The crying game
Thread poster: Heinrich Pesch
Heinrich Pesch
Heinrich Pesch  Identity Verified
Finland
Local time: 04:40
Member (2003)
Finnish to German
+ ...
Aug 10, 2012

On Tuesday a German agency sent me a pdf with scanned documents, 9 pages. I told them my rate and required 1-2 days.
Today a British agency sends me the same file, tells me it is about 500 words and wants the translation this afternoon. I run it through Abbyy Finereader and get roughly 1500 words. I promise the translation for Monday morning but they turn it down, stating they really need it today.


 
Roman Karabaev
Roman Karabaev  Identity Verified
Russian Federation
Local time: 06:40
English to Russian
+ ...
I've got a better one Aug 10, 2012

That's what I found in the incoming folder yesterday:

GreedyFutureNonPayer wrote:
Hi!

We have a potential new English > Russian job, that is approximately 70,000 words long, with go ahead at 9am tomorrow morning. The rate is USD 0.03 per word
I would need your translation by 5pm UK time tomorrow.
The document is about, Finance, Oil and Gas and is a merger and acquisition based document as well.
Let me know ASAP if you can take part in this project and how many words can you do within the given time.
Thank you!




And no, there's no mistake - they do want 70 thousand words "by tomorrow" - two more companies posted similar ads here. They have to hire some 30+ people to do it in time - just imagine that mess of styles, terminology and errors the end user will come across.


 
neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 03:40
Spanish to English
+ ...
Really need Aug 10, 2012

What these people "really need" is a short, sharp, shock...

 
ATIL KAYHAN
ATIL KAYHAN  Identity Verified
Türkiye
Local time: 05:40
Member (2007)
Turkish to English
+ ...
What They Need Aug 10, 2012

neilmac wrote:

What these people "really need" is a short, sharp, shock...


Or perhaps just Google Translate...


 
Tomás Cano Binder, BA, CT
Tomás Cano Binder, BA, CT  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 03:40
Member (2005)
English to Spanish
+ ...
I wonder... Aug 10, 2012

Heinrich Pesch wrote:
On Tuesday a German agency sent me a pdf with scanned documents, 9 pages. I told them my rate and required 1-2 days.
Today a British agency sends me the same file, tells me it is about 500 words and wants the translation this afternoon. I run it through Abbyy Finereader and get roughly 1500 words. I promise the translation for Monday morning but they turn it down, stating they really need it today.

I wonder whether the German agency hired the British agency, the latter promised to have it in 1-2 days, and are now in trouble because they lost time managing the project.


 
Phil Hand
Phil Hand  Identity Verified
China
Local time: 10:40
Chinese to English
The way the market works Aug 10, 2012

I agree that this looks silly, and the agency has obviously wasted time faffing about trying to find a cheaper translator. But that's kinda how it works. They try to find someone cheaper. They fail. Next time they know better. This process of negotiation, failure and education is an ongoing and necessary part of the market. If anything, we should be glad because this is a correct result, even though it's not a good result for the client.

 
Richard Bartholomew
Richard Bartholomew  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 03:40
German to English
...and all at US$0.03/word! Aug 10, 2012

Roman Karabaev wrote:

And no, there's no mistake - they do want 70 thousand words "by tomorrow" - two more companies posted similar ads here. They have to hire some 30+ people to do it in time - just imagine that mess of styles, terminology and errors the end user will come across.


That's obviously not going to happen. I'm working on a 70k source word document now and the PM gave me over a month to finish it (I've translated than half of it and I'm still on schedule to complete it on time). However US$0.03/word is an outrageously low rate under any circumstances in my humble opinion.


 
Richard Bartholomew
Richard Bartholomew  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 03:40
German to English
The three Ses Aug 10, 2012

neilmac wrote:

What these people "really need" is a short, sharp, shock...


... and that's most likely what they're going to get, too.


 


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The crying game







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