Poll: Negative feedback from a client is just a chance to improve my services. Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Negative feedback from a client is just a chance to improve my services.".
View the poll results »
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If improving my services depended on having negative feedback, I’d be damned as haven’t had a single negative feedback in over 20 years (touch wood!).
| | | | Hasrina Munajat 
Malaysia
Local time: 06:21
Member (2023)
English to Malay
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER | Negative feedback from clients is just a chance to improve services | May 6 |
Yes, because we learn from mistakes, and this is especially true for new linguists
| | | | Alex Lichanow
Germany
Local time: 00:21
Member (2020)
English to German
+ ...
This really depends on the type of feedback. Constructive feedback on actual issues is always welcome. If the client just vents and insults your translation (bonus points for being wrong), the feedback is completely useless.
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IrinaN
United States
Local time: 17:21
English to Russian
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| Another great wording | May 6 |
What "chance" has to do with anything here, including learning from mistakes?
Was the receiver deprived of any chances to improve h/h/t skills before the negative feedback?
noun
1.
a possibility of something happening.
"there is little chance of his finding a job"
Opposite:
unlikelihood
2. the occurrence and development of events in the absence of any obvious design.
"he met his brother by chance"
verb
... See more What "chance" has to do with anything here, including learning from mistakes?
Was the receiver deprived of any chances to improve h/h/t skills before the negative feedback?
noun
1.
a possibility of something happening.
"there is little chance of his finding a job"
Opposite:
unlikelihood
2. the occurrence and development of events in the absence of any obvious design.
"he met his brother by chance"
verb
1.
do something by accident or without design.
"if they chanced to meet"
2.
INFORMAL
do (something) despite its being dangerous or of uncertain outcome.
"she waited a few seconds and chanced another look"
"Reason", "stimulus" maybe but what a childish question for this audience. ▲ Collapse
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One client just recently got back to me about a couple of changes made to a life sciences translation - one was because I used a term in their termbase and the end client actually preferred another, and the other was an oversight on my part. The client is gracious, helpful and realises that such oversights can happen - happy to hear from them.
Another client uses an online platform to notify me of changes made to my translations by an "editor", with gradings of how serious the mista... See more One client just recently got back to me about a couple of changes made to a life sciences translation - one was because I used a term in their termbase and the end client actually preferred another, and the other was an oversight on my part. The client is gracious, helpful and realises that such oversights can happen - happy to hear from them.
Another client uses an online platform to notify me of changes made to my translations by an "editor", with gradings of how serious the mistake is. Then they assess the quality of your translation based on this - you can pass with flying colours, pass or fail. There are usually numerous stylistic changes from an over-eager "editor" trying to prove their worth. I only take on translations from this client if they are large (over 1000 EUR) and the automatic emails about changes go in the bin.
I assume most of my other translations don't get proofread, they are never read, the client is not able to read the source or the client has changed things and not told me.
Not getting feedback for a long time doesn't make your translations "perfect". Mistakes, oversights, undertranslations, overtranslations will creep in from time to time.
[Editada em 2024-05-06 09:04 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Belgium
Local time: 00:21
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
+ ...
If the feedback is justified, it's obviously a learning moment for the translator.
Unfortunately feedback often isn't justified. Last week I received a negative feedback, in which I was awarded a score of 20% for terminology, which is obviously really bad. After checking what went wrong, I found that NONE of the terminological changes were justified and that the reviewer even introduced 2 plain errors in my translation.
Luckily I have a solid reputation with this client... See more If the feedback is justified, it's obviously a learning moment for the translator.
Unfortunately feedback often isn't justified. Last week I received a negative feedback, in which I was awarded a score of 20% for terminology, which is obviously really bad. After checking what went wrong, I found that NONE of the terminological changes were justified and that the reviewer even introduced 2 plain errors in my translation.
Luckily I have a solid reputation with this client, so this kind of feedback always backfires to the reviewer (I always make a detailed report of the "feedback" with links to back every decision I made, just to put the reviewer against the wall). But it's very irritating and time-consuming.
I always wonder what the reasons for their behaviour are? Jealousy? Incompetence? I really don't understand this. I'm a reviewer myself and if I give negative feedback (luckily rare cases) it will always be based on demonstrable mistakes. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Belgium
Local time: 00:21
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
+ ...
IrinaN wrote:
What "chance" has to do with anything here, including learning from mistakes?
"Chances" are that a Dutchman, a Dutchwoman or a Fleming asked this question, because in Dutch "opportunity" means "kans" and intuitively the first English word we would think about to translate this Dutch word is "chance". So if we are distracted or not thinking straight, we might end up with "chance" instead of "opportunity".
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Kay Denney
France
Local time: 00:21
French to English
Lieven Malaise wrote:
If the feedback is justified, it's obviously a learning moment for the translator.
Unfortunately feedback often isn't justified. Last week I received a negative feedback, in which I was awarded a score of 20% for terminology, which is obviously really bad. After checking what went wrong, I found that NONE of the terminological changes were justified and that the reviewer even introduced 2 plain errors in my translation.
Luckily I have a solid reputation with this client, so this kind of feedback always backfires to the reviewer (I always make a detailed report of the "feedback" with links to back every decision I made, just to put the reviewer against the wall). But it's very irritating and time-consuming.
I always wonder what the reasons for their behaviour are? Jealousy? Incompetence? I really don't understand this. I'm a reviewer myself and if I give negative feedback (luckily rare cases) it will always be based on demonstrable mistakes.
It looks like you have the same approach as me, defending your translation when wrongfully criticised. It is time-consuming but I have found that it almost always pays off. The client can see that you know your stuff and that you care about results.
As for reasons behind the reviewer's behaviour, incompetence of course, if they are introducing mistakes, but they are probably trying to show that they are better than you, not realising maybe that you get to see what they do to your work.
As an occasional reviewer, I'm always delighted to be able to hand work in that I have barely changed, and to tell the client they've found a cracking good translator. One client put me in touch with the translator once, because she wanted to thank me for my glowing feedback. I also recommended her later when I couldn't do a job and the client had no backup solution.
| | | | Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 00:21
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
Lieven Malaise wrote:
If the feedback is justified, it's obviously a learning moment for the translator.
Unfortunately feedback often isn't justified. Last week I received a negative feedback, in which I was awarded a score of 20% for terminology, which is obviously really bad. After checking what went wrong, I found that NONE of the terminological changes were justified and that the reviewer even introduced 2 plain errors in my translation or its value in the text.
Luckily I have a solid reputation with this client, so this kind of feedback always backfires to the reviewer (I always make a detailed report of the "feedback" with links to back every decision I made, just to put the reviewer against the wall). But it's very irritating and time-consuming.
I always wonder what the reasons for their behaviour are? Jealousy? Incompetence? I really don't understand this. I'm a reviewer myself and if I give negative feedback (luckily rare cases) it will always be based on demonstrable mistakes.
When I used to work as a reviewer, I would only report or signal critical/major errors that jeopardize the integrity of the document and the messages to be conveyed. Not every mistranslation will jeopardize this, it depends on the message.
Conversely, when my translations are sent for revision (I avoid this type of clients, but they don't always disclose if they use random incompetent raters/reviewers), I find my text riddled with preferential changes that do not contribute to the document or its semantics in any way.
I can't know about jealousy but can tell incompetence based on how the changes were made or distorted terms introduced. It happens because the client chooses as a rater/reviewer whoever quoted the lowest price without any regard for their competence. Having X as a native language is not ultimate competence.
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IrinaN wrote:
What "chance" has to do with anything here, including learning from mistakes?
Fairly standard synonym for "opportunity".
And we all know how the prevailing ethos is to see everything as an opportunity
So happens I agree with the premise.
Even entirely unjustified negative feedback from a smart-arse with something to prove is an opportunity - a opportunity to improve my services by offering them elsewhere
| | | | Anne Maclennan
Local time: 00:21
Member (2010)
German to English
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| Constructive criticism good: quibbling bad | May 6 |
Constructive criticism can indeed help to improve a translation and help to guide a translator, especially in the early stages. Quibbling over minor issues is not helpful. When I am asked to revise another translator’s work I try to be constructive and not to dwell on uses of language that I might not have chosen, but which are perfectly correct in context. When I started out, I benefited a great deal from another translator’s help and guidance in pointing out where I could improve my transl... See more Constructive criticism can indeed help to improve a translation and help to guide a translator, especially in the early stages. Quibbling over minor issues is not helpful. When I am asked to revise another translator’s work I try to be constructive and not to dwell on uses of language that I might not have chosen, but which are perfectly correct in context. When I started out, I benefited a great deal from another translator’s help and guidance in pointing out where I could improve my translations and in directing me to the correct technical phraseology.
But, oh dear, must we use the term “feedback” in this way?
FEEDBACK as used in non-scientific contexts is used conversely to its true meaning. Scientifically-speaking, negative feedback is a good thing, because it leads to balance, whereas positive feedback exacerbates a system, for example leading to over-heating. I wish commerce and business had not so misunderstood the original meaning of the concept. ▲ Collapse
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It would mean they’re idiots and I wouldn’t want to work for them again. I ain’t casting my pearls before no swine, darling.
| | | | | Meaning of the word feedback | May 6 |
Anne Maclennan wrote:
Constructive criticism can indeed help to improve a translation and help to guide a translator, especially in the early stages. Quibbling over minor issues is not helpful. When I am asked to revise another translator’s work I try to be constructive and not to dwell on uses of language that I might not have chosen, but which are perfectly correct in context. When I started out, I benefited a great deal from another translator’s help and guidance in pointing out where I could improve my translations and in directing me to the correct technical phraseology.
But, oh dear, must we use the term “feedback” in this way?
FEEDBACK as used in non-scientific contexts is used conversely to its true meaning. Scientifically-speaking, negative feedback is a good thing, because it leads to balance, whereas positive feedback exacerbates a system, for example leading to over-heating. I wish commerce and business had not so misunderstood the original meaning of the concept.
I think you're fighting a losing battle with this one. The non-scientific meaning of the term 'negative/positive feedback' is well established and widely understood. Language changes.
| | | | Daryo
United Kingdom
Local time: 23:21
Serbian to English
+ ...
| Very interesting wording ... | May 11 |
the poll question is about "negative feedback", without any mention of this "negative feedback" being justified or not.
So implicitly it's presumed to be always justified??
As Christopher Schröder rightly pointed out, in some cases "the improvement" would be to part company with that company.
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