The present paper is a response to Hans G. Hönig's paper Positions, power and practice: functionalist approaches and translation quality assessment. In this article the author criticizes Hönig's statement that laypersons, irrespective of their level of education, hold dogmatic positions about translation and that satisfying the customer should be the translator's sole objective. The author argues that Hönig does not distinguish between text-categories, literary or non-literary translation, advertisments or manuals of instruction, and that he ignores the translator's educative, aesthetic and truth-seeking role.