Treading Lightly with Your Clients
Every now and then, someone new will contact me out of the blue and be interested in working with me. I usually head right over to their website to see who I am dealing with. I’ll read the original German copy, look at the English translation, shudder, and then spend some time composing a very carefully worded email, explaining why they are not currently making the best impression on the English-speaking world and which steps might be necessary to remedy that.
We all see bad translations all the time. Sometimes a client is asking for our assessment and sometimes a client is completely unaware that they haven’t been publishing the best translations. How do you handle these kinds of situations? I have read tough-love proponents who recommend ruthlessly setting people straight about the translation quality they have been getting so far – often with the assumption that clients have brought that lack of quality upon themselves. I’m sure that there are many different kinds of clients out there, but I like to assume good faith. I also think that if you want to win a new client, bludgeoning people with cold, hard facts might not be the way to go.
Gently does it
When I’m not surprising unsuspecting clients with bad news about previous translations, clients often ask me what I think about translations that were done by someone else. The conversations we have about these translations and how they came about keep me sensitive to the fact that clients don’t need to be treated as villains.
Some reasons to proceed with care when criticizing a potential client’s existing English translations:
- They did the translations themselves: Many people in Germany have excellent English skills, but that does not make them excellent translators. Nobody wants to be slapped in the face with this, though.
- They may have taken it upon themselves to “improve” a translation: I’ll bet that I’m not the only one who has seen website translations mangled by well-meaning clients. Maybe they didn’t want to bother the translator with what they think are minor details. Maybe they misjudged their own English skills. Clients can be resentful no matter how subtly a lack of judgment on their side is pointed out.
- A person of trust did the translation (possibly also a non-native speaker): Another common occurrence here in Germany. The translator could be a colleague, friend or relative – maybe someone who has lived or is living abroad. The point is, they know and value this person and they don’t necessarily know me.
- Being called out on something that could be improved can be really unsettling: When I was just starting out, I remember a design agency cold-calling me with the (in hindsight) repulsive tactic of telling me that my website looked unprofessional and shabby. I still remember that feeling of shame that washed over me. That is not how I want my clients to feel.
- Clients can feel helpless and frustrated when they find out that they have been paying good money for bad service: If clients can’t judge the quality of the translation, they have to trust the agency or individual translators. No one likes realizing that their trust has been misplaced. And this makes them reluctant to trust a new translator.
- Criticism can look like you’re bad-mouthing your competitors: This is one I struggle with. I’m never sure that I won’t taint a budding relationship with a new client by starting on such a negative note. Still, I can’t use shoddy copy as reference material for new translations, so I have to break the news at some point.
- They may have decided to work with someone else on a previous project: Sour grapes, anyone? In these cases, I always recommend that clients get a second opinion from someone impartial.
- Out of common decency
The world of business can be a harsh place. And maybe everyone should just grow a thicker skin. OR, maybe it would be good to remember that those we are dealing with are people who – just like us – bring their own stories and worries to the table. Even if they don’t turn out to be ideal clients for us, there’s no need for casual rudeness. I don’t get it right every time, but I always try to take a minute and think about how I would feel if I were getting an email criticizing something about me. If I feel that the criticism only serves a purpose in itself, I find it difficult to open up to any change. If I feel that criticism comes from compassion and a willingness to help, then it’s easier to let go of the criticism and focus on the improvement. What do you think?
I couldn’t agree more on all points raised. This is a very delicate situation and deciding what to say and how and whether you should say something is always hard. Thanks for sharing your views on this.
Hi Magda,
Thanks for your comment! I can’t say that I always enjoy having these conversations with clients. I do think that as long we try to see it from our client’s perspective and remember that we’re all only human, sharing our professional opinion with them is the right thing to do.
Hi Else,
I commend your cautious approach when dealing with delicate issues such as this. I do have to disagree with the main principle of not correcting a client’s correction of English, though. This of course applies to any language (whereby the non-native client thinks their command of a language is better than the native translator’s) but as an into-English translator I feel the problem is much more widespread.
Working from Dutch and German in particular, my clients (and their clients) who are native speakers of these languages on occasion come back after I’ve delivered a translation saying X is wrong and it should be Y, only for Y to be a horrible, literal rendition that uses source language syntax. So I routinely do have to correct a client on their “corrections”, albeit in a professional manner and providing a justification.
In my experience, speakers of English as a second language are taught to believe it is an easy language with few grammar rules and vocabulary that can be made up on the spot. Generations have been taught English without an understanding of the inherent subtleties that on the whole can only be understood by a native. This has produced a false sense of authority on (and in turn a lack of humility in) the language amongst many non-native speakers, particularly in countries where command of English is greater (i.e. I don’t find this is a problem with my French and Spanish-speaking clients!).
I believe it is part of client education for native English-speaking translators to highlight when a client is mistaken in “correcting” our English. It should of course, as you point out, not be done in a critical, derogatory manner but not doing so at all, I believe, is actually unethical.
Hi Lloyd,
Thanks for your comment!
Maybe I wasn’t too clear. I ALWAYS tell clients the truth about their English skills or the English translations they have been using so far.
German clients often ask me whether a phrase they happen to be more familiar with or that sounds better to them (i.e. it’s probably closer to German syntax) couldn’t be used instead of my wording. Then it’s up to me to explain why I chose what I chose and clients are often surprised at the amount of thought we put into our translations. And that often also helps them to see their English skills in a new light.
All I wanted to say is that corrections by clients don’t always need to be taken as an intentional attack on us and our skills. And I try to keep that in mind when discussing their feedback.
Judging by what you wrote, I’d actually say that we’re in complete agreement š
What a timely post, Else! I just delivered a small translation for a client and noticed that their Romanian website was not as good as it could be. It was most likely translated by a native speaker, but probably not a professional translator. I hope my approach was gentle enough and did not upset them š
Hi Alina,
I’m sure it was! Keep us posted š
Hi Else,
As a relatively new translator, this is an issue I’ve been grappling with. Some of the previously translated material on a client’s website is not of the highest quality. I also worry that people might think it’s my work.
I have actually edited some of this material for print use, so I guess it’s time I gently tackled the issue and asked for my translation to be used on the website, too!
Katherine
Hi Katherine,
Thanks for commenting!
I always raise these issues with clients and my opinion isn’t always welcomed with open arms. Maybe it’s because they really don’t want to hear what I’m saying right now or maybe how I said it already made them shut down. And sometimes clients are honestly surprised at what I have to say and happy that I told them. The point is, you’ll never know until you talk to them š
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Interesting post and comments. It’s not an easy subject and the messenger sometimes get shot for the reasons you mention.
I think that there are cultural differences to bear in mind too. Some are more open to being told.
As a former client, I do wish the translation industry would stop referring to ‘client education’ – isn’t it simply a matter of making a clientt aware of an issue? Sometimes I fear that it is the “education approach” that gets in the way.
Hi Karen,
Thanks for your comment. Your point about ‘client education” really got me thinking. You’re right – using that term implies that we have tested our clients and found them lacking in a way. And that we are now called to teach them what’s right (and make sure they don’t forget it). I wouldn’t want to be at the receiving end of that either.
Really enjoyed this post. Here’s the term that Lloyd (with whom I couldn’t agree more) was too nice to use: cultural arrogance.
I am not a translator. But I have to admit to getting angry, the longer I lived in my adopted language, about the way English had been taught in Germany.
It’s darn hard to deal with people who think they know everything.
Hi Gerd,
Thanks for your comment! Yep, know-it-alls are hard to stomach – no matter where they come from š I do find it very telling that here in Germany it’s pretty common for native German speakers to translate INTO English as well as into their native German.