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Standard discounts for fuzzy matches, 100% matches and repetitions
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Thread poster: Mari Nyman

Standard discounts for fuzzy matches, 100% matches and repetitions

Christel Zipfel

Local time: 10:34

Partial member
Italian to German
+ ...

I have bought recently a very fast and more powerful computer

Nov 16, 2009

Should I now charge less? And how much?

Thank you for any advice

Joel Earnest
Sweden
Local time: 10:34
Swedish to English

On the other hand...

Nov 16, 2009

Derek Gill Franßen wrote:

/rant_on

You can add my voice to the choir asking why there should even be discounts (or reductions or donations or whatever you want to call them) for using new technologies, like CAT-tools:

I don't charge less because I use a computer (my father used to dictate his translations and my mother would type them);

I don't charge less because my DSL connection is quicker than dial-up, which is quicker than the post office;

I don't charge less because I use a spellchecker instead of paper dictionaries;

I don't charge less because I know how to copy&paste and can use the search function;

I don't charge less because I know more about the subject and can thus translate more quickly and more precisely.

And why should I? I learned, bought, and invested in all of that not so that others can earn more, but rather so that I can earn more (per hour of work I put into it). That is, after all, what investments are all about.

Unless the agencies want to start paying for all or even just part of these investments, i.e., for my schooling, equipment, and facilities, then they should just be happy that I offer all this service at no extra cost to them!

/rant_off

My advice: Don't perpetuate this ridiculous practice.

[Edited at 2009-11-12 14:05 GMT]

I've taken the time to learn Studio and my production is up (way up on some types of jobs). This isn't something I'm advertising, by the way.

Being able to translate faster comes in handy when work isn't coming in as often as usual. Prior to the recession, I very rarely gave discounts for large jobs because they just blocked the pipeline for full-pay jobs. I was regularly turning away almost half of what was offered during the peak months, so the argument that a big job would eliminate "dead time" didn't wash with me. I also figured that the last word is just as hard as the first word, so why give discounts for large jobs?

Now that the situation has changed, I can take on large jobs at slightly lower rates (such as 4 percent on a current 125,000-word job but with a delivery date that permits me to take side jobs) because I'm able to turn out the translation a good 10 percent faster than before Studio came along.

I don't see anything wrong about passing on a portion of efficiency gains to customers.
Take RAM, for example, or flat screens. They're cheaper to make than before and it's reflected on the pricelists. I really don't understand why I should pretend I'm working with obsolete and inefficient tools when I'm setting my prices. Out of solidarity to colleagues who don't want to keep up?
And really, how many hours did it take to recover the tax-deductable cost of the Studio upgrade and figure out how to use it? Not many.

And by the way, there is nothing I can do to fight the fight against unfair fuzzy match rates other than renegotiate the rates or turn down jobs when they're too low. That fuzzy rate discount system has been firmly entrenched among my Swedish agency customers for years.

[Edited at 2009-11-16 20:29 GMT]

[Edited at 2009-11-16 20:31 GMT]

Arianne Farah

China
Local time: 17:34

Member (2008)
English to French

Agree

Nov 17, 2009

ViktoriaG wrote:

There is no standard, and I don't see why you someone else should get the return on your investment.

Since you are new to Trados, there is something you need to be aware of: 100% matches. These are translation units (source segments with matching target segments) that are already in the memory you are working with--you only need to apply these to your translation. If that memory was created by someone else, you can't guarantee its accuracy, can you? You can't be responsible for someone else's work. So, if an agency asks you for rebates on 100% matches, only accept if you don't have to review/correct them. If you are required to review/correct those, make sure you charge at least your normal reviewing rate. However, in my mind, ethics require that I don't use 100% matches without reviewing them--I consider I am responsible for submitting a translation that is healthy overall. Be careful!

For any memory based rebate I have a simple rule: If it's MY memory then there is no rebate offered - I spent the necessary time compiling and organizing and maintaining it and it represents several years of work. If it's the AGENCY's memory then by all means, I acknowledge that someone else's work is adding to mine but if 100% matches are free then I make it clear that I am not responsible for them though obviously if I notice something wrong I point it out.

Most of the time I run the agency's memory against the project to verify the project breakdown, then I run my master memory which I then close and only then do I finally start working in the project using only the agency's memory so that my concordance searches are consistent with client terminology....

It has happened that a client had a 6000-word project that they needed back ASAP, I had only a few hours to spare that day - their memory breakdown was 5000new, 500fuzzy, 500match - so I turned it down. They asked if I could take any part of the project as they would break it into pieces if they had to. I decided to run it against my own master memory, I ended up with 1200new, 1200fuzzy and 3600match

Needless to say I wrote back saying that I could accept the project and explained that I could meet the deadline because I had found a significant number of matches in my Master memory and that the several hours a week I put into memory management sometimes paid off big time. I find that the last half of the sentence though it sounds like sharing unnecessary information is what will prevent clients from trying to "cash in" on my personal TMs when I reveal them - I never quote numbers myself and I always mention the time I put into memory management...

[Edited at 2009-11-17 10:48 GMT]

Laurent KRAULAND

France
Local time: 10:34

Member (2007)
French to German
+ ...

Thanks to whom?

Nov 17, 2009

Joel Earnest wrote:

And by the way, there is nothing I can do to fight the fight against unfair fuzzy match rates other than renegotiate the rates or turn down jobs when they're too low. That fuzzy rate discount system has been firmly entrenched among my Swedish agency customers for years.

Thanks to the very editor from which you purchased your software... and which is in direct competition with your agency customers through another company branch.

[Edited at 2009-11-17 11:09 GMT]

Laurent KRAULAND

France
Local time: 10:34

Member (2007)
French to German
+ ...

OT: Connection

Nov 17, 2009

John Fossey wrote:

Strangely enough, the agencies that want the highest fuzzy match discounts also seem to pay the slowest; is there a connection here?

Obviously, although the real reasons behind this connection have to be examined yet AFAIAC.

xxxNMR
France
Local time: 10:34
French to Dutch
+ ...

This really makes me laugh

Nov 22, 2009

John Rawlins wrote:

I use Wordfast on nearly every project - but nobody asks me for fuzzy discounts. I have the impression that the type of agencies that try to extract these discounts are only interested in Trados users. Wordfast seems to have the same effect as a string of garlic - it keeps the vampires away.

Same here, I can confirm. But they (clients I have for years now) are generally glad that I can handle repetetive files and that's why I give a reduction on repetitions (my own text repeated in the same file(s)). But only if the wordcount exceeds 1000 or so. This seems logical: if there are 80% repetitions which are just popping up you cannot charge for the whole text. We did the same thing years and years ago when we discovered Copy&Paste in a Word file, and even before when we pasted photocopied paragraphs in a text which was typed with a typewriter.

And besides Wordfast is a professional tool which helps to manage TM's and terminology.

I am a bit afraid that the word "Trados" means, to a certain type of agency clients, that you are willing to belong to a category of non-specialized translators accepting all kinds of market distorsions: Trados reductions, client's prices, low prices in general, client's conditions, long payment terms, not being paid. As soon as you answer to one of these people that you own Wordfast and that you can handle all .tmx but that your prices for the enclosed file are xxx, they aren't interested anymore. And in general, I dislike people who begin with "How much will you be charging for a xxxx word file?", as if the subject of the file and the translator's abilities are not important. And as of "we are offering xxx", this is really out of the question, I am a service provider, not a beggar.