Tuesday, May 12, 2009

When to charge, when to not/Facturer ou ne pas facturer

Was able to observe and learn about a new process during a recent industry show – had a pleasant chat with the exhibitors and left them my card. Lo and behold, a few days later received a request to quote on the translation of their website. I was even provided some French text which they said would help me in the work.

I had a good look at the site and evaluated the length and complexity of the material. I then proceeded to look at the French material supplied to discover that it was a very well done translation of the English, done by the author.

Intrigué, j’ai decidé de comparer les deux textes ligne par ligne pour me rendre compte que c’était là bel et bien une traduction fidèle de l’anglais. Pourquoi me demandait-on de traduire ce qui était déjà fait? Intrigué, j’appelle le client et lui pose la question. Il me répond : « je suis ingénieur et non pas traducteur et je voulais m’assurer que tout était bien fait. »

The author told me that we was not comfortable with his translation and needed a certified translator’s blessing that everything was ok. I explained what I had done and confirmed, that from my vantage, no redo was necessary and that I would gladly confirm this in writing. I had performed a revision and would bill him for that instead of giving him back his translation with my comments and charging him for the actual translation.

He sounded amazed. As for me, a feeling of peace and happiness filled my heart for having helped a client and saved him money at the same time. Has this sort of thing happened to you?

Dépanner un collègue est gratifiant, surtout si on peut lui éviter du travail et des frais supplémentaires. Vous-est-il arrivé quelque chose de semblable?

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