Poll: Have you made changes to the way you serve your clients in the past few years?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
Jan 18, 2018

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Have you made changes to the way you serve your clients in the past few years?".

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neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 13:45
Spanish to English
+ ...
Other Jan 18, 2018

I'm not sure. I don't think I've done so intentionally. Some aspects of the relationship may have "evolved"....

 
Michael Harris
Michael Harris  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 13:45
Member (2006)
German to English
Other Jan 18, 2018

Nope, I have always served them on a silver platter with a dab of cream on top and will do in the future.

 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 12:45
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
No Jan 18, 2018

They seem happy with me and keep coming back…

 
Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 05:45
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
Yes: I'm getting pickier Jan 18, 2018

I have a mental list of things I'm not willing to do anymore.

 
Philippe Etienne
Philippe Etienne  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 13:45
Member
English to French
No Jan 18, 2018

Responsiveness, quality, courtesy, articulate writing in e-mails, keeping promises, pleasant communication, accountability, diplomacy, no non-sense and fairness have benefited my clients indiscriminately for more than the past few years.

Which is only normal as I expect the same treatment from them.

Oh God almighty do I love to congratulate myself.

Philippe


 
Giovanni Guarnieri MITI, MIL
Giovanni Guarnieri MITI, MIL  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:45
Member (2004)
English to Italian
Other Jan 18, 2018

no idea what it means...

 
Michel de Ruyter
Michel de Ruyter  Identity Verified
Finland
Local time: 14:45
Member (2011)
English to Dutch
+ ...
More relaxed Jan 18, 2018

It's great to be more experienced as you know your weaknesses and strenghts, so you serve only your best, and therefore in a more relaxed way.

 
EvaVer (X)
EvaVer (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 13:45
Czech to French
+ ...
Yes, simplifying Jan 18, 2018

Also becoming more picky, including not taking any "technical and administrative harassment" such as working in the client's online system, filling in 20-page questionnaires... I also discontinued my interpreting services, so I no longer see my clients in person (the few I used to see). And I cancelled my system of bulk discounts that only applied to a few clients and was too difficult to manage.

 
Mario Chavez (X)
Mario Chavez (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 08:45
English to Spanish
+ ...
A few Jan 18, 2018

The main change is the speed at which I translate or write for a project. I'm no longer working for hectic clients. I've learned to appreciate the time required to render a suitable and functional translation, so I'm no longer interested in doing 3000 words per day.

 
Christine Andersen
Christine Andersen  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 13:45
Member (2003)
Danish to English
+ ...
I am much pickier, but give them all I've got Jan 18, 2018

I have weeded out a number of clients, and some have probably dropped me.

If they don't like my rates, I don't always negotiate... and if I don't feel I can do the job really well, I turn it down. That goes especially for editing and reviewing.
Previously I took on a lot of jobs that I found I actually could do well enough to satisfy the client, but I was not always very confident about them.

The big change came last year when my pension came through! For one thi
... See more
I have weeded out a number of clients, and some have probably dropped me.

If they don't like my rates, I don't always negotiate... and if I don't feel I can do the job really well, I turn it down. That goes especially for editing and reviewing.
Previously I took on a lot of jobs that I found I actually could do well enough to satisfy the client, but I was not always very confident about them.

The big change came last year when my pension came through! For one thing, I have that to pay the basic bills with, although if I want to do more, I still need to earn some money. And I am not ready to give up translating yet...

But on the other hand, if I earn more than a certain limit, the equivalent of working roughly half time, then on top of ordinary income tax, both my pension and my husband's are cut, so in effect I pay well over 70% in tax!
Collapse


 
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 09:45
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Regularly Jan 19, 2018

I keep improving my services as much as I can, introducing lessons learned, experiences shared by colleagues, software and hardware updates, among other things. Providing services is always a very dynamic activity, and if you are not adapting to the market regularly and improving your services regularly, you run the risk of being replaced soon.

 


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Poll: Have you made changes to the way you serve your clients in the past few years?






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