Complaint about translation quality when payment in full already received Thread poster: sarahprice
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sarahprice
United Kingdom
Local time: 04:02
French to English
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I have successfully worked as a freelance translator since 2005. However, his evening I have had a rare complaint from a client about the quality of a translation I completed for an agency two months ago. The client has changed some of the terms I have used in my translation to their preferred terminology and the agency is now asking me to state whether I feel that the client's complaint is justified. I should point out that the agency paid me in full for this translation a month ago now. In my ... See more I have successfully worked as a freelance translator since 2005. However, his evening I have had a rare complaint from a client about the quality of a translation I completed for an agency two months ago. The client has changed some of the terms I have used in my translation to their preferred terminology and the agency is now asking me to state whether I feel that the client's complaint is justified. I should point out that the agency paid me in full for this translation a month ago now. In my book, payment in full indicates that a client is satisfied with the quality of a translation. I would be interested in hearing your perspective on this matter. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Unconditional | Jul 29, 2021 |
For me, payment is irrelevant. All that counts is whether the translation was any good or not.
| | | | Thomas Pfann 
United Kingdom
Local time: 04:02
Member (2006)
English to German
+ ...
| Not necessarily a complaint! | Jul 29, 2021 |
Have a look at the changes and see whether they are justified.
Chances are the changes are purely preferential which, of course, is perfectly fine and to be expected - just explain what sort of changes there are. If they changed certain terminology this might be due to inhouse preferences. Say that this is useful to know and that you will take the changes on board for future translations for this client.
Don't be defensive about it and don't take it personal. They are ... See more Have a look at the changes and see whether they are justified.
Chances are the changes are purely preferential which, of course, is perfectly fine and to be expected - just explain what sort of changes there are. If they changed certain terminology this might be due to inhouse preferences. Say that this is useful to know and that you will take the changes on board for future translations for this client.
Don't be defensive about it and don't take it personal. They are not criticizing you. More often than not, these things are not "complaints" about the translation quality. Somebody sees that changes were made and automatically thinks that this must mean there was something wrong with the original translation. This is of course not necessarily the case, but the client won't know until you explain it to them.
[Edited at 2021-07-29 20:35 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Kevin Fulton
United States
Local time: 23:02
German to English
| Were the changes justified? | Jul 29, 2021 |
sarahprice wrote:
The client has changed some of the terms I have used in my translation to their preferred terminology and the agency is now asking me to state whether I feel that the client's complaint is justified. In my book, payment in full indicates that a client is satisfied with the quality of a translation.
The fact that the agency paid you doesn't necessarily mean the end client was satisfied with your work. In many cases, companies use internal terms that have numerous synonyms, and it's hard to guess what the client wants (template? form? model? engine? motor? power plant?). Without guidance from the end client (e.g. glossary of preferred terminology), it's often a matter of luck when you select the preferred term.
The ultimate issue is whether the agency/end client wants a rebate. You might be able to make a case that your terminology was standard for the respective industry. If it's a valued customer, you might want to swallow your pride if they ask for a rebate if the changes were extensive.
I've been in this situation and it was the only time I told a client to go to Hell, mainly because the claims he made were so preposterous that I realized that any future collaboration would be injurious to my mental health.
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IrinaN
United States
Local time: 22:02
English to Russian
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| I agree with Thomas | Jul 29, 2021 |
Those changes could have been presented as preferences for future work. Did the client send it as "FYI"
Agency approach is what's important here.
Are they trying to turn it into a complaint and, maybe, chop a piece off your next invoice? Is there one? What do they want you to do now? Don sackcloth and ashes? Does the client insist on some kind of reimbursement? In the agency's view, what can happen if you wouldn't be able to justify it? What is their point?
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I edited last month a FR-PT translation for an occasional customer which was paid a few days later. Then, out of the blue, the client sent back the text reviewed by the client not complaining but asking if the changes were justified and if I agreed with them. As I happened to have time on my hands I went through the whole file and commented on every change made. Some were changes to the source text, some were preferential and some provided a better flow. Ultimately, I saw this exercise as an opp... See more I edited last month a FR-PT translation for an occasional customer which was paid a few days later. Then, out of the blue, the client sent back the text reviewed by the client not complaining but asking if the changes were justified and if I agreed with them. As I happened to have time on my hands I went through the whole file and commented on every change made. Some were changes to the source text, some were preferential and some provided a better flow. Ultimately, I saw this exercise as an opportunity to provide good customer service. Anyway, I hope this situation will not be repeated any time soon… ▲ Collapse
| | | | Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 05:02
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
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| Can you give us an example? | Jul 30, 2021 |
Can you provide one example of the change?
Whatever the case, I would explain my choice of terms/wording, then contrast it to the changes made. It’ll mean nothing to the PM who is probably not familiar with at least one of the two languages, not sure they’ll be able to fully grasp your explanations.
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 05:02
French to English
In this kind of scenario, the first thing I do is analyse the changes: are they actual improvements?
I'll put the changes into various categories:
-purely subjective (nonetheless replaced by nevertheless - I'll be generous and say OK to these corrections to show that I'm not getting on my high horse and can accept that others have other preferences)
-apparently purely subjective except for style (crimson watered down to red, thus losing impact and alliter... See more In this kind of scenario, the first thing I do is analyse the changes: are they actual improvements?
I'll put the changes into various categories:
-purely subjective (nonetheless replaced by nevertheless - I'll be generous and say OK to these corrections to show that I'm not getting on my high horse and can accept that others have other preferences)
-apparently purely subjective except for style (crimson watered down to red, thus losing impact and alliteration - I'll point out the stylistic elements and let them decide)
-minor mistakes (from instead of form, i.e. doesn't cause comprehension problems, not picked up by spell check - I'll apologise)
-embarrassing minor mistakes (pubic instead of public - I'll apologise profusely)
-terminology preferences (synonyms, client has previously chosen to always use one over the other for reasons of consistency - this should be communicated in a glossary and you should apologise profusely if you didn't. When no glossary is supplied, you should try to glean this info on the end client's website. I always start by having a quick look at their website to get a feel for what I need to aim for, and then I'll check for such preferences as I encounter the terminology in the translation - if one has escaped me, I'll ask if they can supply a glossary next time, or if I have started one, I'll add it and I'll tell them that I did so.)
-bad terminology preferences (things like using US termino when it's supposed to be UK English, and it makes a difference, like pants and trousers in a fashion translation, or they've imposed their own terminology and it's plain wrong but nobody has dared to say that the emperor has no clothes - I'll give the client an explanation)
-colourful or idiomatic target language watered down into something more straightforward (this happens to me a lot, because I do a lot of stuff where creativity is required. I'm selected because they "like my style", then my style gets watered down. Typically, I've had problems with the fashion industry accepting "badass" as an acceptable term for a look that they'll call "rock", which is admittedly an English word, but just doesn't work. I actually added a list of links to articles using "badass" to describe this style to my glossary to send along with my translation as a preventive measure. This is the one category of change that is most likely to rile me up really rotten)
-glaring clanger (of course this never happens. The only possible reaction is to apologise profusely and put it in bold caps at the top of your glossary so it never happens again.)
I'll then give a stat roundup along the lines of "7 of corrections were purely subjective, there was one minor spelling mistake, which I'm sorry about and have now corrected, and two terms that I have made note of in my glossary for future translations".
As you can tell, I like to be thorough, it shows that I take my work and my client's feelings and expectations seriously, which clients like (I suspect that very few read my entire analysis but they're impressed).
ETA I'll do all this whether or not payment is in the balance, because my reputation and ongoing relationship with the client are also at stake.
[Edited at 2021-07-31 07:53 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 05:02
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
| Change categories. | Jul 31, 2021 |
Just judging by the way a client/PM asks about the changes, I can easily tell whether they are completely clueless about the change category for the given language pair and how the two languages work together or not.
Then I have to educate them through a very lengthy process tailoring response very creatively so they can possibly understand it. If I asked my dentist to explain in deep scientific micro detail about the dental process, they wouldn’t do it, definitely not for free.
| | | | Anna Jaffe
Netherlands
Local time: 05:02
Dutch to English
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| Payment doesn't reflect their satisfaction, it's for doing the work | Jul 31, 2021 |
I'm pretty sure they have to pay you anyway, as you've already done the work.
I'll apologize and do a rewrite on request (rearranging sentences, picking slightly different terms). I'll provide a list of responses similar to Kay's as well, but keep my explanations short. I'm afraid too much detail will just come off as defensive.
I've also had end customers complain that something is too 'wooden' (not too often, fortunately). That's very difficult to prove or disprove, and it's someth... See more I'm pretty sure they have to pay you anyway, as you've already done the work.
I'll apologize and do a rewrite on request (rearranging sentences, picking slightly different terms). I'll provide a list of responses similar to Kay's as well, but keep my explanations short. I'm afraid too much detail will just come off as defensive.
I've also had end customers complain that something is too 'wooden' (not too often, fortunately). That's very difficult to prove or disprove, and it's something I worry about anyway. Sounding natural in translation isn't easy! Again, I'll apologize and do a rewrite ASAP. That costs time and is bad for the ego, but I feel I owe it to them. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Tony Keily
Local time: 05:02
Italian to English
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| The agency's role is important too | Jul 31, 2021 |
I think you certainly have case regarding the agency's role. The agency is your customer (not 'the client') and it's not your responsibility to deal with any third-parties. The agency, under the applicable international standards for TSPs, is responsible for ensuring that your work meets general translation standards AND the specific requirements of THEIR customer. If the agency was happy with your work and paid you in full, that means your duties end there.
Having said that, we al... See more I think you certainly have case regarding the agency's role. The agency is your customer (not 'the client') and it's not your responsibility to deal with any third-parties. The agency, under the applicable international standards for TSPs, is responsible for ensuring that your work meets general translation standards AND the specific requirements of THEIR customer. If the agency was happy with your work and paid you in full, that means your duties end there.
Having said that, we all know that agencies often don't apply these standards, abdicate their responsibilities and stand aside, leaving translators to deal with unwarranted criticism from unqualified sources. If you think this is the case, just tell the agency, offering your services for further language consultation, obviously paid for by the hour. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Arianne Farah
Canada
Local time: 23:02
Member (2008)
English to French
| Opportunity to upsell | Aug 3, 2021 |
sarahprice wrote:
The client has changed some of the terms I have used in my translation to their preferred terminology and the agency is now asking me to state whether I feel that the client's complaint is justified.
I would answer something along the lines that of course the client has their preferred terminology and that you want to make them happy, however in the absence of reference material there was no way to know the client's preferences ahead of time.
Offer to create a glossary the client can vet and that you and other translators can use going forward.
Charge hourly.
If they don't take you up on your offer, they don't have a leg to stand on regarding terminology choices (I'm assuming the terms in question were technically correct in the original translation, but not what the client would have used)
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Marjolein Snippe
Netherlands
Local time: 05:02
Member (2012)
English to Dutch
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| Normal procedure for some end clients | Aug 3, 2021 |
My translations for one client are routinely reviewed by the end client's employees. I am then asked to take a look at the requested changes and indicate what kind of changes these are (if they don't, I still indicate what kind of change is requested, so that my client knows whether I have made a mistake or whether this is a preferential change). As my client (the agency) points out to me, this is not intended as criticism on my translation.
Sometimes they identify a missed typo. Sometimes... See more My translations for one client are routinely reviewed by the end client's employees. I am then asked to take a look at the requested changes and indicate what kind of changes these are (if they don't, I still indicate what kind of change is requested, so that my client knows whether I have made a mistake or whether this is a preferential change). As my client (the agency) points out to me, this is not intended as criticism on my translation.
Sometimes they identify a missed typo. Sometimes they make preferential changes, replacing a correct term with their preferred term. Both fine, of course.
Sometimes they change the meaning of the translation compared to the source text. I always point this out and then implement the requested change, so long as they are aware there is now a difference compared to the original source text.
Sometimes they introduce grammatical errors or inconsistencies. I always point this out and usually try to find a compromise which is not (grammatically or otherwise) wrong.
I also try to maintain a glossary with their preferred terms for the next time.
The point is, the end client is trying to tweak the translation to their liking and/or make it consistent with their preferred style and terminology. It can be a little frustrating, but this is not about the quality of my translations and my client knows and this and lets me know. It sounds to me like your client (the agency) is not unhappy with the quality of your translations. If you point out to them that this is not a quality but rather a preference issue, they should be able to explain this to the end client. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Adieu
Ukrainian to English
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Is this worded like a BS complaint, does it have some substance to it, or does it feel like some oddball random pick-and-dissect attempt at imitating an extra stage of QC?
Could be one of those "initiatives" where someone desperate to prove their non-redundancy steps up to offer "constructive improvements" to the accepted process. In which case, it might mean nothing whatsoever (unless your response manages to offend or unsettle someone).
| | | | jyuan_us
United States
Local time: 23:02
Member (2005)
English to Chinese
+ ...
sarahprice wrote:
The client has changed some of the terms I have used in my translation to their preferred terminology and the agency is now asking me to state whether I feel that the client's complaint is justified.
Did you mean the agency just forwarded your translation to the client without having anyone edit/proofread it? If so, did you charge the agency a fee that covered your efforts in translating, editing, and proofreading the file?
If the agency did have a third party edit your translation, they should have asked that third party if the client's changes are justifiable or not.
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