Poll: Part of screening my new clients includes geolocating/viewing their office(s). Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Part of screening my new clients includes geolocating/viewing their office(s).".
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| | | I do this sometimes ... | Sep 28, 2020 |
... especially with agencies having an address in the UK, as quite often they seem to be non-European agencies with merely a UK postal box. | | | neilmac Spain Local time: 13:03 Spanish to English + ...
Although not really applicable, as I'm not really looking for new clients, and most of them come by word-of- mouth recommendation from satisfied customers. Some bloke phoned me the other day, recommended by a translator colleague, to ask about patent translations, and I asked to see a sample of the text, which he agreed to send me the next day. Several days have now passed with no further news from the chap. I might have refused the job anyway if it turned out to be more bother tha ... See more Although not really applicable, as I'm not really looking for new clients, and most of them come by word-of- mouth recommendation from satisfied customers. Some bloke phoned me the other day, recommended by a translator colleague, to ask about patent translations, and I asked to see a sample of the text, which he agreed to send me the next day. Several days have now passed with no further news from the chap. I might have refused the job anyway if it turned out to be more bother tha it was worth.... ▲ Collapse | | | Mervyn Henderson (X) Spain Local time: 13:03 Spanish to English + ... Certainly does | Sep 28, 2020 |
It can be an education sometimes. It's not always conclusive, because you might find yourself viewing a flashy block of steel and glass on a smart street, but then your people might have hired a broom cupboard in there for a month or two. Conversely, a view of a street with cars on bricks, heaps of rubbish piled up against rusty gates falling off their hinges, and fridges, ripped sofas and dirty mattresses lying around doesn't inspire much confidence in Global Translations Unlimited.
[Ed... See more It can be an education sometimes. It's not always conclusive, because you might find yourself viewing a flashy block of steel and glass on a smart street, but then your people might have hired a broom cupboard in there for a month or two. Conversely, a view of a street with cars on bricks, heaps of rubbish piled up against rusty gates falling off their hinges, and fridges, ripped sofas and dirty mattresses lying around doesn't inspire much confidence in Global Translations Unlimited.
[Edited at 2020-09-28 08:55 GMT] ▲ Collapse | |
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Then I hack into their server and check out the personal photos they send their partners. Turns out there’s a direct correlation between size and payment practices. | | | Sometimes in the past | Sep 28, 2020 |
I haven’t been looking for new clients for a while, but I have done that in the past. | | | Mervyn Henderson (X) Spain Local time: 13:03 Spanish to English + ...
Does size mean there's a greater/lesser chance of either tightfistedness or premature liquidation?
[Edited at 2020-09-28 10:23 GMT] | | | Getting a feel | Sep 28, 2020 |
I do like to get a feel of any new or potential client. Better safe than sorry. I always remember the Blues Brothers’ movie. Their address was Wrigley Field (in Chicago), the baseball stadium | |
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Mervyn Henderson (X) Spain Local time: 13:03 Spanish to English + ...
... talk about hands-on. Difficult to put into practice, though, I imagine, but I'm flabbergasted at this unconventional innovative approach. | | |
I have never done that and I am surprised people actually do that. Interesting. | | | Nuno Rosalino United Kingdom Local time: 12:03 Member (2012) English to Portuguese + ...
I've never gone to the point of actually going to Google Street to check out anyone's office. Between the Blue Board and my own intuition, things have gone pretty well for me in this regard - I've only ever had a couple late payers, never non-payers, fortunately. The late payers were an issue of bad timing more than anything else - companies with shoddy payment practices that hadn't yet been flagged as such in the Blue Board. Someone always has to bite the bullet with those, eh?
[Edited a... See more I've never gone to the point of actually going to Google Street to check out anyone's office. Between the Blue Board and my own intuition, things have gone pretty well for me in this regard - I've only ever had a couple late payers, never non-payers, fortunately. The late payers were an issue of bad timing more than anything else - companies with shoddy payment practices that hadn't yet been flagged as such in the Blue Board. Someone always has to bite the bullet with those, eh?
[Edited at 2020-09-28 12:33 GMT] ▲ Collapse | | | Mario Freitas Brazil Local time: 08:03 Member (2014) English to Portuguese + ...
I only do that, very seldom, when I'm a bit resistant to decide wether the client is potentially good or bad, as an additional criterion. | |
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expressisverbis Portugal Local time: 12:03 Member (2015) English to Portuguese + ...
You can give an address showing an attractive location from anybody else and mislead people to believe it is your real office. So, geolocating/viewing new client's offices goes down the toilet. | | | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Poll: Part of screening my new clients includes geolocating/viewing their office(s). TM-Town | Manage your TMs and Terms ... and boost your translation business
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