Unhappy client and feeling dejected

jenkfreelance · ‎05-19-2020

I signed up to Upwork some months ago.

I was excited this week to (finally!) get my third contract.

The job and communication started off on a good note but rapidly went downhill.

The instructions were to translate a motivation letter for a University into English.

I thought that I had understood the clients brief and that he wanted the letter to retain it's original meaning while being edited to sound more polished and professional in English.

In my eagerness, I gave the client an unrealistic time frame and spent half the night working on the file, trying to meet the deadline (my fault & not the clients).

I altered approx 25 % of the wording, with the intent, in my mind, to make it sound more professionally worded. My concern was that if I leave it as a literal translation that it would not sound professional. For example, the sentence "

It is in the profession of a doctor that I combine what I like - scientific and practical work, contact with people and the result of my work is always visible.

makes perfect sense in the the source language but does not come across well in English.

In order to try to meet the deadline I sent the client a rough copy before fully checking over the grammar.

BIG MISTAKE.

The next day I mentioned to him that the rough copy had a few grammatical errors & that I was sending through an amended copy.

Tbh, I was shocked & very upset when he replied in no uncertain terms ”it’s awful, ...i’ve really upset him...my advice-do not tackle these things if you can not do then worthily....”

martina_plaschka · ‎05-19-2020

Jenny K wrote:
I signed up to Upwork some months ago.
I was excited this week to (finally!) get my third contract.
The job and communication started off on a good note but rapidly went downhill.
The instructions were to translate a motivation letter for a University into English.
I thought that I had understood the clients brief and that he wanted the letter to retain it's original meaning while being edited to sound more polished and professional in English.

In my eagerness, I gave the client an unrealistic time frame and spent half the night working on the file, trying to meet the deadline (my fault & not the clients).

I altered approx 25 % of the wording, with the intent, in my mind, to make it sound more professionally worded. My concern was that if I leave it as a literal translation that it would not sound professional. For example, the sentence "
It is in the profession of a doctor that I combine what I like - scientific and practical work, contact with people and the result of my work is always visible.
makes perfect sense in the the source language but does not come across well in English.
In order to try to meet the deadline I sent the client a rough copy before fully checking over the grammar.
BIG MISTAKE.
The next day I mentioned to him that the rough copy had a few grammatical errors & that I was sending through an amended copy.
Tbh, I was shocked & very upset when he replied in no uncertain terms ”it’s awful, ...i’ve really upset him...my advice-do not tackle these things if you can not do then worthily....”

Do you have a question regarding this matter?

jenkfreelance · ‎05-19-2020

Sorry Martina for ”venting”.
Yes, I guess my question is should I fully blame myself for this experience going south or is there any part responsibility on the client's behalf?

Also, how to not feel disheartened and has anybody else had any similar experiences?

jenkfreelance · ‎05-19-2020

I told him that I was sorry and disappointed to hear that he was not happy with my work and that I would not charge anything and to please just end the contract.

I thought this was for the best, as I did not believe that I could make him happy through revisions.

He then stated that it wasn't that he didn't like it, it was just that the meaning had been changed....

I take full responsibility and will use this for improvement/a Iearning curve.

I should have stuck a better balance between keeping the original meaning/tone with making it seem professional.

I also added an introductory paragraph as I thought it would sound more professional but now I know that doing this was a mistake.

Translating has a subjective element because one client might believe the translator has done a poor job if it's too literal, but then a different client may want the opposite.

I just wish the client had of kindly stated ”I don't like XYZ, can you change this” or if he believed my work was that poor he could have stated that he didn't believe we were working out and that he will end the contract.

It's his blunt manner of speech which has been very hurtful and a crushing experience.

He mentioned that he had another native speaker look over my work and found spelling mistakes.

However, I am 150 % confident that there were no spelling mistakes as confirmed by Grammarly and other spell checkers.

Also, I had it proofread by 2 copywriters and a family member.

Some additional points:

I helped the Client with using Upwork and creating a contract. I presumed he was new as he asked how does he create it. I uploaded screenshots etc for him.
I was agreeing to work for basically peanuts. Which I was willing to do to "make a start" on Upwork.
I would have offered the client free revisions if he had wanted them.

My work for the client was peer-reviewed and proofread by a native speaker/translator of the source language & also by two copywriters with the native speaker mentioned they liked my translation.

the client made mention that "this was some sort of strange service and very, very slow."

I didn't dare to clarify whether he was referring to my service or Upwork platform itself.

There was one day his first message and job assignment. One day later his job was completed. So this whole "interaction" was three days.

I think this client was expecting immediate answers to messages but is this reasonable?
People are on different time zones etc.

jenkfreelance · ‎05-19-2020

I guess what I'm asking is would anyone have any advice on how to deal with such a situation?

ehabsakran · ‎05-19-2020

Hi Jenny,

I'm relatively new here as well. My advice might not be worth much but just learn from it for your next project and try again. The only way to learn is to fail first.

a_lipsey · ‎05-19-2020

I'm not intending to criticize your English because you are writing well enough for me to understand the issue, but my concern is that you think your English is native or bilingual. The client was concerned about errors, and there are multiple grammatical errors in your posts here and on your profile. Were you translating into English? There are other translators on this forum (I am not a translator), but I suspect they may be able to give you better advice on which languages you should be translating. It sounds to me like you took on a job that was beyond your skillset, perhaps without your own understanding of that.

jenkfreelance · ‎05-19-2020

@amanda

To clarify, I actually am a native English speaker lol.

I was born in Australia so I guess I should be even more concerned now.

The issue the client expressed wasn’t that he felt it was poorly translated into English.

It was rather that he took issue with my version being altered from the original Russian script.
My "failure" was that I embellished the text.

I realize now that I should have just made small word changes instead of trying to improve the writing to give it more of a "wow factor".

I understood when creating a post about grammar that it would open the door for my posts to be scrutinized for grammatical errors.

Generally, I don't pay an excessive amount of attention to grammar when writing forum posts and I'm sure that if I combed through other people's posts I could also find grammatical errors.

However, if there are errors in my profile then this is a big problem and I would appreciate it if you could point out where they are so that I can correct them!

I will take the rest of your advice on board.

jenkfreelance · ‎05-19-2020

Thank you @Eihab for your words of support.

I wish you all the best on Upwork.

colettelewis · ‎05-19-2020

Jenny K wrote:
I guess what I'm asking is would anyone have any advice on how to deal with such a situation?

______________________

I should think that all of us have been through the "dejected" phase in our freelancing careers. I know I have. And it is not a "situation"; it is a learning curve.

I think what you have done is to fall into the newbie trap of offering too many skills without being very experienced in any of them, and also accepting (or offering) rock-bottom rates in order to get a foot in the Upwork door. Don't do this.

I would suggest you go through your skill set and decide what you are strongest at and continue on that path. From what I have seen of your translation (to English) in your portfolio, it is perfectly acceptable. However, be careful what you translate. A beauty product website, is way different from a CV, which not only requires your translation skills but exactly what is needed for that CV. Some people make resumé translation a niche skill.

Your entry in your profile for education is unconvincing. Even if you did not complete your degree course, or if you are yet to complete it, you need to say what you are or were studying. You do not need a degree to freelance, but you do need to convince.

None of us can advise, what path you should take, but you need to concentrate on one skill and then branch out. You are up against thousands, if not millions of freelancers in the same category as you. Don't be put off by this, but find a way through to highlight what you can do best. Russian to English (or vice-versa), for example, could be a better niche than Adobe photoshop. However, in both these languages, you need to be very strong in grammar, and understanding (getting into the head of your client).

Despondency is an occupational hazard in freelancing - you have to learn how to get round it.

jenkfreelance · ‎05-19-2020

Thank you for your detailed post and words of advice @Nichola

It's very helpful.

The problem is that my degree is in accounting so it's not exactly a related area.

I ended up at a place of corporate burn out and needed a change of ”scenery”.

I'm also currently in the process of completing further education.

My education etc section is also intentionally vague because it want it to remain that way.

I am concerned about online safety and don't wish to give away too much information.

I understand that this works against me, but at the same time I can't see any other option.

colettelewis · ‎05-19-2020

Jenny K wrote:
Thank you for your detailed post and words of advice @Nichola
It's very helpful.
The problem is that my degree is in accounting so it's not exactly a related area.
I ended up at a place of corporate burn out and needed a change of ”scenery”.
I'm also currently in the process of completing further education.
My education etc section is also intentionally vague because it want it to remain that way.
I am concerned about online safety and don't wish to give away too much information.
I understand that this works against me, but at the same time I can't see any other option.

___________________________
But accounting could be to your distinct advantage and would not involve too many worries about security.

You could, for example, create a very creditable niche in financial translation. Anyway, these days, the minute you have even the smallest presence on the web, you are there to stay and to be researched, so you might just as well manipulate it to your advantage.

feed_my_eyes · ‎05-19-2020

I haven't seen what you gave the client, so I can't really comment on that. However, in general, I think it's reasonable for clients (in most types of projects, anyway) to expect their projects to be done properly on the first draft, and only have to request minor revisions (if any). Yes, you say that you were willing to do revisions, but clients shouldn't have to spend much of their own time pointing out what you've done wrong and what you should have done better.

As for speaking bluntly, people in different countries can have wildly different notions of what's considered rude, so this wasn't necessarily personal.

Regarding working for peanuts... if you agreed to work for peanuts, then this is a "you" problem. You can't expect clients to cut you any slack just because you're giving them a price break. If you can't happily and enthusiastically do a job for the price that you've agreed on, then you shouldn't do it. Time zones are also a "you" problem. When I was in Australia, I found it a real struggle to work for my European and North American clients (American clients, in particular, seem to expect instant responses to their messages during their own working hours), so I spent a lot of late nights/early mornings; believe me, I feel your pain. You have to be very careful in your initial discussions to say exactly what hours you'll be available, and if it's a rush job and the client is more than 2-3 hours ahead, don't apply at all.

Sorry if it seems like I'm putting all of the blame on you; again, I don't know the full story, so perhaps it was a straight-forward case of just having a really difficult client. That happens, too. All you can do is try to learn from your mistakes (agreeing to work with a difficult client is also a mistake) and move on.

jenkfreelance · ‎05-19-2020

@christine

Thank you for your honesty.

I agree with everything you wrote, however it still can be hard sometimes not to take it personally.

jenkfreelance · ‎05-19-2020

I would just like to clarify that the issue wasn't that the client believed that I had delivered a poor English translation.

It was rather that I reworded it too much.

I don't wish to add too much and breach client confidentiality, but here's just a small example so that I can demonstrate what I am referring to:

A part of the letters literal translation was as follows,

It is in the profession of a doctor that what I like is combined - scientific and practical work, contact with people and the result of my work is always visible.

I reworded it to:

”Becoming a medical doctor is a rewarding career as it involves doctor-patient contact and interactions. It offers a varied work environment; combining both scientific and practical elements, whilst at the same time making a real and tangible impact on patients lives.”

colettelewis · ‎05-19-2020

Jenny,

One thing you have to learn in freelancing is that with some clients you are out at first base if you don't deliver. These clients are invariably those who want everything at bottom dollar. Whatever you did to improve the situation, would still have been wrong - however right you were.

You do need to take the advice you have so far received in this thread on board. Analyze it and see where you can improve. Your client was unhappy. We have all had unhappy clients. Stop trying to justify yourself. Draw a line under the contract and see how you can develop from this experience.

jr-translation · ‎05-19-2020

Jenny K wrote:
I would just like to clarify that the issue wasn't that the client believed that I had delivered a poor English translation.
It was rather that I reworded it too much.

I don't wish to add too much and breach client confidentiality, but here's just a small example so that I can demonstrate what I am referring to:

A part of the letters literal translation was as follows,
It is in the profession of a doctor that what I like is combined - scientific and practical work, contact with people and the result of my work is always visible. 
I reworded it to:

”Becoming a medical doctor is a rewarding career as it involves doctor-patient contact and interactions. It offers a varied work environment; combining both scientific and practical elements, whilst at the same time making a real and tangible impact on patients lives.”

That reminds me of one of my first freelance jobs, only it was an Indian software developer who wanted to move to Germany. He had a resume that went all over the place and his CV had no structure at all. All kinds of graphs squeezed onto one page and no contact information. So I offered to change it into a European format, asked questions for his resume etc. He kept insisting that his mentor had guaranteed him that the master piece he had provided me with would land him a job as software developer in Germany. In the end I translated his files and send it along with a European version. In return he did not gave me full marks saying it was too expensive. It was a fixed rate contract and I did far more work than I was hired for, but he was unhappy because he did not even get a reply from his applications.

As for the English, I have a friend from Brisbane who worked some 20 years as an editor for a newspaper and she corrected me because I kept saying "slippery" instead of "slippy". Then she went to Scottland and heard it there all the time so she figured it might be correct after all.