The Worst Contract Ever..

**Alexander Coe** · 19 December 2005, 12:48

Without a doubt - Standard Chartered, they really dropped me in the Sh** a few years a go...

**BoredBloke** · 19 December 2005, 12:53

"Without a doubt - Standard Chartered, they really dropped me in the Sh** a few years a go... "

I lasted 3 hours there once!

**Alexander Coe** · 19 December 2005, 13:08

[QUOTE=TonyEnglish
I lasted 3 hours there once![/QUOTE]

Thats got to be a record!

intresting to hear other have had problems with them...

**xoggoth** · 19 December 2005, 15:22

This one I'm at now. Utterly dull is bearable on its own. High pressure is bearable on its own. Not both together. Not mentioning any names though.

Fortunately have another one to go to after Christmas.

**messiah** · 21 December 2005, 04:12

what was so wrong about Standard Chartered ?

its a small investment bank in the middle of london .. I do remember having an interview there 9 years ago for a permie position when I was young and naive.

The IT manager interviewing me scowled, scoffed, laughed nastly, was facecious after he realized I would not match the role, as I walked out I saw upon row of nervous IT workers looking young and exploited.

And to think John Major once worked there.

**expat** · 21 December 2005, 09:04

Originally posted by messiah

I walked out I saw upon row of nervous IT workers looking young and exploited.

9 years ago? Yes, by that time they had replaced all of us who looked old and hung-over.

**jhorsfield30** · 21 December 2005, 11:14

Incredable

How Can These People Even Get Any Personnel To Work For Them?

They Must Draft Them In Before They Understand How They Are Being Exploted.

**Alexander Coe** · 21 December 2005, 12:12

Originally posted by messiah

what was so wrong about Standard Chartered ?

its a small investment bank in the middle of london ..

its actually a global retail bank, with a massive presence in Asia - pretty much Asia equivalent of Natwest or Barclays, but they do have an FX trading floor...

to be fair, I'm not saying they are a bad company to work for all round - but they basically outsourced all their support staff to Fujitsu, then when the directors moaned about the quality of support service, they hired a grad to act as their dedicated support guy (also to kit out all their homes with a home office and support video confrencing)- the grad lasted 3 months, then muggins here came for 3 months before they did what should have in the first place and got Fujitsu to provide enough staff to baby sit the directors

Looking after this bunch http://www.standardchartered.com/glo.../managemt.html their PA's and executive assistants was no barrel of laughs... if they couldn't log into hotmail or their PC crashed, it was a crisis... Their home 'offices' where a joke, I had their wives constantly phoning me regarding problems with the home office PC's...

but, its wasn't the nature of the work that p**sed me off, rather that they mislead in terms of what the contract involved...

I was told I'd be joining the trade floor support team (I'd been trying to break into trade floor for a while) but a handful of us would rotate and take turns on the directors floor - day I joined they stuck me on the directors floor, while I was originally managed by the trade floor manager, they pulled out of the deal within a month, describing the directors floor as 'more political than westminster' leaving me stuck there full time.

This was actually how I got into contracting as they also told me it would be a permi role, but that I just be contracting for the first few months - then they didn't extend or make me perm when it became clear it was too much work for one person (either that or I'd upset their wifes...)

I'm not looking for sympathy, I was pretty fresh out uni myself and was obviously still very naive - with the benefit of hind sight, I should have told them where to stuff the contact as soon as the trade floor guys pulled out. I'm glad it got me into contracting and within 2 days of losing the contract, I got a new contract doing tradefloor support at a proper investment bank, not an old fashioned, retail bank working for a bunch of back stabbing, fat cats (as you can see i'm not at all bitter

)

**expat** · 21 December 2005, 12:39

I'm not bitter either. SCB gave me one of the greatest feelings I've had in my working life (that of not working there any more).

The Worst Contract Ever..