Quality of IT contractors? Expectations?

[Oakie]

We are too small a company to have an IT person so we have a guy who runs an IT service come in when we have problems. Great guy and not at all your IT geek stereotype.

He's not the most reliable timekeeper though and when he says he'll be in Thursday afternoon that usually means Friday afternoon. We accept that though and he is always prompt when we have a critical issue (like server not happy post-earthquake).

Not really a great invoicer but does give us a good rate and seems to charge not by how long something did take when there are problems but by how long something should have taken if it had gone smoothly. So we accept that too.

He knows his stuff but sometimes things things seem to take a few days to get finished. He does go the extra mile though and even became a distributor of a product so he could try it on our system to solve a problem so we accept his slow and steady approach which we think comes about due to a large customer base.

What are your expectations or experiences of these 'sole-trader' guys if you have used them? Should we expect more - count ourselves lucky - accept what we have?

[Smifffy]

So what is the problem?

[Usarka]

Poor at managing expectations, poor record keeping, can't tell you how long something will take...... He sounds exactly like a stereotypical IT geek.

[KiWiP]

Have you told him your expectations?

He may not be aware that his delays cause you real problems. He's a supplier, you are his client. It's your responsibility to tell him what you expect and his to deliver. If he can't meet your demands find a new geek or pay him more money to push yourself up his priority list

[firefighter]

Poor at managing expectations, poor record keeping, can't tell you how long something will take...... He sounds exactly like a stereotypical IT geek.

He sounds like a mechanic! hahahahaha (well, the exception being that a mechanic will charge you more than it should cost).

[Latte]

Sounds unmotivated. He exchanges cheap rates and going the extra mile for not being pressured. He probably walks away from customers that "need it now" (even though they dont).

If it's truly critical, does he make the effort? That's the decider.

It's how I operated

[Smifffy]

Have you told him your expectations?

He may not be aware that his delays cause you real problems. He's a supplier, you are his client. It's your responsibility to tell him what you expect and his to deliver. If he can't meet your demands find a new geek or pay him more money to push yourself up his priority list

Yeah I was thinking that last bit too, perhaps a monthly 'retainer fee' or something?

[Usarka]

He's a supplier, you are his client. It's your responsibility to tell him what you expect and his to deliver.

WTF - who do you work for? I'll make a note to avoid dealing them....

A customer should not have to tell a supplier to be on time or deliver something when they say they will. It's called being professional. A concept that a lot of IT people can't fathom.

[KiWiP]

A customer should not have to tell a supplier to be on time or deliver something when they say they will. It's called being professional. A concept that a lot of IT people can't fathom.

True but if he's turned up a little late, then later then ridiculously late and nobody says anything he may think it's OK. I agree it's a fucked up way to run your business but if you're unhappy with the service you have to tell the supplier. That's my point. And yes many IT guys are wankey demigods but many (like my guy at work) are absolute diamond geezers.

[Mental Trousers]

Critical shit gets dealt with in a timely manner, that's really all that matters. Anything else is inconvenient, but someone else will charge you twice his rate and log all the time on your calls, travel, researching the problem etc. You will end up with a much, much larger bill from someone more professional.

Usually, you get what you pay for, but it sounds like you're getting more than your money's worth (mainly in unbilled time). Go to someone else and their invoices will make your eyes water. Give him a hurry up and he might just move on cos he doesn't want the hassle.

[Oakie]

So what is the problem?

One job has taken a few weeks to work through and questions are being posed from above as to whether he is the best we can get.

Poor at managing expectations, poor record keeping, can't tell you how long something will take...... He sounds exactly like a stereotypical IT geek.

Ok. He's not a nerd then. Good bloke to have a beer with type of fella. Explains tech stuff in plain English and doesn't come off all superior.

Have you told him your expectations? He may not be aware that his delays cause you real problems.

Good point.

If it's truly critical, does he make the effort? That's the decider.

Yes he does. Bottom line is that if the server goes down I'm confident of same day service

Yeah I was thinking that last bit too, perhaps a monthly 'retainer fee' or something?

That is something we discussed today. Thought we might get him to give us a regular monthly 3 hour 'system maintenance' session.

Wow. 'multi-quote' rocks!

[MaxCannon]

What does your contract with him say ?
We have contract clients and casual clients.
Contract clients go on a plan, have service agreements, get priority treatment.
Casual clients get things done when we have time.

My experience of one man bands is that we end up cleaning up after them. They don't maintain any documentation, often don't follow best practise and generally don't give good response times.
There are of course exceptions.

I'd suggest if you rely on your computers to run the business you need a managed service provider.
You'll get a contract and pay a set fee for a set level of service.

We have 3 plans, standard, professional and premium.
At the top level everything is included and you say :jump: we say "how high?".
But we don't operate in Christchurch, only the North Island.

[Oakie]

Critical shit gets dealt with in a timely manner, that's really all that matters. Anything else is inconvenient, but someone else will charge you twice his rate and log all the time on your calls, travel, researching the problem etc. You will end up with a much, much larger bill from someone more professional.

Usually, you get what you pay for, but it sounds like you're getting more than your money's worth (mainly in unbilled time). Go to someone else and their invoices will make your eyes water. Give him a hurry up and he might just move on cos he doesn't want the hassle.

Pretty much my personal opinion too. Good to hear someone else express it.
The situation may possibly our fault a little for assuming he would realise that a particular job was critical to us because of it's nature when perhaps we should have said 'this is critical'.

[Oakie]

What does your contract with him say ?
We have contract clients and casual clients.
Contract clients go on a plan, have service agreements, get priority treatment.
Casual clients get things done when we have time. .

No contract. I guess we'd be a casual client as we only get him when we need something. We are a not-for-profit so a proper contracted service or a hosted service is probably a bit out of our budget.

[Smifffy]

Pretty much my personal opinion. Good to hear someone else express it.
The situation may possibly our fault a little for assuming he would realise that a particular job was critical to us because of it's nature when perhaps we should have said 'this is critical'.

Yeah, because that problem wasn't apparent in your 1st post.

Still you may tell him you need it a bit sooner, and he may still walk, or he may say "yeah it's a real pita of a job, but I know this dude who could help me out for a day or two and we could knock it off, if the budget stretches..."