Poll: Have you ever said yes to new work even though you were fully booked? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Have you ever said yes to new work even though you were fully booked?".
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| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 20:37
Spanish to English
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| Several times | Nov 19, 2018 |
I mean, there is fully booked and "fully booked"... I suppose the more you have to juggle things, the better you get at it.
PS: The less work I have, the longer I take to do it...
[Edited at 2018-11-19 16:38 GMT]
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Close to "often" than"once or twice." It depends on how fully booked I am, how large the two jobs are, my other obligations, and many other circumstances.
I often accept new work when the other deadline is comfortable,
| | | | | Yes, several times! | Nov 19, 2018 |
It depends on how overbooked I am but translation projects have a strange tendency to come in groups: days with no work at all are followed by days when projects keep coming one after the other. You either are extremely busy or, well... All the ups and downs are part of the journey.
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Mario Freitas 
Brazil
Local time: 15:37
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
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| Yes, several times | Nov 19, 2018 |
We must evaluate the "level" or "potential" of client.
We cannot refuse jobs from a client that pays you a thousand dollars every month.
Also, we cannot ignore a new potential client that could become one of those.
Of course I have refused several such jobs from clients I already know, and I know I can refuse the job without causing any damage to the relationship. It's part of our job not being available.
But our portfolio is very volatile. We simply cannot afford to lose... See more We must evaluate the "level" or "potential" of client.
We cannot refuse jobs from a client that pays you a thousand dollars every month.
Also, we cannot ignore a new potential client that could become one of those.
Of course I have refused several such jobs from clients I already know, and I know I can refuse the job without causing any damage to the relationship. It's part of our job not being available.
But our portfolio is very volatile. We simply cannot afford to lose good clients or to miss new good clients.
A little sacrifice is necessary sometimes. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | by way of making arrangements | Nov 19, 2018 |
The way the question was worded left me uncomfortable in answering. The "even though" sounds like the thought is that we would say yes to new work, and then not have time to do it, or something like that. No, I wouldn't do that. However, if I'm fully booked, I might:
a) explain to the client that I'm fully booked, and is it possible to have them on a waiting list, to start their project a bit later
b) give a feasible completion date. Say they contact me on Monday, the work will t... See more The way the question was worded left me uncomfortable in answering. The "even though" sounds like the thought is that we would say yes to new work, and then not have time to do it, or something like that. No, I wouldn't do that. However, if I'm fully booked, I might:
a) explain to the client that I'm fully booked, and is it possible to have them on a waiting list, to start their project a bit later
b) give a feasible completion date. Say they contact me on Monday, the work will take 1 day, and I have 3 days of work booked already: I'll tell them it will be ready on Friday. I'll finish the other work on Wednesday, start this work on Wed. afternoon. or Thurs. morning, so that I'll meet that deadline.
c) in unusual and urgent situations, ask the other client(s) whether we can change a deadline - but only if the other client's project is one where it would be ok to ask that.
I'd also check what "fully booked" means. I always try to have some air space, so that if something takes 2 days, I'll give it 3, so that if the unexpected happens I'll still deliver on time or early. This also gives time to stick in a small translation if some kind of emergency arises.
As much as possible, I try not to exercise any of these options, with the exception of b) which over those 5 days isn't "fully booked" anyway. ▲ Collapse
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