On translators and hairdressers

The other day I was coming to the office and on my way here I passed the Toni & Guy hair salon. I wasn't particularly knowledgeable about this brand, nor about their pricing policies. There was a public price list which went from affordable to exorbitant. The cheapest hair cut for men was around 10 euros, the most expensive around 100 euros which is something I would probably never pay for a cut. And the only differentiator? Just the job title. Art director, senior supervisor, junior hairdresser or something along these lines. I cannot really remember all these titles, but they clearly suggested an order of seniority.
Can I be sure that my hair cut will be fabulous if I pay the highest price? Absolutely not. Once I went into an expensive salon (not this expensive though) and I came out completely disappointed - I really hated my hairdo. Did it happen that I went to a cheap hairdresser and came out happy? Yes it did. So what's the difference between these price levels? Just the experience and the trust you place into the concept of seniority. I am not particularly keen on the concept of experts in any area, I usually believe there is a lot of hype and self-promotion around being an expert and others who don't lobby so much for themselves can also be just as good. For me, the key to good quality is a good and comprehensive briefing and common sense. (And I always struggle explaining what kind of a hairdo I would like to have.) On the other hand, some of my colleagues are very keen on working with experts in different areas. The right way to do it is probably somewhere in between: good experts with good briefing do the best work.

Later I told my observation to Gergely Kereszturi, our marketing manager, and he added one point that I never thought about - the occasion. Would you go to the intern at the barber shop on the corner for your wedding hairdo? Most probably not, even if you are okay going there regularly.

How does this apply to translation? It's a similar service. You can never be sure about the quality, even from the best translators, because if it does not meet your taste, you don't like that translation. Unless you communicate your taste, you cannot expect much. Also, translation has much to do with both experience and common sense. Experienced translators probably researched problems earlier, but no amount of experience can replace common sense - the ability to try and make sense of the source text, and resolve any lack of clarity with the customer. This gives you the briefing, the context. No matter whether the customer communicates it, or the translator elicits it, the briefing, the context is key.

Toni & Guy are the equivalent of an entity that is somewhere between a translation company and a group of qualified translators. They give the organizational framework to measure and attest seniority. And they make money on that, probably quite a lot. Is there a need for a similar organization in the translation space? Does anything like this exist in our field? Your thoughts are welcome.