Is it easy to open a translation agency? What difficulties are hidden in the work of a linguistic company?

In the prepared material, we will present the main difficulties that many bureaus regularly face in their activities, so that novice owners of the translation business can understand what they will face in the course of the upcoming work.

Typical difficult situations that occur with clients of translation services

Translation bureau customers may be dissatisfied with the speed, quality of services, and how these services are provided. The following are typical situations and tips that can guide you in your work if you own a translation bureau.

Objections:

YOU PUT THE RECEIVED TEXT INTO GOOGLE TRANSLATOR AND SENT US THE RESULT

Unfortunately, it should be noted that accusations of using automatic online translators are not uncommon from customers. It is especially unpleasant when the customer does not give specific examples of disliked moments, in this case it is difficult to object, because a professional understands for sure that in his text there is no incorrect translation. Therefore, it is often necessary for a specialist to justify himself from scratch and ask them to explain what they did not like in the received translation.

When a linguist receives several controversial moments in the translation, the procedure should always be as follows:

As a rule, controversial moments are commented by the bureau editor;
For a number of cases, translators are directly involved in commenting;

Yes, it can take quite a bit of time. However, how else to prove to the client that the translation is accurate, and the specialist is competent?

As they say, those who are not mistaken do not work, therefore, if errors are found, they should be recognized and offered to customers a complete re-proofreading, of course, without charging an additional fee.

Recommendation

It is necessary to inform the customer of how you work on the order, what is included in the scope of your services, competencies (translation, editing, proofreading), who translated the material or worked on the editing of the text. If necessary, the client should be given the opportunity to contact these employees.

Transparency of work, openness of relationships and a desire to work on criticism increase trust in the company and help to work better on claims.

SORRY, THE TRANSLATION IS NO LONGER RELEVANT TO US

Some customers do not realize that the translation is a time- and labour-consuming process, and not a quick purchase of goods in an online-store. If the order is accepted, paid for, there is a high probability that the linguist has already started working. When cancelling an order, you should do this:

Non-urgent translation are rarely made on the day of order acceptance, therefore, if the work has not yet begun, you should not demand compensation for the cancellation of the service.
If the customer decided to cancel the order when part of the work has already been completed, he will have to pay for this part of the translation. It is necessary to suspend work and send to the client the part that has already been translated.

Advice

It is always necessary to specify clearly in the contract the conditions of cancellation of the order. If for some reason the contract was not signed before the start of the translation, you should at least say these conditions out loud and get the client's approval in advance and then hope for his good faith.

WE GAVE THE TRANSLATION TO A FAMILIAR FOREIGN PARTNER, HE FOUND ERRORS

When you order a translation into a foreign language, you need to offer two translation options:

Good, inexpensive for the internal purposes.

The translation is made by a Ukrainian linguist who knows a foreign language professionally.

Very good, but more expensive

The text is translated by a native speaker of a foreign language who is a professional translator.

As practice shows, the knowledge of a Ukrainian translator is enough for the most of translations, but it is more effective and correct to attract native speakers for advertising catalogues, foreign websites and other public materials.

In fact, the problem is not in choosing a Ukrainian translator or a native speaker, but in the fact that many customers think that anyone who knows a foreign language at the level of "reading with a dictionary" can translate. In addition, when there is a native speaker among friends, then he will certainly cope with the task better than any Ukrainian-speaking translator.

When using the free services of a "friend", a good translation may be at risk for a simple reason: his linguistic knowledge may not be enough for an adequate, complete translation into the required language. After all, as you know, the path to the profession of a linguist lies through training at the institute, many years of practical experience and periodic taking lumps.

Recommendations

Before performing the work, list in detail your obligations to the customer and clearly delineate the boundaries of responsibility in the contract. It should also reflect the procedure for actions in case of claims regarding the quality of the translation. If you understand that the claims are not substantiated, a translation examination is usually appointed with the involvement of an independent linguist or another translation agency.

I TRANSLATED EVERYTHING BY MYSELF, CERTIFY MY TRANSLATION WITH YOUR SEAL

Many companies not only make translations, but also notarize them with their seal. Sometimes clients may request to certify a translation that has already been translated, since they:

Translated the text on their own;
Completed the translation in another company;
Claimed that only the seal needs to be translated in the document, its text was typed in Google translator, etc.

It should be understood that any certification is a big responsibility, so you cannot certify another's translations without their preliminary proofreading.

Advice

Translations cannot be certified without comparing the source text and the resulting translation. The human factor plays an important role, therefore, even a previously completed translation by your bureau, brought for re-certification, is recommended to check for mistakes and omissions during registration. Translations received "from the outside" should be given to the editor for proofreading, possibly for half the cost of the initial services.

THERE'S NOT MUCH TO TRANSLATE, I'LL WAIT HERE

There is a well-known saying: haste makes waste

Switching from one translation to another, trying to catch up everywhere, just to please the customer who is in a hurry and intends to wait in the lobby while his translation is being prepared quickly is a thankless task.

Recommendations

It is necessary to develop strict rules for processing orders, paying for them and launching translations into work. There should be a clear schedule, an algorithm of work. In the moment of peak tension, when the day is literally scheduled by the minute, you can take up a "small" translation of 15 minutes, make a little mistake and disrupt all other orders, in addition, tarnish bureau's reputation.

This is only a small part of the examples that shows what you will face when opening your office when interacting with customers. Now, as for the performers - the translators themselves.

Difficult situations with linguists

One of the main roles in translations is played by the human factor, and therefore all failures on orders due to the fault of the company will, in most cases, be closely related to the linguists who were assigned the work. The most typical situations are presented in detail below and given the recommendations that you can follow in your work.

IT WAS DECIDED TO APPLY FOR THE SERVICES OF A FREELANCER, AN ADVANCE PAYMENT WAS MADE — THE PERSON WHO TOOK THE MONEY DOES NOT GET IN TOUCH

The ideal option is if all linguists in the bureau are full timers. However, there are many languages, specializations, topics, it is not realistic to keep absolutely all specialists on staff. Therefore, from time to time you have to turn to the services of freelancers. In addition, there may be problems with them, since the point of freelancing is precisely to give a person maximum freedom, including the freedom to make decisions, what kind of work to take on, what responsibility to take on. And even the most proven and responsible specialists can fail periodically or at the most inconvenient moments, this should not be forgotten. Especially when prepayment is required in advance or services are paid in advance.

Advice

When seeking help from freelance linguists, discussing at first the issue of payment for services, you should always remember:

Most freelance professionals are willing to work without receiving an advance payment;
When a freelancer refuses, does not want to work without prepayment, you need to conclude a contract;
If the prepayment is not needed (or partially needed), you need to state in detail the requirements for the deadline, the work in writing in the contract.

This is the only way to protect yourself a little, discipline freelance translators and provide quality services to clients in a timely manner.