I have an ebay buyer from France who is complaining about not receiving their item (even though it only left Australia 1.5 weeks ago...)

I've been reliant on Google because I don't know any fluent French speakers. Here's what I want to say (translated using Google)... And basically I want to make sure that it sounds as natural as possible, but sincere!

Quote::

Il n'est pas encore 30 jours si vous le pouvez s'il vous plaît attendre un peu plus longtemps? Qu'est-ce que j'ai décrit est seulement une estimation. Le courrier est généralement lente d'ici Noël. Le numéro d'identification de colis: LC760822175AU Pouvez-vous s'il vous plaît demander à votre bureau de poste concernant les retards? Avant de procéder à un remboursement. J'apprécie hautement votre patience.

Translated back into English:

Quote::

It is not yet 30 days if you can please wait a little longer? What I described is only an estimate. Mail is generally slow by Christmas. The identification number of packages: LC760822175AU Can you please ask your local post office about delays? Before proceeding to a refund. I greatly appreciate your patience.

A million gold stars and pony hugs to anyone who can help!

PS: Remind me to use registered mail or EMS when sending parcels to Europe... or don't send there at all!

ETA: I think I want to include a bit that says:

Quote::

I'm sorry about the mail being so slow. But that is the nature of air mail. However, you had selected regular air mail (no tracking, no insurance). The item was brought to the post office on December 2nd. Once there, it takes 7 days to leave Australia, about a week in customs, then an indeterminate amount of time to reach you. (It depends on how far from the city you are.) Of course, it's further slowed by workers taking leave over Christmas.

Which comes out in Google:

Quote::

Je suis désolé pour l'e-mail étant si lent. Mais c'est la nature de la poste aérienne. Cependant, vous aviez choisi la poste aérienne régulière (pas de suivi, pas d'assurance). Le point a été apporté au bureau de poste le 2 Décembre. Une fois là, il faut 7 jours pour quitter l'Australie, environ une semaine à la douane, puis une quantité indéterminée de temps pour vous rejoindre. (Cela dépend de quel point de la ville où vous êtes.) Bien sûr, il est encore ralenti par les travailleurs qui prennent un congé de Noël.

Blegh, I keep thinking of more to add. And I can't sleep thinking about this and how I'm going to take the Negative Feedback hit. ><

Mais oui
That looks a spot on translation of what you were trying to say. Seems like Google translate has gotten it right for once!

French isn't my first language though... so maybe someone who comes from France would put it slightly differently... Your grammar etc is right though.

Thanks... However I don't think I'm going to go ahead until I get a French speaker to look at this. Some people are fussy about their language being translated wrong. >< (Personally I don't mind reading English that is a little bit out of order.)

It sucks they're complaining about the item not arriving after 15 days. Don't they realise it's Christmas and that international mail is slow?

I'm dreading the Negative Feedback I'm going to get from them... I hope it doesn't take the percentage down too much. >< I'm so worried about this, I can't sleep.

oh my goodness how can they expect the item to arrive so soon after you posted it when its international and having to get through the xmas post?! I'm so sorry you are having to deal with this! I hope that your buyer will be more understanding when you have sent them the message I'm not fluent in french, but I'll give this a for you and hopefullly a french speaker will check it for you soon. However, its a busy time of year so it might take longer for someone to see your thread... please dont leave it too long to reply to this person, as it sounds like they are already impatient. it will be better to answer them quickly, even if there is anything that hasnt quite translated right, than to leave it many more days without a reply

Yeah, you're right Tinsel... I can imagine I'm going to receive Negative feedback even if they do receive their item. I'll give this thread another day maybe...

Im not fluent either but that looks good to me from what I can tell..fingers crossed you dont get a neg!

I'd personally make a few small changes, but the only French I speak Canadian French, so I'm not sure how reliable my translation would be.

Here:

Quote::

Cela ne fait pas encore 30 jours que votre colis a quitté son point de départ, vous serait-il possible d'attendre encore un peu ? Le délai que j'ai donné n'est qu'une estimation, il faut savoir que le trafic postal est très lent en période de fêtes de fin d'année. Voici votre numéro de suivi : LC760822175AU Peut-être pourriez-vous vous renseigner auprès de votre bureau de poste à propos des retards ? Je pense que ce serait mieux avant de penser à un remboursement. Je suis vraiment navrée que le trafic postal soit si lent, malheureusement il en est rarement autrement avec la voie aérienne. Cependant, sachez que vous avez choisi un envoi classique, c'est à dire sans suivi ou assurance. J'ai porté l'objet à la poste le 2 décembre. Un colis met en général une semaine pour quitter l'Australie, une autre semaine pour passer la douane, et enfin un laps de temps indéterminé pour arriver jusqu'à vous (selon votre lieu d'habitation, ville ou campagne). De plus, il faut savoir que les vacances de noël et l'accroissement du trafic postal à cette période ralentissent considérablement le processus. Je vous remercie par avance pour votre patience. Bien cordialement.

Don't hesitate to ask me if they answer you and you want to be sure of what they tell you, or for another translation

Impatient buyers are a pain in the neck, I had one the other day who opened a case after only two weeks (incidentally, they lived in Australia )

I'm also fluent in french and I have to say that Google translation is pretty bad (although an intelligent person could probably figure out what you're trying to say, there are a lot of mistakes and some sentences could be interpreted a completely different way). My parents are professional translators. They've translated english to french documents for the Canadian Federal Government for over 30 years and they always cringe at automatic translations. But Sendell did a great job correcting it for you! And since your buyer is in France and I speak "canadian" french, I wouldn't be able to do better than she did. But if you ever need something translated for someone from Quebec, you can come to me

Thank you so much Sendell. And thanks for your offer sillymoosey.

How much difference is there between French-French and Canadian-French?

I have bought and sold so many things online, my expectation is 2 - 5 weeks in either direction.

Taruto" wrote:

How much difference is there between French-French and Canadian-French?

A HUGE amount of difference. Honestly, most Parisian French speakers can't understand French Canadians because they use the language so very differently.

Thanks very much Sendell and Sillymoosey
Hopefully that will make things a bit easier for you now Taruto

wow I didnt realise the google translate was that bad! I just looked at it from what I learned and the grammar all looked okay.!

Taruto wrote:

Thank you so much Sendell. And thanks for your offer sillymoosey. How much difference is there between French-French and Canadian-French? I have bought and sold so many things online, my expectation is 2 - 5 weeks in either direction.

The differences are mostly in choice of vocabulary and expressions . There are things that we say in Quebec that mean a completely different thing in France and sometimes it can lead to misunderstandings. But a well educated person who writes properly should be understood by either someone from Qebec or from France

I completely agree with sillymoosey your parents are professional translators? I'm a translator myself, I graduated in last September and I'll start working as a translator in a few months