ITI’s 25th anniversary conference was held in Birmingham on 7-8 May, and the theme was ’Expanding our horizons’.

On a personal level, a great thing about the event was the huge Twitter buzz surrounding the event. This hadn’t happened on quite the same scale before, and it was particularly nice to see after my social media presentation with Sarah Dillon at the 2009 ITI conference. The hashtag #iticonf was being used throughout the weekend, and the Twitter feed was displayed in the conference foyer all weekend. There was even a tweetup on Saturday afternoon (which to my embarrassment I managed to miss, as I was engrossed in another conversation!).

You can see a twitter feed captured by @valivonica here.

I think that one of the main highlights for many people was a chance to hear Chris Durban give her ‘mystery shopper’ talk, a very interesting experiment where she posed as a client who required a translation. After a sending her request to a number of language service providers (translation companies in this instance), her conclusion was that ‘It’s hard being the client’. With such a wide range of quality and pricing, who can they rely on, if not the language service providers? And that includes the freelance translators providing the translation via the companies.

Like many of the other speakers, the overall message was to always strive for quality, and with this in mind Chris repeated her call to translators to sign their translations. Fly-by-night operations are playing on a different field to those of us who are in this business for the long haul, and whose reputations are at stake. We have more to lose.

Interestingly, Nicolas Ostler, the keynote speaker, pointed to a possible emergence of a two-tier industry: information-only (possibly processed using machine translation) vs. top-end, very high quality writing.

On the Saturday I chaired Janet Fraser and Michael Gold’s session on their 2010 recession survey. Their findings were extremely revealing – they found a rather large gap in the 40-50 age bracket. Meanwhile, many respondents were under 34, and lots were over 55. This is fascinating because to me, 40-50 is a key age bracket. It is usually the stage in a career where you at the top of your game and are leading the way for others. What does this mean for the translation industry?

Respondents’ perceptions of themselves as entrepreneurs differed wildly according to age bracket, too, which I would have expected. Most of those under 34 saw themselves as ‘natural’ entrepreneurs – i.e. that they hadn’t necessarily set out to be business people but were happy to be business people. In the discussion that followed, we explored reasons for this, including how the dramatic change in the cost of going to university in the UK since 1999 might influence how people approach their careers. It will be interesting to see how the under 34s’ responses change as they age and progress through their careers.

Jonathan Downie’s talk ‘Oan the telly’ was another highlight for me, and he retold his 15 minutes of fame in a highly entertaining talk. But there was a wider message to be learned from his experience: when someone asks you about what you do for a living, find a way to condense that down into a punchy message that would fit onto a t-shirt. I’m calling this Jonathan’s personal rebranding of the ‘elevator pitch’.

I don’t know if anyone else felt this way, but the overall tone of the conference felt a bit like regrouping and taking another look at how our industry presents itself. Should we re-align our approach to professionalism? When we talk about the vague term ‘quality’, what do we really mean? Do we have the confidence to promote ourselves more ‘actively’ to the outside world, including putting our name to our work?

As always, the conference was a chance to meet old and new faces, learn new things, and confirm and challenge existing knowledge. I came away with plenty of food for thought.икони

Image courtesy of All Systems Go Computer Consulting

Last month I realised that my 3-year old desktop computer needed a serious upgrade; although it had 4 GB of RAM multitasking was becoming gradually slower and the processor was not quite up to scratch. Not only that, my PC was enormous, taking up about one third of my desk. It was also very loud. Working alongside something that sounded like an aircraft taking off was distracting.

I had the option to upgrade some of the PC’s parts, but once I started to tot up the costs, I realised (with a little help and persuasion from fellow translators on Twitter!) that it was time to buy a wholly new desktop. Many of the PC’s parts were already over 5 years’ old, as it has been built and rebuilt over the years.

I did quite a bit of research about which new computer would suit me best. But you may be surprised to hear that switching to a Mac desktop and OS wasn’t initially in my sights.

My main priorities were:

1)   8 GB of RAM, for faster multitasking

2)   Small form factor, ideally an all-in-one, to avoid continuing a situation where my desk is dominated by my computer

3)   Peace and quiet!

4)   Reliability

I soon realised that if you want a powerful computer, you may have to compromise on size and noise. I looked at all-in-ones but after reading reams of reviews it seemed that they weren’t necessarily the best option for business users, usually being less powerful. Most also seemed to be pre-loaded with Windows 7 ‘Home Premium’ rather than Windows 7 Professional, which suggested to me that they weren’t really designed for the sort of intensive use business users tend to inflict on their computers. There’s obviously an additional risk with all-in-ones too, since it’s likely to be more difficult to remove and replace the computer’s parts. However, what the reviews did tell me was that if you ‘re set on an all-in-one, the Apple iMac still stands out miles from the competition.

After deliberating over a couple more alternatives and not finding anything else that could combine performance + size + quietness so well, the iMac was the only computer through to the final round. I went for a 21.5” iMac (I use 2 screens) with an Intel Core i5 processor, a 1 TB Serial ATA Drive and 8 GB (2x 4 GB) of RAM. I customised the computer on the Apple website; it was pricey, but the final cost was not wildly different to that of a PC with the same specs, based on my online searches.

I have no plans to become an Apple cheerleader; I have no burning preference for Apple hardware and software and (perhaps unlike some other Mac users) in my opinion there’s nothing inherently wrong with PCs or Microsoft Windows. I don’t have an iPhone and these days my business laptop is a great little Lenovo ThinkPad.

But I have to admit that my new iMac has most definitely been a change for the better. I now have a high-performing computer that is virtually silent and has allowed me to reclaim a large section of my desk. This is a revelation in itself, aside from the benefits the computer itself offers. I have a small office and surface space is at a premium – this is now much less of a problem. This is important to me. With Parallels, I also have a way to continue using my Windows programs (such as my preferred CAT tool) – more on this in my next blog post, which will give some tips for making the transition as smooth as possible if it’s something you’re considering.икони на светциКартиниИдея за подаръкикони

Céline Graciet’s post over at her blog, Naked Translations, got me thinking about my own experience of applying to be a Qualified Member (MITI) of the ITI, which fortunately was not as bewildering as Céline’s experience sounds.

By the time I applied for MITI membership, I’d already been a member of ITI for some time, having first joined as a student member while studying for my MA in Translation and Linguistics in 2003. This gradual transition through the membership grades may well have made the procedures more familiar to me than it would to someone perhaps coming straight in as an MITI. When I began working as an in-house translator a year later I then ‘upgraded’ to Associate membership. Anyone with a proven ‘professional interest in translation or interpreting’* and who can provide two references can apply to be an Associate member.

This means that the main difference between Associate members and Qualified Members is that Associates have not been ‘officially’ assessed or examined by ITI; Associates are also not listed on ITI’s directory. However, they are very much part of ITI and enjoy many of the same benefits as MITIs (at a fraction of the membership subscription that MITIs pay).

When the time was right to apply to for MITI membership, I opted for the exam route, which is quite different to the assessment route (I think the cost is more or less the same). The ITI admissions officer was helpful and clear in her instructions, but I have to say I thought there were some areas for improvement in the exam itself. For example, my text was way out of my subject areas, despite specifically stating these in advance on the application form. I wouldn’t have dreamed of taking on the text if offered it as a real-life job. Needless to say, it was one of the most challenging translations I’ve ever worked on (and rightly so), a real test of my linguistic research and translation skills. I enjoyed the creative challenge, but it would perhaps have been more of a test of my ability to translate in my specialist fields if I had been examined in one of the subject areas I actually translate in.

I took the exam in the comfort of my home office over a weekend. I received the text on the Friday evening and had to deliver it back to the ITI office the following Monday. It was a relief to be able to do the exam at home, on computer, rather than in an exam hall on paper. This also replicated my normal translation environment. I’m not sure if it’s common knowledge that the ITI exam is sat in this way; it was certainly one of the attractions for me. I felt the results could go either way right up until I received them, but I’m happy to say I did pass. Similar to Céline, to get any feedback at all (i.e. more than ‘yes’ or ‘no’) I would have had to pay around £50-60. Even though I passed, I’m sure the feedback would still have been informative. I think the exam does have a fairly low pass rate, something around 20-30%, much like the CIOL DipTrans, but I don’t think that should put people off if they feel ready and enjoy a challenge. The bar for professional recognition should of course be set high, while remaining achievable.

What attaining MITI status meant for me was that I was able to feel a lot more confident about hitting the ground running in my new freelance career. I have felt a lot more sure-footed about my work ever since. Because I haven’t ever really been freelance while an Associate member (I went freelance shortly before my exam results), it’s hard for me to compare the benefits of Associate vs. MITI in terms of the amount of work I get, but I *have* got some excellent clients simply through my ITI directory listing. Besides being able to meet and share ideas with other translators and attend discounted training events and conferences, the main benefit for me is confidence in my work. Having that external validation is like having a seal of approval, especially if you’re starting out as a freelancer like I was.

I hope this post helps give a rough idea of what it’s like to take the exam route to be a Qualified Member of ITI, and I also hope many more people will decide to do it. For others’ sake, I also hope Céline’s blog post will be used by ITI as constructive feedback so that the overall application procedure will be made as transparent as it possibly can in future, for example automatically including feedback in a revised application fee. However, even as an Associate the benefits of being an ITI member are numerous, so if MITI is not something on your business plan for 2011, I’d certainly argue that Associate membership is worth looking at.

*Wording from ITI’s website

Let me share with you three quotes I’ve read in the last week about customer service:

‘Making customer service key to your organisation will keep your employees motivated and your customers happy.’

‘A successful business must never lose its focus on its customers and its standards.’

‘Rather than viewing customer service as a cost centre, it is more helpful to see it as a means of keeping your customers coming back for more, and also of bringing in new business.’

These are all wise pieces of advice for any business, and they all come from one source: Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group, a company which enjoys a good reputation for customer service. Sadly, my own recent experience of one of the Virgin Group companies fell a long way short of this (several thousand air miles), but that’s another story. However, that experience and these quotes have made me more aware than ever that how you treat your customers will leave a lasting impression.

So while it’s true that a bad customer service experience will tend to linger in the memory longer than a good one, it’s also true that an outstanding customer service experience will also leave a lasting impression a customer will want to tell all their friends about. For example, in November I was lucky enough to be on the receiving end of some first-class customer service from none other than Majestic Wine.

My husband and I have shopped at our local Majestic Wines a few times, but generally buy our wines from supermarkets and small retailers. Our interest in wine has grown recently, after a visit to vineyards in Sonoma County, California in October and, wanting to prolong the holiday mood, we decided to book a free wine tasting at Majestic Wine one Friday evening when we got back to the UK. Because we’d seen the ‘free’ in the title, we assumed this would be a 15-minute affair involving 3 sips of wine, a strong sales pitch and an overt expectation to buy. How wrong we were. The event lasted about 2 hours, was led by friendly, enthusiastic staff who genuinely knew their stuff and went out of their way to make the evening fun and educational. We received no less than 10 or 12 generous tastings, a selection of good quality food for a food-and-wine pairing exercise, and were at no point rushed or made to feel that the hosts were tired and wanted to get home (which they surely did – it was a particularly cold, wet Friday evening). When the event came to an end, the hosts appeared more than happy to keep the store open for a little longer to continue chatting to attendees, and to allow them another taste of wines they particularly enjoyed. As I say, there was no expectation to buy, but we were so impressed that we asked if we could buy a couple of bottles, forgetting the 6 wine minimum purchase policy. Despite this, they happily waived the policy on this occasion.

The lessons I have drawn from this, albeit as a provider of a service rather than a commodity (an important distinction), is that if you make it an easy and pleasant experience for your buyers to buy from you, they will probably be back. We certainly will. Moreover, if you convey enthusiasm for what you do, customers respond better. The wine tasting event will have been a considerable outlay for Majestic in cost terms, but the marketing investment will undoubtedly pay off. In the space of 2 hours we went from occasional customers of Majestic to brand evangelists, an accomplishment which I believe is more powerful than any other marketing tactic.

Oh, and if an ‘ouch’ customer service experience does happen, a measly £20 voucher when the customer has spent upwards of £600 (on, say, a long haul flight) does not say ‘I’m truly sorry, we’d like you to remain a customer’. There are ways to recover from an ‘ouch’ experience, and that’s not one of them. Just so you know.

Alex runs Translator Tips, where you can download a free marketing ebooklet, or buy Alex’s ebook How to Earn $80,000+ Per Year as a Freelance Translator (the headline is designed to get your attention – admit it, it worked, didn’t it).

I’m really glad Alex decided to make a comeback.  I’m not sure whether he intends to update his ezine format by continuing to publish his content on his blog, but I certainly hope so.

Image courtesy of ehow.com

Hello blog, it’s been a while! The main reason for my woeful silence is that I recently moved home and office, and have been focusing on the practicalities of setting up and running my business from a new location.  I know, I know, excuses, excuses!

I thought I’d share with you some tips for ensuring a home office move goes as smoothly as possible while juggling translation deadlines, so that you can get up and running again in no time.

1)      Planning ahead early: this might sound obvious, but when you know you’re moving make a list of all the companies and services you will need to notify. I’m a big list-maker, and found that a making a quick list on a Google docs spreadsheet which I could tick off was the best way of keeping the information somewhere I could not lose it. This will save a lot of headache. Don’t forget to let your clients know your new office address and update your website, as well.

2)      Stay easily contactable by phone: my clients needed to know that I would be unavailable for a couple of days while I was getting my new home office unpacked and set up, but I wasn’t sure if I would have a landline immediately. I had already planned ways of making sure they knew how to get in touch with me via my Smartphone (which of course did not change), but I also have a subscription to an online number through Skype which allowed them to continue to call me on a landline number which I could provide them with well in advance of the move, making the transition easier.

3)      Don’t even try to live without broadband: I really take broadband internet access for granted now, and the thought of trying to get anything done without it sends shivers down my spine. If you can’t get your broadband set up in your new office immediately (or as soon as you plan to be back at work), you will need to have a Plan B. My Plan B was a pay-as-you-go mobile broadband stick which I had purchased a while ago as a back-up. Remember the benefits of having your own domain email address not linked to your ISP as well (rather than @btinternet.com, @aol.com etc.), so that you can be reached from any computer connected to the internet.

4)      Contingency planning: it’s a fact, things can go missing or get broken in moves, so make sure that if the worst happens (and by worst I mean something untoward happening to your trusty main office computer, and/or the room you were planning to use as an office being less suitable than you initially thought), you won’t be reduced to a quivering wreck because you have that Plan B ready and waiting. For me this means having a back-up laptop (or 2) available for me to work on anywhere. Again, in this scenario, the mobile broadband stick and online landline number will come in handy.

5)      Pack strategically: I didn’t actually pack my office until the night before the removal men arrived, because I need to be working on a job right up until then, although I did pack some books I was sure I wouldn’t need the weekend before the move. When I did do the final pack, I made sure that everything I would need first the other end was at the top of the boxes, and clearly marked to avoid those situations involving crazed rummaging through boxes, packing paper and cardboard flying in all directions.

6)      Focus above all on getting organised: moving home and office at the same time can be a recipe for frazzled nerves, so if it all leaves you feeling beleaguered, then just take your time to move past that by getting yourself organised – get any admin you’ve let slip in order, locate those dictionaries buried at the bottom of the last unpacked box and generally help yourself to feel at home and in control of your new office.  Hey, you could even indulge in an office spa day.

By following my own advice, happily the transition to working from a new location was as smooth as I could have hoped, with all the messy stuff out the way within a couple of hours so that I could get back to my translation work.

I’ve written a replica of that case study for my blog:

Job title:

Freelance Translator

Languages:

French, Spanish and Portuguese (into English)

Company/location:

My cosy home office in London!

Background:

I translate from French, Spanish and Portuguese into English (my mother tongue). I started off by doing a BA in French and Spanish at Cardiff University, then went on to do an MA in Translation and Linguistics (Spanish and Portuguese) at Westminster University in London.

After my studies I managed to get a job as an in-house translator, and this gave me the opportunity to really hone my language skills. However, after a few years I decided that freelancing was for me and so I launched a new career beyond cubicle life.

A typical day for me:

I’ll usually be at my desk quite early in the morning, since my commute only involves a short walk to my desk! I often start my day in the same way as most other people, by checking my emails. There may be urgent requests from clients that I need to respond to. I will also typically do some reading of industry-specific newsletters and foreign press or listen to podcasts in my source languages. When I start working on a translation project, I will need to consult with the client for any background references and will need to carry out my own research into the subject matter and terminology. The finished product will then need to be thoroughly edited and proofread before delivery to the client.

Working from home, I get to manage my own workload, but I generally try to work a standard 8 hour day, although I sometimes need to work evenings and weekends to complete urgent or large jobs.

What’s the best thing about your job?

Without a doubt, being my own boss!

So you want to be a professional translator?

You’ll need excellent writing skills in your mother tongue and of course fluency in the languages you translate from. You’ll also need to acquire sound knowledge of one or two specialist fields, for example medicine, law, IT, engineering or physics. I work mainly in the fields of law and marketing, so I need to maintain my knowledge in these areas through ongoing training.

You’ll also need to bear in mind that if you’re freelance, you’re effectively running your own mini-business, so take some time to check out what that entails.

*Psst! If you’re tempted by translation but would like to have a taster before committing, I notice that London Metropolitan University are hosting a Taster Day for Linguists as Mediators, through the UK National Network for Translation.

Attendees of the event who are new to my blog may be interested in reading a little more about how I got into translation, as just one example of how a freelance translator begins their career. Well, if you’re wondering, read on…

For me, translating freelance was something I’d aimed for since starting my MA in Translation and Linguistics at Westminster University over six years ago. Completing the course 9 months later, I realised that freelancing lark would require planning, careful consideration and funds (not to mention paying off various bills and loans). So, quite early on I started looking for in-house translation jobs in London, eventually accepting a job as a full-time in-house translator in the public sector. My plan was to stay in this job for about a year, save up and then launch my freelance translation business.

I remember that I was fairly overly confident about my abilities as a translator at that stage, despite not having much real-world experience of it. Embarrassing to think about it now! A year passed quickly and I realised that I still had a long way to go before I felt ready to go it alone, both in terms of my translation skills and my ability to run a business. I still felt that I was much more suited to freelancing than to cubicle life in a rather uninspiring air-conditioned office, but the value of what I was learning was too great to just ditch it so quickly. I decided to set myself a target of at least 3 years in the job, and then to go for it freelance.

So, apart from translating diligently, squirrelling away my pennies, making my escape plan and daydreaming about a fantasy life as a freelance translator, what else was I doing during those years? Well, because I was serious about becoming freelance, and felt that if I put my mind to it and got support from the right people I could really make a go of it, I spent a lot of my evenings online researching how others were doing it, what sort of hardware/software/ancillary skills I might need for my business etc. Like many translators, I did regular voluntary translations in my spare time in order to hone my translation skills. I joined several ITI groups, and started reading the e-group threads after work. I attended steadily more ITI and CIOL events (networking is a long-term activity so I thought it best to get started on that ASAP), and I started a blog. I had been reading other translation blogs, and realised that I was gaining so much from reading about the experiences of other translators that I wanted to contribute something of my own. This led to more networking and becoming part of a dialogue with other translators in order to share our experiences.

Eventually, I felt the time was right to finally go freelance. If anything, though, I felt even more terrified at the prospect of freelancing at that point than I did when I graduated years before, when I was blissfully ignorant about what it involved! But I was still determined to do it, and resolute that in-house translation was not for me at that point in my life. I needed something to make me take the plunge, but I also needed a security blanket. So, I hatched another plan. I started attending a TESOL course for 3 hours each evening after work to qualify to teach English as a foreign language – a sort of back-up plan just in case freelancing didn’t work out, or if it took a lot longer than expected to get going. I also sat the ITI exam to become a qualified member (MITI).

Happily, I passed both the TESOL course and the ITI exam and no longer had any excuses to put off going freelance. The next thing I needed was the ITI’s Professional Support Group course, as after years in the public sector I was still seriously lacking any business skills. So, one week after leaving my in-house job for good I started the PSG course and was at my new desk in my home office. I got a short-term part-time teaching job in central London to help pay the bills, and also some locum teaching and private tuition in Business English. By October 2008 (6 months after going freelance), I was finding it too difficult to fit all this in with what was by then a full-time translation workload and felt secure enough to stop the teaching altogether.

I think it’s fair to say that each freelance translator will have taken a slightly different route, and the length of time it takes to get to the point where you’re earning a decent full-time income with regular, valued customers will vary considerably (depending on your language combinations, experience, marketing material, and often just sheer good luck). However, hearing how other people did it and how long it took them is one of the best ways of getting a realistic picture of what to aim for. I started my career in-house, and I’m not suggesting that’s what everyone ’should’ do. However, I do think that however you do it, careful planning is one of the best routes to a successful, sustainable freelance career. Running your own business is very fulfilling but can be scary, and so ultimately, the crucial qualities are determination and the ability to be brave when it’s needed!

]]> http://blog.philippahammond.net/2009/10/22/getting-into-translation/feed/ 1 http://blog.philippahammond.net/2008/12/02/staying-positive-and-proactive-during-a-recession/ http://blog.philippahammond.net/2008/12/02/staying-positive-and-proactive-during-a-recession/#comments Tue, 02 Dec 2008 16:24:53 +0000 philippa http://blog.philippahammond.net/?p=160

Much as I have tried to resist the constant vocabulary of disaster and fear used in the news at the moment, it seems that a recession is fast approaching, if not already upon us. It is hard for most people to stay positive and confident about parting with their fast dwindling cash reserves in the current climate, but when you are running a business of any kind the panic can start to set in. And that includes freelancers, whether they’re freelance translators or freelance plumbers.

I recently read this article by Michael Melcher on The New York Times Shifting Careers blog and it reminded me that even in this climate there are still opportunities out there if you remain proactive. Now is not the time to waste too much energy on introspection. The same marketing guidelines apply, but we now need to reserve more energy than ever for seeking out or creating opportunities. Provided you still have a roof over your head and some food on the table, remember how lucky you still are and don’t allow yourself be beaten down by all the bad news…Alternatively, you may want to consider going into hibernation until it’s all over!

*Update 09/12/2008: another good list of tips for weathering an economic downturn is on FreelanceSwitch today.*

The relevance of this bad experience to freelancing is that it reminded me of how important it is to realize the value of your clients and to put this into practice. In that vein, here are some pointers I’ve learned along the way, including those learned from customer service experts such as Chris Daffy.

1) First and foremost, your clients are central to your business.

You want to keep your customers because without them you will find it somewhat difficult to stay afloat. This seems like an obvious statement but it is surprising how many people seem to forget it, or appear not to fully appreciate it.

In my bad experience with the online groceries delivery service I felt like I was being treated flippantly throughout. I received no apology for appalling service, and was greeted with a shrug that said to me “Yeah, whatever, there’s more where you came from”. This is a dangerous assumption, even for a supermarket giant. After all, customers talk, and these days there’s the added dimension of the blogosphere, where word spreads like wildfire. So, they’ve missed an opportunity to lock onto a loyal, regular customer, and have therefore also wasted the big profit potential of me telling my friends and neighbours how great they are and winning them as customers too. I should add that I have also been trialling a rival, more expensive, online groceries delivery service, who I will now happily spend my hard-earned pennies on instead. Customers are usually willing to pay extra if that means excellent service.

2) Reward loyal clients, as well as new ones.

For freelancers, attracting new clients is essential to ensuring a regular flow of work, and it is an ongoing process. It also allows us to develop and progress in our careers, specialising both in terms of subject and client.

However, in your efforts to flirt with new clients don’t forget about your regulars. There will always be interesting one-off clients who call up only once and are never heard from again, but clients who keep coming back and spend a fortune on your services over the years are usually worth more to you. (This is a bit like the advice not to neglect your old buddies when you find new ones, with the caveat that in both cases this only applies to old clients or buddies who are definitely worth keeping; we are bound to lose some along the way.). Remember to focus some of your marketing effort on your regulars: why not try updating them on new skills you’ve developed, or simple things like the personal touch of remembering important events in their lives and sending them Christmas cards or even stationery gifts with your business name on it.

One of the best (in my opinion) supermarket delivery companies (the rival I referred to above) frequently emails me with discounts and offers that are tailored to my favourite things, and overall they give an impression of a company constantly striving to improve their service. Some of the add-on services they offer I really don’t need, but the overall impression leaves me with such a warm fuzzy feeling and I am so impressed that their approach probably has a 90% success rate with me. It’s a bit like going to a restaurant and receiving attentive and friendly service from the wait staff; you don’t need them to pour your wine but it makes you feel valued and creates an overall good experience.

3) It is usually possible to salvage a situation where the client is dissatisified for whatever reason.

I was easy prey for online grocery shopping services – I love how easy it is and I can create a list that I add to as I think of things, rather than the soul-destroying weekly barging and queuing under neon lights that is the modern supermarket experience. Plus, working from home all I have to do is answer the door to the delivery man, and even if they are a few minutes late with the booked delivery time I will still be here. So, you’d think it wouldn’t be hard for an online groceries delivery service to keep me as a long-term customer.

Well, as a result of my bad experience I lodged a complaint to the company concerned. After a few days had passed I did eventually receive a verbal apology over the phone. By this time my view of the service was pretty dire, but not beyond the point of no return; there was still a chance for them to retain me as a customer. What could they have done? In such a disastrous situation, nothing speaks louder to customers than cold hard cash. But alas, all I was offered was £10 off my next shop.  The presumption that I would use them again after this experience was an arrogant and erroneous one. If a customer pays for a service and you categorically fail to provide that service that customer should really be entitled to some sort of monetary compensation; in my case at least waiving the cost of the delivery. In translation, if you miss a deadline that has major ramnifications for the client, or worse, produce sub-standard work, do you expect to be paid in full? (Not a rhetorical question by the way).

4) The customer is not always right but neither are you.

A little meeting in the middle never hurt anyone. Imagine yourself in their position, in a different customer/client-supplier scenario such as a shop, or getting your kitchen fitted. As the customer, the service or product you are paying for is important to you, and you want to feel like you supplier appreciates this. Even when your customer is demanding, do not scoff or respond indignantly, but instead meet with a smile and try to help them as best you can, carefully explaining what you are and aren’t able to do for them. They will remember you positively, rather than as someone obstructive you doggedly refused to help. Listen to your clients, and they will listen to you.