Do: ask the right questions

Dealing with a translation company or freelance translator for the first time can sometimes be tricky, so here are a few things to make the experience easier for you. There are no secrets per say, you just have to ask the right questions... first to the translation company or to the freelance translator, and then to yourself.

Let's begin with the questions you have to ask the translation company or the freelance translator (and the answers you want to get):
1) How much do they charge per 1,000 words (for an average document without a tight deadline)? (now, most companies will ask to see the document and be made aware of the deadline before they can provide you with a quote, so if your document is very technical and is due tomorrow, the quote will probably be very expensive and some companies may even decline the contract - that's the sign of a good company, which would rather lose a contract than provide you with a substandard translation)
2) Is that per "source" or "target" words? (hands down, you want the answer to be "source")
3) Are there any other costs, like taxes, "filing fees", etc? (that's something you definitely want to know)
4) Is the quote final? (it should be)
5) What are the qualifications of the translators, and do they work into their native language? (at the very least a college/university diploma and three years of experience, and they should work in their native language)
6) Will the translation be reviewed (revised) by another translator? (it should be "yes")
Of course, there are more questions you can ask, but these six should make you feel a bit better about the translation company or freelance translator you might hire...

And now, here is the fun part, the questions you have to ask yourself:
1) Is my deadline flexible? (you might be able to get a better price if you don't need your translation "by yesterday")
2) Is my document technical? (if it is, don't be surprise if the price goes up)
3) Am I satisfied with the answers I got to the six questions from the company?
4) Let's do some math here: now that you know how much they charge per 1,000 words, how many words a day do you think they need to translate in order to make a living? And now, here is the kicker: a translator usually translates between 1,000 and 2,000 a day (some people might do more, but one also needs to have a life and looks after his family too). So here is my question: do you think they are paid adequately? If the answer is "yes", it's all good, if it is "no"... how do you think they make a living? by working another job or by doing more words per day?

Of course, the price you are ready to pay for a translation is important, and like anything else, why would you pay more than you have to? And when you ask different translation companies and freelance translators for quotes, the price range can be quite impressive. But before you decide to go with the cheapest quote, here is the final question: would you go to a dentist because he is way cheaper than all the other dentists around and he can take you this afternoon? Now be honest about this one...