Client expectations and workload Thread poster: Gabriele Demuth
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Once in a while I find myself inundated with jobs from regular agencies and clients with reasonable deadlines, if one could more or less start the job straight away.
Then I seem to spend quite some time explaining that I am currently working on another project and that I could book their's in afterwards, if the deadline could be extended a little (a few days or a week). Sometimes this is possible, but often the client does not seem to be able to wait a few days.
This is... See more Once in a while I find myself inundated with jobs from regular agencies and clients with reasonable deadlines, if one could more or less start the job straight away.
Then I seem to spend quite some time explaining that I am currently working on another project and that I could book their's in afterwards, if the deadline could be extended a little (a few days or a week). Sometimes this is possible, but often the client does not seem to be able to wait a few days.
This is especially irritating, if it is a regular client for whom I work on a continuous project and who then (via an agency) seems to assume that translators just sit around and can start on their 5000 word projects straight away ... but they probably don't think about that at all?!
I would be interested if others have such experiences and how to best deal with it/educate clients or agencies, so that I can spread the workload, maximise productivity and be able to work in a steady pace by ideally booking in jobs for the week ahead?
[Edited at 2016-08-02 11:19 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | avsie (X) 
Local time: 00:45
English to French
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| Not always possible | Aug 2, 2016 |
I wish I could tell my clients (mostly law firms) that they should extend the deadlines of the documents they send us for translation, but if the court hearing is tomorrow and they only finalized their critical document this morning, they need their translation by the end of the day today. No amount of "spreading the workload" is going to help there. And yes, I might e-mail 10 freelancers in the hope that just one of them will get back to me and say "Yes, I can help you with this!" As an ex-free... See more I wish I could tell my clients (mostly law firms) that they should extend the deadlines of the documents they send us for translation, but if the court hearing is tomorrow and they only finalized their critical document this morning, they need their translation by the end of the day today. No amount of "spreading the workload" is going to help there. And yes, I might e-mail 10 freelancers in the hope that just one of them will get back to me and say "Yes, I can help you with this!" As an ex-freelance translator myself, I am very aware that freelancers don't just sit there and wait for work And I am fully aware with my 15 years experience in the business that a bit of advance warning and planning ahead does wonders for everyone in the chain. But sometimes... it's just not possible, and in order to get the job done, you have to take a few shots in the dark. I know it's annoying for the freelancer to get e-mails asking for a job to be done on the same day, with the PM expecting the freelancer to be available. But believe me, it's just as annoying for the PM who has to send the e-mail. We are also humans, you know. And we "think" more than you can imagine...
Interestingly, I was in such a situation yesterday that I had to e-mail several freelancers, offering an urgent job due today. The one freelancer I fully expected to say no because she's always very busy turned out to be the one who said she would be happy to take the job, as it was quiet for her these days. Who knew, right? ▲ Collapse
| | | | Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 00:45
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
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| Have even worse experience. | Aug 2, 2016 |
I also have clients who are taking that approach, ie. treating me like their employee without monthly salary.
I need to mention one particular agency. Following a job offer, they liked my samples so they informed me I am on their system now. That particular job never materialized, so I received zero projects from them, but they keep bugging me by email to attend this and that webinar to get educated about this and that technical process from their system. Now that's just one example... See more I also have clients who are taking that approach, ie. treating me like their employee without monthly salary.
I need to mention one particular agency. Following a job offer, they liked my samples so they informed me I am on their system now. That particular job never materialized, so I received zero projects from them, but they keep bugging me by email to attend this and that webinar to get educated about this and that technical process from their system. Now that's just one example but their entire approach is as if I am their in-house employee with full benefits and I will do whatever they say immediately, while I never did any project for them? All this while being aware I am a freelancer with other projects and other clients in my book? I just ignore them and as quite a lot of time has passed without any real projects from them, I might block their email domain too so I stop receiving those bugging emails.
Message for clients: freelancers are not employees (unless specified by contract), so your approach, tone and work structure must reflect and respect that.
[Edited at 2016-08-02 11:59 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Balasubramaniam L.
India
Local time: 04:15
Member (2006)
English to Hindi
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SITE LOCALIZER | May be you are charging too low | Aug 2, 2016 |
If you are finding yourself innundated with work, it is a clear sign that you are charging too low. It is time for you to calibrate your rates upwards till you bring down the work requests to a manageable level, while at the same time maintaining the same income flow or pushing it higher. This essentially means dropping the less-paying, pestersome clients and picking up higher-paying, reasonable ones.
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Gabriele Demuth
United Kingdom
Local time: 23:45
English to German
TOPIC STARTER | Thank you for your replies! | Aug 2, 2016 |
This is not a constant situation, but I would love to plan my workload a bit more. I just booked my car in for a service next Tuesday - my garage is fully booked this week as well!
They are all good clients, the deadlines are not short/urgent and the nature of the projects does not suggest that a little advance planning by the client (not the agency) would not be possible, especially for one client with whom I have been working on one project for about a year now, with quite distin... See more This is not a constant situation, but I would love to plan my workload a bit more. I just booked my car in for a service next Tuesday - my garage is fully booked this week as well!
They are all good clients, the deadlines are not short/urgent and the nature of the projects does not suggest that a little advance planning by the client (not the agency) would not be possible, especially for one client with whom I have been working on one project for about a year now, with quite distinct terminology and a change of style would probably show.
B: I always aim for slightly higher rates/better conditions with new clients, but I think this is a process that happens over time and I am not sure how much further I can push with agencies.
[Edited at 2016-08-02 12:46 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | My experience | Aug 2, 2016 |
I have been working full-time for over 30 years and I have built a solid client base but I only have a steady workflow very occasionally. Translation projects have a strange tendency to come in groups: days with no work at all are followed by days when projects keep coming one after the other. You either are extremely busy or, well... One has to learn to say no, to negotiate new deadlines and to handle the ups and downs. How? I’m afraid there’s no recipe, only experience will tell you, you l... See more I have been working full-time for over 30 years and I have built a solid client base but I only have a steady workflow very occasionally. Translation projects have a strange tendency to come in groups: days with no work at all are followed by days when projects keep coming one after the other. You either are extremely busy or, well... One has to learn to say no, to negotiate new deadlines and to handle the ups and downs. How? I’m afraid there’s no recipe, only experience will tell you, you learn as you go… ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Clients seem to be in cahoots, to attack at the same time | Aug 2, 2016 |
Teresa Borges wrote:
Translation projects have a strange tendency to come in groups: days with no work at all are followed by days when projects keep coming one after the other.
Precisely!
That's part of our game, and we have to learn to cope with it.
The first lesson involves learning to say "no" without necessarily burning bridges. This involves never actually saying "no" (unless other of the client's household policies - such as low rates and/or overly extended payment terms - justify it), but telling them what (and when) you CAN do, and sticking to your guns.
Balasubramaniam L. wrote:
If you are finding yourself innundated with work, it is a clear sign that you are charging too low. It is time for you to calibrate your rates upwards till you bring down the work requests to a manageable level, while at the same time maintaining the same income flow or pushing it higher. This essentially means dropping the less-paying, pestersome clients and picking up higher-paying, reasonable ones.
Lower-than-adequate rates should keep a translator permanently flooded with work. This would definitely justify raising them.
The issue at hand here is the workload waves. They are often like a beach where the water is still like a lake. All of a sudden, there a series of high waves, which may last for weeks, or even months in a row. And just like they came, the water may become still again, hopefully for only one or two weeks at most.
The real problem is a client who takes it for granted that a freelance translator is permanently idling, waiting for THEM - and nobody else - to come up with an urgent request. Unfortunately there are still many of these around.
| | | | Gabriele Demuth
United Kingdom
Local time: 23:45
English to German
TOPIC STARTER | I am getting the distinct feeling that... | Aug 2, 2016 |
...I will not be able to work like the mechanics at my local garage - just book projects in one after the other, best a week or more in advance. Although, one client (not an agency) seems to accept that, but it would be great, if more could work the way I like it.
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| Just be nice about it | Aug 2, 2016 |
It happens all the time. Just be nice about it. You may be getting a lot of work because you're good, and it's only normal that customers want to use you.
| | | | Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 00:45
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
| Business relationship. | Aug 2, 2016 |
Gabriele Demuth wrote: ...I will not be able to work like the mechanics at my local garage - just book projects in one after the other, best a week or more in advance. Although, one client (not an agency) seems to accept that, but it would be great, if more could work the way I like it.
You are talking about building a business relationship, ie. when the time comes the client will wait for you for a week in order to keep focus on one solid business relationship. They don't think that way. Speed matters, at the cost of chaotic or non-existing business relationships.
Even the car mechanic will give priority to regular customers.
| | | | Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 23:45
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
| You are not alone | Aug 3, 2016 |
Googling for freelancer feast or famine syndrome gets nearly 26,000 hits. My older brother was complaining endlessly about it 40 years ago, I remember, as a freelance graphic designer.
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