Poll: How many of your clients have you met personally (face to face)? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "How many of your clients have you met personally (face to face)?".
View the poll results »
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Thayenga 
Germany
Local time: 06:06
Member (2009)
English to German
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Face to face might also be interpreted as having met via video conference in today's advanced IT age. This type of face-to-face meeting applies to 2 of my clients.
Being in the same room as the client, there has been only one - thus far.
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Melanie Nassar
United States
Local time: 07:06
German to English
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I answered one, because I happened to have a local client recently. Otherwise, all my clients are located outside of my country, which is understandable given my language combination. I wouldn't mind meeting clients personally, but I think I'd first have to change my profile photo that I've had since I registered at Proz to prevent "encounter shock".
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Henry Hinds
United States
Local time: 22:06
English to Spanish
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In memoriam | The Majority | Nov 26, 2011 |
Mine is "the majority", an answer that is very much in the minority here. However, as I have mentioned so many times, I have been active in a local market for over 40 years, much before the Internet, and this local market has always been good to me. Thus I have had a chance to personally meet many of my clients, or if not to at least talk to them on the phone or exchange e-mails on a frequent basis. They also frequently express their thanks for good service rendered.
I think the abo... See more Mine is "the majority", an answer that is very much in the minority here. However, as I have mentioned so many times, I have been active in a local market for over 40 years, much before the Internet, and this local market has always been good to me. Thus I have had a chance to personally meet many of my clients, or if not to at least talk to them on the phone or exchange e-mails on a frequent basis. They also frequently express their thanks for good service rendered.
I think the above situation contributes to a lot of satisfaction. To be working on the Internet with unknown parties who cannot always be trusted seems like a nightmare. I do not envy the lives of most of you out there. ▲ Collapse
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Isabelle F. BRUCHER (X)
Belgium
Local time: 06:06
English to French
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| Most of them | Nov 26, 2011 |
When you do sworn translations, including for private individuals, you meet most of your clients in person, they come to your private domicile in person. However I find this practice distasteful, to say the least, as you never know what kind of crazy person you let into your private home, especially if you happen to be alone at home. They are one-time small customers and it's really not worth the risk. Never again, I think... Small customers, big problems, as they say...
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Henry Hinds
United States
Local time: 22:06
English to Spanish
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In memoriam | Sad, Isabelle | Nov 26, 2011 |
It is sad that you find it distasteful to receive private clients at your home, as you never know what kind of crazy person you might let in. In my part of the world at least, we do not have such fears. No, not everyone is perfect, but certainly any prospective client and anyone else who comes by is welcome and not to be feared. Of course in my country we have a right to bear arms and it is widely exercised. But the important point is, seldom is there any need to resort to the use of such force.
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Eser Perkins
Türkiye
Local time: 07:06
English to Turkish
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SITE LOCALIZER | Although I said none... | Nov 26, 2011 |
I have met a very few of my clients in person. These were relatively small projects I undertook, mainly translation of academic research material for students pursuing master/doctorate degrees, lecturers and writers.
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| Answer: none | Nov 27, 2011 |
Melanie Nassar wrote:
I wouldn't mind meeting clients personally, but I think I'd first have to change my profile photo that I've had since I registered at Proz to prevent "encounter shock".
Dear Melanie, do you mean that you personally looks another way than your avatar?
I completely understand you here My fuchsia-boy personage has too few common traits with me
For the question: my believe can look strange for some people. But my personal experience taught me that 'close/local client is bad client', the worst client is your friend or relative. And the best one lives on the opposite part of the Earth
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neilmac
Spain
Local time: 06:06
Spanish to English
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I have met most of my regular direct clients in person, as they tend to be located local/regionally, and some of them are the legacy of my TEFL years.
I haven't met any of the translation agencies I've worked for in recent years in person - not counting colleagues/friends who sometimes share stuff with me and might be considered "agencies" as they do outsource work, although I consider it as "doing a job for a pal" and wouldn't dream of asking for a contract or anything similarly "... See more I have met most of my regular direct clients in person, as they tend to be located local/regionally, and some of them are the legacy of my TEFL years.
I haven't met any of the translation agencies I've worked for in recent years in person - not counting colleagues/friends who sometimes share stuff with me and might be considered "agencies" as they do outsource work, although I consider it as "doing a job for a pal" and wouldn't dream of asking for a contract or anything similarly "professional" in these cases. ▲ Collapse
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Matthew Fisher (X)
Local time: 00:06
German to English
| More guns, less crime, eh? | Nov 27, 2011 |
Henry Hinds wrote:
It is sad that you find it distasteful to receive private clients at your home, as you never know what kind of crazy person you might let in. In my part of the world at least, we do not have such fears. No, not everyone is perfect, but certainly any prospective client and anyone else who comes by is welcome and not to be feared. Of course in my country we have a right to bear arms and it is widely exercised. But the important point is, seldom is there any need to resort to the use of such force.
Henry, you pack heat to your client meetings? Too cool. Personally, I wouldn't.
Then again, a man's home is his castle. I'm guessing yours is pretty well secured.
Here, I'm more concerned about what the toddler's going to get into next. That whole castle business goes out the window once the little barbarians are actually inside the child safety gate.
Put it this way: She incapacitated a Toughbook M34 by ripping all the keys off. For fun. Panasonic and the DOD never saw that one coming, when they drafted the mil-spec laptop torture tests.
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| In the past, yes | Nov 27, 2011 |
When I started as a full-time freelancer, I lived in London and met several of my clients in person, occasionally visiting their offices, which I found pleasant and constructive.
Since then, all those agencies have been taken over by others so, although I still work for most of them, I no longer know the PMs personally.
I now live far from London, anyway, so am much less likely to be able to meet them in person.
Jenny
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Interlangue (X)
Angola
Local time: 06:06
English to French
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| Most of them | Nov 27, 2011 |
I met some before starting to work for them, sometimes abroad.
I met several others at conferences or other translators' events.
Some agencies invite me to their annual banquet, or other social happenings.
I drop by at agencies, especially when there is a change of PM(s).
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