ProZ.com Translation Forums

Poll: Do you communicate with clients on the phone? | Not if I can help it

Muriel Vasconcellos (X) — Fri, 26 Sep 2014 09:06:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: Do you communicate with clients on the phone?
Poster: Muriel Vasconcellos (X)
Post title: Not if I can help it

Besides the fact that I hate to talk on the phone, I want everything in writing so that it's clear and there are no misunderstandings. It annoys me no end to receive instructions on the phone. It means I have to be sure to remember what was said and remember it correctly. So much can fall between the cracks.

Poll: Do you communicate with clients on the phone? | Some and some

Victoria Britten — Wed, 24 Sep 2014 07:40:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: Do you communicate with clients on the phone?
Poster: Victoria Britten
Post title: Some and some

Some clients I have never spoken to; one, on the other hand, only uses email to send documents and does everything else by phone. Apart from that one exception, my clients only ring when they want something urgently.

If I am the one to pick up the phone, it will be because there's something a bit complicated going on - either linguistically or administratively - and it seems to me that a conversation plus follow-up email will be both the quickest and the most efficient way to clear things up whilst avoiding misunderstandings. None of my clients has ever given any indication of being unsatisfied: quite the contrary, in fact; they seem to appreciate it as an indication of my desire to make our working relationship as smooth as possible.

Poll: Do you communicate with clients on the phone? | Yes, with most of them

Gudrun Maydorn (X) — Wed, 24 Sep 2014 05:59:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: Do you communicate with clients on the phone?
Poster: Gudrun Maydorn (X)
Post title: Yes, with most of them

[quote]Michael Harris wrote:

I do not talk to them for ages, but sometimes to quickly clarify minor issues.

I find it really great to have a "small" conversation with people around the world, and it does give a "personal" touch to things. [/quote]

Poll: Do you communicate with clients on the phone? | Well, I never

Anthony Baldwin — Wed, 24 Sep 2014 01:09:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: Do you communicate with clients on the phone?
Poster: Anthony Baldwin
Post title: Well, I never

ever call a client, unless there's some absolute emergency, like my house just burnt down or flew off in a tornado, with half of their urgent translation on my now melted hard drive (hasn't happened quite like that yet).

But I do get frantic calls from time to time at 3am from PMs desperate for someone to take an urgent translation for them. I only pick up if I am completely available and desperate for work, myself. Otherwise, I let them talk to the voicemail.
I prefer contact via e-mail.
I have some clients begging me for years now to "give them my skype",
but I absolutely refuse to use such things.
If I'm on the computer, I'm working, and need not be interrupted by skype.
I check my e-mail quite frequently when I'm not busy working already.
I should probably make myself more available and accommodating, but I've become a bit curmudgeonly in my old age, I suppose.

Poll: Do you communicate with clients on the phone? | Never, without exceptions

Karol Kacprzak — Tue, 23 Sep 2014 21:50:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: Do you communicate with clients on the phone?
Poster: Karol Kacprzak
Post title: Never, without exceptions

I'm not much of a speaker. I hate arranging anything over the phone even in my native language. For me one of the biggest benefits of being a written translator is not having to talk to anyone on the phone.

Poll: Do you communicate with clients on the phone? | Unfortunately, yes

Hege Jakobsen Lepri — Tue, 23 Sep 2014 21:10:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: Do you communicate with clients on the phone?
Poster: Hege Jakobsen Lepri
Post title: Unfortunately, yes

I have a few clients that feel the need to call, and a couple of them never get into their head that I'm in a different timezone.
So I've had clients call me at 4-5 in the morning, wondering why I haven't replied to their e-mail yet, and recently I raised my voice to a client that claimed it was an emergency (file arrived in my inbox at 4 a.m.my time, no forewarning) at 7:15 a.m., and at that point I started yelling, that "this is not an emergency, just bad planning on your side, and I will not even look at this until I've finished my coffee."

[Edited at 2014-09-23 21:11 GMT]

Poll: Do you communicate with clients on the phone? | I don't encourage it but it does happen

Sheila Wilson — Tue, 23 Sep 2014 21:09:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: Do you communicate with clients on the phone?
Poster: Sheila Wilson
Post title: I don't encourage it but it does happen

None of them are native English speakers and most aren't French speakers, either. So there's me, answering my phone with my best Spanish ¡Hola! and then "listening in Spanish", if you know what I mean. It's a language I don't speak at all well so already I'm stressed. Then they immediately give their name before I've even decided which language they're speaking. Needless to say, it never reaches a memory cell in my brain. So I'm completely wrong-footed, struggling to sort out who they are and what they're talking about. My French goes to pieces and even my English suffers as I get more and more flustered.

It really doesn't have the polish that I strive to put in my emails.

Poll: Do you communicate with clients on the phone? | Yes, frequently

Michael Harris — Tue, 23 Sep 2014 20:51:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: Do you communicate with clients on the phone?
Poster: Michael Harris
Post title: Yes, frequently

I frequently call my customers, all over the world.

I do not talk to them for ages, but sometimes to quickly clarify minor issues.

I find it really great to have a "small" conversation with people around the world, and it does give a "personal" touch to things.

Julian, calls are expensive over there? I have 2 international flat rates for €10 / month and could keep the line on normal land lines burning all nght.

Poll: Do you communicate with clients on the phone? | No, always by email but with two exceptions

Sabrina Bruna — Tue, 23 Sep 2014 14:26:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: Do you communicate with clients on the phone?
Poster: Sabrina Bruna
Post title: No, always by email but with two exceptions

Once the customer contacted me directly on my mobile, then we went on communicating by email; at another time I exchanged a few text messages with the customer for details about an important project.

Poll: Do you communicate with clients on the phone? | Very rarely

Ian Keith Jones Williams — Tue, 23 Sep 2014 12:55:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: Do you communicate with clients on the phone?
Poster: Ian Keith Jones Williams
Post title: Very rarely

A client may phone me to ask about availability for something urgent, but generally communication is by email or intranet.

Client is perfectly correct.

[Editat el 2014-09-23 12:56 GMT]

Poll: Do you communicate with clients on the phone? | Clients?

The Shredder — Tue, 23 Sep 2014 10:47:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: Do you communicate with clients on the phone?
Poster: The Shredder
Post title: Clients?

Only when they want me to talk dirty

Poll: Do you communicate with clients on the phone? | No

M. Anna Kańduła — Tue, 23 Sep 2014 10:30:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: Do you communicate with clients on the phone?
Poster: M. Anna Kańduła
Post title: No

My phone isn't publicly available.

I wouldn't accept a translation without seeing the text first, so email is the way to ask me questions. I normally promptly answer my emails. If something is very urgent, I would ask to send the email with the text first anyway, so phoning me first would actually be wasting time. And if I don't answer an email quickly, that means I'm not in my home office, which in turn means I would not talk about work on the phone either, because... I'm not at my computer to check the client's files. Certainly I wouldn't talk about translation on a noisy bus or queuing at a supermarket.

On top of all that, I just dislike phone conversations, especially with strangers.

Poll: Do you communicate with clients on the phone? | No, except for one client...

Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida — Tue, 23 Sep 2014 09:45:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: Do you communicate with clients on the phone?
Poster: Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Post title: No, except for one client...

In general, my clients prefer to communicate via email, but I translate a lot of medical devices certifications for one of my clients and she always sends a courier to pick them up, so we always talk over the phone to sort out what time is best for both of us.

Poll: Do you communicate with clients on the phone? | What's a phone?

Mario Chavez (X) — Tue, 23 Sep 2014 09:28:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: Do you communicate with clients on the phone?
Poster: Mario Chavez (X)
Post title: What's a phone?

Can you imagine this poll 100 years ago? Do you telegraph your clients?

What about American Indians? Mister translator, your smoke signals had a typo. Please respond.

As a “loner” (i.e. introverted) translator, I generally cherish those impromptu, out-of-the-blue phone calls from regular clients. Those calls usually mean a particularly large or interesting project. But, like most of you, I prefer emails.

Some qualifiers could render this poll question more interesting. Example: Do you communicate with trepidation with clients on the phone?

Poll: Do you communicate with clients on the phone? | Other

Yetta Jensen Bogarde — Tue, 23 Sep 2014 09:17:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: Do you communicate with clients on the phone?
Poster: Yetta Jensen Bogarde
Post title: Other

Not in general, but sometimes I get called by a regular, or more often a potential client, when they have an urgent job.

Those never turn out to be the best projects.

Poll: Do you communicate with clients on the phone? | NO ...

DianeGM — Tue, 23 Sep 2014 09:14:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: Do you communicate with clients on the phone?
Poster: DianeGM
Post title: NO ...

Happens occasisonally when someone calls me for a job - but mostly could be a brain in a jar for all my clients know.

Poll: Do you communicate with clients on the phone? | Yes

Julian Holmes — Tue, 23 Sep 2014 09:03:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: Do you communicate with clients on the phone?
Poster: Julian Holmes
Post title: Yes

But in almost 100% of cases, it is the customer/client who calls me, which is better since daytime telephone charges over here are outrageous and the majority of my customers/clients are based in Tokyo.

And, I always ask them to send me an e-mail summarizing the phone call conversation if it was about a new job that I provisionally accepted (I never give firm acceptance of jobs over the phone), changes to an ongoing job, etc.

From past experience, I've learnt that it's always best to leave a paper trail (i.e. e-mail) to prevent misunderstandings later on.

Gone are the days when a deal was sealed by a nod and a wink.

Poll: Do you communicate with clients on the phone? | Only one client rings

Susana E. Cano Méndez — Tue, 23 Sep 2014 08:52:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: Do you communicate with clients on the phone?
Poster: Susana E. Cano Méndez
Post title: Only one client rings

In general, most of my clients communicate only via e-mail, which is better for me (no time lost). Only one uses to ring when starting a job, to set general conditions. But I always send them an e-mail back with a summary.

Poll: Do you communicate with clients on the phone? | Yes, some

neilmac — Tue, 23 Sep 2014 08:47:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: Do you communicate with clients on the phone?
Poster: neilmac
Post title: Yes, some

However, I prefer to conduct most communication by e-mail. When I'm busy, I often switch off my phone to avoid distractions.

Funnily enough, this morning one client asked me about a file they had sent me on Friday to translate. However, it turns out I'd forgotten all about it (something unforgivable, this should never happen, but hey, nobody's perfect) as I'd been distracted by having to deal with some technical problems over the weekend with a PPT file they'd sent me, as well as another one converted from InDesign (don't ask!)... so my reply email to them started off with "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaay! Mea culpa..."* , which is exactly how I'd have responded by phone....

[Edited at 2014-09-23 11:08 GMT]

[Edited at 2014-09-23 12:57 GMT]

* Translation for non-Spanish speakers: "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaargh! My bad..."

[Edited at 2014-09-23 13:00 GMT]

Poll: Do you communicate with clients on the phone? | Not as a rule

Platon Danilov — Tue, 23 Sep 2014 08:21:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: Do you communicate with clients on the phone?
Poster: Platon Danilov
Post title: Not as a rule

I will definitely ring a client, especially new one, if I feel like miscommunication.
Sometimes a client may call me in case of urgent job (it has been only once).

Poll: Do you communicate with clients on the phone? | Not as a rule

Mary Worby — Tue, 23 Sep 2014 08:14:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: Do you communicate with clients on the phone?
Poster: Mary Worby
Post title: Not as a rule

Occasionally clients will ring me if they have an urgent job or if I haven't responded to an e-mail. I will ring customers once in a blue moon (if my e-mails are bouncing back, for example)! E-mail is my default method of communicaiton.

Poll: Do you communicate with clients on the phone?

ProZ.com Staff — Tue, 23 Sep 2014 08:10:01 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: Do you communicate with clients on the phone?
Poster: ProZ.com Staff

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Do you communicate with clients on the phone?".

This poll was originally submitted by Jerome Duquene. View the poll results »