A client asked for me to proofread four documents. I replied that I would proofread and edit for spelling, punctuation, grammar, and syntax and that all changes would be clearly shown using the “track changes” feature in MS Word. I went through the four documents, used MS Word’s “track changes” utility to make corrections, changes, and comments, and returned the documents to her.
She’s not pleased. It wasn’t what she wanted. I guess I’m not sure what she wanted. Perhaps the documents to be rewritten? She said–after I delivered the order–that she wanted the changes to be marked in red. Not that it should matter, but I changed the settings in MS Word so that the deleted text would be marked in red and inserted text would be marked in blue, per standard.
I sent the re-saved documents back to her and began waiting for a reply.
Just a hint, folks: Specify what you want and I’ll comply as best I can. Otherwise, don’t tell me how to do my job. You don’t tell the mechanic how to fix your car or the doctor how to cure your illness; allow me that same courtesy. If you want the content rewritten, then you’ll get fresh files that will not show any changes. If you want editing, then you’ll get your files back with the changes displayed.