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Steve
I know your IP address

join:2001-03-10
Tustin, CA

Steve to John Galt6

to John Galt6

Re: IT consultant pissing match?

said by John Galt6:

The extent of my professional obligation is to answer their questions, if asked.

Most customers believe your obligation is to look out for their wider interests; whether you do so or not says what kind of consultant you really are.
jcremin
join:2009-12-22
Siren, WI

jcremin

Member

said by Steve:

said by John Galt6:

The extent of my professional obligation is to answer their questions, if asked.

Most customers believe your obligation is to look out for their wider interests; whether you do so or not says what kind of consultant you really are.

But when your customer intends to not be your customer anymore and chooses to do business with someone else, I fail to see how there is any obligation to go above and beyond when the extra effort will only go to help a competitor who's method you don't agree with.

I do agree with the advise earlier. Explain that you don't feel comfortable putting your name on this project, and let them choose. Don't go out of your way to sabotage the relationship, but there's no need to let someone else mooch off of you.

There's a happy medium, and that's usually the best path to take.
wirelessdog
join:2008-07-15
Queen Anne, MD

wirelessdog to Steve

Member

to Steve
said by Steve:

said by John Galt6:

The extent of my professional obligation is to answer their questions, if asked.

Most customers believe your obligation is to look out for their wider interests; whether you do so or not says what kind of consultant you really are.

That obligation ends when they replace you.

Steve
I know your IP address

join:2001-03-10
Tustin, CA

Steve to jcremin

to jcremin
said by jcremin:

But when your customer intends to not be your customer anymore and chooses to do business with someone else, I fail to see how there is any obligation to go above and beyond when the extra effort will only go to help a competitor who's method you don't agree with.

Ah, that's different.

I had the impression that he was an ongoing customer and he was using this guy for some project, but you'd still be his main go-to guy.

If you've been relieved of your engagement, your duty is to be professional but there's no reason to fall all over yourself to be helpful (even though I still do in this circumstance, though it rarely comes up).
jcremin
join:2009-12-22
Siren, WI

jcremin

Member

said by Steve:

If you've been relieved of your engagement, your duty is to be professional but there's no reason to fall all over yourself to be helpful

Agreed, that's a perfect way to say it!

John Galt6
Forward, March
Premium Member
join:2004-09-30
Happy Camp

John Galt6 to wirelessdog

Premium Member

to wirelessdog
said by wirelessdog:

That obligation ends when they replace you.

I've been "replaced" on many projects...fine by me. It's the owners prerogative.

I have also been called back many times to repair or remove the latest "improvements"...and get the system running consistently again.

A mixed blessing...

I am waiting breathlessly to see how installing a wireless router in each unit is going to work out...

battleop
join:2005-09-28
00000

battleop

Member

Consultant is really just an industry term for someone who knows what they learned in a CCNA Boot Camp but they have no real world experience.

I usually walk away from them because they end up convincing our mutual customer that their hair brained idea will work. When it comes time to implement the hair brained idea they want me to make it work. Since I refuse to do things half ass or make things more complicated than they need to be I just decline to do it.

Steve
I know your IP address

join:2001-03-10
Tustin, CA

Steve

said by battleop:

Consultant is really just an industry term for someone who knows what they learned in a CCNA Boot Camp but they have no real world experience.

Not always.
gunther_01
Premium Member
join:2004-03-29
Saybrook, IL

gunther_01

Premium Member

said by Steve:

said by battleop:

Consultant is really just an industry term for someone who knows what they learned in a CCNA Boot Camp but they have no real world experience.

Not always.

I'm with Battleop on this one. At least as it pertains to our wireless field/industry from what I have seen.

My comment isn't really meant to be an insult either. It's just every site I have been to in regards to unlicensed radio's is a total hack job. UBNT radio's (to name one) that aren't set up properly, in improper frequencies, with improper and illegal power outputs all over the place (thank you FCC for mandating proper firmware to fix some of that issue). Just because someone knows how to turn a radio on, does not make them a "professional installer" by ANY means..
/rant

battleop
join:2005-09-28
00000

battleop to Steve

Member

to Steve
I've dealt with hundreds of consultants and 99.9% cant do what they recommend. They usually obsess over stupid shit while overlooking thing that actually matter. They almost always have huge egos and are very quick to tell you how well they are qualified they are. In my experiences if they have to tell you how smart they think they are the are usually not.

As a consultant you only have to be smarter than the guy that hired you because the guy that hired you is clueless about what he hired you for. He has no real way to know if you are full of shit or if you know what your talking about.
lutful
... of ideas
Premium Member
join:2005-06-16
Ottawa, ON

lutful to gunther_01

Premium Member

to gunther_01
said by gunther_01:

said by Steve:

said by battleop:

Consultant is really just an industry term for someone who knows what they learned in a CCNA Boot Camp but they have no real world experience.

Not always.

I'm with Battleop on this one. At least as it pertains to our wireless field/industry from what I have seen.

I agree with the highlighted parts ... when merged together.

The WISP industry is full of "consultants" whose experience is mainly installing and configuring radios for their own networks. Often they do not have sufficient knowledge of networking - either wired or wireless.

Consultants are despised but some wisps do need help and even ask for it ... a good example using 3 related threads.

2005 July: wisp needs help - buys a book
»System design questions....

2005 Nov: starts looking for consultants
»consultant in Ontario or Quebec

2006 March: gets together with other wisps to be lectured by a consultant
»Anyone wish to attend a private Jack Unger teaching seminar

DaDawgs
Premium Member
join:2010-08-02
Deltaville, VA

DaDawgs to Steve

Premium Member

to Steve
So, I dunno, Steve... Sure your job is to help the customer, but is it to help your competition? I think not. Maybe if the customer wants to pay me to help the competition, then sure but otherwise maybe not so much. Then take into consideration that the man your customer wants to replace you with spells throttling as troddling and talks about side loops... I dunno... What do I know? I never wrote a book. Well, I never wrote a book you will be allowed to read.
DaDawgs

DaDawgs to Steve

Premium Member

to Steve
said by Steve:

said by battleop:

Consultant is really just an industry term for someone who knows what they learned in a CCNA Boot Camp but they have no real world experience.

Not always.

I dunno Steve, usually consultant is just a bunch of horse shit spread on a bagel and fed to those guppies who will buy it. So you are a consultant, great. So you are not a bunch of horse shit spread on a bagel and fed to some guppie, er, well maybe when you consult about wireless you are but when you consult about operating systems you are not? I dunno. What do you think?