[asterisk-biz] Cheater Dedication

[Paul]

Sika Spam wrote:

>Abdul Lateef wrote:
>  
>
>>Yes, Treje you are right i did not ask for any
>>deadline or for contract agreement. But for money Back
>>gurantee he written in his web site for money back
>>with week, if product is not according to which i
>>asked them first time.
>>    
>>
>
>Paying people online who are basically untouchable legally is very, very
>scary. I have been burned for $3,000 for graphics work, for example. The
>problem is simple: just like online people will say very aggressive
>things to others that they wouldn't dare say to their face, sometimes
>people represent themselves as knowing how to do work AND deliver it
>ontime, and this turns out to be false. Someone mentioned escrow, and
>yes, that helps, ut it still is your word against the other's.
>
>I learned (for $3k) that you want a written contract that describes the
>work to be done, deliverables, and the delivery date, and you want to
>register this with the escrow. http://guru.com is one. You want people
>with references and evaluations posted by clients. All this is available
> on Guru and others. Unfortunately, even this doesn't guarantee you
>won't be ripped off!
>
>I have since mostly had work done by people I can meet and possibly go
>visit, even if it's far away. The possiblity you can reach them
>physically helps forge a more honest relationship. Sorry to be cynical,
>but I'm afraid it's true.
>  
>
It can be scary for people on both sides of the relationship. As a
consultant, the first thing I have to decide is how much time I will
risk working for a stranger. Suppose I set a limit of 4 hours but I have
already told the client that the total time for his project is much more
than that. What I will do after 4 hours work is deliver what I have so
far. That might include work logs, notes, config and source files that I
have modified so far. The problem is often that the client is incapable
of evaluating the information. Usually I tell the client that if he buys
a prepaid block of time immediately, I will count the hours already
worked against that rather than bill him at the higher rate. For prepaid
blocks of 40 hours that means half the cost for the hours I already
worked to prove myself.

In the past I have handed long credit application forms to small
business clients who asked for terms. Nobody ever filled the things out.
Most just told me they would write me a check when I delivered and the
others decided not to do business with me. There are always people out
there who charge a lot more, give anybody credit and spend too much time
chasing receivables.

I would say that the general rule I use in making final risk management
decisions is my availability. If I have time available I will risk more
with a new client. If I am extremely busy, I only take on new clients
buying prepaid blocks of time. That's because I might need to utilize
subcontractors to get the work done right away. I limit my risk to not
getting paid for my own time. My subcontractors always get paid and
those with a good track record get advance payments.

My advice to those who can't evaluate the technical progress being made
is that they need to find a key technical person. That can be partner,
employee, consultant or whatever structure. You have to compensate the
person correctly. If you don't have enough cash, give them a written
agreement for part ownership or something. I have an ex-client who
ignored such advice. He contracted with unqualified people who grossly
misrepresented their technical capabilities. It may be that he never
paid the new contractors but the total cost including lost
revenues(online stores down for over 2 weeks) had to be in at least $30k
range. This is what happens to selfish and greedy people who detest all
computer geeks.