term, I tell them this is why I'm not the cheapest.
With agencies, I don't mind the odd question now and then, but systematically checking the whole text would be... See more If they're adding another couple of hours (time spent checking the changes plus time spent explaining to them why you won't accept certain changes) you need to charge for that time.
Personally, with direct clients I have already accounted for the fact that the client will come back and ask about this or that term, I tell them this is why I'm not the cheapest.
With agencies, I don't mind the odd question now and then, but systematically checking the whole text would be a no-no. Or I'd be billing the time. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | I charge for it in my overall fee | Jun 23, 2023 |
It is a practice several of my clients have taken up, and I quite like the opportunity to reject any changes I disagree with.
At least two of them have done this from the start, so I have allowed for the time I expect to spend on it in my overall fee.
In practice you do not spend long on it, but it is an extra step, and often interrupts other work, or has to be fitted in, as it comes a day or two after you have delivered the job and moved on.
If it is a new step, ... See more It is a practice several of my clients have taken up, and I quite like the opportunity to reject any changes I disagree with.
At least two of them have done this from the start, so I have allowed for the time I expect to spend on it in my overall fee.
In practice you do not spend long on it, but it is an extra step, and often interrupts other work, or has to be fitted in, as it comes a day or two after you have delivered the job and moved on.
If it is a new step, I would suggest to the client that they should pay for it one way or another. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Dan Lucas
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:41
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
Leah Morano wrote:
They are not offering compensation for this additional step.
To me, going through every document once again is additional time required and should be compensated.
...
Or is this standard practice that I have not yet encountered?
My response, which may not be helpful, is that it depends.
One of my clients - a one-man band, essentially - sends documents back and wants me to look at or at least acknowledge almost every change. He makes many changes that are subjective, or that revert good English into awkward English "because that's what's in the TM". On the other hand he sometimes wants me to junk the TM's candidate and rewrite it, so he's inconsistent. I can't win, because he makes up the rules as he goes along.
This has in the past resulted in my declining to work with him. We did resume working together but his approach is still time-consuming and we continue to bicker about it. Why he continues to ask that I work with him I do not know, but I suspect I am not the only translator who has cut relations with him, and he may not have much choice. Almost every project makes me consider dropping him (again). Fortunately he represents one end of the spectrum for me.
Most of my other clients are much easier to work with. They have many project managers, and the response varies slightly depending on the PM in question. On the whole, these clients and PMs tend to send back work only where they do not understand a choice I made or believe I have made a mistake that they cannot fix themselves.
In such cases I basically either (a) thank them, apologise, and fix the mistake, or (b) explain carefully the background to the decision and why it isn't an error, or (c) suggest we kick the problem upstairs to the end client if we don't have enough context to make a judgement.
This kind of revision takes time, and I don't like it. Nevertheless, I try to be polite and I turn things around within 24 hours at the latest and sometimes in minutes. I never charge and my clients don't offer to pay, which I think is fair: I should be responsible for my translation.
Nevertheless, if I think the type and number of queries is not reasonable I will say so as civilly as possible, but it's rare for me to have to object. I would be unhappy about having to dot every i and cross every t and would insist that the client restricts their comments to issues that appear to be errors of some kind on my part.
If the text is good but the client has made changes that are clearly subjective in nature - "I prefer this word order" - I would politely refuse to check those revisions. "If you change it, you take responsibility for the changes" is a reasonable approach. You are not being paid to teach others how to write English, or correct their errors!
In economic terms, is a generous revision policy worth it? If it's a one-off client, it probably isn't. If it's a client that puts thousands of euro, sterling or dollars of business your way every month, it probably is.
Regards,
Dan
| | |
|
|
|
Leah Morano
Germany
Local time: 10:41
German to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
I appreciate hearing your varied points and experiences.
In this instance, it is an agency and we do work regularly together. I am always happy to answer questions and make adjustments if requested (and legit), but in this case I feel that the rate I am charging cannot cover an entirely new step in the workflow.
Thank you!
| | | | | Do it once and then decide | Jun 23, 2023 |
I am occasionally asked to check the changes made to my text. Sometimes these are valid corrections and I acknowledge them gladly. On other occasions, I get mostly false positives, so I tell the agency to stop doing that or pay me for the time spent. And sometimes I see new errors introduced, in which case I get nasty and tell the project manager they had better fire that editor/proofreader altogether.
| | | | Ana Cuesta
Spain
Local time: 10:41
Member
English to Spanish
| Manual or automated QA? | Jun 23, 2023 |
I would double-check on what do they exactly mean by QAing. I’ve had clients sending huge, automatically generated QA reports with all sorts of false positives…
| | | | Hayley Wakenshaw
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:41
Member (2018)
Dutch to English
| Don’t be shy about asking to be paid for the work you do! | Jul 28, 2023 |
I recently had a client ask me to do this on a book translation. The process was already more involved than I am used to. Usually, I translate a text and only hear about it again if there are issues, which is extremely rare.
This time, the process was supposed to be: translator –> editor –> translator –> author –> back to translator for a final check. They paid my standard rate, which is unusual for literary translation in my experience, so I was happy to work through the ad... See more I recently had a client ask me to do this on a book translation. The process was already more involved than I am used to. Usually, I translate a text and only hear about it again if there are issues, which is extremely rare.
This time, the process was supposed to be: translator –> editor –> translator –> author –> back to translator for a final check. They paid my standard rate, which is unusual for literary translation in my experience, so I was happy to work through the additional steps, and they didn’t take a lot of extra time…
…or they wouldn’t have done had the author not repeatedly come back requesting more changes. Which is fine. It was important to me, the PM and the editor that we get this book absolutely right for the author.
However, after the first batch or so, I told the PM I would have to start charging for the extra time. The agency agreed that this was fair. The project ran over by four months, and the author asked for so many subsequent changes to be made that I ended up billing the agency for at least 20 more hours.
In your position, I would not be shy about politely asking for more money for more work.
[Edited at 2023-07-28 10:43 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | |
|
|
|
| Standard in subtitling | Aug 14, 2023 |
Having to check your returned work once again after QA is actually standard practice in the field of subtitling (subtitile translation); it's usually called Acceptance stage, and it's included in your basic rate. Or, rather, it used to be the standard years ago, but these days one doesn't get / need to check the files every time. Just for the information of anyone possibly wondering 
[Edited at 2023-08-14 14:08 GMT]
| | | | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Checking returned work once again after QA | Trados Business Manager Lite | Create customer quotes and invoices from within Trados Studio
Trados Business Manager Lite helps to simplify and speed up some of the daily tasks, such as invoicing and reporting, associated with running your freelance translation business.
More info » |
| | Wordfast Pro | Translation Memory Software for Any Platform
Exclusive discount for ProZ.com users!
Save over 13% when purchasing Wordfast Pro through ProZ.com. Wordfast is the world's #1 provider of platform-independent Translation Memory software. Consistently ranked the most user-friendly and highest value
Buy now! » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |
Login to reply/comment 
Translation news
