The Rate Escape

A super hypocritical company just tried to negotiate a rate by using the "Euro is too expensive" argument. I'm always wary of this type of tactic since it pretty much tells me that they're not asking enough from their clients for services requiring European labour.

Regardless of their dubious profitability status, its also just poor form. Most of these companies also didn't bitch when the Euro was cheap, nor did they attempt to argue to pay in dollars then too (without compensating for the exchange rate of course, as they do now).

Well just to make it known, tactics like this put companies on the bottom of my priority list when accepting work.

Lesson? Don't screw your vendors they're PARTNERS not slaves.

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Stuffing fags into boots...

Here's a prime example of what can go wrong if you assume Englishes are compatible. Picture this article appearing as is in the NYT or WSJ. Laughter ensues. At least the author's name wasn't Ben Dover... and no... he wasn't talking about fairies, just ferries.

Credit where credit's due: This article was written by Jon Cronin of the BBC. Follow the link for the full story.

"Get to Dover early. Drive onto ferry. Arrive Calais. Drive off ferry. Grab some lunch. Fill boot of car with booze and fags. Drive back to ferry. Sail home."

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Quality, quality and more quality. BUT NO TIME!

A perfect description of this client is the word "asshat". Somehow it encompasses everything this person is.

I have a client who is constantly screaming for higher quality (when, honestly he's getting what he pays for). But of course we try to accommodate the client because there's no such thing as a client we don't want. Or so the bosses tell us.

So we put together additional quality checks and resend schedules because of the impact this extra effort takes. Mind you he's not getting charged more than the already break-even rates we give him thus putting the projects in danger of actually generating losses.

His reaction to the schedule? Impossible, unacceptable, how do we expect to keep him as a client if we can't do this in the time allotted etc. etc.

I just about told him to go f**k himself.

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