Poll: Has a client ever contacted you for collaboration, but never got back to you after you accepted? Лице кое објавува дискусија: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Has a client ever contacted you for collaboration, but never got back to you after you accepted?".
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| | | | neilmac
Шпанија
Local time: 15:02
шпански на англиски
+ ...
The last one was a month or two ago, they wanted their website translated - but they might still get back to me. Advertising agencies in particular tend to be very ad hoc and informal around here - one of them eventually came back to me about 2-3 months after confirming the job, so I imagine they will have been thrashing out the tender with their own client/employers before getting the green light.
I try to bear in mind that they are busy and not whinge too much about their lack of... See more The last one was a month or two ago, they wanted their website translated - but they might still get back to me. Advertising agencies in particular tend to be very ad hoc and informal around here - one of them eventually came back to me about 2-3 months after confirming the job, so I imagine they will have been thrashing out the tender with their own client/employers before getting the green light.
I try to bear in mind that they are busy and not whinge too much about their lack of rigour. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Nicole Schnell 
Соединети Американски Држави
Local time: 06:02
англиски на германски
+ ...
Во сеќавање на | Sorry, but I don't get it | Jun 15, 2013 |
"... but never got back to you after you accepted?"
Accept what?
Isn't it the client who is supposed to accept my rate/estimate/time frame?
| | | | | Question lacks precision | Jun 15, 2013 |
I think in most states, the basic notion behind a contract is offer and acceptance. Thereafter, for there to be a binding contract, you generally need something along the lines of consideration and the intention to create a legally binding agreement.
The poll poster has not defined acceptance. Each individual will understand that differently.
Accepted means that the purchase order has been signed and/or you have some trace of your agreement. That implies you get going on the ... See more I think in most states, the basic notion behind a contract is offer and acceptance. Thereafter, for there to be a binding contract, you generally need something along the lines of consideration and the intention to create a legally binding agreement.
The poll poster has not defined acceptance. Each individual will understand that differently.
Accepted means that the purchase order has been signed and/or you have some trace of your agreement. That implies you get going on the job, finish on time, invoice the work and are paid for it.
Beyond those bounds, the poll is too vague for me to answer usefully, I'm afraid. As is, it could mean that a potential client has said he will send you work on the terms announced and agreed but that it never comes through, then yes, that happens. I no longer worry chasing these people up. They either need/want the work done, or don't need/want or are unable/unwilling to pay.
Next please!
[Edited at 2013-06-15 08:53 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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Thayenga
Германија
Local time: 15:02
Член (2009)
англиски на германски
+ ...
Accepting collaboration - and the client my rates - is a deal, unless the poll "designer" meant that the initial contact was based on potential collaboration, and not for any specific job.
It did happen once that a client contacted me with a (paid) test translation, but then never got back to me (he still might) with the actual, much larger project.
If the asker meant that the client contacted me only to ... See more Accepting collaboration - and the client my rates - is a deal, unless the poll "designer" meant that the initial contact was based on potential collaboration, and not for any specific job.
It did happen once that a client contacted me with a (paid) test translation, but then never got back to me (he still might) with the actual, much larger project.
If the asker meant that the client contacted me only to check availability, rates, fields, etc. without any specific job assignment and/or a PO, then this might have happened several times, but mainly because I didn't accept the offered rate.
These are my 2 "attempted" cents, because quite frankly, I'm somewhat confused by this poll. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | if I got it right... | Jun 15, 2013 |
I understood: have you ever been offered a job but you have never been sent the material to be translated?
| | | | Ty Kendall
Обединето Кралство
Local time: 14:02
еврејски на англиски
| If by "accepted" you mean... | Jun 15, 2013 |
Shown even the slightest bit of interest in further communication and thrashing out terms etc. then yes, this would seem to be a relatively common occurrence.
As others have said, it's not quite as simple as being contacted by a client and "accepting" (which as Nicole also highlighted - is the wrong way round). When a client contacts me I first decide whether I'm even interested in further communication (there are plenty of reasons further communication wouldn't be initiated - ridi... See more Shown even the slightest bit of interest in further communication and thrashing out terms etc. then yes, this would seem to be a relatively common occurrence.
As others have said, it's not quite as simple as being contacted by a client and "accepting" (which as Nicole also highlighted - is the wrong way round). When a client contacts me I first decide whether I'm even interested in further communication (there are plenty of reasons further communication wouldn't be initiated - ridiculous rates, rudeness, talking to me like an employee....etc.), if I am, then I'll enquire further to obtain more details, to lay my rates/terms/turnaround times/availability on the table and let them agree/accept/negotiate.
But otherwise, there are plenty of reasons a client might not get back to you after initially opening lines of communication with you - project falls through (I've noted that many PMs get a bit red-faced with this one and instead of contacting you to give you the score, simply say nothing and leave it unsaid), or if it's one of "those" agencies, they might simply have gone for the lowest bidder, or maybe they realised someone in their office "did a TEFL in their gap year" (for all the Catherine Tate fans out there) so can manage the job themselves (if this is the case, you'll be contacted for damage limitation in a few days!!!)
In any event, such a thing is not worth getting your knickers in a twist about. As someone really wise once said "Sh*t happens". ▲ Collapse
| | | | Allison Wright (X)
Португалија
Local time: 14:02
| I don't get it either | Jun 15, 2013 |
Nicole Schnell wrote:
"... but never got back to you after you accepted?"
Accept what?
Isn't it the client who is supposed to accept my rate/estimate/time frame?
It took me a while to figure out what kind of dysfunctional method of communication would be at play here.
If a client "contacts me for collaboration" and I reply in the affirmative in principle, only to have the client not confirm receipt of my response, I have to assume that my e-mail has gone astray, and will immediately communicate with that client by another means. Communication and collaboration are two-way streets.
By "collaboration", I understand a larger project (say, 50,000 words or more) which involves a little more mutual contact than receiving a document, translating it and returning it together with an invoice.
Asking me if I can do 1,000 words for the day after next, for example, is in no way what I would classify as "contact for collaboration". That is a request for me to indicate my availability, which would invariably get a response to the effect that I could only confirm availability once I have seen the file, and know the other terms of the job.
[Edited at 2013-06-15 15:45 GMT]
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| I did not find the question ambiguous | Jun 15, 2013 |
(and I was not the one who posed it)
Some agencies can be quite capricious, I have experienced a couple of times during email-negotiations that suddenly they stopped responding. And when prompted, only silence!
And there are those, who seek you out and seem very eager to have you sign contracts and other paper work, study their manuals etc. But after that you never hear from them again. Maybe because they are not as succesful in their own business, as they would like you to be... See more (and I was not the one who posed it)
Some agencies can be quite capricious, I have experienced a couple of times during email-negotiations that suddenly they stopped responding. And when prompted, only silence!
And there are those, who seek you out and seem very eager to have you sign contracts and other paper work, study their manuals etc. But after that you never hear from them again. Maybe because they are not as succesful in their own business, as they would like you to believe.
I don't know, but I have learned to take it all with a grain of salt and not waste too much time on unnecessary communication back and forth without a concrete job offer.
There are all kinds out there, and you cannot always judge their motivations by email nor even by checking their websites.
[Edited at 2013-06-15 20:46 GMT]
[Edited at 2013-06-15 20:46 GMT]
[Edited at 2013-06-15 20:47 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Augusta Habas
Франција
Local time: 15:02
италијански на француски
+ ...
| more than twice | Jun 15, 2013 |
It happened to me several times that an agency contacted me for a quote, sometimes giving the document to translate and then, saying that they are awaiting confirmation from the client, once I have been thinking and organizing my time according to the proposal... They never write anything more and even seem angry if I ask for some news, while I still find it quite stressful because I cannot help imagining how much this project would pay, how long I need to be available, etc.
| | | | Mario Chavez (X)
Local time: 09:02
англиски на шпански
+ ...
| And the Razzy for ambiguity goes to... | Jun 15, 2013 |
...today's poll question!
Incomplete sentence in many respects:
1) In case of a client, it's a job, an assignment, but not a collaboration.
2) A collaboration is usually requested by a fellow translator.
3) Accept collaboration for what? Under what terms?
4) If someone contacts me for collaboration but never gets back to me, he/she is not a client. A client is someone I have a business relationship with.
Don't they vet these poll questions... See more ...today's poll question!
Incomplete sentence in many respects:
1) In case of a client, it's a job, an assignment, but not a collaboration.
2) A collaboration is usually requested by a fellow translator.
3) Accept collaboration for what? Under what terms?
4) If someone contacts me for collaboration but never gets back to me, he/she is not a client. A client is someone I have a business relationship with.
Don't they vet these poll questions before posting them? ▲ Collapse
| | | | Muriel Vasconcellos (X)
Соединети Американски Држави
Local time: 06:02
шпански на англиски
+ ...
...but now I remember that it did happen once. I agreed to translate a book for one of my regular clients, but apparently the funds didn't come through. I never did hear one way or the other.
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