| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10] | Email notification of a reduction in rates from a translation agency Thread poster: Lena Nemeth
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| ATA membership | Jul 23, 2013 |
The agency had ATA logo on their website. While preparing the "action survey" earlier, I was trying to verify this in the ATA Directory (if they were a member it would mean their recent misleading arguments could be compared with another ethical code) but I was not able to find them there.
I've got the following message from ATA now:
"[...] company was a member of ATA from 2009 until January of this year. Their membership expired on 1/1/13."
And, the ATA logo is now gone from their website (I have a screenshot done earlier today with the logo shown there).
You decided to use bad arguments, elephant? Greetings from a prying ant.
[Edited at 2013-07-23 18:33 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Logo still there | Jul 24, 2013 |
Tomas Mosler, MITI wrote:
The agency had ATA logo on their website. While preparing the "action survey" earlier, I was trying to verify this in the ATA Directory (if they were a member it would mean their recent misleading arguments could be compared with another ethical code) but I was not able to find them there.
I've got the following message from ATA now:
" [ ...] company was a member of ATA from 2009 until January of this year. Their membership expired on 1/1/13."
And, the ATA logo is now gone from their website (I have a screenshot done earlier today with the logo shown there).
You decided to use bad arguments, elephant? Greetings from a prying ant.
[Edited at 2013-07-23 18:33 GMT]
Good eye Tomas. It's still there on their "Careers" site (careers.youknowthename.com). I've made a screen shot. Seems like a real class act.
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It's still there on their "Careers" site (careers.youknowthename.com).
I see... I'm not going to make any trouble/queries about this though (unless I'd know their webmaster's e-mail) as it is not on a front page or a page directly linked from there; would seem too "nerdy" to me.
They (and we) know and my primary aim is now the "action" against their misleading arguments: http://goo.gl/4d5WQ
| | | | | Have you all been contacted? | Jul 24, 2013 |
Last week I replied to the specific e-mail telling them I won't accept their offer. After that I received a response that somebody already tried to call me (but I didn't have any missed calls on my phone) and he wanted to call me again. He asked me when I'd be available. Of course I responded to him, but he never called. I was just wondering if this only happened to me or is anybody else still waiting too? They must be very busy solving all this. ... See more Last week I replied to the specific e-mail telling them I won't accept their offer. After that I received a response that somebody already tried to call me (but I didn't have any missed calls on my phone) and he wanted to call me again. He asked me when I'd be available. Of course I responded to him, but he never called. I was just wondering if this only happened to me or is anybody else still waiting too? They must be very busy solving all this. ▲ Collapse
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| I emailed the CEO asking for a response to this discussion... | Jul 30, 2013 |
...but surprise, surprise, I got no reply.
| | | | | Not a surprise at all | Aug 1, 2013 |
philgoddard wrote:
...but surprise, surprise, I got no reply.
If the CEO is the mastermind telling the PMs every year to send out a mass mail stating that they would be lowering their rates, why would s/he bother to answer or comment about a discussion on Proz? The company's offering a "take it or leave it" situation.
| | | | kchansen
Local time: 18:26
English to Danish
| Don't expect an answer here | Aug 1, 2013 |
A CEO knows that s/he has nothing to gain by entering into a public discussion, where they will be up against a large number of angry translators.
Rather they will send out a mass email demanding lower rates, longer payment terms, "temporary" discounts, or whatever. They will then let us blow off steam on Proz, Facebook, or other translation sites - and finally, after a week or so, approach those translators individually who haven't replied yet to ask for a reply, and tell them tha... See more A CEO knows that s/he has nothing to gain by entering into a public discussion, where they will be up against a large number of angry translators.
Rather they will send out a mass email demanding lower rates, longer payment terms, "temporary" discounts, or whatever. They will then let us blow off steam on Proz, Facebook, or other translation sites - and finally, after a week or so, approach those translators individually who haven't replied yet to ask for a reply, and tell them that "all our other vendors have accepted the new conditions and we're only waiting for you!"
Divide and conquer. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | For ITI members | Aug 2, 2013 |
If you are an ITI member you might be interested in the proposal for a motion for ITI's Annual General Meeting concerning the agency:
http://goo.gl/nnWW8e
If you support this proposal please cast a vote using a poll at the top of the topic there. You are welcome to share the link as you deem fit. Thank you.
The Forum and poll is accessible only to ITI members (all categories). ... See more If you are an ITI member you might be interested in the proposal for a motion for ITI's Annual General Meeting concerning the agency:
http://goo.gl/nnWW8e
If you support this proposal please cast a vote using a poll at the top of the topic there. You are welcome to share the link as you deem fit. Thank you.
The Forum and poll is accessible only to ITI members (all categories). At least 30 supporters until EOB August 9 (Friday next week) is needed to make this part of the AGM agenda. You can support the proposal even if you are not attending the AGM. If you are not sure about your login details for the ITI website please check with the ITI office.
NB This action doesn't mean other steps that I outlined earlier would be abandoned, but this is now a bit urgent.
[Edited at 2013-08-02 16:51 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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| Post removed: This post was hidden by a moderator or staff member for the following reason: The profile holder - Camilla - asked to remove this posting. |
Hello spamalot,
You shouldn't believe sentiments expressed from no-name agencies.
There have been several discussions and articles about marketing, pricing etc. on Proz and elsewhere. "[...] if you want earn like a professional, be one. Learn, specialize,network, find your niche and become the expert companies turn to when they need the best quality work" - Tapani Ronni j... See more Hello spamalot,
You shouldn't believe sentiments expressed from no-name agencies.
There have been several discussions and articles about marketing, pricing etc. on Proz and elsewhere. "[...] if you want earn like a professional, be one. Learn, specialize,network, find your niche and become the expert companies turn to when they need the best quality work" - Tapani Ronni just recently wrote this here:
http://www.linkedin.com/groupAnswers?viewQuestionAndAnswers=&discussionID=258829477&gid=1536857 (there are other interesting ideas in that group). Of course, keep in mind that there is not one "best recipe" for everybody. Everyone is different and prefers different business & marketing methods. You might also wish to read some books related to translator's marketing etc.
Also, seeing your position in the map, you might perhaps be interested in this:
http://trikonf.com/program/
There is no universal "correct" price, but EUR 0.06 is rather low.
You may wish to refer to http://search.proz.com/employers/rates as a starting point.
By the way, if you intend to make Proz work as a "marketing tool" for you, I'd suggest using real name and collect Kudoz points. Also I'd recommend reviewing your profile ("About me") and making it more translation oriented. Your website would deserve more fresh design. And last thing, maybe it is just me, but using "spamalot" [spam-a-lot] as a business name could send undesired signal to some potential customers.
[Edited at 2013-08-04 20:54 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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The above mentioned motion proposal for ITI Annual General Meeting gained support of about 100 ITI members within one week (from Aug 2 to Aug 9 when was the deadline for support). This means the motion is included in the ITI AGM agenda which was announced on Friday Aug 18. The AGM itself takes place on Sep 8 in Bristol.
For voting ITI members (MITI/FITI): If you won't be present in Bristol and support this motion, you can appoint a proxy to vote on your behalf. Please ... See more The above mentioned motion proposal for ITI Annual General Meeting gained support of about 100 ITI members within one week (from Aug 2 to Aug 9 when was the deadline for support). This means the motion is included in the ITI AGM agenda which was announced on Friday Aug 18. The AGM itself takes place on Sep 8 in Bristol.
For voting ITI members (MITI/FITI): If you won't be present in Bristol and support this motion, you can appoint a proxy to vote on your behalf. Please note that except for the Chair of the meeting, the maximum number of proxies to be held by a single person is 5 - so you are welcome to appoint the Chair, and make your choice in the voting form. (See ITI e-mail from Friday for details.)
Thanks to all supporters. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Phil Hand 
China
Local time: 00:26
Chinese to English
| Others' experience? | Oct 3, 2013 |
Sorry to drag up this dismal thread again, but I thought it worth mentioning that I've done a couple of jobs for this company lately, and they accepted my rates. As was suggested right at the top of the thread, the best thing to do is ignore bad practice like this, continue to inform the agency of your actual rates, and only accept work that is properly paid. It works, because they need good translators as much as we need them.
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| Proper answer | Oct 6, 2013 |
Jeff Whittaker wrote:
They claim "We employ a further 50 people who recruit, interview and test linguists in order to maintain the high standard of our service."
The proper answer that comes to mind is: "If you pay proper rates for quality work to translators, you will be able to reduce those 50 additional people, thus saving on fixed costs. BTW: my rates are....xxx. Sorry, not negotiable."
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Detailed results of the ITI Annual General Meeting (September 2013) voting about the motion re this agency were published in January: The motion was carried (this was known already in September) on a show of hands; proxy votes - For 86; Discretionary 23; Against 4; Abstain 8. Thank you to all the supporters.
The text of the motion:
This General Meeting should:
1) Express strong concern over the recent behaviour of XXX Company (including a recent e-mail it sent ... See more Detailed results of the ITI Annual General Meeting (September 2013) voting about the motion re this agency were published in January: The motion was carried (this was known already in September) on a show of hands; proxy votes - For 86; Discretionary 23; Against 4; Abstain 8. Thank you to all the supporters.
The text of the motion:
This General Meeting should:
1) Express strong concern over the recent behaviour of XXX Company (including a recent e-mail it sent to its suppliers dated 17 July 2013), ask the Board to consider further steps in relation to this issue, and authorise the Chairman of the Annual General Meeting to write to XXX Company to express the concerns of members as noted at this General Meeting.
2) Firmly declare that XXX Company is obliged to adhere to the Code of Professional Conduct for corporate members of ITI (cf. par. 5.1) and should act towards language professionals in a honourable and professional manner.
Later, ITI Chair sent a letter to the agency. ▲ Collapse
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