More notes from the worker's underground

The Community Employment agency sent me to a few interesting interviews, including one located in the industrial park in st laurent. I went there the day after a snowstorm and had to cross the highway on foot. It's not exactly designed for public transit or pedestrians. Shortly after that, I got a call from a social worker in the same buildng as the CEA who told me of a job at an office. In st Laurent. I should have said nothing but I asked where, as parts of it are very hard to get to.
SW: what difference does that make?
Me: Well, I have to get there every day, I need to know where it's located.
SW: People take the bus, they take the metro
Me: Yes, but I also have to get out there for an interview and it can take over an hour.
SW: You know you need this job!
Me: Yes, I know. I also have to know things like location, transportation and other details.
SW: I'm giving you a great opportunity. You're nixing it!

It's easy to see how she got to be a social worker. The last time she took public transportation was probably...well never, since it's likely she got a car at 16 and likely had the same job since graduating university. Later, I received a questionnaire from the agency about their service. When asked for comments, I suggested that they start being bit more empathetic to the people they are supposed to help. And stop hiring people who grew up in cloistered, upper middle class eggshells who have no idea what it is to actually have to LOOK for a job.

oh those nutty clients!

I just got a new client which oddly enough, resulted from an aborted project. A woman at a small translation agency, which I had never worked with before, contacted me about a translation one of her translators had done for a company website. They were not happy with it, and I could see the problem. It was very awkwardly translated and sounded stilted, although she had done a decent job with the more technical parts (heavy machinery). I began work on it and the next day, Maryse told me they wanted it done a bit earlier. I suggested that in order to save time, I just revise the English. So we worked in tandem and managed to get it all done. But alas, the company sent back the document with more changes, some of which were reasonable, and more complaints about how 'french' it sounded. While I was doing the revisions, Maryse asked me if I thought they were being difficult, and I said yes, a bit. Some of the mistakes they pointed out were their OWN mistakes, for example and I was beginning to suspect they may never be satisfied, but at the same time they kept raising the bar by wanting it done faster and faster.
Maryse and I agreed that we both did our very best.

While I was working on the revisions, Maryse was emailed by the company.They decided they didn't want to spend any more money and would do the rest of the work themselves. Maryse was sorry to lose a client but I told her my impression was that these people would probably never be satisfied and that they didn't seem to understand much about the work process. We all get impossible clients who don't have a clue and sometimes, it's just best to cut your losses get out of dodge. Just make sure you get paid and that's that. She agreed.

Sometimes, the problems come from communication- when people aren't very good at expressing what it is they want, then crap on your work because you didn't deliver what they want. A few years ago I got a freelance gig writing a help file for a man hoping to sell a software product. he wanted it to be clear, precise and to the point, which was totally at odds with his conversational style which was impossibly hard to follow, almost dyslexic. At no point was I able to get anything resembling a clear, precise sentence. I decided to wait until I got his text. It was simple enough and I submitted it by email when it was done.

When he called me he said nastily, "This is SO not what I asked for."
Me : What is the problem?
M:You didn't do what I asked for.
Me: can you be specific?
M: I wanted it to be precise, clean and easy to read.
Me: I am familiar with help files, and I did it exactly as a help file. I read it over twenty times. Why not look it over and then send it back for revisions?
M: You mean I have to send it back and take more time?
Me: That's how it goes, I can do revisions. Sometimes you need to make changes. It's part of the process.
M: After all the trouble I went through sending it to you? (He sent it via email). It seems to me you don't know what you're doing.
Me: I'm sorry but I've been a journalist and writer for years..
Me: Look you can send it back to me and I'll revise it.
Him: I don't think you know what you're doing.
Me: Then just send me a check for the work I did and we'll call it a day. You can get another writer.
M: Well, ok.
Me: If I don't receive it in two weeks, I'll call you.

I told the employment agency that Mr G was a slimebag,that he was insulting and rude and had tried to get out of paying me. They were sympathetic and removed him from their clientele. I did get paid.
Another story...next time.