Something funny happened on my way to work…
…well, maybe funny is not the right word. On my way to work, there was a truck in front of me and all of a sudden, something fell off the truck to the right and into the ditch. A second later, I saw a tire - the whole thing including rim - bounce down the highway and then off into the median. I was freaking out, what if more crap comes falling off the truck to hit me? I was swearing up a storm about some idiot dump truck driver who didn’t fasten his load properly! The truck pulled off to the right and in passing I noticed it was crooked - and it wasn’t a dump truck but a Comcast bucket truck and he actually lost two of his wheels WHILE DRIVING. I have no idea how that happens but I believe that getting hit by a truck tire including rim while drive 70mph on the highway must be a real blast - probably not the best way to start your day! Thank God nothing happened!
And in case someone is wondering why it got a little quiet around here, I am really busy with my ASP.NET class. Seems like this is the first class at Davenport that is challenging enough to keep me from blogging! I spent the last two weekends working through the chapters, doing examples and homework. This is a condensed 7 week class and we are doing what you are usually supposed to do in a whole semester, so it is 70 pages a week while still working full time. I am glad I am really enjoying this class and that the weather sucks anyway, otherwise I would be miserable.
Translation agencies - Pt. 1
I’ll call this “Pt. 1″ since I am sure there will be more.
Every now and then, I get sales calls from translation agencies trying to sell their services. I don’t like sales people, not the people per se but in their profession. As soon as they put on their “sales hat”, they are all the same and it doesn’t matter if they sell cars, insurances, electronics or anything else on commission.
Most phone calls start with them asking me about our process, and I explain to them how we handle translation here. It must be a substantial part of sales training, to never accept “No” as an answer. They keep listing their top selling points and how it would benefit us and I keep telling them that we are doing fine with our part in-house, part freelance setup. Everything I say is met with an answer that basically tries to tell me that they can do it better. This can go on forever with the sales person “Ma’m”-ing me and me deconstructing their pro arguments because it simply does not apply to us.
I really like it when they tell me that this could save us so much money by eliminating the in-house translation department. Say what? I am the in-house translation department.
Another favorite is when they try to sell us “solutions”. This is usually some workflow management system which in all honesty sounds good, but has an exorbitant price that sometimes exceeds what we spend on translations per year in total for all languages.
And sometimes, for whatever reason, agencies mass mail several different people in-house and then I get the same sales mail 10 times because everyone forwards them to me.
At times, they were so annoying that I told them to not ever call me again. Sometimes I am trying to explain to them that they really really really are wasting their time. And if all else fails, I just let them send their expensive, fancy, glossy brochures and then I dodge their follow-up calls.
Now, right before the ATA Conference, we had another good one. Someone from an agency sent an email to my boss (who is a tech writer and not a translator), which he forwarded. The first email ended with the words:
Most of our clients are looking for ways to reduce the overall cost of translation while streamlining and improving internal processes. XXX is one of the world’s leading providers of translation and localization management solutions. I would appreciate the opportunity to talk about how we may be able to help you. I understand that you are busy, and guarantee that our discussion will not waste your time.
Wow, a guarantee to not waste our time, that sounds…still not interesting. Send a politely declining email, explaining that we have our own department and handle translations and outsourcing internally. Well, not a good enough decline, now he moves on trying to improve our workflow:
[Our solution] would be more focused around technology, rather than translation services. We partner with a number of in-house translation groups, providing technology to facilitate workflow management, translation memory management, etc.
This email we now follow up with the usual “As mentioned in the previous email, our current system meets our requirements” answer. So now he knows that we don’t need translation, and that we don’t need workflow management. Oh, this agency has more to offer, because now we are approached from a different angle:
I was thinking about our exchange and [your] technical documentation. XXX offers a software tool (plug in to MS Word), that allows our clients’ technical writers to actually reduce the amount of English content. It helps reduce content that requires translation decreasing translation costs, accelerating turn times, as well as lowering printing and shipping costs.
Our clients typically see ROI the first time that they use it.
[...] the tool is completely independent of services - concretely meaning that you can use the tool and change nothing with your current processes.
Awesome, my boss actually forwarded it to me with the words “Sounds like magic”. Not sure if there was another reply from our side, it would have been interesting to see what else this person had to offer.
A week later I am in the exhibition hall of the ATA Conference, and I actually saw a booth of this translation agency. Curious as I am, I think that this is a great moment to have a look at these highly praised management tools without giving a sales person the hope of making a sale. I walk up to the person manning the stand - and she has no idea what I am talking about. I try to explain. She looks at me and asks something like “Do you mean Catalyst?” (which they apparently just acquired). Of course I don’t, but I take it as an indicator that this isn’t going anywhere and most certainly is not leading to a demo of the management tools.
Is there a conclusion to this story? Naaa, not really. I am getting ready for the long weekend - and this is a blog, what did you expect?
Trados customer service (or customer service in general)
Since it just came up on the Trados mailing list again, I just like to post my rant here too.
A lot of people complain about how bad Trados is and even more, how horrible their customer service is. Now, don’t get me wrong, I have had my share of issues with Trados and their service, but in all honesty - it’s the same at almost every other company.
I think one big part of the Trados support issues is that most translators need and use Trados 8 to 10 hours a day and that many rely on Trados for their livelihood. At the same time, many people are not willing to pay for support (Trados PSMA costs 20% of the product cost). Has anyone ever looked up how much support people make? Last time I checked, even jobs labeled “Support Specialist” (ie. not call center) earned well under $40,000 a year. If you know a lot about computers and if you have the required experience, do you want to listen to customers on a support hotline 8 hours a day for that money? Yeah, me neither…
Here are some of my past support experiences:
- Comcast: their service is horrible and I dread having to call them. Every now and then you get someone who actually knows their stuff and the conversion is pleasant. Most times, they don’t know anything, read of solutions from a script and put you on hold forever.
- Best Buy: the bulb of our fairly new projector blew after 90 days even though it was supposed to last 3000 hours on eco mode. Since projectors are fickle little things, we had actually purchased the extended support warranty for $180. We wrapped up the projector and went to the close by Best Buy to get the bulb exchanged. Well, not so much. They said we have to go home and file the claim online. We could also call support; the number is also on the web. Say what? So we went back home and I called customer support. I talked to someone who had absolutely no clue and kept asking me for the screen size of my projection TV. I kept telling her it is a PROJECTOR not a REAR PROJECTION TV, and she gave up and connected me to someone else. That someone else told me, that the bulb shouldn’t blow that fast (Duh!) and I should better contact the manufacturer because it is still under their warranty. We ended up having to send the projector back to Optoma (UPS insured for $60) and “just” two weeks later, we had our device back. And that was service we actually had paid for.
- Dell: I just had one brief encounter trying to change an order for a monitor after it all of a sudden showed “out of stock” with a delivery time of 4 weeks. My call was routed all over the world. One call I just had to hang up because I could not understand the person and apparently, he couldn’t understand me either because my request to transfer the call was ignored. One woman I talked to said she was from the Philippines, another one probably from India. They were trying to be helpful and they were nice, but their scripted answers are just a waste of time. If I have a problem bad enough that I can’t solve it, their script most probably can’t and I get the dreaded “You have to format your hard drive” answer.
- KIA: my husband’s remote key was in really bad condition. The buttons were punched through and the door release didn’t work. So, for his birthday I took his car, went to the KIA dealer and asked if I can get a new remote key. The guy looked it up and said they have one key - costs around $80, but they can’t cut it. He sent me to a locksmith that they had a deal with to get it cut. After that I have to get back to get it programmed. So I paid for the key, went to the locksmith who cut it for free and went back to the dealer. They sent out a guy (reeking of last night’s party) with a little computer who clearly didn’t know what he was doing. First, he couldn’t find the location to connect the computer to the car. Once he found that he started punching the keys while quietly cursing. After ten minutes, he said it doesn’t work and that it is the car’s fault. I asked him what to do now, and he said I have to get the car repaired - and with that he turned around and left me standing there. I went back in trying to explain that this key is basically worthless to me now, since the remote opening function was what I was looking for. Now, since it was cut I couldn’t return it, and since they couldn’t tell me what was wrong, the repair cost was “undetermined”.
- Airlines: I don’t believe I have to get into this - do I? I haven’t had a trouble-free flight for at least 5 years. In those 5 years, I have been stranded over night in Manchester (New Hampshire), Dallas, and in Chicago. They have lost my luggage on the way to Germany; I have missed flights because of delays. I was on standby even though I had a ticket in Philadelphia, I spent hours sitting in a plane that wasn’t moving or circling the tarmac and of course I had plain old delays. And you know what? I don’t even travel much!
Now, I have to add some positive notes, the customer support at T-Mobile (my cell phone provider) and Medion (for my laptop) have been pretty good. T-Mobile has the friendliest support staff, and I am not talking the usual fake support friendliness but people who are cordial and who actually are able to crack a little joke every now and then.
In the end, I am happy that I don’t have many computer problems, and that I can solve most of my computer issues myself. At times, I actually enjoy doing so and playing computer surgeon, but I know it is not for everyone. But if that is the case, you may have to pay someone.
Freelancer translators vs. translation agencies
While I am my company’s in-house translator, I am also our “in-house agency” for European languages. I am exclusively working with freelance translators. I am always wondering, if I just got extremely lucky with my translators or if that’s just the way it is.
My pros:
- I like to know I get the same translator every time
I guess that is one of the most important points and something you know if you are a translator and probably learned if you are working in the business long enough. I have worked with agencies before, and I have received varying quality even in the same field, which is unacceptable - I get better quality
It’s somewhat implied by the above bullet. IMHO, it’s a simple fact that repeat business increases the quality. Our translations are kinda sorta the same - about colors. I am sure a lot of things have to be looked up, but if everything goes to the same person - as they learn about our business, the value of their translation for us increases. - I get fast response and turn-around times
It is just nice to know that I can count on fast replies and that I can get small translations back fast - usually within a day for < 100 words and those one sentence translations are returned almost instantly. If not, I almost know they are not at their desk and will reply when they are back. Honestly, email is generally a very fast and reliable medium. Please don’t ask me to confirm every email - and that works both ways. I believe it is safe to assume that you receive my emails and I have received your emails - It is less formal
Usually, I can send out translations with just a couple of sentence. We need no purchase orders, I never need to specify dates (unless it is super urgent), formats, payment mode etc. I send an email with the file and the word count and if I know/care about, the desired return date. I don’t expect a reply unless it can’t be done within a reasonable amount of time (and “reasonable” depends on the size of the project) - I get bilingual files
Bilingual files allow me to have a TM which saves me money on translation work. I don’t think it is a problem since I always work with the same people, so I don’t have a TM created by dozens of different translators - It is cheaper
Of course it is, we are cutting out the middle man. I know that agencies offer services, but usually I don’t need those services - so why pay for them?
Interestingly, I believe that many of the things that are advantageous for me, are also advantageous to them:
- They deal with the same “PM” every time
They learn my style and they know what I expect and it saves them the time to set guidelines every time - They get fast response
Just as much as I appreciate a fast reply, they probably appreciate fast responses to their questions and inquiries the same - It is less formal
I am pretty sure this goes both ways - just as I hate to waste time, you can spend your time on better things that replying with the “Thank you for your inquiry. I appreciate your business and ….” - They don’t have to format files
When working with Trados and Word, Trados can do a horrible number on your files and the formatting. I often find I am spending hours on formatting files, so I believe I save money on “words”, and the translators can spend their time translating instead of fixing bad MS Word format. Since I just want the bilingual file back, that part is all taken care of on my end - It is faster (as in more words/hour)
Just as I get better and more consistent translation, it becomes easier to do translation in topics you know in-depth. Not having to research brandnew topics saves a lot of time. Yeah, it is interesting to learn new things but it is also nice to have a “safe haven”
What is your experience with in-house translators? Do you prefer working with agencies or in-house clients? Why? What are your expectations when working with a direct client vs. working with an agency?
Company-wide update to Office 2007
It is so nice, if you have an IT department that takes care of your business, right? Well, not so much, if they force an update to Office 2007 onto you - and your colleague is still running SDL Trados 2006 Freelance. I had already upgrade to Office 2007, because one of my classes for Davenport University required the use of Office 2007. I don’t really like it, but I somewhat got used to it.
Initially, we were both using Freelance versions. The Freelance version did everything we need and until a while back handled our needs perfectly. Generally, we have the languages split between me and my colleague, with her taking care of Asian languages and me taking care of European languages. In the recent past we started to support more European languages, and I needed to upgrade to the Professional version, which costs about 4 times as much, just to handle a few more languages. Well, I realized there is no other choice, and I got a pretty good deal on SDL Trados 2006 Professional.
Then, after a three month back and forth with support about an issue with Context TM and some really pissed off emails from me to basically everyone I know at Trados, they reimbursed me for my trouble with a free upgrade from 2006 Professional to 2007 Professional - whoa, I was floored and actually very impressed.
Anyway, the Freelance licensed was not upgraded so of course with the upgrade to Office 2007, it was “Bye Bye Trados” for her. I checked online into our Trados account and submitted a Request for Offer, asking what upgrade options we have to get the 2006 Freelance version to work with Office 2007. There was an option, how I would like to be contacted and since I dread talking to sales people, I checked “Contact by email”. Of course, an hour later, the phone rang - doh, why give me an option, if you don’t care anyway?
Of course, it was a typical sales call. The person was uninformed and had no idea what licenses we have and what we wanted. I don’t get it. She clearly looked into my account to get my phone number, right? She obviously got my message asking to upgrade the SDL Trados 2006 Freelance version, yet she asked me what version I want to upgrade. Then I got the spiel about how Translation Agencies shouldn’t use Freelance licenses to which I replied that we wouldn’t have a problem with that because we are not a translation agency. She then told me that corporate clients shouldn’t use a Freelance license either because it doesn’t work in a network. Where do those people get that crap from? Of course you can run a Freelance license in a network. We were also able to run two separate Freelance licenses in a network, even though I have heard some said they can’t, but we only have one Freelance version left.
I guess she could hear that I was not too open to her sales pitch and she said she would send me an offer via email. That was yesterday - I haven’t heard back since. Thank god, I am so crafty, so I logged into my account again, looked for product updates, selected to “Upgrade from SDL Trados 2006 Freelance to SDL Trados 2007 Suite Freelance” (quoted for $85), filled out a PO, got the CC# and 5 minutes later, I was downloading the update. After they figured out they can’t push the Pro version, the simple update probably wasn’t enough of a commission for someone to waste their time on me. Who needs sales people anyway, right?