Carpeted

[unixman]

Definitely get the coffees in and buy a few donuts, if it's the done thing there. And be open and sociable of course. And obviously make friends/be nice, and have a smile/laugh with your team. Whatever is reasonable.

However, if I received a proper, comprehensive carpeting I would just walk. If they want to carpet someone, re-program their personality, mold them in the company image, that's great. It's called "hiring a permie". Let them do that. Let them pay the employers NIC which they are craftily avoiding with you. Let them pay the pension, the holidays, the benefits, the training, and the HR. Let them shoulder the risk of the 60k permie leaving after his 30k courses, or of being weird, or rubbish, and unsackable. Let them risk hiring a bad permie who will sit on their books like giant carbuncle for 5 years. Let them enjoy carpeting him.

But we are all in a different position and it is hard to know what is reasonable in another person's job/personal position. I am a unix admin and the market is fairly good, so I am not "under the cosh", and I have never been carpeted anyway. All the same, leaving "carpeting" behind was one of the main reasons for being a contractor.

Obviously whatever you do, be reasonable, send reasonable emails and never lose your temper.

[alphadog]

Sounds like just an awful environment. However there is no excuse for not getting the teas in though.

Screw the teas. Just do a good job and if they don't like it, find something else.

[northernladuk]

Screw the teas. Just do a good job and if they don't like it, find something else.

Absolutely.

[Antman]

Screw the teas. Just do a good job and if they don't like it, find something else.

Asking if anybody wants a tea when you go to the machine/kitchen is just good manners. But you're right, screw the teas.

[MicrosoftBob]

Sounds like yet another place that doesn't get Agile, keep your head down and keep your CV prepped

[northernladuk]

It's an interesting situation for the Face to Face interviews thread and how a client like this would suss out who was fit. Would they do a telephone only and run this risk every time or would they do 2 F2F's to make sure that person is a fit. In this case, as much as many people say they wouldn't turn up to two F2F's it appears it would be in the contractors interests to attend both and find out this method of working before stepping on site possibly? But I digress....

[expat]

It's an interesting situation for the Face to Face interviews thread and how a client like this would suss out who was fit. Would they do a telephone only and run this risk every time or would they do 2 F2F's to make sure that person is a fit. In this case, as much as many people say they wouldn't turn up to two F2F's it appears it would be in the contractors interests to attend both and find out this method of working before stepping on site possibly? But I digress....

In some places, if you do a good job, chat a bit, help anyone who needs it, and be nice, then you do fit. Sounds like the OP is not in one of those places.

[unixman]

It's an interesting situation for the Face to Face interviews thread and how a client like this would suss out who was fit. Would they do a telephone only and run this risk every time or would they do 2 F2F's to make sure that person is a fit. In this case, as much as many people say they wouldn't turn up to two F2F's it appears it would be in the contractors interests to attend both and find out this method of working before stepping on site possibly? But I digress....

I would turn up for 2 x F2F interviews if I was on the bench and not losing 2 days invoicing. Maybe even then if it was super-delicious.

[NotAllThere]

I'd just tell them that I was hired for my technical skills and ability, not my tea-making skills. If you don't like the way that I work, then feel free to terminate my contract. Assuming that you can walk into another role fairly easily of course!

[Gumbo Robot]

It's an interesting situation for the Face to Face interviews thread and how a client like this would suss out who was fit. Would they do a telephone only and run this risk every time or would they do 2 F2F's to make sure that person is a fit. In this case, as much as many people say they wouldn't turn up to two F2F's it appears it would be in the contractors interests to attend both and find out this method of working before stepping on site possibly? But I digress....

There was no F2F. I'd been with them before 8 years ago but they've since been taken over and this is a completely different bunch of people.

I obviously worked in agile before and I guess Ive always gone through the motions but the client has always been happy because the end product has always been good. The problem with this one is that there's not much coding. Everything is done with their own in house 4GL tool which is completely undocumented and nobody seems to know anything about.

Regarding tea making, there's a cafe downstairs where you can get a good strong cup of coffee.

I go down there.

Everyone else makes their own instant stuff in the kitchen.

When I started, I used to ask if anyone wanted a coffee from downstairs, nobody ever did so I just kind of do my own thing on that front now.
Don't see what the issue is.