Translation - art & business » Money matters »
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Working for free!?
Thread poster: Ilona Brophy-Lehmann
Lingua 5B
Lingua 5B  Identity Verified
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 15:11
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
Not free. Mar 17, 2011

Daria Bontch-Osmolovskaia wrote:

(very quietly) Actually, yes, I have. Many of them, in fact. When I was a very poor student, I would seek out hairdressers who were looking for models (trade shows, hair colour demonstrations, awards, apprentices' exams, etc.) and get free cuts and colour. It's pot luck sometimes, but I did end up with much more varied and interesting hair than I would have otherwise. Often got a small compensation or at meal too


You were modeling ( = working). Or did you get an additional hair treatment for free, apart from the modeling thing? Anyway, it wasn't free, they used you for their demonstration, so it was a mutual benefit. A translator doesn't get anything at all back from an agency for which they do free tests ( it usually never results in any paid work).
 
Laurent KRAULAND (X)
Laurent KRAULAND (X)  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 15:11
French to German
+ ...
Spot-on! Mar 17, 2011

Stanislav Pokorny wrote:

Krzysztof Kajetanowicz wrote:

It's interesting that we deny a free translation of a sentence, yet are willing to spend (presumably) much more time educating a wannabe client for free.


The real problem behind all this is how little respect and recognition translators gain; much less than hairdressers, it seems. The annoying this is not that I simply delete messages like this, but the fact that somebody even dares to send similar requests.


Spot-on! And somewhere beyond our day-to-day activities, I guess most of us believe in some kind of business ethics and implement them.

I even read about a certain agency which wanted to offer their client a free (real-size) translation... "free" meaning that the agency would neither invoice the client, nor pay its translators. A very commercial gesture, so to say.
 
Daria Bontch-Osmolovskaia (X)
Daria Bontch-Osmolovskaia (X)
Australia
Local time: 23:11
English
+ ...
depends Mar 17, 2011

Lingua 5B wrote:

You were modeling ( = working). Or did you get an additional hair treatment for free, apart from the modeling thing? Anyway, it wasn't free, they used you for their demonstration, so it was a mutual benefit. A translator doesn't get anything at all back from an agency for which they do free tests ( it usually never results in any paid work).


It really depended on the hairdresser. Sometimes they would do it freely, sometimes I would get a small gift voucher, sometimes I had to pay a very small sum (still much, much less than their usual price). Sometimes I got an expensive hair masque, head massages, the works, all as a thanks. You are right though, it was a mutually beneficial arrangement - unlike free tests.

(just sayin', there is such thing as free haircuts )
 
PAS
PAS  Identity Verified
Local time: 15:11
Polish to English
+ ...
Fun and games Mar 18, 2011

You can always say "yes", receive the email with the text and send it back immediately saying "There you go." and see if they comment.
If they say "But you haven't done anything", you say "But you haven't paid me anything".
 
T.E.E.T. (X)
T.E.E.T. (X)  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 15:11
Dutch to French
+ ...
Why not... Mar 18, 2011

PAS wrote:

You can always say "yes", receive the email with the text and send it back immediately saying "There you go." and see if they comment.
If they say "But you haven't done anything", you say "But you haven't paid me anything".


... it would be funny.
But it still would be a complete waste of time.
 
Susanne Bittner
Susanne Bittner  Identity Verified
Local time: 15:11
English to German
+ ...
Loved that Apr 5, 2011

PAS wrote:

You can always say "yes", receive the email with the text and send it back immediately saying "There you go." and see if they comment.
If they say "But you haven't done anything", you say "But you haven't paid me anything".


Loved that. Definitely worth a try.
 
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