Should I charge my full rate for this? Reference material matches source text almost exactly Thread poster: Leah Hunt
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Leah Hunt
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:26
German to English
Hi all
I'm working on the translation of a contract that has come through from an agency I've worked for a quite frequently and have a good relationship with.
They've sent me a previous translation of the same type of contract for reference and told me that the client is happy for me to copy and paste any sections that match exactly.
The "problem" (if you can call it that) is that pretty much the entire 3,000+ words of the contract matches exactly!
... See more Hi all
I'm working on the translation of a contract that has come through from an agency I've worked for a quite frequently and have a good relationship with.
They've sent me a previous translation of the same type of contract for reference and told me that the client is happy for me to copy and paste any sections that match exactly.
The "problem" (if you can call it that) is that pretty much the entire 3,000+ words of the contract matches exactly!
I'm obviously checking as I go that there aren't any little differences that don't match, but this is more proofreading than translating on the whole. I've already received a PO from them for my full rate, but Jiminy Cricket is telling me I should contact the agency and discuss it. Is he right?
Thanks! ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Jiminy Cricket is no fool | Oct 11, 2013 |
I would discuss it with the agency. I would just tentatively ask whether the client or the agency had actually checked the reference documentation and whether the client had ordered a full translation.
You could do a comparison in Word and see in tracked changes exactly what has changed from the previous version (this will save you some time) but yes, it does sound as though it's more of a proofreading job than a translation job.
The agency/client is sure to appreciat... See more I would discuss it with the agency. I would just tentatively ask whether the client or the agency had actually checked the reference documentation and whether the client had ordered a full translation.
You could do a comparison in Word and see in tracked changes exactly what has changed from the previous version (this will save you some time) but yes, it does sound as though it's more of a proofreading job than a translation job.
The agency/client is sure to appreciate your openness and transparency.
Just thought I'd add: if you don't mention it, what if the proofreader does? This may affect your reputation with the agency
[Edited at 2013-10-11 14:28 GMT]
[Edited at 2013-10-11 14:29 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Kevin Fulton 
United States
Local time: 07:26
German to English
| Charge an hour's time ... | Oct 11, 2013 |
... or however long it takes to do the comparison and make any changes. And, of course, notify the agency.
The agencies I work with respect honesty and are usually willing to pay for time spent researching/checking.
| | | | | Act in good faith | Oct 11, 2013 |
I completely agree with Marie Helene's reasoning and with her approach --good, reliable clients are hard to find, and it is only to your credit to give them the benefit of the doubt.
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Tim Friese
United States
Local time: 06:26
Member (2013)
Arabic to English
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| I've had similar situations | Oct 11, 2013 |
Since I work in Arabic I've had many times where clients send a PDF of scans with the same page repeated several times in the PDF! (I think PMs are better about checking that whole pages are not repeated among languages with Latin alphabets that they can skim a little bit better.)
When this happens I just tell the PM what is going on and ask how they want to handle it. I've had times where they offered to pay my full translation rate for copying and pasting whole pages at a time (a ... See more Since I work in Arabic I've had many times where clients send a PDF of scans with the same page repeated several times in the PDF! (I think PMs are better about checking that whole pages are not repeated among languages with Latin alphabets that they can skim a little bit better.)
When this happens I just tell the PM what is going on and ask how they want to handle it. I've had times where they offered to pay my full translation rate for copying and pasting whole pages at a time (a very good deal for me). I've also had times where they offered to pay my translation rate for the non-repeated sections and a generous $50 or $100 for the copy-pasting.
As an analog, I recently had a great experience with a piano tuner who I hired to do a tuning plus some light repairs. He came over and did the tuning and the repairs and charged me for a standard tuning. He lost out on maybe $50 of pay on top of the regular $120 tuning but I am now quite sure that I will be a repeat customer and I would even recommend him if anyone asked! This all is probably worth more to him than the $50 that one day.
Likewise, we can be upfront, honest, and even generous, and those same qualities might be the key to our success! ▲ Collapse
| | | | Leah Hunt
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:26
German to English
TOPIC STARTER | Thanks, all! | Oct 11, 2013 |
I figured Jiminy was right, he normally is!
I've phoned the agency and spoken with the PM about it. We're going to agree an hourly rate, which she says is the agency's normal approach to things like this. I just have to try to figure out what time I started it!
| | | | | ALWAYS keep track of the time you spend on work! | Oct 11, 2013 |
I'd apply my hourly rate as well. 2 or 3 hours will probably be enough (it's a guess, as I haven't seen the text). I usually inform of the time spent for the assignment by email and record the exact amount payable in the email with the translated file attached. I.e., "Time spent: 3.2 hours. Total amount: [amount][currency]".
| | | | Steven Segaert
Estonia
Local time: 14:26
Member (2012)
English to Dutch
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If you don't have a record of your hours, you could charge a per-word rate for proofreading. I usually charge about a third of my translation rate for that.
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