| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | What to do if you complete a project and the project manager/agency/company does not respond? Thread poster: Tim Schulze
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Tim Schulze 
Germany
Local time: 17:32
English to German
+ ...
Hello, everyone!
To get right into it: On May 24th, I completed a MTPE project of around 22,000 words, for which I was promised to get paid 890 US dollars within 30 days of the invoice generation.
However, I completed the project, the project manager (PM) asked for feedback on the client's behalf, I gave said feedback, and since then, I have not heard from the PM.
Before being able to generate an invoice on the company's translator profile website, I need to receive a ... See more Hello, everyone!
To get right into it: On May 24th, I completed a MTPE project of around 22,000 words, for which I was promised to get paid 890 US dollars within 30 days of the invoice generation.
However, I completed the project, the project manager (PM) asked for feedback on the client's behalf, I gave said feedback, and since then, I have not heard from the PM.
Before being able to generate an invoice on the company's translator profile website, I need to receive a confirmation link that the project has been completed. I have not yet received such a link, and can therefore not generate an invoice.
Since a week had passed since the last exchange of emails, on May 31st, I messaged the PM again, but I have yet to receive an answer. Today, I have emailed the company's support team via the email address they provide on their website. Since that was only an hour ago, I have not yet received an answer.
Now my questions are:
1. How do I avoid these things? Should I ask for a certain amount or percentage of the compensation in advance? I do not think I am competitive enough yet to get away with such a thing, however.
Without naming the company's name, I looked them up in advance and they had many and excellent reviews on their Proz com profile for a period of over 5 years. Looking them up on other websites, the worst that was said was that they paid low fees. However, there was no mention of scams.
2. Am I overreacting? Is radio silence by a PM for a week to 10 days after completion of a project normal? Based on my experience as a freelance translator for roughly two years by now, it appears extremely abnormal to me. But I have mostly worked directly with Japanese clients so far, as such, the norms may differ to the ones I am used to.
I would appreciate any help and advice in regard to this matter!
Thank you for your time and help in advance!
Kind regards,
Tim Schulze ▲ Collapse
| | | | Mr. Satan (X)
English to Indonesian
| Lieven Malaise
Belgium
Local time: 17:32
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
+ ...
| Some thoughts. | Jun 3, 2022 |
Tim Schulze wrote:
However, I completed the project, the project manager (PM) asked for feedback on the client's behalf, I gave said feedback, and since then, I have not heard from the PM.
Feedback on what? You were the translator, weren't you?
Tim Schulze wrote:
1. How do I avoid these things?
It's difficult to avoid, especially since you looked the agency up and everything seemed fine. However, I must say that I would never accept a 22,000 word post-editing as af first assignment for an agency. Trust must be earned before I accept bigger projects.
Tim Schulze wrote:
Is radio silence by a PM for a week to 10 days after completion of a project normal?
It's definitely not normal, especially not since you need a link even to be just able to send an invoice (they can however never force you to use that as the only way to send an invoice, so I suggest you at least create an invoice and send it to them if you haven't heard of them by the end of the month).
| | | | Kevin Fulton
United States
Local time: 11:32
German to English
| Immediate respnse is a thing of the past | Jun 3, 2022 |
Tim Schulze wrote:
To get right into it: On May 24th, I completed a MTPE project of around 22,000 words, for which I was promised to get paid 890 US dollars within 30 days of the invoice generation.
(snip)
Since a week had passed since the last exchange of emails, on May 31st, I messaged the PM again, but I have yet to receive an answer. Today, I have emailed the company's support team via the email address they provide on their website. Since that was only an hour ago, I have not yet received an answer.
Is radio silence by a PM for a week to 10 days after completion of a project normal?
Since I assume this is an agency, there are probably numerous projects in process at any given time, so you might not get the immediate attention you desire. Although common courtesy would normally require a response of some sort within a few days after an inquiry, nowadays this is unfortunately no longer the case. Not hearing from your client after a week or two is not really a cause for concern. There may be a policy in effect at the agency that a confirmation is issued a certain period (e.g., 30 days) after a project has been returned which will then enable you to generate an invoice. In my opinion this implies that the client's payment rhythm is 60 days after project delivery. The agency should have made this clear at the start.
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Tim Schulze
Germany
Local time: 17:32
English to German
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TOPIC STARTER
I will make a note to keep it for future reference! I hope I will not need it this time! thank you very much
| | | | Tim Schulze
Germany
Local time: 17:32
English to German
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Lieven Malaise wrote: Tim Schulze wrote:
However, I completed the project, the project manager (PM) asked for feedback on the client's behalf, I gave said feedback, and since then, I have not heard from the PM. Feedback on what? You were the translator, weren't you? I was not the translator. MTPE (Machine Translation Post Editing) was used, as such, and based on what I was told by the PM, it was not translated by a human. One other proofreader seems to have edited it before I was assigned the project. As such, the feedback was in regard to the changes I made to the machine translation and what the proofreader did before me. Tim Schulze wrote:
1. How do I avoid these things? It's difficult to avoid, especially since you looked the agency up and everything seemed fine. However, I must say that I would never accept a 22,000 word post-editing as af first assignment for an agency. Trust must be earned before I accept bigger projects. Mh, that is understandable. I will keep that in mind, thank you! Tim Schulze wrote:
Is radio silence by a PM for a week to 10 days after completion of a project normal? It's definitely not normal, especially not since you need a link even to be just able to send an invoice (they can however never force you to use that as the only way to send an invoice, so I suggest you at least create an invoice and send it to them if you haven't heard of them by the end of the month).
Thank you, I will do so!
| | | | Tim Schulze
Germany
Local time: 17:32
English to German
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Kevin Fulton wrote: Tim Schulze wrote:
To get right into it: On May 24th, I completed a MTPE project of around 22,000 words, for which I was promised to get paid 890 US dollars within 30 days of the invoice generation.
(snip)
Since a week had passed since the last exchange of emails, on May 31st, I messaged the PM again, but I have yet to receive an answer. Today, I have emailed the company's support team via the email address they provide on their website. Since that was only an hour ago, I have not yet received an answer.
Is radio silence by a PM for a week to 10 days after completion of a project normal? Since I assume this is an agency, there are probably numerous projects in process at any given time, so you might not get the immediate attention you desire. Although common courtesy would normally require a response of some sort within a few days after an inquiry, nowadays this is unfortunately no longer the case. Not hearing from your client after a week or two is not really a cause for concern. There may be a policy in effect at the agency that a confirmation is issued a certain period (e.g., 30 days) after a project has been returned which will then enable you to generate an invoice. In my opinion this implies that the client's payment rhythm is 60 days after project delivery. The agency should have made this clear at the start.
I see, so opinions do differ on this. I guess I will be a little more patient before I keep inquiring. As you have said, I do wish they had made this clear, however, as I am not clear what their exact policy is.
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Belgium
Local time: 17:32
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
+ ...
Tim Schulze wrote:
I was not the translator. MTPE (Machine Translation Post Editing) was used, as such, and based on what I was told by the PM, it was not translated by a human. One other proofreader seems to have edited it before I was assigned the project. As such, the feedback was in regard to the changes I made to the machine translation and what the proofreader did before me.
Strange. At first sight I would say you were assigned a MTPE task, which is litterally a non-human translation that you are supposed to correct for the better. You're not translating from scratch, but you are still the 'translator' with full responsiblity over the quality provided.
Weird that somebody else would also have worked on it (and you still get paid for a MTPE task) and even weirder that a client would ask about changes you make on machine translations that were already edited by another translator. I'm not sure I fully understand what exact type of task you were assigned.
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Tim Schulze
Germany
Local time: 17:32
English to German
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Lieven Malaise wrote: Tim Schulze wrote:
I was not the translator. MTPE (Machine Translation Post Editing) was used, as such, and based on what I was told by the PM, it was not translated by a human. One other proofreader seems to have edited it before I was assigned the project. As such, the feedback was in regard to the changes I made to the machine translation and what the proofreader did before me. Strange. At first sight I would say you were assigned a MTPE task, which is litterally a non-human translation that you are supposed to correct for the better. You're not translating from scratch, but you are still the 'translator' with full responsiblity over the quality provided. Weird that somebody else would also have worked on it (and you still get paid for a MTPE task) and even weirder that a client would ask about changes you make on machine translations that were already edited by another translator. I'm not sure I fully understand what exact type of task you were assigned.
Basically, I had to correct the spelling mistakes and inconsistencies remaining within the translation, as well as slightly rewriting it if the translation was plainly wrong, which it was but once. Making sure the formatting tags were placed correctly was also part of it.
I have to admit, the translation was already on a level I would have never expected from a machine translation, due to which I am assuming that the person working on it before me had already done the bulk of the work. Why that person did not do the final edit themselves, and I was assigned that role, I do not know. Maybe it was to get one more opinion on the table.
| | | | jyuan_us
United States
Local time: 11:32
Member (2005)
English to Chinese
+ ...
| MTPE or proofreading? | Jun 3, 2022 |
Tim Schulze wrote:
Basically, I had to correct the spelling mistakes and inconsistencies remaining within the translation, as well as slightly rewriting it if the translation was plainly wrong, which it was but once. Making sure the formatting tags were placed correctly was also part of it.
I have to admit, the translation was already on a level I would have never expected from a machine translation, due to which I am assuming that the person working on it before me had already done the bulk of the work. Why that person did not do the final edit themselves, and I was assigned that role, I do not know. Maybe it was to get one more opinion on the table.
I think your role is not MTPE, as you mentioned that "I am assuming that the person working on it before me had already done the bulk of the work." You were in fact finalizing a draft that had already been PTPE-ed by someone else.
| | | | Tim Schulze
Germany
Local time: 17:32
English to German
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
jyuan_us wrote: Tim Schulze wrote:
Basically, I had to correct the spelling mistakes and inconsistencies remaining within the translation, as well as slightly rewriting it if the translation was plainly wrong, which it was but once. Making sure the formatting tags were placed correctly was also part of it.
I have to admit, the translation was already on a level I would have never expected from a machine translation, due to which I am assuming that the person working on it before me had already done the bulk of the work. Why that person did not do the final edit themselves, and I was assigned that role, I do not know. Maybe it was to get one more opinion on the table. I think your role is not MTPE, as you mentioned that "I am assuming that the person working on it before me had already done the bulk of the work." You were in fact finalizing a draft that had already been PTPE-ed by someone else.
Personally, I would agree. However, the official description used by the PM was "Service: MTPE".
| | | | Edward Potter
Spain
Local time: 17:32
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
| Don't worry yet | Jun 3, 2022 |
In my opinion, you haven't given it enough time yet.
If you are getting very worried, I would recommend something radical: make a telephone call. You can then nicely ask what is going on. Usually it is something like an accounting glitch or overworked PMs.
A friendly phone call can help solidify your relationship with the client and increase your understanding about how they operate.
Good luck!
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You don't mention where the client is based. Here in the UK just now we have extra 'bank holidays' for the Queen's jubilee as well as half term for schools in England meaning that many people have been on holiday for a week or so. So it might be something as simple as there being local holidays where your customer is based and there is just a skeleton staff in the office to deal with things.
| | | | | A couple of questions | Jun 4, 2022 |
Althea Draper wrote:
You don't mention where the client is based.
Yes, which country are they in?
It could be that the PM is on annual leave, but many agencies arrange for a colleague to reply to a PM's emails when the PM goes on leave, and an auto-responder is often set up in that situation. One agency that I know allows its PMs to use each other's email addresses, so I always have to look carefully at the end of emails so I know who I'm really dealing with, because the name often doesn't match the one I see when I look at the list of emails in my inbox!
Does "Isaac project" ring any bells, by any chance?
| | | | Michael Newton
United States
Local time: 11:32
Japanese to English
+ ...
| Company does not respond | Jun 4, 2022 |
My gut feeling is that the agency is stonewalling you so that they do not have to generate an invoice thereby delaying payment. This is much more common than thought. A telephone call would probably solve things. But some large companies are stretched out over multiple countries and multiple continents: a head office in Manhattan and an accounting office in Israel, for example. Or a head office in Minnesota, delivered to an office in Hong Kong, to be edited in Tokyo and Mumbai with accounting in... See more My gut feeling is that the agency is stonewalling you so that they do not have to generate an invoice thereby delaying payment. This is much more common than thought. A telephone call would probably solve things. But some large companies are stretched out over multiple countries and multiple continents: a head office in Manhattan and an accounting office in Israel, for example. Or a head office in Minnesota, delivered to an office in Hong Kong, to be edited in Tokyo and Mumbai with accounting in Ireland. I would avoid this type of company. ▲ Collapse
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