Informing lists of clients Thread poster: Paul Dixon
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Paul Dixon 
Brazil
Local time: 21:28
Portuguese to English
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I have just been contacted by a colleague who is setting up a kind of translation consultancy service on her website. For this, she has asked me to send a photo, a short summary of my life and achievements and (this is the problem) a list of clients and projects. However, I do not wish to let people know who my clients are, first and foremost because I do not want to lose business but also for respect for the clients and our business relationship.
If you were in my shoes, what would you do... See more I have just been contacted by a colleague who is setting up a kind of translation consultancy service on her website. For this, she has asked me to send a photo, a short summary of my life and achievements and (this is the problem) a list of clients and projects. However, I do not wish to let people know who my clients are, first and foremost because I do not want to lose business but also for respect for the clients and our business relationship.
If you were in my shoes, what would you do? Would you refuse altogether or would you inform only the minor clients?
Also, how can I refuse without making the person feel bad, as I have worked with her before? ▲ Collapse
| | | | Heinrich Pesch
Finland
Local time: 03:28
Member (2003)
Finnish to German
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| Do as you wish | Jan 20, 2007 |
Nobody can force you to reveal you business relations. What you probably could do in such situations is send a list of your end-clients like big corporations for which you have previously translated material. But a would not reveal my direct clients or agencies.
I doubt this new venture of your colleague would have any advantage for you, so why bother at all?
Cheers
Heinrich
[Bearbeitet am 2007-01-20 02:57]
| | | | | Amigos, amigos. Negócios à parte | Jan 20, 2007 |
Paul Dixon wrote:
If you were in my shoes, what would you do? Would you refuse altogether or would you inform only the minor clients?
Also, how can I refuse without making the person feel bad, as I have worked with her before?
Hi Paul,
Business is business, so neither if I were in your shoes - I'd simply tell her the truth.
There's no need to refuse altogether if you are otherwise interested.
You know this colleague and if you explain your reasons professionally and tactfully there is no reason for her to get offended. If you explain why, she may well agree it's a bad idea after all and change her overall strategy.
If you choose to only provide a list of minor clients, what happens if/when one of your more important clients happen to see the listing? What message is it giving them? They may think you don't deem them worthy of being included. You never know how they'll react.
In addition, if the clients you are willing to provide are really minor league players, what message is that giving out about you and your work?
Just call a spade a spade - it's better people know exactly where you stand. She'll probably (should) respect you for it, rather than feel bad/offended.
Debs
[Edited at 2007-01-20 04:14]
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Like Heinrich said, I think you could list some major end-clients if you have translated for such agencies. For example if you have Microsoft, UNO or the United States Department of Defense on you list, this will hardly affect your business or your confidentiality obligations. As for projects, you could write something general, like seminar, report, etc., without going into details. But of course I wouldn’t list any translation agency there.
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I suggest you do it my way:
(My Clients)
HONDA
GENERAL MOTORS
SCHERING-PLOUGH
COCA COLA
TOYOTA
NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE
CAPITAL BLUECROSS Insurance Co.
Pretty attractive and shiny, isn't it?
Now, who are my business contacts? Ohh, that's confidential!
| | | | | If she is a professional | Jan 21, 2007 |
then she should understand and respect the confidentiality of client-translator relationships. As Heinrich says, no-one can force you to reveal anything, and I think if you explain your misgivings politely I am sure she will understand.
Besides at the end of the day it is the quality of your work which counts - you could provide samples.
I was once asked by an agency to priovide the names of other agencies I worked for, supposedly to prove my quality as a translator, and I refused (p... See more then she should understand and respect the confidentiality of client-translator relationships. As Heinrich says, no-one can force you to reveal anything, and I think if you explain your misgivings politely I am sure she will understand.
Besides at the end of the day it is the quality of your work which counts - you could provide samples.
I was once asked by an agency to priovide the names of other agencies I worked for, supposedly to prove my quality as a translator, and I refused (politely of course!). I offered to send samples of my previous work, but told them I wasn't prepared to reveal the names of my clients as I considered this to be confidential information. I think it shows a professional attitude on your part. The agency had nothing to say after that ▲ Collapse
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