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Poll: Do you accept being paid less or nothing at all for repetitions?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
May 3, 2017

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Do you accept being paid less or nothing at all for repetitions?".

This poll was originally submitted by RakelC. View the poll results »



 
Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 16:10
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
No way May 3, 2017

I have to see how they're going to fit in the context. I often decide to vary them with synonyms or different structures. So many different challenges can come up. I'm not about to leave that decision to a machine.

If I find that a whole sentence or paragraph is repeated (which happened to me several time in my last job), I will let the client know.


 
Markus Perndl
Markus Perndl
Austria
Local time: 00:10
Italian to German
+ ...
Other... May 3, 2017

... it depends on whether the repetitions have to be revised. If they don't cause any extra work and the client assumes the responsibility for their adequacy in each and every context, I accept not being paid for them. Why should I?

 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 23:10
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
No May 3, 2017

This is one of the negative effects of CAT tools and I don't use them! That being said, I have voluntarily offered discounts to some of my clients who have been giving me very repetitive work for over 20 years...

P.S. Do we get a discount every time this question is asked?


 
neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 00:10
Spanish to English
+ ...
Other May 3, 2017

Not unless I decide to allow the client a discount, because I consider the repetition (or other circumstances) substantial enough to merit a discount.

However, the scenario where an agency says something like "here's a 5000 word text" (translator thinks "hurray").... but after all these so-called fuzzy matches and repetitions are taken into account, it's only 3000 words (translator thinks "boo"), is anathema to me, and I happen to be lucky enough to have enough direct clients of my
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Not unless I decide to allow the client a discount, because I consider the repetition (or other circumstances) substantial enough to merit a discount.

However, the scenario where an agency says something like "here's a 5000 word text" (translator thinks "hurray").... but after all these so-called fuzzy matches and repetitions are taken into account, it's only 3000 words (translator thinks "boo"), is anathema to me, and I happen to be lucky enough to have enough direct clients of my own not to have to deal with that kind of operator.
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Catherine De Crignis
Catherine De Crignis  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 00:10
Member (2012)
English to French
+ ...
Yes but May 3, 2017

it varies a lot from one project to the other.
On the one hand, technical manuals often have proper repetitions, which may be eligible for a discount, for instance. On the other hand I’ve seen poor writing where repetitions had to be deleted or translated differently, which sort of required extra work in a way.
Besides, with regard to the wording of this poll, I don’t see the point of putting "less or nothing" in the same category, so I almost put "other".
No pay means no
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it varies a lot from one project to the other.
On the one hand, technical manuals often have proper repetitions, which may be eligible for a discount, for instance. On the other hand I’ve seen poor writing where repetitions had to be deleted or translated differently, which sort of required extra work in a way.
Besides, with regard to the wording of this poll, I don’t see the point of putting "less or nothing" in the same category, so I almost put "other".
No pay means no work!
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Yetta Jensen Bogarde
Yetta Jensen Bogarde  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 00:10
Member (2012)
English to Danish
+ ...
Yes May 3, 2017

I accept a discount if it makes sense and I can use my CAT tool.

 
Christel Zipfel
Christel Zipfel  Identity Verified
Local time: 00:10
Member (2004)
Italian to German
+ ...
Less yes, under certain circumstances, nothing at all never! May 3, 2017

So what should I reply? I'm puzzled...

 
Jan Truper
Jan Truper  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 00:10
Member (2016)
English to German
Yes May 3, 2017

Obviously, it depends on the job and the source text, but for most jobs I do with a CAT tool, I'd consider myself a crook if I were to charge my full rate for repetitions.
(I do a lot of game texts, which often contain sections loaded with repetitions.)

[Edited at 2017-05-03 10:03 GMT]


 
Angie Garbarino
Angie Garbarino  Identity Verified
Local time: 00:10
Member (2003)
French to Italian
+ ...
Less yes nothing NO May 3, 2017

I use cat tools, I replied Other

 
John Fossey
John Fossey  Identity Verified
Canada
Local time: 19:10
Member (2008)
French to English
+ ...
Depends May 3, 2017

It depends on how the repetitions can be handled with my CAT tool. If it's a larger job where the tool can hide the repetitions and deal with them in the background so I don't see them or process them, then I don't mind being paid less or in some cases nothing for the repetitions. If the repetitions require any processing at all (such as proofreading) then I will charge for them.

 
Thayenga
Thayenga  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 00:10
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
No May 3, 2017

Unless the client explicitly accepts the responsibility for any mistakes in the repetitions (can be tricky when it comes to German). Being paid nothing means... not even looking at that repetition.

For as long as a client is not interested in sharing the costs of a CAT tool, the only discount available is the one I grant for a particular reason or in a particular case.

Just like the bakery shop offers yesterday's bread at a lower price and solely based on her/his gusto,
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Unless the client explicitly accepts the responsibility for any mistakes in the repetitions (can be tricky when it comes to German). Being paid nothing means... not even looking at that repetition.

For as long as a client is not interested in sharing the costs of a CAT tool, the only discount available is the one I grant for a particular reason or in a particular case.

Just like the bakery shop offers yesterday's bread at a lower price and solely based on her/his gusto, a translator sets the rate. What do bakers and translators have in common? Both are entrepreneurs and both set their price, not their clients/customers.
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DZiW (X)
DZiW (X)
Ukraine
English to Russian
+ ...
No white-collars May 3, 2017

First, less payment assumes less work, which isn't really the case in translation.
Second, not a single my client did really care HOW I do the translation, only the result matters.

What about a surgeon changing extra for re-using all those 'repetitive' tools and routines? Or should patients ask for deductions instead?

No lame excuses for a parasitic bastard good nature.


 
Paul Dixon
Paul Dixon  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 20:10
Portuguese to English
+ ...
An uncatted translator here May 3, 2017

I do not use CAT tools as yet so repetitions are not a major issue. However, I would not accept being paid less for repetitions.

 
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 20:10
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
I used to say "No way", but... May 3, 2017

My usual answer to this question is "No way".

However, I have received several documents from regular clients that usually do not compute discounts for repetitions, regarding several repetitions in a document like a spreadsheet, a financial statement, etc. The same happens with numbers.

For example: I received 4 Income Statements (4 different people, all 2016) to translate from a client last month. All 4 were identical forms, changing only the personal info. I also rece
... See more
My usual answer to this question is "No way".

However, I have received several documents from regular clients that usually do not compute discounts for repetitions, regarding several repetitions in a document like a spreadsheet, a financial statement, etc. The same happens with numbers.

For example: I received 4 Income Statements (4 different people, all 2016) to translate from a client last month. All 4 were identical forms, changing only the personal info. I also received some balance sheets and income statements from another client, from three years plus a consolidated statement (lots of repetitions and lots of numbers).

In cases like this, you don't have to touch the repetitions. They'll be automatically filled-in and corrected if you make any changes. It is only fair to charge the regular 50% and 25% rates for these repetitions (not Zero, though), and we're still making money without any work!

Now, those who don't use CATs and claim they don't accept this kind of discount (as I used to do until about two years ago) must be aware they'll gradually and regularly lose clients. This is not like cloud work or post-editing; this is a fair evolution of the market.

On the other hand, clients that require discounts from all types of repetitions as of the first job, as a standard, using the CAT Stats, can all find another translator. This is not fair and not acceptable.
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Poll: Do you accept being paid less or nothing at all for repetitions?






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