| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Poll: Do you ever offer free translations for regular clients? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Do you ever offer free translations for regular clients?".
This poll was originally submitted by tilakahuja. View the poll results »
| | | | | Never ever ever ever ever ever in a month of Sundays even with a blue moon | Apr 27, 2015 |
Why on earth would I? Free translations for new clients you are wooing might make sense, but ones you've already hooked are there to be fleeced!
| | | | | Almost never | Apr 27, 2015 |
I have done some very short pieces as a favor. I have also done short free translations for colleagues - professional courtesy.
| | | | Marjolein Snippe 
Netherlands
Local time: 19:14
Member (2012)
English to Dutch
+ ...
| Almost never | Apr 27, 2015 |
I occasionally tell good clients who ask for a very short translation (one or two additional sentences, or a few words) I will not charge for this as it would be more of a hassle to add it to an invoice than the actual translation.
I do get grumpy if clients ask for, or worse, expect me to do the same type of translation free of charge though.
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| Depends what you mean | Apr 27, 2015 |
For my main clients who regularly send me large documents, for which they pay well, I happily translate the occasional odd sentence or short paragraph for free - it would seem churlish not to. Otherwise, no.
| | | | | Yes, sometimes! | Apr 27, 2015 |
For my regular clients, I have very occasionally translated for free things like “How do you say Happy Christmas in Portuguese?” or very short texts with just a few paragraphs, but I don’t make a habit of it. Translating is my bread and butter ...
[Edited at 2015-04-27 10:04 GMT]
| | | | Nicola Wood
Austria
Local time: 19:14
Member (2010)
German to English
| Like most people | Apr 27, 2015 |
I occasionally translate a few words or a couple of sentences without charge as a gesture of food will for well-paying, regular clients, but I see no reason to do it as a matter of course.
[Edited at 2015-04-27 08:50 GMT]
| | | | | I like the sound of this | Apr 27, 2015 |
Nicola Wood wrote:
as a gesture of food will
Make mine chocolate cake please!
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| For regular clients yes | Apr 27, 2015 |
In case of very short sentences, I offer them for free
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Angie Garbarino wrote:
In case of very short sentences, I offer them for free
For regular client, I do the same.
| | | | | Rarely, but I do | Apr 27, 2015 |
My most regular client, for 20+ years in a row, in the days of VHS, once sent me a SLP tape with 7 videos to translate for dubbing, all except #3. They explained the budget only covered six of them, so they'd have to leave one for later, and chose that one. But I liked #3, so I did it for free. History is my witness, it was by far the most successful from that entire pack.
A while ago, some paradigm shifts in their market led them to become a small fraction of what they once were. T... See more My most regular client, for 20+ years in a row, in the days of VHS, once sent me a SLP tape with 7 videos to translate for dubbing, all except #3. They explained the budget only covered six of them, so they'd have to leave one for later, and chose that one. But I liked #3, so I did it for free. History is my witness, it was by far the most successful from that entire pack.
A while ago, some paradigm shifts in their market led them to become a small fraction of what they once were. They paid me COD throughout all those years, never late. Now, about once a year, they ask me if I could do a job for them, with an extended payment term. I do it for free, and tell them it was prepaid a long time ago.
Another good client - an agency - has 'zombies', as he calls them. Many times, a couple of months a job was delivered and paid for, the end-client has some tidbits they want to add. I never bothered to calculate how much I'd charge for them. They say I should charge, because they'll be getting paid by the end-client. I say it's covered by my "warranty".
Not exactly translations, but whenever I'm hired to translate and subtitle a video, if the audio is bad and can be improved, I do it for free. ▲ Collapse
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 19:14
Spanish to English
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I might do the odd freeby of up to 50-100 words depending on the client, but it doesn't happen often and my direct clients don't usually ask for freebies.
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Martha Schwan
Brazil
Local time: 14:14
Member
English to Portuguese
+ ...
| I never charge for small translations | Apr 27, 2015 |
I definitely do not charge any amount for translations with very small amount of words.
| | | | | Yes - little bits | Apr 27, 2015 |
Like most respondents here, I'll do occasional little bits of translation (odd sentences) free of charge for really good, regular customers, or even a free test if a good customer requests it for a specific contract they're hoping to land, or occasional free translation for a truly good friend (sometimes paid in wine - or, indeed, food!)
Otherwise, no.
| | | | Tim Drayton
Cyprus
Local time: 20:14
Turkish to English
+ ...
| Yes, sometimes | Apr 27, 2015 |
Well, rarely really, but it does happen. A client who had sent me a regular stream of quality legal translations, mostly quite long, (and continues to do so) once needed a two to three sentence general e-mail translated, so I felt no need to charge for that. Why? A bit of goodwill can help to grease the relationship with the client.
[Edited at 2015-04-27 09:34 GMT]
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