Today’s article is a satire about the rushed customer. To make the article easier to read, we decided to write it all as a story. The client is abbreviated as C and the translation company as T. We hope you find it funny.
On a Friday around 11:30 the client contacts the translation company.
C: Hello. I would like you to help me with a translation from Romanian into Italian by tomorrow. There are about 20 pages, as far as I understand.
T: Hello. Let’s see what it’s about. Can you send us the document to determine how many pages it is according to the number of characters?
C: I tell you it’s definitely 20 pages. And if there’s one extra page, what difference does it make? You’ll manage. But I’ll send you the document.
20 minutes later
T: Hello. According to the character count it’s 30 pages. We can help you with the requested translation. We will charge a 50% advance and an urgency fee, as you want a large number of pages overnight and especially on a Saturday.
C: That seems a bit much. I’ll get back to you with a call. Thank you!
5 minutes later
C: Do you issue invoices?
T: Yes.
Another 5 minutes later
C: Can you also issue an invoice for a company in Italy?
W: Of course. All you have to do is send us the details of the company and we will issue the invoice. Once you provide us with proof of payment, we can start translating the document.
C: I’ll get back to you with a call after I’ve spoken to my boss.
T: Alright. We are waiting for your call.
5 minutes later
C: But you should know that we need them signed and stamped by a translator.
W: That’s taken care of, too. However, the documents you sent us are only in Word format. In such cases the translator does not sign and stamp. In order to be authenticated by a certified translator, the documents must be official documents or documents under private signature.
C: Well, my boss will sign them later.
W: All right. The request is that you provide us with the documents in their final version so that the translator can translate the documents according to the rules applicable to documents that need to be authenticated. If the final document is significantly different from the documents provided for translation, the rates will change.
C: Let me talk to my boss and I’ll get back to you.
Of course, that client has not come back with a reply.
Such a scenario has two endings. In most cases, the client does not come back even though he was initially in a big hurry and needed translations “yesterday”. In other cases, the ending is somewhat different. The translation company calls three days later to confirm the email was received by the client. The customer replies, very casually, that they haven’t even opened it.
The article is not meant to offend or upset anyone! What we intend is to share with you, in a relaxed and funny way, some things that happen to all of us. We’ll come back with some funny examples from the field of translation – just to keep things light and casual and also help you better understand how this seemingly boring field keeps us constantly alert.