[TriLUG] Off topic: Side work

[William Sutton]

I've been bit by another variant as a programmer:  the potential client 
who asks for an estimate for how long it will take to change his (crappy) 
code to do -whatever-.  Last time I ran into that, I spent several hours 
doing an estimate and was told, "Hmm, ok, we'll get back to you."  They 
got back to me all right--with another request for an estimate for a 
different feature (first one still unimplemented).  Same story.  The third 
time they called, having put many hours of free analysis in with no ROI, I 
told them to find someone else.  For all I know, they still haven't 
changed the code (6-7 years later).

I'm also still waiting on a fellow TriLUG member to get back to me about 
some work I did for him, so... :-}

William Sutton


On Fri, 24 Oct 2008, Greg Brown wrote:

> It's a shame too, because most of these really small companies really need
> the help.  They've got real problems, a lot of which need to be sorted out.
> But most of the same companies don't have the money to cover their wants and
> needs (or mistakes).
>
> Case in point: campground on the coast.  I installed a "guest Wi-Fi" system
> for then and it works well enough given the raw materials I've had to work
> with (slow and unreliable ISPs, blah blah).  Anyway they hired a new guy who
> kept saying "gee, at this camp in Arizona where I stayed last time we raised
> the antenna five feet and it fixed everything."
>
> "Ok, I see where you're going with this and, no.  Don't touch it.  The
> problem isn't the antenna, we have problems with the IPSs and throughput
> caps, blah blah blah."
>
> And this morning I get a call that says "Gee, um, can you overnight fedex us
> down a tower with guy wires?  We raised the antenna last week and it blew
> over in a storm last night,"
>
> Me: BAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!  (like I have one "in stock".. I have a
> "day job" that takes most of my time, you konw)  (silencing and collecting
> myself).  "Sorry, no."
>
> Anyway, if I added up all the money I spent supporting that place I'd be in
> the negative I'm sure.  But they are good people and really need help so I
> bill them what they can pay.
>
> But they're on the own for mucking with my antenna, which I told them not to
> do.  Sometimes you have to tell the customer "no".  It's hard to do
> sometimes, especially when you know they need to help and they've developed
> into friends over the years but it's got to be done on occasion.
>
> Greg
>
> On Fri, Oct 24, 2008 at 12:24 PM, Tim Jowers <timjowers at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> My experience too.  El cheapo's out there.  One business book says you
>> should fire 20% of your customers. I believe it is more like 80% when doing
>> computer stuff for small companies and individuals.  The model which does
>> work is to hire a hisgh school geeks and charge $10/hr. Since the geeks are
>> 90% clueless, they'll take hours!
>>
>> Now, what you can do is try to upsell them. Maybe you could get in the
>> "backup" business or "hosting" business. You could make back your money
>> over
>> a year.
>>
>> The hugest ever insult is when a customer asks you to do something like
>> that
>> or even to fix their computer after software from AOL or somewhere screws
>> it
>> up and then turns around and pays $1000 for a computer from DELL when you
>> are selling the same specs for $500. That's when I decided "side work" is
>> not worth the hassle. People think because they talk to you on in person
>> they can scam you but somehow will blow money with a faceless company!
>>
>> Tim
>>
>>
>> On Fri, Oct 24, 2008 at 11:12 AM, Christopher Blackmon
>> <ckblackm at yahoo.com>wrote:
>>
>>> Pfft... I'm voting for Paris Hilton!
>>>
>>> http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/06ae3d8563
>>>
>>> Christopher
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message ----
>>> From: Aaron Joyner <aaron at joyner.ws>
>>> To: Triangle Linux Users Group General Discussion <trilug at trilug.org>
>>> Sent: Friday, October 24, 2008 10:18:21 AM
>>> Subject: Re: [TriLUG] Off topic: Side work
>>>
>>> I really wasn't intending that to be a political reference.  Our media
>>> is way out of control when any "Joe" + <profession> reference has
>>> become a political reference.  Please feel free to s/Joe/Suzy/g to
>>> correct my political insensitivities, on all fronts.  :)
>>>
>>> Aaron S. Joyner
>>>
>>> PS - Munger '08!  (even if he won't win, if you agree with him, make a
>>> statement, do your part for democracy)
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> TriLUG mailing list        :
>> http://www.trilug.org/mailman/listinfo/trilug
>>> TriLUG FAQ  : http://www.trilug.org/wiki/Frequently_Asked_Questions
>>>
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>>
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>
>