Prices or reviews

Prices or reviews? What’s more important when choosing a translation service. This was the question I asked my followers on Facebook two weeks ago. All participants said they considered reviews the most important. What about you?

These are two very important factors taken into account by clients when choosing any service, not only translation.  But which one should be considered first?

Price

Everyone has a budget and everyone looks for the “best price” But what is the “best price? Is it the cheaper?

Cheaper may not always mean the “best”, in fact, in most cases cheaper means low quality and that is certainly something no one wants. A low-quality translation may mean you will need to pay a proofreader to correct it, that will be an extra cost for you and time wasted. So, what may look like the “best price”, may actually be an “absolute rip off”.

Reviews

These days, every company has reviews. Some even have their clients’ testimonials on their website. Translators, for example, may have reviews on their social media pages. These reviews are very important because they are from people who have worked with these professionals and may have a thing or two to say about their work.

However, not all reviews are accurate or truthful. One of my followers actually mentioned this in a comment. It is believed that some companies pay people to give them good reviews. I have never heard of this happening with translators, but I understand it may be a reality in other industries.

Conclusion

My followers showed me that, these days, we have clients who are more concerned about quality than price. These clients are happy to pay a few extra dollars if they know they will get quality and great service. 

I believe the secret is research. Do your research, check several providers, see what reviews they have, what qualifications they have and how long they have been in the industry. Then consider the prices offered and compare with all the reviews and information you have about those providers. Be aware of your needs and how complex your document is and what is required from the translator to complete the task, then it’s easy, choose the one who fulfils all your requirements.