| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Misunderstandings, bad communication, supernatural powers and abuse Thread poster: manfredi nadai
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Dan Lucas 
United Kingdom
Local time: 05:46
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
| Perhaps not professional, but human | Nov 26, 2014 |
Anna Sarah Krämer Fazendeiro wrote:
I think it is rather unprofessional to complain about any conditions that we, as freelancers, have voluntarily accepted.
In one sense I can't disagree: if you've committed to a deadline and a rate out of your own free will, it seems odd to complain. After all, you decide. On the other hand, having had a problem of this kind myself not so long ago, I can sympathise with the original poster's need to vent!
Dan
| | | | Luca Tutino
Italy
Member (2002)
English to Italian
+ ...
| We need to talk about these things | Nov 26, 2014 |
I also sympathize. This is actually just a sign of a current trend, which requires quite some effort to be contrasted on our side.
manfredi nadai wrote:
This is why I started this discussion online: first to create awareness,
Will you please post a more explicit comment on Linkedin Unacceptable Translation Rates Naming & Shaming Group?
| | | | | Globalization, turbo capitalism and talking about things | Nov 26, 2014 |
Believe me, I am fully aware that companies are trying to squeeze the lifeblood out of people to increase their profits. However, as freelancers we are in the lucky position to say "no" to unacceptable conditions. Blaming the state of the global economy for the difficulty in getting decent projects is a sign you bought into the arguments of the agencies why they can't treat you better. Of course they can, but they'd prefer not to. I read so many forum posts where people actually ask "Is this or ... See more Believe me, I am fully aware that companies are trying to squeeze the lifeblood out of people to increase their profits. However, as freelancers we are in the lucky position to say "no" to unacceptable conditions. Blaming the state of the global economy for the difficulty in getting decent projects is a sign you bought into the arguments of the agencies why they can't treat you better. Of course they can, but they'd prefer not to. I read so many forum posts where people actually ask "Is this or that behaviour of agency x normal or acceptable?" Well, as a freelancer I decide what is normal and acceptable and I am astonished how many translators seem to believe they have to put up with anything an agency throws at them. Shark agencies will prey on those translators, of course. It's their nature.
This is a really scary situation and I totally agree we have to talk about it and make people aware of it. We have to build negotiation skills and we have to alert new translators how to deal with the agency sharks out there.
But at the same time we have to run our business like professionals. I agree that it is confusing if an agency changes deadline mid-project and if this happened more than once, I might consider dropping them. But if you miss a deadline, even in a confusing situation, it is understandable that this generates a big problem for the PMs - they have to decide how to handle the situation to mitigate any damage that can arise out of it. You were asking how I would have handled it - in my opinion the first and most important thing to do would be to apologize, not to shout into the telefone. Then, I would never work all night to finish a job even if I missed the deadline, because it can only make things worse. I would politely tell the agency they will have to find someone else or they will have to wait till next day when I am fresh and ready to work again.
Large agencies can be difficult to work with, I agree with that. They can be very pushy and will always try to increase profits. But they also can provide a regular stream of interesting projects. If we really want to "educate" large clients to show us more respect it makes no sense to vilify them just because they are big or because they don't want to have their projects delivered late. ▲ Collapse
| | | | manfredi nadai
Local time: 06:46
French to Italian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | O tempora, o mores! | Nov 26, 2014 |
Yes, a sign of the times, where big multinational companies eat the market, killing competition, and reducing the space for small actors, with very aggressive practices. This means very bad working conditions for us, reduced negotiation power (in spite of what our colleague Anna Sarah thinks), very aggressive strategies towards the competitors, saying YES to any crazy request coming from the client. Saying YES to any crazy requests of clients is made possible cause there are unfortunately many p... See more Yes, a sign of the times, where big multinational companies eat the market, killing competition, and reducing the space for small actors, with very aggressive practices. This means very bad working conditions for us, reduced negotiation power (in spite of what our colleague Anna Sarah thinks), very aggressive strategies towards the competitors, saying YES to any crazy request coming from the client. Saying YES to any crazy requests of clients is made possible cause there are unfortunately many people available to work for nothing (this is not my case), in spite of what Anna Sarah believes. And this is how they kill competition, in the global market. The cost of this operation, ca va sans dire, falls over us. This applies to different sectors, to big distribution monsters who monopolize the marketplace, or to big words sellers (translation companies) does not make any difference, and concerning this aspect a seller of hamburger, a low cost airline or my agency (who is very well known to most of you) function absolutely the same way. Given this context, I can still have the illusion to enjoy the status of a freelancer, but my position comes closer and closer to the slaves selling and serving french fries in a just in time chain. Even worse, the slaves serving hamburgers and french fries, most likely are employees, and still have some rights (paid vacation, sick leave, etc), we don't!
I wait for the objection to come: so why are you still trying to work as a translator and do not look for another job?
Easy reply: cause I deeply love what I do, and cause I want to take the challenge to change a bit the situation. And because I am sure there is a way to fight this, and that's the most ancient way in the world: raising awareness, and creating a union between us! The sooner, the better!
[Edited at 2014-11-26 18:38 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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