Final Arbiter Of Translation Services

Who makes the final determination about the quality and acceptability of a translation? Is it the customer? Is it the translator, the proofreader, or someone else?

The linguistic skills of translation services customers vary widely. Those that do have some internal language capabilities may overestimate their qualifications.

So why is the judgment of professional translators sometimes questioned by reviewers that have lesser language skills? This remains a persistent question.

To guide our interactions with customers in this regard it can sometimes be wise to remind ourselves of the expression “the customer is not always right, but they’re never wrong.”