I don’t usually post personal anecdotes on this blog, but I thought that this one was worth a mention; it’s cold and drizzling here in Colorado right now and this story really gave me a lift to end the week!
Last Sunday I got a phone call and e-mail from an individual client for whom I had translated a batch of official documents a few months ago. He was calling with a rush request to translate an additional document and have the whole batch certified. At the time, I actually thought about declining the job and referring the client to someone in his local area (he lives in a different part of the country from me) because it was an ultra-rush and involved FedExing him the hard copies of the translation and the certification so that he could renew his visa. However I did accept the job. Because my daughter’s school was closed at the beginning of this week (in-service days, not the swine flu…), the rushing, certifying and FedExing were especially laborious and involved bringing my daughter with me to get the notary’s stamp on our way to the indoor water park with some friends, just the kind of rush job I normally try to avoid! In addition, because I knew that this translation was an important one, I did the extra step of sending the client the tracking number and then tracking the package myself to make sure that it was securely on its way.
Anyway, everything worked out and the FedExed translation arrived in the nick of time for the client’s visa renewal. Yesterday, I received an effusive thank you e-mail from him; the kind of note that makes your day in and of itself. Then at the bottom of the note, the client said that the fancy wine shop in my town would be dropping by with a package, which they did yesterday evening, and I’m now the proud owner of a great bottle of real champagne and a very, very nice Bordeaux.
When you’re in the professional service business as all of us are, I think it’s so easy to fall into the trap of thinking that no one notices what you do until you make a mistake, or that clients are so used to “above and beyond” service that nothing makes an impression. This story proved to me that when you do a good job and go the extra kilometer, people really do notice and appreciate it.
These anecdotes are fantastic, as they really illustrate how our profession works. This is my favorite story of the week. What a great customer, and you deserve the praise and the present for going above and beyond! Enjoy those two nice bottles; and your customer surely gets the “customer of the month” award. I hope everything works out with his visa.
Corinne:
This is a great story and I agree with Judy: you so deserve it!
I needed to read something like this at the “end” of my week.
Thank you for sharing!
Bravo!
It’s nice when clients tell you sometimes they like your work. I have been testing gsm connections for a while. I had to warn the client when something was wrong with the network connections. And it sometimes took days before they adjusted the problems.
Disheartening, you know.
Peter Motte, translator French/English to Dutch
I came across this website and service this morning. I have been a translator for english/spanish spanish/english clients for over 20 years. I have been a simultaneous interpreter for about 12 years. I have been an english tutor for 22 years and I give english classes to the kids in my community every saturaday. I also am the Director reponsable for the Department of Interpretation and Translation of Foreign Languages for the Ministry of Christian Culture and Education from my church LA Luz del Mundo The Light of the World which is internationally reknowned. http://lldmusa.org/ http://luzdelmundo.net/ I am also a sculptor and designer/ decorator. I can do mostly anything if I have the necessary materials. But now things are a bit slow and I really need to focus myself a bit and order my interpreter/ translator skills.
I consider that I would have a better chance if I could get an accreditation as an interpreter/ translator. Since I have been through so many trials to get where I am, holding up the fort as Mom and Dad for the past 12 years, I was unable to complete my associates as the school I attended presented itself as nationally accreditted and in actuality it was only regionally accredited. So when I was forced to go where I could find family support, upon arrival in another state I was unable to transfer my credits. I am still paying off my school debt. But if anyone knows how I could go about taking an equivilency test, I would so appreciate the info. I travel back and forth between Texas and Guadalajara Mexico quite often and pretty much live freelancing any job I get my hands on. But things are hard all over. So I figure I need to arm myself a little better now that my youngest is almost 13.
Thanks for the feedback. I really enjoyed the articles I read on this site.
R Carlson Gray