the true cost of bad translation

CONTACT US : General Queries: [email protected]

Sales Enquiries: [email protected]

The True Cost of Bad Translation

mailto:[email protected]


http://www.translatelier.com/



“If you tell people where to go, but not how to get there, you'll be amazed at the results.”

General George S. Patton






Because of how amazingly wrong some bad translation jobs can end up, giving the proper instructions on how you want things to go is very important. People need to be instructed on how to do things properly. However, there are those who find it very difficult to follow even the simplest of instructions.

You have given the instructions clearly even in writing, and still you cannot obtain the perfect result.

What might be the reasons behind this apparent ineptitude and what is the true cost of bad translation?






The instruction itself is erroneous. What could be worse than that? I will tell you what later. If the source document is not clear, the resulting document will be full of errors as well.






An incompetent bad translation agency. This is what is even worse than number one. Even if you give them the perfect source document, the.results.will.still.be.substandard. .

They will still commit plenty of grammatical errors. At best, their choice of words will leave a lot to be desired. The information conveyed will not match your intended message. And even if it does, the delivery will not be as effective.






Rush jobs. Do not expect the translation agency to come up with exceptional results. If you are not impressed with it, I am sure that your customer will feel twice as bad.






Bad translation is like a doubled edged sword: it cuts both ways. It is as much your fault as the bad translation agency you hired if the results are not what you expect them to be.






Can you really quantify the true cost of a bad translation? What will be its effect on your company and yourself?






I have discussed three of the most common reasons why bad translation happens and where the fault lies. The question is who will suffer the most: you, or the bad translation agency?






If you’re the middleman, you’re going to get the blame. That will cost you a job opportunity.

What will happen if you lose the job? You will not get paid, which translates to a loss of income.

You just lost the job and the pay. What is next? The dissatisfied customer.

A dissatisfied customer means a negative review. Next is what too many negative reviews will cost you.

It will cost you your business. This may seem blown out of proportion, but a single bug is all it takes for code to malfunction; a single miscalculation for a building to collapse.






Whatever the cost may be, it will always follow you wherever you go. It is difficult to shake off this kind of mistake. The rebuilding process will be hard, long, and difficult if you can ever recover.

Always take responsibility for every decision you make, and don’t delegate the important jobs. Take a hands-on management approach. You cannot afford to make bad decisions. They are always going to cost you and you don’t want that to happen.






We are happy to help out in any way possible, whether you’re a new customer or already a loyal one.

E-mail: [email protected]

Skype: translatelier.com

Website: www.translatelier.com






the true cost of bad translation

Services