Poll: An agency offers you a job. After seeing they are poorly rated, you: Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "An agency offers you a job. After seeing they are poorly rated, you:".
View the poll results »
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It depends, sometimes I just don’t reply, others I’ll say I’m not available. I always exercise due diligence in researching a new client and looking at their BB record is usually the first step. So working with a new agency will depend on the warning signs I might also get from other sources and on my gut feeling (over the years I developed a sixth sense when it comes to bad payers). I must say though that some of my long-standing customers (agencies) are not listed in the Blue Board…
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 16:50
Spanish to English
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I don't usually work with agencies nowadays, so I would usually decline the offer. However, I still occasionally receive offers of work from one agency here in Spain which has a bad blue board rating, which I suspect is mainly because they tend to pay at 90 days or even later. However, I never had any qualms working with them and the only problem I have with them nowadays is that their deadlines are usually too tight, as I almost always have work of my own underway, with little if any room for u... See more I don't usually work with agencies nowadays, so I would usually decline the offer. However, I still occasionally receive offers of work from one agency here in Spain which has a bad blue board rating, which I suspect is mainly because they tend to pay at 90 days or even later. However, I never had any qualms working with them and the only problem I have with them nowadays is that their deadlines are usually too tight, as I almost always have work of my own underway, with little if any room for urgent requests from non-direct clients. Last week they asked me for help with a translation, but as I was too busy, I recommended a colleague, who was only too glad of the work. And she doesn't mind waiting for three or four months to get paid either, having worked with them on previous occasions.
However, I doubt very much if I would ever accept offers of work from poorly rated agencies that I had no previous experience with.
[Edited at 2021-06-06 08:37 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Usually no reply | Jun 6, 2021 |
When the offered rate is half my rate (or less), at it usually the case, there is no much room for negotiation.
I just ignore such offers. No money-time to waste.
But if the communication has already been engaged somehow, I just respond honestly.
We're just on a different league. No regrets.
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Baran Keki 
Türkiye
Local time: 17:50
Member
English to Turkish
| I think this poll would've been more interesting | Jun 6, 2021 |
if the question was formulated like this:
You receive a job offer from an agency with super BB rating (all from translators located in Europe), after learning they offer about 4, 5 cents per word, what would you do?
| | | | | Tell them honestly | Jun 6, 2021 |
Sometimes I make a realistic offer, which is a way of telling the agency why I am not interested in working with them.
Only a couple of days ago, I received an enquiry from an agency looking for a long-term collaboration with interesting work. Their record on the Blue Board was a mix of very positive 5-ratings and 1 or 2 ratings.
I asked in another online group whether anyone knew anything about them, and of course, they did - it was very disheartening! Either pressed for a ve... See more Sometimes I make a realistic offer, which is a way of telling the agency why I am not interested in working with them.
Only a couple of days ago, I received an enquiry from an agency looking for a long-term collaboration with interesting work. Their record on the Blue Board was a mix of very positive 5-ratings and 1 or 2 ratings.
I asked in another online group whether anyone knew anything about them, and of course, they did - it was very disheartening! Either pressed for a very low rate, or they agreed to higher rates for specialist work, but were very slow to pay.
I wrote and told the agency my terms, and received a polite reply - they had an agreement with the end client on a rate that was barely above the rate I offered them, which was not high for specialist work, but viable. So they could not afford to work with me! I know the end clients will not pay extremely high rates, but many of them will pay for quality, so there was no need to press rates to rock bottom.
We did not make a deal...
[Edited at 2021-06-06 10:42 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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I was recently contacted by an agency in the USA, they found me through Proz.
I sent them my rates and filled in various forms on their web site.
They got back asking me to work for a fee well below my quote.
I replied that I had plenty of customers who were happy to pay my rates and I was not in the habit of working for a pittance.
Never heard another word.
| | | | | Poorly rated, not offering poor rates | Jun 6, 2021 |
Alexandra Speirs wrote:
I was recently contacted by an agency in the USA, they found me through Proz.
I sent them my rates and filled in various forms on their web site.
They got back asking me to work for a fee well below my quote.
I replied that I had plenty of customers who were happy to pay my rates and I was not in the habit of working for a pittance.
Never heard another word.
This has nothing to do with "poorly rated"
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I don’t look up any rating. I use common sense.
| | | | | Two different questions | Jun 6, 2021 |
Baran Keki wrote:
if the question was formulated like this:
You receive a job offer from an agency with super BB rating (all from translators located in Europe), after learning they offer about 4, 5 cents per word, what would you do?
The question we're responding to is about their rating. Since I mostly work with direct clients, I'm fussy about taking on new agencies. If there's even a hit of problems ahead, I will tell them that I'm overbooked (translation = I've got better ways to spend my time regardless of my current workload).
| | | | Frank Jensen
Spain
Local time: 16:50
Member
English to Danish
+ ...
| Don't waste my time.... | Jun 7, 2021 |
ProZ.com Staff wrote: This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "An agency offers you a job. After seeing they are poorly rated, you:". View the poll results »
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Angie Garbarino wrote: Alexandra Speirs wrote:
I was recently contacted by an agency in the USA, they found me through Proz.
I sent them my rates and filled in various forms on their web site.
They got back asking me to work for a fee well below my quote.
I replied that I had plenty of customers who were happy to pay my rates and I was not in the habit of working for a pittance.
Never heard another word. This has nothing to do with "poorly rated"
True, read the question too quickly!
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Baran Keki
Türkiye
Local time: 17:50
Member
English to Turkish
| I wish you were able to rate them | Jun 7, 2021 |
Alexandra Speirs wrote:
I was recently contacted by an agency in the USA, they found me through Proz.
I sent them my rates and filled in various forms on their web site.
They got back asking me to work for a fee well below my quote.
I replied that I had plenty of customers who were happy to pay my rates and I was not in the habit of working for a pittance.
Never heard another word.
Unfortunately Proz doesn't allow you to rate an agency unless you've worked for them once. I wish you were able to give that agency a poor rating, saying how cheap rates they were offering so others wouldn't be fooled by their (fake) high ranking here and would be able to give them a swerve without having to waste their time on emailing back and forth with their courteous and fast communicating PMs.
I'm really fed up with seeing 5 star ratings given by Finnish or Italian translators to 3-4 cent paying agencies here.
| | | | Mario Freitas
Brazil
Local time: 11:50
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
| Several options, according to the agency | Jun 7, 2021 |
If the agency is rated above 4.5, I usually reply positively.
Between 4.3 and 4.5, I reply with the overload excuse, to leave the doors open.
Below 4.3, I don't reply.
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