What’s the hurry?

Thanks to the development of technology we are able to do things quicker and quicker, for example, an email can be sent across the world in an instant. Whereas, before it would have taken at least a week for an exchange of correspondence it can now be done in a matter of seconds. But, because we are now so used to the rapidity of emails, we expect everything to be done just as quick!

In the past, a simple letter and reply would have first involved the sender drafting their document by hand. This would then be typed up on a typewriter by the typist. The letter would be checked and often re-typed from scratch (should a mistake have been found) – meaning a much more time-consuming task than a simple edit on a computer. Once ready, the document would be posted to the recipient. Depending on the postal service it could take days to arrive at its destination. The whole process of drafting, typing, re-typing and posting would then start all over again just to send a simple response. The whole process could take weeks just for a simple exchange of communication.

Nowadays, things are very different. We can send emails to people all over the world at the touch of a button and have their response within minutes. And because of this we now expect other things to be done in an instant. Whereas once, we wouldn’t have batted an eyelid at a process taking several weeks, even months, now there is a demand for things to be done immediately. As it is possible to send a document within seconds to someone, there is an increasing demand, for example, for the translation of the document to be returned quicker as well. People want translations to be turned around in a matter of hours, which, as many of us know, is simply not feasible. But you have to ask yourself, for the sake of speed, is it worth compromising quality where translation services are concerned ? Do you really need something that quickly? Would it not be better to spend a bit longer on it and have a better finished product?