The Client is Always Right... Right?

Of course most of us have heard and have even used the common expression “The customer is always right”. Well, it isn’t necessarily so, especially in the world of translations. This is a difficult and delicate subject to talk about, but it must be addressed in a professional manner.

To begin, let’s look at a typical translation project.

• A client reaches out to us with a document that needs be translated from English into another language. The document is typically sent to us via email, however it could be through a downloadable link, a fax or a mail delivery service.
• We proofread the document looking for spelling or grammatical errors and any writing issues that might affect the understanding of the intended message. When we started this business almost 30 years ago, we expected that the documents sent to us would be well written, with correct spelling and good grammar. However this wasn’t the case. In fact, it still isn’t the case.
• We recently reviewed the findings of our standard proofreading that’s included in every project and found that 30% of the documents we receive from our clients have obvious spelling errors and more than 50% have significant grammatical problems. Some of the spelling errors can be attributed to online spell checking programs that can’t tell the difference when an error is made between ‘from’ and ‘form’ or between it’s and its. Grammatical errors are a little harder to identify, but here’s one type we see often. “He is taller than Jim and I.” Obviously it should be “He is taller than Jim and me.”
• After we proofread the English document we return it to our client with suggestions for improvement. After the client approves the revised version, we proceed with the translation.
• The document is delivered to our lead translator who reviews the project and gets back to us with any comments, suggestions or concerns.
• We respond to the translator’s directives and then send a message to proceed.
• The lead translator creates a first draft and sends it to a proofreader for final review.
• When the review is approved, we send the document to our client.
• With most of our clients, the review stage ends with us. On occasion, a new client or even one of our long-term clients will have the document proofread internally. We actually encourage this step, because we want to ensure that we are on the same page, so to speak, regarding terminology and style. Occasionally we may find a minor difference with the choice of a specific word or phrase, but this is always handled promptly with due respect.
• Major disagreements over translations rarely happen, but when they do the approach to solving the issues has to done with consideration for both parties involved.

Case Study

Several years ago we translated a 62-page operation and maintenance manual for a complex mechanical system into French for one of our long term clients. In the five prior years working for this client, we had never received a negative review of our work. However this time, they sent back the translation with several pages of changes, all dealing with terminology and style. I shared the revised document with our translator, a retired mechanical engineer who was born, raised, educated and employed for 35 years in France. His first indication was to laugh, because the changes, according to him, “were nothing short of childish”. Whoever performed the review had no background in mechanical terminology. In addition, the changes in style were strictly preferential, quite “flowery” and not suitable for a technical manual. I then sent the original translation and the revised version to another technical translator on our team. He made the same comments as the original translator. But there was a very important issue that both translators pointed out that could have caused major technical damage or personal harm if the revised version was to be used. In one section, the reader was instructed to turn a compressor valve 90 degrees counterclockwise to stop the flow of high-pressure gas through the system. The person who reviewed the original translation apparently did not know the difference between clockwise and counterclockwise and instead changed the meaning to “turn the valve to the right”. We are not in a position to speculate what would have happened if those instructions were followed, but I immediately called our client in France and pointed out the obvious mistake made by the proofreader. Of course, he was grateful and relieved to find out that we had found the mistake.

As I later discovered, the company had recently hired a new divisional supervisor who brought along his personal team, including his receptionist. He instructed her to proofread the manual and make changes as needed. She was told that a company in the USA did the translation and he wanted to make sure that the French was correct. After discussing the situation with my direct client, I found out that the receptionist was not fluent in English and hence unable to make a valid comparison of the two languages, but that she also had no experience in manufacturing and technical terminology. 

Fortunately the head of the facility readily understood the situation and approved the translation that we originally submitted. We have since created a formal procedure for reviewing future translation projects.

We encourage all our clients, both new and old to establish an independent review process, especially when we are in the initial stages of developing a working relationship. This creates a solid business bond that is mutually beneficial. At TSI, we take a great deal of pride in bonds like this. Maintaining long term connections with our clients is tantamount to both their success as well as ours. We truly believe it’s a symbiotic relationship. Throughout every step of a job, we are here to answer questions to clients should there be any curiosity or confusion in our standard operating procedures; who thought an industry as mundane as translations could necessitate so much human interaction? It’s a good reminder of the power of the written word. If you are a previous client or a potential new client, you are always welcome to reach out for a consultation, quote or just to inquire more about our process, because remember, the customer is always right… right?