Poll: How often do you encounter clients who seem to "disappear" after you do a translation test? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "How often do you encounter clients who seem to "disappear" after you do a translation test?".
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| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 06:05
Spanish to English
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Rarely, if ever. Most of the time I'm reluctant to do translation "tests". My clients come to me by word of mouth recommendation from satisfied customers.
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These days I’m rarely asked for a test but on the other hand when I’m asked for a quote some potential clients tend to disappear as quickly as they came…
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 05:05
Member (2008)
Italian to English
"How often do you encounter clients who seem to "disappear" after you do a translation test?"
Every time. So it's very rare, now, for me to accept an invitation to do a translation test.
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I don't mind doing paid translations tests.
Then the client may "disappear" for a year or three, request a translation out of the blue for some reason, establish a strong bond with significant no-nonsensical business, and then we live happily together making a lot of translations.
Philippe
| | | | | Occasionally | Jul 27, 2021 |
I consider tests a marketing effort and I do them if the project/client/agency seems interesting and if they generally agree to my rates beforehand. But I don't have high expectations. Many agencies simply collect the results and bury them in their database. Some of them don't even bother to give me any result. But on the other hand, I have had cases where agencies came back after months or even years when they had a new project/client, apparently found me in their database and offered me the pr... See more I consider tests a marketing effort and I do them if the project/client/agency seems interesting and if they generally agree to my rates beforehand. But I don't have high expectations. Many agencies simply collect the results and bury them in their database. Some of them don't even bother to give me any result. But on the other hand, I have had cases where agencies came back after months or even years when they had a new project/client, apparently found me in their database and offered me the project.
Or, to quote Henry Ford: I know that half of the tests I do are a waste of time. But I don't know which half. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Mario Freitas 
Brazil
Local time: 02:05
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
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| Occasionally | Jul 27, 2021 |
It's the most common thing in the world, and people keep thinking it's undue, and that the agency should reply to you, even if you were not approved.
Now think about it: the agency submits a test to 100 translators; then, they choose one or two to work with them. OF COURSE they are not going to reply the other 98 emails and explain the others were not selected. Be practical!
| | | | Thayenga
Germany
Local time: 06:05
Member (2009)
English to German
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Fortunately only once and, of course, without having paid for the rendered service. But if they needed that money so desperately, then Karma might let them get away with it.
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| Just very rarely, but... | Jul 28, 2021 |
In the early days of my translation activities I was warned about a scam:
Obviously, there are "clients" who split up a text which they want to get translated into several parts, contact a handful of translators, and offer each of them one of these parts as a "test translation", of course at a rather low rate (because "it's only a test translation...").
That way they get their text translated for a very low price. But honestly - and fortunately - as yet I've never come across any of ... See more In the early days of my translation activities I was warned about a scam:
Obviously, there are "clients" who split up a text which they want to get translated into several parts, contact a handful of translators, and offer each of them one of these parts as a "test translation", of course at a rather low rate (because "it's only a test translation...").
That way they get their text translated for a very low price. But honestly - and fortunately - as yet I've never come across any of these scammers. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | That myth again | Jul 28, 2021 |
Christina Pauly wrote:
In the early days of my translation activities I was warned about a scam:
Obviously, there are "clients" who split up a text which they want to get translated into several parts, contact a handful of translators, and offer each of them one of these parts as a "test translation", of course at a rather low rate (because "it's only a test translation...").
That way they get their text translated for a very low price. But honestly - and fortunately - as yet I've never come across any of these scammers.
This sort of scam is just a myth. If you really think about that, what kind of effort it would be to distribute a translation as small scraps of tests to a number of translators, collecting the results and combining them, and then think about what a horrible result you would get, a result that would get you fired by every serious client, you can see yourself that this "business model" does not work. It is just a myth spread by translators unwilling to do unpaid test translations.
| | | | | Agree, but.... | Jul 28, 2021 |
Kay-Viktor Stegemann wrote:
Christina Pauly wrote:
In the early days of my translation activities I was warned about a scam:
Obviously, there are "clients" who split up a text which they want to get translated into several parts, contact a handful of translators, and offer each of them one of these parts as a "test translation", of course at a rather low rate (because "it's only a test translation...").
That way they get their text translated for a very low price. But honestly - and fortunately - as yet I've never come across any of these scammers.
This sort of scam is just a myth. If you really think about that, what kind of effort it would be to distribute a translation as small scraps of tests to a number of translators, collecting the results and combining them, and then think about what a horrible result you would get, a result that would get you fired by every serious client, you can see yourself that this "business model" does not work. It is just a myth spread by translators unwilling to do unpaid test translations.
.... there are agencies that send you a "test" of, lets say, 500-750 words, complete with a tight deadline, and sell it afterwards to their client. So you are doing a free translation. Not a myth!
[Edited at 2021-07-28 13:00 GMT]
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