How many contracts have you done where...

[Gentile]

God, you sound like a pleasure to work with.

As a contractor I think the expectation on both sides should be that you aren't going to be creating this kind of whining permie drama. You come in on time, be quiet, do not complain or whine, offer no personal dramas, deal with the small problems, do the job, then FO0K off!

If a client wants to make silly decisions like a badly scoped project, tulip off shore staff, going over a specialists head with regards to technology, then good luck to them. Mention it clearly and professionally to the powers that be, then keep invoicing as the project slips.

All you will achieve by this approach is putting yourself in an early grave.

+2

I don't think I've wasted my breath arguing with anyone on a contract (as distinct from flagging up issues and resolving disagreements constructively). There's simply no point.

The nearest I've ever come to blowing up on anyone in a contract was a few years back when there was a third-party supplier playing silly buggers on a Dynamics CRM implementation I was working on. I had my own bespoke code to get right, and it had to interface with some work this guy's company had already provided to the client. He'd pulled a fast one and not handed over the source code to the client, and there was no documentation. So, I asked the ClientCo manager to request the source code from them, and was assured this would be forthcoming following their conversation.

Next day, they phoned the office "to speak to me about my request". I could see at fifty paces I was about to have a pointless conversation with a total chancer that was at it. Sure enough, he proceeded to try and tell me that I should use Reflector to analyse the compiled DLLs he'd installed, instead of him just complying with the request to provide the source code that he'd already agreed to with ClientCo management. Clearly this wasn't suitable, as all the variable names and comments get obfuscated and removed when you take a piece of compiled code and try to reverse-engineer it back into the original source. So, I told him not to be ridiculous, that I wasn't being paid to reverse engineer and reconstruct code he'd already been paid for, and to get me the original source code as he'd been instructed to do without further delay or I'd have to raise it with ClientCo again as a blocker for me. It appeared within the day.

It's not worth losing your rag when people don't listen or try it on (which I find happens more in permie roles than in contracts). In contracts, those footing the bills value your input more for the simple reason they're paying more for it, so you find situations like the one above tend to get cleared up very quickly. In a permie role, a similar situation might drag on for many months if weak managers misguidedly try and fail to please everyone.

[norrahe]

God, you sound like a pleasure to work with.

As a contractor I think the expectation on both sides should be that you aren't going to be creating this kind of whining permie drama. You come in on time, be quiet, do not complain or whine, offer no personal dramas, deal with the small problems, do the job, then FO0K off!

If a client wants to make silly decisions like a badly scoped project, tulip off shore staff, going over a specialists head with regards to technology, then good luck to them. Mention it clearly and professionally to the powers that be, then keep invoicing as the project slips.

All you will achieve by this approach is putting yourself in an early grave.

+3

I have yet to not have a contract where toys have been thrown out of prams, permies have been obstructive and political bulltulip is the norm.

I've only been a few weeks at my current one and the tulip has already hit the fan.

Keep calm and carry on invoicing.

[minestrone]

I don't lose my cool contracting but I am quite happy to slag off people, processes, technology etc fairly openly, it's good fun.

[EternalOptimist]

I only ever had to get stuck into one guy, and infrastructure fellow who declared he wanted to 'review' my code. first I had heard about it.
So I had him backed up into the corner of my office. I felt a bit sorry for him afterwards, as he slinked sideways along the wall and out the door. His parting shot was 'I'm telling the MD about this'
f@ggot

So the MD gets us together to calm things down and he says
'x used to be a top developer before he moved into infrastructure'
'Did he? well I used to be a top 400 m runner'

end of discussion

[nomadd]

I only ever had to get stuck into one guy, and infrastructure fellow who declared he wanted to 'review' my code. first I had heard about it.
So I had him backed up into the corner of my office. I felt a bit sorry for him afterwards, as he slinked sideways along the wall and out the door. His parting shot was 'I'm telling the MD about this'
f@ggot

So the MD gets us together to calm things down and he says
'x used to be a top developer before he moved into infrastructure'
'Did he? well I used to be a top 400 m runner'

end of discussion

I worked for a PharmaCo many years back and all our code had to be rigorously reviewed because of the nature of the application (sensitive medical data.) For the first few months I'd had all my code reviewed by a senior internal guy of the company; it was very rare that any issues came up, but those that did were quickly and amicably resolved. Reviews were always passed easily.

Then they bring in a young girl from an outside consultancy, as she was cheaper. She outright rejected the first code I sent her and wrote a shirty email to the PM in an attempt to gain brownie points from the rejection. Turns out the code was rejected as I'd used a part of the programming language she didn't know existed. The programming language was C, and the part I'd used that she took exception to was the humble "break" statement. I kid you not.

[VectraMan]

Then they bring in a young girl from an outside consultancy, as she was cheaper. She outright rejected the first code I sent her and wrote a shirty email to the PM in an attempt to gain brownie points from the rejection. Turns out the code was rejected as I'd used a part of the programming language she didn't know existed. The programming language was C, and the part I'd used that she took exception to was the humble "break" statement. I kid you not.

I thought you were going to say you'd used as <<.

In my 7 years as a contractor I didn't seem to have any problems with anyone, not like the stories I've read on here. But perhaps that's because I've never worked for a bank (although the downside to that is I've never been paid the kind of rates I might have been paid by a bank).

But I have to say the worst "client" I've ever had is my current permie employer, and as a permie I don't have the luxury of either thinking about the large amount of cash I'm earning, or counting down the weeks to the end of my contract.

[nomadd]

But I have to say the worst "client" I've ever had is my current permie employer, and as a permie I don't have the luxury of either thinking about the large amount of cash I'm earning, or counting down the weeks to the end of my contract.

You should leave and go contract.

[psychocandy]

Dont get upset with work stuff at the client. Why should I?
At the end of the day, its their project not mine. I'll give them advice, if they wont listen and it all goes to rat tulip why should I care? Why should I worry also if the work gets done or not? I'll do my best but its not my problem if there isnt enough resource? Clients problem not mine.

Only thing that winds me up is clients who attempt to impact me - i.e taking the piss with working hours etc.

[Scoobos]

In every "banking" contract, yes it's happened and I even got introduced to "The Thick Of It" by happy hirers saying I put Malcolm Truss to shame. I had no idea who he was, and still think its a thinly vieled insult ; as that guy really is a nutter.

All of my banking hirers have been overjoyed with me and wanted me to take on Full Time roles with them; so I think it's appreciated. I've even had feedback saying the projects / infrastructure moves would have been disasterous without my input.

It is annoying though, especially point 9 (full timers who hate contractors).

[Scoobos]

Dont get upset with work stuff at the client. Why should I?
At the end of the day, its their project not mine.

I wish I could do that, I take it very personally, the project's mine not theirs - it's my reputation that I see as being at stake - not the PM's.