Aside from being the leading consultant in purchase management of construction and furniture hardware in China, we live in Guangzhou, and many of our staff are Chinese. But communicating in China isn’t a simple task, and we often help our clients importing furniture hardware with hiring an interpreter. Whether you are already a client or not, you’ll want to learn the most important details when hiring an interpreter in China.
Tips before choosing an interpreter for our clients importing furniture hardware from China
- After 12 to 15 hours of flying (and some 6 or 7 hours of jetlag), it is very difficult to be awake and alert. And it’s even more difficult to arrive in a county that is so profoundly different and, usually, unknown, as China.
- Here, you won’t be able to read and/or decipher anything you see. Very few Chinese people are fluent in English. Things are changing slowly, it’s true; we are witnesses of this and we celebrate it. But, for now, English is still an uncommon language and for “non-Easterners”, communication can be complicated.
- Beyond the language, the Chinese have another way of expressing themselves and communicating. Part of your job will be to take the time to understand, respect and integrate certain cultural codes that are quite different from your own. Want to do business with China? Think like them, like a local. It’s part of the challenge.
- China is a very organized country. Do you want to import construction and furniture hardware from China? Let’s talk and see the best way to do it.
How to spot a good interpreter
A good interpreter is someone who has the following qualities:
- • Knowledge of the appropriate languages
- • Capacity for analysis and synthesis
- • Ability to concentrate
- • Good short- and long-term memory
- • Curiosity and an ability for intuitive extraction in speech
- • High level of overall culture
- • Physical and mental stamina
- • Control of nervousness
- • Impeccable voice, manners and presentation
How to choose a good interpreter?
Part of our local staff speaks Chinese and at least one European language. But we know how unpleasant and unproductive it is to get “lost” in a city. So, we always recommend hiring an interpreter for our clients importing furniture hardware from China.
In general, at IBMH we are very selective when choosing our service providers:
- • We always opt for a renowned and/or recommended interpreter or company of interpreters.
- • We ensure that they belong to a professional organization and that their prices are reasonable. An interpreter shouldn’t cost more than $73 per hour.
Our advice is that you only hire them if they…
- • are someone with whom you feel comfortable, with whom you feel you can speak openly about your needs.
- • understand that their role is to be a go-between for 2 or 3 people who want to collaborate and work together.
- • project an image of honesty and being right for the job.
It’s business time for hardware importers
At IBMH, we help distributors succeed in importing construction and furniture hardware with the best quality and price, but our service isn’t limited to management. IBMH offers a comprehensive service and, obviously, even though interpreters are not a part of importation itself, we help our clients in any way we can.
We are a global and multicultural team. We understand the value of speaking the language of our clients and of our suppliers. We’re proud to have created a system that allows us to understand each other and transmit messages clearly, correctly and effectively, noticeably optimizing results.
We’ve been sharing, exchanging, explaining, and dialoging with our local collaborators for years. We’ve seen too many people whose businesses don’t flourish in China because of poor communication. So… an interpreter for our clients importing furniture hardware from China is a no-brainer!
Are you a distributor of construction and furniture hardware? Do you import your products from China? Tell us about your experience!