Translators often find themselves in the situation where they need to part ways with a client, and sometimes it can be difficult to find the right way or the right words to handle this matter. There are various reasons as to why a translator may not wish to work with a particular client and these might include –

Translation is a supply and demand industry, and a highly skilled translator may decide it’s time to raise their rates, which means they’re choosing not to work for low-paying clients;

Some translation clients are simply difficult to work with (this could be for any number of reasons), and of course and we know this goes both ways because some translators are difficult to work with too!

So let’s go back to the original question: ‘What’s the proper way of letting a translation client go?’ The first thing that comes to mind is that any translator/client interaction must be respectful, and this includes letting a client go. You must always remain professional regardless of the issue you’re addressing – don’t ever get nasty and don’t get personal. It’s also appropriate for you to tell the truth as to why you’re severing this particular relationship. You don’t need to write a long letter of explanation: just keep your reasoning brief. It’s a personals decision as to whether you wish to explain your reason for severing the relationship, but you must remember that the translation industry is a very small industry and it’s primarily driven by word-of-mouth. This means that, whenever possible, you must be very careful that you don’t burn bridges.

The following are our suggestions on different scenarios and solutions for communicating your wishes to your client –

Situation:

You’ve just been contacted by a potential new client who’s offering you a translation project; however, when you look them up on your Translation Client Rating List it’s immediately clear that they are well-known for being either late payers and sometimes even a nonpayer.

Note: If you don’t belong to a Translation Client Rating list you really need to consider this matter very carefully. Your rating list should be your first port of call when contacted by a potential client, because it’s here that you’ll be able to determine whether they’re a potentially good client – or not!

Response:

One response could be a very brief message saying ‘No thank you’ - and you don’t address the issue.

This response does address the issue. You might let the agency know that you’re declining because their industry ratings are less than ideal and, unless they pay in advance by credit card or wire transfer, you’ll be refusing their offer of work.