| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3] > | I'm so fed up with this Thread poster: S_G_C
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| Translation management portals | Jul 4, 2022 |
Kay Denney wrote:
TBF these portals make life easier for the PMs, they have everything at their fingertips and simply work in the same portal all day long.
They do make life easier for PMs. Manually assigning tasks on a 20+ languages project is not my idea of a cushy job
Just the other day an agency I did a few translations for pre-covid sent me details to log on to their new portal and even asked me to attend a webinar to learn how to fill in my details...
Turns out there's tons of stuff to be entered, and yes, they wanted us to either use their CAT tool or Trados which I hate. They can't be bothered to send an email with an attachment, you just get a notification that there's something for you on their portal.
I wouldn't expect any agency to use each CAT tool (free and paid, desktop and online ones) available on the market, just like I wouldn't expect any translator to use all such CAT tools. My primary workhorse is Trados Studio, which you hate and which I like very much I use several other tools occasionally (Lilt, MateCat, memoQ, Memsource, SmartCAT, XTM). With these in place, I can handle at least 95% of potential translation jobs.
It's not like they ever sent me any really interesting work, and they took longer to pay than my regulars so I suppose I won't work with them any more.
Way to go... You'd be better off replacing them with another agency which better fits your 'ideal client' profile.
[Edited at 2022-07-04 10:12 GMT]
| | | | Baran Keki 
Türkiye
Local time: 05:18
Member
English to Turkish
Kay Denney wrote:
TBF these portals make life easier for the PMs,
So do they for the scammers. The problem with the agencies allowing everyone and their mother to 'join' through those portals is that anyone can pass themselves off as a translator in any language combination(s).
About 2 years ago I got a job from one of those portals (and it did pay a good word rate for my language pair) and about an hour after delivering the job, I received a 'proofreading request' from an Arab person, and the document turned out to be my own translation (he apparently wasn't quick enough to get the translation job from that portal, but landed the proofreading job instead, having registered himself as an English to Turkish translator, along with God knows how many other different pairs).
I had half a mind to accept his 0.02 USD per word offer to proofread my own translation, which I'd already done before delivering the translation in the first place. I 'respectfully' declined in the end.
Nowadays, I see some agencies are asking for 2 different proofs of address, a copy of ID and even a copy of criminal record (in your own language) to establish one's identity to avoid such scams, but I still believe the best way to do that is to ask for bona fide referees who have worked with you (with genuine business email accounts) to vouch for one's abilities and quality. A 300 word test is not a reliable way to judge one's competence.
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 04:18
French to English
You'd be better off replacing them with another agency which better fits your 'ideal client' profile.
I hadn't worked with them since Jan 2020, only a handful of small jobs over three years, it's not like I was dependent on them.
There's another agency I work with that uses a portal, but they email me potential jobs and email the PO. I only have to log into the portal to issue my bill at the end of the month, and then they pay very promptly. Also they do give me fun jobs.
| | | | | Details in the initial translation request | Jul 4, 2022 |
Kay Denney wrote:
There's another agency I work with that uses a portal, but they email me potential jobs and email the PO. I only have to log into the portal to issue my bill at the end of the month, and then they pay very promptly. Also they do give me fun jobs.
A translation request should contain the following information:
- Project name:
- Language pair:
- Service(s) required:
- File format(s):
- Word count:
- Applicable rate(s), based on your details in their vendor database:
- Deadline required:
- Deliverables:
- Payment method and terms:
We all receive translation requests that read "I have a translation project for you. Please give your best rate."
If you decide to respond, rather than send it straight to the trash box, you'll have to exchange a few emails just to figure out the project scope and other parameters. In most cases, you will eventually decide to stay away from the project for different reasons.
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Lieven Malaise
Belgium
Local time: 04:18
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
+ ...
| Well, what a coincidence. | Jul 4, 2022 |
Kay Denney wrote:
Just the other day an agency I did a few translations for pre-covid sent me details to log on to their new portal and even asked me to attend a webinar to learn how to fill in my details.
I happened to have that afternoon free so I logged in. Turns out there's tons of stuff to be entered, and yes, they wanted us to either use their CAT tool or Trados which I hate. They can't be bothered to send an email with an attachment, you just get a notification that there's something for you on their portal. So instead of three clicks to see the text there are at least ten, and the password to be entered. And the payment is via a company in Denmark which doesn't sound very simple to me. It's not like they ever sent me any really interesting work, and they took longer to pay than my regulars so I suppose I won't work with them any more.
Interesting. I know exactly what company you are talking about.
One of my oldest clients was recently acquired by this translation agency. So I made the effort to migrate with them to the new platform, but it is indeed unlikely what I had to do (webinar and upload of a photo, indeed, and fill in 800 fields). I did decline to use their CAT tool, as I have been using Trados for 22 years. So I'm not going to waste time on an integrated tool 'under construction' with zero control by the translator that is by definition inferior to Trados.
But what struck me the most: their terms of purchase state that 100% of the responsibility lies with the translator and that they (the translation agency) act purely as an intermediary. This is actually bonkers because they charge probably at least double of the transator's rate. But apparently no responsiblity comes with that (like a revision, for example).
So I am particularly skeptical.
(And then I didn't mention their main service: "translation 2.0". Unsurprisingly it appears to be plain MTPE)
[Edited at 2022-07-04 11:02 GMT]
[Edited at 2022-07-04 11:02 GMT]
| | | | | Using a fancy term to put a gloss on the old-hat MT | Jul 4, 2022 |
Lieven Malaise wrote:
(And then I didn't mention their main service: "translation 2.0". Unsurprisingly it appears to be plain MTPE)
Another linguistic trick used by multiple agencies is to request 'proofreading', while requiring 'revision', a.k.a. bilingual editing.
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 04:18
French to English
Vladimir Pochinov wrote: Kay Denney wrote:
There's another agency I work with that uses a portal, but they email me potential jobs and email the PO. I only have to log into the portal to issue my bill at the end of the month, and then they pay very promptly. Also they do give me fun jobs. A translation request should contain the following information: - Project name:
- Language pair:
- Service(s) required:
- File format(s):
- Word count:
- Applicable rate(s), based on your details in their vendor database:
- Deadline required:
- Deliverables:
- Payment method and terms:
We all receive translation requests that read "I have a translation project for you. Please give your best rate." If you decide to respond, rather than send it straight to the trash box, you'll have to exchange a few emails just to figure out the project scope and other parameters. In most cases, you will eventually decide to stay away from the project for different reasons.
The vast majority of agencies I work with will provide all that (language pair not being relevant since I only have one, file format is obvious looking at the attachment, rate and payment being negotiated in advance) in the initial email. Some have tried asking me to have skype or some other instant messaging service up and running on my computer, but I've found that tends to invite "you free?" questions that result in you having to ask for all that info (like pulling worms out of their nose, as the French so very poetically put it).
I do get the kind of email you describe, but not from my clients. Just about 100% of those messages, and the scam messages, come from this website. Coupled with the fact that I don't get any job offers here and only ever secured work here in the first year I was a member, I'm now wondering whether I shouldn't simply delete my profile
| | | | | ProZ membership pays off nicely if you take the effort to show up in the first search results page | Jul 4, 2022 |
Kay Denney wrote:
I do get the kind of email you describe, but not from my clients. Just about 100% of those messages, and the scam messages, come from this website. Coupled with the fact that I don't get any job offers here and only ever secured work here in the first year I was a member, I'm now wondering whether I shouldn't simply delete my profile
It's quite different in my case. I registered at ProZ.com in December 1999. I have acquired many long-term clients via ProZ.com over the years, including a cushy contract with one UN agency (back in 2012). In 2013, I even paid for my membership through 2023 by way of a thank you to ProZ staff.
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S_G_C
Romania
Local time: 05:18
English to Romanian
TOPIC STARTER
Vladimir Pochinov wrote:
It's quite different in my case. I registered at ProZ.com in December 1999. I have acquired many long-term clients via ProZ.com over the years, including a cushy contract with one UN agency (back in 2012). In 2013, I even paid for my membership through 2023 by way of a thank you to ProZ staff.
I don't remember when I registered and I can't remember any client I acquired via proz.com. Apparently, there was always a better quote or a more suitable candidate. Who knows.
But like I've said before, I've gotten used to proz.com servicing me in other valuable ways.
| | | | | "A copy of your ID" | Jul 5, 2022 |
Baran Keki wrote:
Nowadays, I see some agencies are asking for 2 different proofs of address, a copy of ID and even a copy of criminal record (in your own language) to establish one's identity to avoid such scams
Okay, now I get the idea behind when asked to submit such documents. But once submitted to a prospective client, where no job materializes at the end of the day anyway: who knows where these documents will be misused elsewhere for what purpose?
| | | | Tony Keily
Local time: 04:18
Italian to English
+ ...
| These agencies don't understand that they are competing on a HR market | Jul 5, 2022 |
Excessive requirements are just short-sighted business on the part of agencies. They don't see that together with competition for work there is also competition for good human resources. It's in their own interest to remove barriers from access to these resources. Good agencies enhance the 'easy-to-work-with' factor.
There's also a cultural side to this. Some countries just have traditions of red tape and complication. There is one agency I work with now and again that has 14 'very... See more Excessive requirements are just short-sighted business on the part of agencies. They don't see that together with competition for work there is also competition for good human resources. It's in their own interest to remove barriers from access to these resources. Good agencies enhance the 'easy-to-work-with' factor.
There's also a cultural side to this. Some countries just have traditions of red tape and complication. There is one agency I work with now and again that has 14 'very important points' that need to be followed if you want to get paid. Not just important points, mind: VERY important points! ▲ Collapse
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 04:18
French to English
Vladimir Pochinov wrote:
It's quite different in my case. I registered at ProZ.com in December 1999. I have acquired many long-term clients via ProZ.com over the years, including a cushy contract with one UN agency (back in 2012). In 2013, I even paid for my membership through 2023 by way of a thank you to ProZ staff.
This is probably because your language pair is not nearly as mundane as mine! I'd have to work for months answering kudoz questions to get on the first page of any client searches. Not that it matters, because I do have plenty of work from other sources.
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Gerard de Noord
France
Local time: 04:18
Member (2003)
English to Dutch
+ ...
| That's a very smart observation | Jul 7, 2022 |
Sadek_A wrote: Sorana_M. wrote:
what are they hoping to achieve? Having the upper hand!
That's a very smart observation. They'll have the upper hand in all subsequent negotiations.
Cheers,
Gerard
| | | | Michael Newton
United States
Local time: 22:18
Japanese to English
+ ...
| I'm so fed up | Jul 7, 2022 |
One Chinese company "based in San Francisco" that placed an "opportunity" on proz.com a few days ago advertises itself as "the Uber of translation companies". At least they were honest about it. At the end of the day, translators are gig workers, no?
"
| | | | Adieu
Ukrainian to English
+ ...
| They're not wrong | Jul 8, 2022 |
"First click gets the job"-type agencies are in many ways similar to Uber.
Same general idea of loitering with a phone perpetually glued in hand. Less time to click than on Uber, though. Those guys had a generous 45 seconds, at least back in the day.
Michael Newton wrote:
One Chinese company "based in San Francisco" that placed an "opportunity" on proz.com a few days ago advertises itself as "the Uber of translation companies". At least they were honest about it. At the end of the day, translators are gig workers, no?
"
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