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Poll: Have you ever refused to work with a client because you dislike the CAT tool they use? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Have you ever refused to work with a client because you dislike the CAT tool they use?".
View the poll results »
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I stopped working with my best client (an agency) in 1999 or thereabouts when they started working with a CAT system. I have refused all jobs that require the use of CAT tools since then.
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Alex Lichanow
Germany
Local time: 21:20
Member (2020)
English to German
+ ...
Anything that is not Trados Studio, memoQ, WordFast or Memsource/Phrase is a deal-breaker for me. Special dislike goes to XTM and Smartling, those two being the most useless pieces of garbage I was ever unfortunate enough to work with.
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Mr. Satan (X)
English to Indonesian
Anything that is Trados Studio, memoQ, WordFast or Memsource/Phrase is a deal-breaker for me. Special dislike goes to Trados Studio and memoQ, those two being the most useless pieces of garbage I was never unfortunate enough to work with.
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Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 20:20
Member (2008)
Italian to English
| I do it all the time. | Aug 31, 2023 |
ProZ.com Staff wrote: This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Have you ever refused to work with a client because you dislike the CAT tool they use?". View the poll results »
I don't work with client-imposed CAT tools because it gives them control, and I prefer to retain control of my own work.
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| No, why should I | Aug 31, 2023 |
I simply use another tool of my choice which is either compatbile with the customer's CAT tool or (in the case of Phrase) I translate the mxliff file in my tool of choice, import the mxliff file into Phrase for desktop which I then synchronize with Phrase online. It happened for reasons I ignore that I could not access the online CAT tool the customer wanted me to use (Smartcat), so the customer gave me the option of another tool of my choice.
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Lieven Malaise
Belgium
Local time: 21:20
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
+ ...
I did in the past, but I changed policies. I've decided to give them all a go for at least a while if I'm asked to. I believe it's mostly a matter of getting used to them anyway.
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Tom in London wrote:
I don't work with client-imposed CAT tools because it gives them control, and I prefer to retain control of my own work.
If I cannot translate it with CafeTran Espresso on my Mac, I don't translate it at all.
Luckily, CafeTran Espresso can handle projects created in all major CAT tools. With the only exception of memoQ projects that – for whatever reason – are locked on the client's server.
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| All the time | Aug 31, 2023 |
I dislike CAT tools and I don’t use them at all, but I work with two clients who send me the texts to be translated in an export file…
P.S. In the past I worked with Trados and XTM
[Edited at 2023-08-31 11:01 GMT]
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Kay Denney 
France
Local time: 21:20
French to English
I have Trados, and there's a client who lets me use a floating licence for MemoQ. I have no problem with MemoQ but I hate Trados. I will sometimes use it but only if it's for an interesting project. I won't use anything else, I'm at a stage in my life where I feel that I'm allowed to stop tackling new things, I just want to coast along as I am until and maybe beyond retirement.
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Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 21:20
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
| No... obviously | Aug 31, 2023 |
I often refuse to work in specified CAT tools, but I haven't refused to work for a client because of that client's preference or requirement to use a specified CAT tool -- those clients are still free to send me the work in a different format (and some/many of them discover that they are able to do so, when asked). E.g. I absolutely refuse to work in Lokalise (it's a productivity killer) but clients who require Lokalise often find ways to send me the text in Word or Excel.
I turned... See more I often refuse to work in specified CAT tools, but I haven't refused to work for a client because of that client's preference or requirement to use a specified CAT tool -- those clients are still free to send me the work in a different format (and some/many of them discover that they are able to do so, when asked). E.g. I absolutely refuse to work in Lokalise (it's a productivity killer) but clients who require Lokalise often find ways to send me the text in Word or Excel.
I turned down several clients who asked me to work in Polyglot (which is Google's new CAT tool to replace GTT). I tried Polyglot for a month or two because this is steady money, but in the end I had to throw in the towel when I realized that I would be making too little with the productivity penalty.
I typically refuse to use Wordbee. I dislike both Smartling and XTM, but if there aren't many fuzzy matches I guess I can do it. The problem with XTM and Phase/Memsource is that you typically have to say "yes" to the project before you can see it, so you don't know if it's a tag heavy job or not, but I've been lucky enough the past few times, so I no longer refuse such jobs (gambler's fallacy...).
[Edited at 2023-09-01 07:27 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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Mónica Algazi
Uruguay
Local time: 16:20
Member (2005)
English to Spanish
I find it particularly unfriendly.
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| I don't work with their CAT tools | Aug 31, 2023 |
A carpenter doesn't use their customer's hammer either, do they? I've tried other CAT tools, but they've all been a productivity drain when compared to my own good old Déjà Vu. And I have plenty of clients who just send me xliff files native to their own CAT + TMX memories and Excel glossaries, with no issues at all.
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Not exactly about working or not with a client, because it comes from a variety of factors, but speaking of likes and dislikes - the ugliest CAT I have ever worked with is TWS. Unbelievable garbage. And those guys repeated that they handle most of their volumes through THAT. Although at some point they did give me a job in MemoQ...
Other CAT's I have dealt with are more or less manageable, but TWS would be closer to a deal-stopper than anything else.
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Zuzana Novotná
Czech Republic
Local time: 21:20
Member (2014)
English to Czech
| Yes, but not only due to the CAT tool | Aug 31, 2023 |
One company had not only a very user-unfriendly, clumsy and unpredictable tool, but they also offered small rates and regularly sent tiny volumes so I left after a few months. But generally I don´t have a problem working with various CAT tools including those company-developed ones. It would be a bit boring to use just Trados all the time .
[Edited at 2023-08-31 19:02 GMT]
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